I finally had a chance to capitalize on this outstanding weather we're having this weekend and make it to the park to shoot some arrows and take some photos!
Here are some of my recent bows. From top to bottom:
1) Red Oak 67", 42#@28" trade bow (NOT the PA trade). This piece of red oak was very red and pretty, so I did a fading tip stain of red mahogany and used a piece of reddish leather for the handle.
2) Red Oak 67", 35#@28" trade bow. I think the guy getting this will be VERY happy because the only other bows he's shot were some of my earliest ones which, although had higher draw weighs, had heavy tips and shocked your hand fiercely. This bow draws so smoothly and has narrow, light outer limbs making it an absolute pleasure to shoot.
3) Red Oak ~55" ntn, 40#@25". I had another thread about this bow. I call it "Second Chance" because it was originally supposed to turn out like bow #2 but due to my fault and the fault of the wood it turned out this way.
4) Hickory 48", 30#@22" youth/trade bow
I've never made a bow this short, so my horizons were expanded in making it. I made 3 arrows to go with it and I was surprised how well it flings those arrows. I was shooting into a
strong head wind and the arrows were going 80-100 paces (my pace = 1 yard +/- 10%, I know, not vey accurate).
Another shot of the 4 bows:
Here's me shooting the hickory bow: I was shooting off my hand and the arrows tore me up, so I'll make my favorite floppy leather arrow rest and leather handle before the kid gets this bow. I'd hate for the kid to end up with bloody hands like me
Here are some shots of me shooting "Second Chance":
And the 35# red oak flatbow:
And the 42# red oak flatbow:
All shot very well. The two red oak flatbows and the red oak shortie all shot arrows close to the same distance, with the 42# shooting the farthest. I was even impressed with how well the short hickory bow shot its arrows.
And here is one more bow to show. This was an experimental bow I made back in January-February. It
almost succeeded
It is a Red Oak bow from a 1x2x6 board with RO tip overlays. It was pulling roughly 80#@30" but lifted a splinter AFTER I spent a week finishing it with wiping varnish
Since it only lifted a splinter while being drawn and didn't outright explode, I think it would have survived if kept to a 28" draw (where it was pulling 70#). I glued the splinter down and it is now permanently strung as a wall hanger ('cuz I LOVE how it looks!).
Here's the splinter:
Here's the top limb. Note the wavy and imperfect grain. I was aware of this going into this bow (did I mention it was an experimental bow?):
This bow was asymmetrical and loosely followed the dimensions of the Yew Longbow in TBB Vol. 1. 1.5" wide, immediately tapering to 1/2" tips. Mid limb was 1" wide.
Between other projects and working on the PA trade bow, I'm working on a sister bow, but this one will be a bit more reasonably stressed between 50-60#.
thanks for looking and any comments, questions or constructive criticism are always welcome!
