Author Topic: The best of four white oak recurves  (Read 5272 times)

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Offline H Rhodes

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The best of four white oak recurves
« on: August 10, 2012, 06:57:33 am »
I practiced on the first three and saved this stave for last!  This will be my last one of these for a while - you guys may be bored with them since they are really starting to look alike... Honestly, I am ready to do a different design on my next one.  I am sold on short recurves though.  This little bow is the flattest shooting, quietest bow that I have built so far.    This was the best stave from this tree and it did not dissappoint.  I had to post it before any finishing work (got a little excited).  It is 58" ntn and pulls 57lbs at 28".  This bow was tillered with a bit more care than the others and was very stubborn in giving up any of the  three inches of reflex that I started with.  The working areas of the limbs were lightly toasted and the recurves were steam bent.  There is no bend in the handle and at the time of these pics the bow had around a hundred arrows shot through it.  I will post some more pics later when the finishing work is done.   
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline dwardo

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2012, 07:03:52 am »
Looks like a fine bow  8)

Can we have a picture of the front profile? Have some white oak here that i want to play with.

Offline Del the cat

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2012, 07:06:00 am »
Sweet, I didn't know Oak could pull that much bend, but prob your White Oak is different from the UK Oak.
Del
Health warning, these posts may contain traces of nut.

Offline H Rhodes

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2012, 07:10:12 am »
dwardo, it will be a few days before i can post more pics, but the front profile is pyramid shaped - 1 3/4" tapering to 1/2 at tips.  I have a 5 inch handle area.  White oak is good stuff - extremely tension strong.  I think you could tie it in a knot before it would break.  It responds well to heat treating and, actually, would probably have excessive string follow without it.  Just my 2 cents...

Thanks Dell, it is different than any of the other oaks that we have in the states as well.  It may be a lot like your wych elms?  Responds well to steam and heat. 
« Last Edit: August 10, 2012, 07:14:12 am by hrhodes »
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline Pappy

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2012, 07:35:22 am »
Man that looks great,tiller is dead on.Very nice ,I bet it will spit and arrow. :) :)
   Pappy
Clarksville,Tennessee
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Offline H Rhodes

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2012, 07:43:28 am »
Thanks Pappy!  I am excited about this one.  I think it is the first bow that I have made that actually shoots better than my fg recurve - that was sort of a personal goal that this little bow helped me achieve.  Now if October 15 will hurry up and get here, i intend to put it to work! :)
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

blackhawk

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2012, 07:56:57 am »
I think your just posting the same bow over n over....lol  :laugh: looks good. I still haven't tried a white oak stave. How bout some outdoorsy shots for your finished product  ;) and how long is that arrow?

Offline H Rhodes

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2012, 08:01:30 am »
I know!  They are starting to look mass produced....  I am gonna start on a persimmon molle today to break this pattern.  I think that arrow is 31" I think that my draw length has shortened to around 27.  This bow was pulled to 29 on the tiller tree and was just shy of 60lbs draw weight by my fish scale.   I do have the most boring back drops on this site.  I gotta work on my photography.   :D
« Last Edit: August 10, 2012, 08:05:56 am by hrhodes »
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline half eye

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2012, 09:05:17 am »
Howard, sounds like ya got them recurves down pretty pat sir, this one is like Pappy says....perfect.
rich

Offline H Rhodes

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2012, 09:08:46 am »
Thanks Rich! I am gonna have to leave them alone for a while.  I got to get back to my straight sticks now.   ;) Hope all is well up in the north end o the country. 
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline lesken2011

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #10 on: August 10, 2012, 09:39:15 am »
Nice job, Howard! You are definitely getting that design down pat. That molle you are planning sounds interesting, too!! :P
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline lostarrow

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2012, 10:07:51 am »
Nice. It may get boring but it looks like the practice really paid off.Very well done.

Offline okie64

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2012, 11:09:37 am »
Another very nice bow Howard. You got that design down to a tee. Ive never had a chance to work with white oak, we dont have many true white oaks around here. I do have some post oak staves dried out and ready to work and its in the white oak family. I may have to try one of those out and see how it works out. Good luck on the persimmon bow.

Offline druid

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2012, 11:52:55 am »
Just scrape a little inner half of lower limb and it will be perfect. Nice bow, vey nice!

Offline scp

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Re: The best of four white oak recurves
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2012, 12:22:26 pm »
I think it is the first bow that I have made that actually shoots better than my fg recurve - that was sort of a personal goal that this little bow helped me achieve.

I have the same goal. But I almost gave up on oak selfbows, at least for the time being, and am now working with bamboo backed bows with recurved siyahs. Is it possible to find out how fast you can shoot 9gpp arrows with that bow?