Rookie Osage Build-Along / Help

[Eric Krewson]

Are you sure the stave is dry? I picked out several for a friend at Twin Oaks , one had been cut a year ago. after I cut it down to a bow blank I put the moisture meter on it and found it to be 16%mc, not green but still a little wet. 12%mc on my pinless meter is cured where I live in Bama.

Mike's dad had some great wood at the Hill shoot. I helped a friend pick out several staves.

[George Tsoukalas]

I see that you followed the lateral or vertical grain in layout. That's excellent. If you leave the handle full width until at least the first stringing ( I wait until full draw), then you can shape the handle to string it better by shaping accordingly. If string is off to the left remove more wood from the left of the handle.  If you leave the nocks wide you and the string is off to the left you can cut the nocks further on the left to bring the string towards center. Jawge

[RidgeRunner]

This is all good advice.
The stave is looking good so far.

Question... What sort of tools do you have?  Some tools are worth their weight in gold to the bower.

A well mounted shop vice is on the top of almost everones list.
Second is almost always a good scraper.
Third is usually a draw knife or a good wood rasp.

David

[Scrub_buck]

A shot of the centered string alighnment.  From center to tip to center to tip it tracks slightly off center at the handle area.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Scrub_buck]

Here's a shot of the limb reduction to 1/2 an inch.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Scrub_buck]

I have some more wood to remove.  I just marked off the 4 inch handle area along with 2 inch fades on either side.  I hope to get it all worked down by tomorrow eveing. 

One limb has a little more reflex than the other, I guess a heat gun can even them up when the time comes.  Any suggestions for heat guns?  I am going to need to get one.


Ridgerunner:

I have a draw knife, a sharp hatchet, several Nicholson rasps and two ferrier rasps.  The stave was bought already taken down to one ring, so I really haven't needed a scraper yet.  I need to start finding one or two soon as its not going to be long before the tillering stage.  Any suggestions?

Scrub

[attachment deleted by admin]

[woodstick]

i make my own scrapers out of metal just cut it about 3" by 3" and grind the edges with a hand grinder. i t works good and cheap you can also use glass but it will cut you if not wearing gloves.

[Eric Krewson]

You can spend a lot of bucks on fancy scrapers but won't find anything that works better for course scraping than a half pair of scissors.



They make an accusharp scissors sharpener. When my scissors scraper gets dull 4 or 5 passes with an accusharp scissors sharpener and they scrape wood off like crazy.

[RidgeRunner]

Looking real good so far.

You can make a good scraper out of a saws-all blade.  Just file the back edge flat and then roll a burr on it with the shaft of a large round screw driver.

A draw knife can also be used as a scraper. ( Much like a half pair of sissors)  You have to turn it upside down and backwards but it will work quite well.  Practice a bit on the belly side before you start your tillering.

David

[Scrub_buck]

Thanks Eric for the advice on the sissors!  No need to post any pictures now, but I have gotten the limbs to 3/8ths of an inch and they are bending pretty good now as I floor tiller.  I have been scraping most of the back to try and maintain a pretty good small, but even crown.  It has been taking a while, but so far so good! 

I am basically doing it by feel and eye, making sure the limb feels nice and uniform throughout its length ... and they are still heavy, but are coming in.  I flexed my #50 pound longbow yesterday in a floor tiller fashon, and man it doesn't take too much to get them to bend.  I hope this a good way for a rookie to feel a comparison for trying to dial in around #60 on the stave so I can attempt to hit somewhere around #50 when its all said and done. 

I have noticed that the limb with the most reflex has given some of that back while I have been flexing it against the floor.  I am not bearing down on it with all my might, but I am putting some pressure on it.

Any comments are welcome!     

[Scrub_buck]

I got around to tapering my limbs today.  Everyhting went well, and I have them reducing from 1.5 inches at the fades to 0.5 inches at the tips.  It worked out super to taper them 0.1 inches every 3 inches.

I also have the thickness down to 0.4 inches thick for most of them limb.  From half way the limb to 3 inches before and through the nock location I have it tapered up to 0.5 inches.  That gives me some wood to play with at the tips to get the flex i want out on the ends.

I heated and bent the snakey limb using a heat gun and lard to get the string lined up almsot perfectly center of the handle.  Worked like a charm....  Floor tillering says i have thge limbs bending well and I think I am on target for ~#50 draw when its finished.  I hope so anyway, but anything shootable would be awesome! 

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Scrub_buck]

The other limb...

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Scrub_buck]

The pulled string along the back...

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Scrub_buck]

String orientation with the handle after the heat treatment.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Postman]

Do you know how dry it is? If it's given back reflex easily, it may need further drying. A hotbox is best, but a car/ attic can work as long as you keep an eye on the upper heat limits with a thermometer.

 Since ya got a heat gun,you may want to add more reflex before tillering more. My first staves were probably not dry enough =   string follow when I was done, wished i had added more reflex

 I'm no expert, but your first effort seems to be going great - beautiful stave, too.

Tools:

-A stanely shureform works good, but I prefer a rasp.

- Hit the fleamarkets / yard sales this summer, especially near farmland areas, and getcha a good drawknife. This bow's gonna be good, so you'll be getting osage logs at some point!


Lotsa Luck,
john