My 2012 Trade Board Bow Progress(Sent!!!!)

[ionicmuffin]

OK, so I'm having an issue, I have located the places where the string oscillates the most but they are different lengths from the tips. however, after measuring the distance between the spots it winds up being 34" and the spot where it was plucked is smack dab in the center of those 34" so I'm wondering if it's possible to have the string silencers different distances from the tips but still do the maximum job of silencing.

[Pat B]

I place string silencers about 12" from the tip on top and bottom. I don't actually measure but use the width of my hand spread out plus a few inches more more. It always seems to work well for me.

[bubby]

I fold my string in half, then in half again and they go right there in the bend closest to the tips

[ionicmuffin]

Thanks guys, got the silencers installed and now i just need to shoot in the bow and i also need to add a arrowpass muffler... so close...

[ionicmuffin]

OK! Here are some pictures from today's shoot. My friend was really excited and asked if I would make him one because he enjoyed shooting it so much.

The shoot went super! He said that he couldn't feel any hand shock and it doesn't make more than a slight sound when the arrow leaves. I know for a fact he over drew it a few times about an inch over what it was supposed to go, that's good news for me since I really didn't know if it would hold with the tip the way it was. Here is some good news as well, I've figured out that so long as your string angle doesn't pass the thickest point of support your in good shape, if it passes that and goes too far then it will snap. I think I really lucked out on the angle and the amount of wood still there.

[ionicmuffin]

Ok, so I shipped it today, I shipped it in a 4 i diameter pipe with a length of 66 inches. The handle and tips have been buble wrapped to the point where it doesn't move in the pipe. The lady thought it was a 6 inch pipe and so shes all like "that will be 30 $ please. I almost walked out of there because parcel post at 30$ is too much for what I had at the time. I asked her if it would have made a difference if it had been a 3 inch pipe, and she said no, then she realized that she had put it as a 6 inch pipe and that it was a 4 incher. It wound up much cheaper and I'm so glad it did.

[lesken2011]

Nice bend, muffin man!

[ionicmuffin]

Just a question. Based on this bow how many more do you think I would need to make before I would be at regular trade quality? This trade has really opened my eyes to my inexperience. I probably wont be in any trades for a while because of school but I was interested, especially taking into account the fact that I broke 5 before getting one.

[bubby]

well you asked, you broke what 5 bows and ended up making a hickory bow in the red oak board bow swap, the deadline was what, a couple a months ago too right, if it was me I'd try and build quite a few more bows, but hell next years trade wont start for quite a while so get building

[ionicmuffin]

yup, kind of figured i have a ways to go. This experience has shown me that the wood is the dictator and the bowyer its humble servant. Some of those dictators are forgiving, other are harsh. You may get really good at making bows, but that because you've gotten to know the dictator and know what it likes, at any moment you could go wrong on something very small and get an explosion.

[mikekeswick]

The way to not break bows is to follow the golden rules  - un-cut fibers from nock to nock, no thick spots no thin spots and an even taper. 

[JeremiahVires]

You may try different dictators, but all bow to king Osage.   

[ionicmuffin]

Osage seems to be a just King. Nice to work with but the work he requires is hard and takes lots of effort, also pretty forgiving from what ive seen!

[paulsemp]

Osage makes a great bow if you build and design it properly. But like all woods garbage in=garbage out. and just when you feel like you got it all figured out you'll have a bow blow apart and it will make you feel like you're back to ground 0.

good job on finishing it up and being a man of your word and sending something out

[Joec123able]

You may try different dictators, but all bow to king Osage.   

Osage is just plain amazing I love it and I've yet to break an Osage bow