hickory backed osage

[huntersim]

Hi everyone. Dave Rue sent me a slat of osage some time back and it was just long enough to sneak a 58" bow out of. It was one of the darkest pieces of osage I've ever seen, also had some fascinating grain to it. I sent Dave a few photos of it and he asked if I was going to post it. I really didn't have any plans to but when he asked if I was, I figured why not.

So the stats for the bow are, 58" long. 62-63 lbs at 28" (just under 60 at my 27" draw). Just a bit over 1 1/4 wide at the widest. The finish is paraffin, something I've never used before.

One thing about the bow is it took a lot more set than I expected. The tips sit about 1 1/4" behind the handle, and close to 1 3/4" behind the handle just off the string. Early on I mentioned this to Dave and he thought it may be from the osage, I had suspected the backing, still not sure why it took so much. I've build a few more off the same platform and 2 of them, within 4 lbs of this one, have limb tips about 3/4-1" in front of the handle, a few others Ive tried let go. I'm still trying to find a limb tip of the last one that let go.

A couple of more things; even though the bow took as much set/follow as it did, it shoots pretty well (in the, I can hit what I want department). Perhaps because the tips do sit back as far as they do, I'm not sure. I have a bow I built last year that has almost the exact profile as this one, but was made that way intentionally. Something I thought was interesting was the bow from last year loads up totally different from this one with a lot of forced set in it. Tiller between the two differs a bit but not a lot.

Anyway, here's a few photos. And thanks Dave, for the neat looking osage.


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[DBernier]

Nice looking bow Matt. That Hickory will realy offset the Osage in a year or more. Good looking tops. Feels good when they turn out nice doesn't it. Good job.

Dick Bernier

[Badger]

Hunter, good looking bow. You brought up some real good and interesting points about how bows load up when the set was induced by tillering or natural. This is omething I have spent a lot of time on in the last year.
Seems if you build a bow straight and it takes 1" set, it will shoot a  better than a bow that had 2" of reflex and ended up straight. Lately I have tried to induce not more than about 1 1/2" reflex and try to keep close to 1" of that if I can. Sure makes a diff. Steve

[Justin Snyder]

Looks pretty darn good to me.  I don't remember seeing a hick backed osage before.  I like the look of the combination.  I also like the tips.  Justin

[david w.]

nice bow.

[jignfrog]

Very nice looking bow. I haven't seen a hickory back osage before. But I really like it. It looks great. The tiller looks really good. You have a keeper.

Ron

[huntersim]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the complements.

Badger, Thats the thing thats funny about this one. The bow I built last year loads up real hard mid-draw and then stays steady out to 28". This bow actually draws smoother than that one. I agree with what you said though. I usually only glue in about 2" of reflex and end up with about 3/4" of reflex left. It could be the tiller difference, I'm not sure.

Dick, Yeah its nice when they turn out, I just wish it would of held a bit more reflex.

The first backed bow I built was hickory backed osage that slightly bent through the handle. I managed to hing the lower limb and it met its demise. I think this is the first since then.

[tom sawyer]

Very nice bow.  Hickory backing makes for a really nice clean look.  I have found it doesn't hold the reflex like bamboo will though.  Might not have been the osage.  Although the osage looks pretty thin-ringed too, did it have quite a bit of spring wood in it?  Looks like most of your set came in the deflexed inner limb area, is that right?

[jpitts]

very sharp bow. That hickory looks great with the osage.

[Pat B]

I've made a few hickory backed osage and like the combo.  On one I added cherry bark backing for a real sharp look. This combo performs very well when glued up with Perry reflex. I usually used a straight reflex and not R/D.      Pat

[Ryano]

Thats a pretty bow.  Ive made a bunch of hickory backed Osage bows. Its a great combo, and if done right it will hold as much reflex as bamboo or any other wood on wood combo. How wide is it? and how thick was your hickory backing strip? I like to taper mine.....Thats a pretty heavy draw weight for a bow that short, thats probally the cause of so much set. Some of my fastest shooting selfbows hold nearly that same profile. The limbs are still reflexed but the tips rest just slightly behind the handle, of course mine are longer and narrower and lighter draw weight.

[koan]

I like....you comin to Mojam Matt?

[Badger]

      I forgot to comment on that tiller, outstanding, harder than it looks on those shorter bows, have you thought about entering this bow in the ambush contest, he extended the entry period a bit, Looks like it would make a good contender. Steve

[huntersim]

tom sawyer,
 it seems the follow was pretty even throughout. If I compare it to another I have that holds reflex (off the same platform), it looks like the mid-limb flattened a bit and the inner limb took some set. It was fine ringed, but I've used some fine ringed stuff in the past that made a terrific bow. I think the amount of set came from both pieces of wood.

Pat,
I have another planed  Id like to get ahold of some cherry bark. Cant seem to find it around here.

Ryano,
I'm sure the length accounted for the set, but i have a few that are built just like it, and show around 3/4" reflex.  It's maybe 1/16 over 1/4 wide at the widest. Hickory was a heavy 8th and tapered to just under that.


Brian, thanks. I hope to make it but its not looking good right now. If I do it'll be one of those "spare of the moment" deals. Pack and leave Fri because everything aligned for me.

[huntersim]

Badger, yes. But its to close to my entry from last year. It shoots a bit better but after my showing last year I decided that if its not where I want it, its not worth entering. So i disqualified this one on my own accord. I did talk to Dean about an extension. I had a similar bow built out of bullitwood and bamboo. It was at around 65 lbs at 28". It blew for no reason (other than crappy bamboo).

Thanks for the complement though. Good luck with your entry. It looks good. And good luck to everyone that enters.