Hackberry woes

Stiks-n-Strings · July 10, 2011, 02:00:00 AM

Roy now that you mention it the tree I cut could have had a fungus already I guess. It's the only hackberry I have cut so I guess it is possible. I got three logs out of it and about 30 staves give or take I guess. It was a good looking tree.

SEMO_HUNTER · July 10, 2011, 02:34:00 AM

Well the good side to all of this, if there is one......is that Hackberry is all over the place and it splits so easily. It's really not that hard to find some more and about 1 Saturday worth of work you can have a bunch more staves and try something different the next time around.
I kind of experimented with the batch that I cut and I put some in my hot box that were sealed on the back and ends, and some that were not sealed at all. Then I let some dry natural with sealer and without. Hackberry will check with too much heat, but not anything like osage will. I also found that the back dried just fine without sealer on it, but the ends will check if they are left unsealed.

That's about all I understand about hackberry so far except for how easy it is to split, debark, and clean up with a draw knife. I think my 8yr. old nephew could finish a hackberry stave with a little direction. It's a pure joy to work with after killing myself with osage for so long.
However it's not as versital as osage from what I've read, so there's a trade off there of good and bad.

SportHunter · August 07, 2011, 12:29:00 AM

I've got my sights on a few small hackberry trees, probably going to cut them this upcoming week. For best results do I need to seal the back of the hackberry bow stave after removing the bark or just the ends? Also does this wood respond well to splitting or should I use the bandsaw? Thx

SEMO_HUNTER · August 07, 2011, 06:53:00 AM

Seal the ends not the back, be careful when debarking because the wood that's directly underneat IS you bow's back. Any nick, scratch, or dent you make on that softwood under the bark will show worse later on.

Hackberry is the easiest wood I have ever split and you can just about peel the bark off with your hands and a little help with a fillet knife.

SportHunter · August 07, 2011, 01:29:00 PM

Whats the minimum width I should make the staves on the back? One tree is probably 4 inches diameter and has a nice straight section. I was thinking it could make at least two bow staves and maybe up to four if the splits worked well. I'm planning on roughing out one or two bows and letting them dry tied to either a straight board or caul if I get time to make one up soon.

Adam Keiper · August 07, 2011, 10:48:00 PM

I just cut a hackberry and took the bark off the same day. I left the staves set overnight in my garage and the very next day they had turned green like in one of the previous pics. Freaked me out a little at first, but I figure that must just be what that summer cut wood does.

Similarly, I had some hackberry I had cut and debarked in November. I had the staves drying in my basement. We had an incredibly prolonged, wet spring, during which time the air in my normally bone dry basement felt a little muggy. I noticed at the end of spring, the hackberry staves had thin fuzzy mold on their backs. None on the osage, locust, yew, hickory, etc.. staves. Just on the hackberry. Weird. I sprayed it off with a garden hose, then promptly started building a bow from one of them. Turned out fine at 62#. The mold was just surficial and came right off. No residual staining or evidnece beneath. In fact, I just stitched the grip on the other day.

TroutGuide · August 08, 2011, 04:23:00 PM

You are a lucky man Adam. That many bowes and a place to hang them all.

RingChaser · August 09, 2011, 07:46:00 PM

Why should the back not be sealed like the ends after removing the bark? Does the wood not check like other woods?
When I cut a Hackberry tree earlier this year, I split the staves, pulled off the bark and sealed the ends and the back. The wood never changed colors and it didn't seem to hurt it after it had dried. Just wondering, because that was my first white wood bow.

WestTexan · August 09, 2011, 08:13:00 PM

I sealed the backs on mine but it's real dry here,didn't want to chance it.

SportHunter · August 10, 2011, 12:22:00 AM

So whats the consensus on sealing the back or not? I just cut and split a small hackberry today, its debarked and the ends are sealed. Should I seal the back or not? Also can i keep the staves in the garage or should i squirrel them in the basement to keep them cool?

Dan Landis · August 10, 2011, 12:48:00 PM

SportHunter, IMO it can't hurt to seal the backs, it may be overkill, but better safe than sorry. I put 8 hackberry staves in the loft of my storage shed with a black roof. I sealed the ends and the backs with shellac before storing in the spring and I don't have any cracks yet.....Dan

PEARL DRUMS · August 10, 2011, 01:02:00 PM

I put one coat on the back and several on the ends of my hackberry and they stayed pristine. I stored all mine in my basement shop at a constant temp and humidity level.

SportHunter · August 10, 2011, 01:22:00 PM

I just coated the backs just in case. Seven staves came from two logs out of a fresh cut tree and the other was a small tree. Overall a great day in the woods. I also saw some osage for the next bow wood trip.