Local woods experiments, starting with hazel (CHERRY done)

[dwardo]

Right then here she is finished, well bar a little bit of something to stop the arrow wearing the pass, dunno what yet

After a good shooting in and a lot of sanding out dings she pulls about 45-48 lbs at 28, 64 ntn. Lots of tension at brace height and is a joy to shoot. The bow is very light so seems very fast. The over lays are red deer antler which is incredibly dense in comparison to other horn and bone i have worked, which ultimately leeds to more sanding and that orrible smell! The stain is black leather dye with a rosewood stain over the top, finished with lots of coats of thinned poly varnish.

Gonna take a while to catch up on the chores i have been putting off mainly the veg garden but after that and some cleaning up its the cherry next or maybe the elder.

First off the money shot for Dell. Bottom looks a bit strange but it has a dip before the recurve, all seems to even its self out. Recurves seem to be working hard too



Bumps n humps made it "fun" 


Back with wood showing through the cambium lazy mistake but looks nice lol


Belly


Brace



Nocks about 3/8

Thanks for looking all.

[sharpend60]

Well done!

[Young Bowyer]

must try to find some hazel in my neck of the woods  looks amazing

[nathan elliot]

Very nice bow. Spot on tiller. I really like this idea of useing local wood, cant wait to see what you do next! Elder sounds interesting; ELB style or flatbow? Still cant belive the bad luck I have had with hazel, seeing your bow proves it can make a great bow.

[dwardo]

Thanks for the kind words all.
Not sure on the elder bow it has some nast prop twist that i am going to try and heat/steam out first.
The cherry is stupidly very light at floor tiller, my own fault for rushing so no idea on that one. I have access to more though.
PS has anyone tried leaving the bark on cherry?

[Del the cat]

Yeah, that's sweet, I'm a bit ambivalent about the whole staining thing, but knowing me I'll try it soon and then I'll be a convert .
Looks like you got the width/thickness balance spot on... that's the sort of thing I was after on my last one until I screwed up (mind it might have found a home as a kids bow with a bit of re-tillering )
Del

[dwardo]

Cheers Dell,

I know what you mean about the whole stain thing but i have enough white wood looking bows so this is a nice change.
I am sure you will make a kid very happy with a new bow and start off another timber worryer
Lets see it anyways, even if its a dog of a stick you have more than enough kudos with that stunning yew ELB, still keep flicking through the shots of that thing.

[Del the cat]

Cheers Dell,

I know what you mean about the whole stain thing but i have enough white wood looking bows so this is a nice change.
I am sure you will make a kid very happy with a new bow and start off another timber worryer
Lets see it anyways, even if its a dog of a stick you have more than enough kudos with that stunning yew ELB, still keep flicking through the shots of that thing.

ta, It's nearly finished and it's much better, I'll post a before and after soon, there are still a couple of little chrysals but they aren't under any strain now and the darn thing still has a hint of flip tip recurviness about it .
Actually, just have a shufti here http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/, it saves me posting the pics to Photobucket., and if you go back a few posts you'll se why it needed re-worling .
Del

[Young Bowyer]

So ive heard this everywhere, what are chrysals? 
Definition please! 

[Gordon]

Hazelnut is good bow wood if you utilize an appropriate design. Your bow looks like it came out perfectly.

[dwardo]

Hazelnut is good bow wood if you utilize an appropriate design. Your bow looks like it came out perfectly.

Thanks Gordon, not a patch on your Hazel bow but give me another 10 years or so...

[dwardo]

So ive heard this everywhere, what are chrysals? 
Definition please! 

Tiny little fractures that tend to run across the limb. Basicaly the cells in the wood have crumpled causing the little tiny cracks to appear. have a quick search on this site for the word and you will see what we mean Orrible little things.

[Del the cat]

So ive heard this everywhere, what are chrysals? 
Definition please! 

Look on my website (click on the globe symbol under my username) on the 'Hazel Primitive Bows' page , there is a nice pic of 'em with some explanation too, and video of my son shooting a Hazel bow, in fact it's soooo cool I've had to go and have a look myself!  .
Del

[Young Bowyer]

So ive heard this everywhere, what are chrysals? 
Definition please! 

Look on my website (click on the globe symbol under my username) on the 'Hazel Primitive Bows' page , there is a nice pic of 'em with some explanation too, and video of my son shooting a Hazel bow, in fact it's soooo cool I've had to go and have a look myself!  .
Del

I just saw your website! Its awesome! Lots of information and pictures, Thanks Del! 

[dwardo]

Hi All,
This one was almost lost when I damage the side of the bow whilst using steam to straighten out a limb, the padding I was using had a wooden chip hidden in it which dug into the side of the bow, I was gutted. The bow was originaly destined for about 55lbs but after removing the damaged area it came in around 45lbs. I am not too distraught as its a pleasure to shoot. No idea what the tip overlays are it was just something from my oops pile, any takers? Black silk backed flipped tips and a light heat treat. Top mid-limb has a little deflex that refused to go away so i just worked around it. Not overall happy with the tiller but i was running out of wood fast. I have no doubt that this would be a good bow wood providing you dont ruin it as i did. So thats another for the list in the UK and soon ill make a much nicer one. Just need to decide whats next, the wych elm thats near 30rpi or the bit of yew, all local again.
Thanks for looking,

First off the boy making sure my work is Ok before finishing up,


Unbraced


Temp handle


Tips


Standing


Full draw GET THAT ELBOW DOWN!