Author Topic: "Dangerous curves" 60"osage bow 62#@25" (Read 7477 times)

ntvbowyer1969 · « **on:** December 29, 2017, 08:09:25 pm »

Hello guys and gals. I hope every ones Christmas was awesome. Well i worked on this bow up to the last couple of days left to due date. It was a tricky stave for a build. It came from my left over last resort pile of wood. I had to chase a ring down 1 1/2" down from the back to get past the bug holes and the cracks. It ended up being a beautiful piece under all that. From there it took alot of heat straightening to get the ends to line up and to take the twist out of the stave. From there i bent some curves into the ends also with direct heat. The tillering was very tricky with the snakes, hills and valleys over the length of the bow. I ended up tillering her once and then i shot her in 200 arrows or so and retillered her again before putting another 300 arrows through her. (which was tuff in the sub zero weather). To finish her off i used wood burl for tip overlays to match the copperhead skins. i carved and shaped them with straight edges in a triangle shape that reminded me of the copperheads head. I used Fieblings leather dye (brown) under the snake skins to take the bright tan colors out of the copperhead skins. I just like the way the skins look this way and i wanted something different than the run of the mill color. I used a brain tanned piece of deer hide that i tanned myself and i also dyed it with the leather dye i used on the back of bow. I was super pleased with the way all the colors worked out together with the pretty yellow of the osage. I also did a pearl inlay of a arrow head on the riser right over where the grip is. I usually dont cut a shelf on my bows but again i wanted to do something different than the norm. I also wanted to make a hunting bow and with the shelf i can keep my bow hung with a arrow nocked or walk about with arrow at rest on shelf. I also helps with improved accuracy since the arrow is in the same place every time i shoot it. I hope everyone gets a kick out of it. I put a lot of work into this one. The bow is 60" long and is 62#@25".