I've been building an all hickory tri lam just to see if it would work out, and I was wondering if the belly lams would benefit from being heat treated. It's ready for glue up, but I would wait a bit if there was anything to gain performance wise.
Dave.
Hmmm, haven't done anything like that (trilam), but hickory loves a tempered belly. I would think it depends on how thick the belly lam is? Maybe a light treatment just to be sure not to overdo.
I think I'll give it a light toasting before glue up. I'm just experimenting here to see what I end up with. Each of the lams is 1/8" thick with the mid lam being tapered to nothing. If it becomes a bow, I'll post pictures.
Dave.
Be careful that the heating doesn't cup or otherwise distort the belly lam. It may have been wise to heat temper it it while it was still thick enough to run through the grinder another pass or two. You could just grind the excess off the inside so you didn't grind away your tempered wood... and you would be assured a perfectly flat gluing surface.
If you are going to R/D a trilam why bother with the heat treatment? I realize you want to build a all hickory trilam, but if you are looking for a little more kick then use some Ipe or osage for the belly.