I love a challenge. If I see a bow that appears to be a challenge to create and I immediately gravitate toward it. Such was the case with the Anasazi cable backed bow. I saw a sketch in Hamm and Alley's book Encyclopedia of Native American Bows Arrows and Quivers: Vol II. That single entry was enough to hook my interest. So I found a roughly one inch diameter hickory sapling to work with because I did not know what the Anasazi used for wood and likely it was not available in the Missouri Ozarks. The historic inspiration had cables, string and wraps made of sinew. Before I invested that mush effort into creation I wanted to get a "dress rehearsal" out of the way first. So I made the string out of linen color Diacron B-50 because it does not stretch. I then crafted a artificial sinew string more than long enough to double over the bow's back. I wanted it to look right to me and art' sinew was the way in my mind. From here I began cleaning the dried sapling of its bark and began shaping the taper to each limb. I had a roughly round cross section the whole way and found immediately that hickory made to the approximate dimensions of that original bow would never bend. A flat belly appealed to me more than reduced diameter, and floor tiller followed. Once strung this bear of a bow was stout but bent evenly. I hit 55 pounds at 24 inches and called it good. I wrapped five inches of the tips with artificial sinew wrap. My artificial sinew cable had a loop made on one end and I placed it over one tip and ran it along the back. I wrapped it over the other end twisting it to keep it snug. Then the cable snaked its way over the back again to the looped end and was tied off. I made eight, half inch wide wraps on each limb to keep the cable placed on the back. Each wrap did not have a knot, rather I used the same technique used to tie off serving on a bow string. A spot of superglue would hold the wrap in place. I was so enamored with this process that It took a while to realize I was done tillering the bow. With 16 total wraps I could no longer scrape without damaging the bow. Fortunately, the tiller was not affected by the cable this go around. Final stats, 44 inches long NTN, 1 inch wide and 5/8 inch thick at the handle, mid limb is 7/8 wide and 5/8 thick. The bow took about 2" of set when unstrung. By the time it was shot in and had the cable applied the pull remained 55 pounds at 14 inches. I was very satisfied with how well it spit our arrows. Originally this was an experiment, but now I think it needs to go afield with me!
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