A Red Oak Board bow and Crisis Management (Picture heavy)

[Bushbow]

So I got bored waiting for my Buckthorn stave to dry out. You guys are always talking about red oak board bows. It has been about 5 years since I made one,

so I thought I would give it a shot. Off to Menards to pick out a board. So I start going thru the boards, crap..., crap..., crap..., crap..., crap...,

crap..., crap..., crap..., crap..., MAYBE, crap..., crap..., crap..., crap..., crap..., this goes on for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile my wife is looking

at all the things that interest women at Menards, that took about 12 minutes. So she sneaks up on me "ARE YOU DONE YET?". So for the last 10 minutes of

selection she is "helping". This all builds to my lame excuse for the crisis management part. I picked out what I thought was a grain straight, bias cut,

perfect board, nicely shrink wrapped with a strategically placed label. Here is the crisis part (don't forget his board cost $8.97), I take a close look at

the board and the grain is very straight for the first 47", then the saw blade at the mill went straight as the tree tuned to the right, crap. I gave it

some thought and decided on a Billet Board Bow. I laid it out in CAD to get the best fit around the bad grain. Here is what it looks like:


So I ended up with a Z-Splice thru the handle, glue on handle on the belly side, and glue on cap over the back of the handle. No visible splice seams. The

bow is 64" NTN, 2-1/4"at the fades, and about 3/16" at the end of the tips. #53 @ 28", I am please with the way it shoots. I like a shelf, so it includes a

cut in shelf, plenty of wood for strength. I ended up with about 1-1/2" of set. So, thru the squinted brown eye of hindsight; should have been 68" NTN,

fades at 2-1/2", all part of my original plan, but the board wanted otherwise. Pics below:

At Brace

Back of Bow

Belly of Bow

Handle Yew maple bubinga cap over black walnut base

Side view of handle showing douglas fir cross pin that locks movement during handle glue up

Back view of handle w/shelf

tip, yew over black walnut

Side view of tip

Full Draw (Almost, stupid camera timer)

[Innocente]

nice work, it almost looks like you matched riser grain with limb grain, this bow is gorgeous.
i haven't seen a spliced red oak build like this before, good to know it can be done.  even better to know HOW to do it!

and classy use of snow for dramatic pictures. here in california, all we have is gorgeous sunshine, blue skies, green foliage. bleh, who can enjoy a picture of a home built bow taken in that environment?

[Josh]

nice bow man!!!  the finish work looks outstanding!    -josh

[Bushbow]

Innocente typical Z-splice like in bowyers bible gluled up with titebond II. Yeah california sounds like it sucks compared to here (near Chicago), right now it is raining ice. I have a convertible for good weather, it will be in the garage until March at best. Don't thin we don't think about moving.

Josh thanks for the comment on the finish. I have seen your bows, you know a good finish. Problem was that oak just kept sucking it up, I guess that is about 9 coats of Minwax wipe on poly (oil based).
Chuck S.

[Canoe]

BushBow,

What a Fine bow!!
  
Way to take a RedOak Board Bow to the next level  

Question; you mentioned the 1-1/2" of set and then said that the bow should have been longer (68").  Are you suggesting that if it had been longer, you'd have had less set?

Anyway again, that bow is an outstanding weapon, and thanks for sharing all the details.

All the Best,
Canoe

[Del the cat]

That's a handsome bow.
I like your description of looking for a board...it's very much like looking at Yew trees....
Del

[kayakfisher]

nice bow and good job.
                       Dennis

[Bushbow]

Canoe, I do think if I had been able to make the bow longer, and spread the bending strain through more material, it would have less set. It could be less than perfect tillering on my part that caused the set, but in any case I do like the way it shoots.

Del if only I had your problem of picking among yew trees. The only yew that grows around here is shrubs, although I did make a bow from one. The scrap yew that is on the red oak bow is from a pair of billets I ordered from the west coat in 2004. Yew is my favorite wood.

Dennis, thanks.

Chuck S.

[OldBow]

Very nice - ahem! the full draw was disquised among the tree limbs. But bookmarked under Dec self bows for BOM all the same. If you choose to improve the full draw, you might send it to me direct at:
oldbow9634@msn.com

[Bushbow]

Oldbow,the trees in the background are Oaks, blends right in doesn't it.
It was not my intention to make full draw tiller hard to see, I had enough fun with the digital camera, the camera timer, and the  dollar store tripod for the day. I would not consider it exceptional enough for a bow of the month nomination. My purpose in posting the bow was more to share the construction, both positive and negative, for anyone considering a red oak project.
Chuck S.

[George Tsoukalas]

You did a great job.  The tiller looks excellent. Jawge

[Bushbow]

Thanks Jawge, and thanks for your excellent website, I have used it for reference many times.
Chuck S.

[sulphur]

Every bowyer should learn to make a good splice.  once you learn you'll open up lots of possiblities.  It sure helps when looking for good boards.  You did a fine job!!  I know the feeling when you just have to make something.  i've spliced hickory, maple, ash and osage.  no red oak yet, i have an abundance of lowe's and home depots to pick from.   I try not to worry about sealing the grain on red oak it takes way too long.

[Canoe]

Howdy BushBow,

I agree with OldBow, please post a better Full Draw photo.  That bow you made is nothin' to sneeze at.  It looks great.

And, it's very encouraging.

Again, thanks for sharing.

Happy Holidays,
Canoe

[John K]

Great looking bow ! Nice detail ! I to would like a better full draw pic.