Greetings campers and knot-heads
Even from my normally paranoid perspecitive, and speaking as the resident CR wood scientist (you didn't even know there was such a thing did you? Well, trust me, nobody grows up dreaming about being one. It just sort of accidentally happens.), when was the last time you broke a hickory tool handle? It's tuff stuff. If I were going to trust my life to hickory bars or an AVA death stem, I'd take the hickory bars every time. Not a particularly light weight choice of component raw material though.
Prior to bending the wood is temporarily plasticized by steam or ammonia vapor or some other horrible method, then quickly bent to it's new shape before it cools. Hickory has excellent bending properties compared to other wood species, but one still has to carefully select the pieces to be bent or they won't survive the process. I would still look for small cracks or some indication of fiber failure/buckling that would appear in the bent areas as ripples or "corrugations" in wood.
Catering to all your wood phobia needs since 1979 Larry "wood is good, wood is warm, wood is...." Osborn Appalachian Hardwood Center Morgantown WV
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>From: "richardsachs@juno.com" <richardsachs@juno.com>
>Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:29:34 GMT
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
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>-- Robert.Cohen@t-online.de (Robert Cohen) wrote:
>"Looking at the Hetchins woody at
>http://www.engr.utk.edu/~tsaleh/cirque/woodyhetch.jpg , can anybody with
>advise(!?) about hickory bars...anybody with a link or contact to the
>renovation/restoration/purchase/construction of same - blurt out all
>they know? Please?"
>
>
>ahhhhhhhhh, the internet.
>i have a pair of these bars w a period threadless stem,
>circa 1890's - not a bike geek thing, more of an antiques
>roadshow item. they're in very good condition. they have
>3" cork grips at each end. the bend looks just like the pic
>in the pasted link.
>i'm camera-less for a while. try me in a week and i'll post
>some jpgs.
>e-RICHIE
>chester, ct