Have a hickory self bow almost ready for tillering but after scraping the back to get it smooth I still have lots of little lines perpindicular to the grain that are indented into the top layer of hard wood. I was hoping not to have to back this bow so do I need to sand them out? I'll try to load some pics but am having a problem with my photobucket app on my phone. These indentations range from 2-3 per inch to 1 every inch or so.
Thanks, Dennis (http://%20%20[url=http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/yerfdogd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0205_zpsg9vhfijc.JPG.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag194/yerfdogd/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0205_zpsg9vhfijc.JPG)[/url] [/IMG] (http://%20%20[url=http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/yerfdogd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0201_zpsymn4m86k.JPG.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag194/yerfdogd/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0201_zpsymn4m86k.JPG)[/url] [/IMG] (http://%20%20[url=http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/yerfdogd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0199_zpstmc0pffq.JPG.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag194/yerfdogd/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-02/KIMG0199_zpstmc0pffq.JPG)[/url] [/IMG]
Those almost look like drying checks. Hard to tell though. Is that a stave that you pulled the bark off?
Yes, I had split it and left the bark on while it dryed in my garage for almost a year. When I started working on it the bark came off very easy, some of it pulled off by hand.
Hard to see from those pics...BUT are you sure all the bark is off? It almost looks like the cambium(inner bark) is still attached?????
aren't you supposed to (or at least not worry to much about) leave the cambium ON with a hickory bow? I don't know the answer, but I do have a hickory stave drying in my garage right now that I haven't debarked yet, so would certainly need the answer.
Yes, that's the cambium. I can't tell you to leave it on or not, but I can at least ID hickory cambium.
Those horizontal lines look like where insects have tunneled under the bark. It appears that you need to chase the next ring down to get a clean back.
The more I look at that, the more I think something just isn't right. It almost looks weathered, like barnwood. Can you tell us more about the tree you cut. Was it live? What conditions did it dry?
Yes,it was a live tree 4 to5 in in diameter. 1st I just painted the ends, then a few month's back I split it and stuck it back in the garage to continue drying.
I stored the stave over the rafters in my non air conditioned garage through the summer here in Texas, could the heat have over dried it out? I don't think it is insect damage because the lines only run perpendicular to the grain. Whatever they're from I've started sanding them out.
You got me. Something just looks off. hard to tell not holding it though.
I think I'd hafta go down a ring if it were me.
Thanks everyone for your help, unfortunately the bow cracked during tillering. I'd gotten it bending decent, moving 10 " @30# with a long string. so I tried to string it up and it cracked somewhere around the handle. I can't see the crack but it was unmistakable.
Sorry to hear your broke this one. Take what you learned and build another one. Hey, don't waste knowledge :-)