I just finished a book where all of the main characters are broken in one way or another, and each finds redemption in his or her own way. It seemed to apply to this bow. Building it has taken well over a year--much longer than any bow I have worked on and much longer than I expected. Several years ago I received a yew stave from Penderbender in the Christmas trade. I saved it for a long time deciding how best to work it. It was long and straight except a little reflex in one end. A year ago last spring I started working on it and got it roughed it out and then went away to Germany for a month. While I was there I was able to make a trade for some sturgeon skins that I thought would look good on the bow. Excited to continue when I got home, I started tillering, but in the process of trying to get past a small knot in the side, I made the tips a little narrow, which made a lot of the recurve I had bent in come out. Trying to save that, I created underlays to reinforce the end and give me thickness for string grooves to help with alignment and side flex. This created a new weak spot at the end of the underlays, and as I pulled the string, I heard a loud crack from a lifted splinter on the back.
After the panic and depression wore off, I decided to try and save it. I superglued the splinter and wrapped it with sinew and put a bundle over the spot lengthwise, and went back to tillering. But the ends of the sinew kept pulling up when the bow flexed. So it sat. Last fall, a neighbor gave me 7 garbage bags of deer legs for me to strip the sinew from. I used some of that to back the entire bow with a layer of sinew. This was enough to finally allow me to finish the tillering just before my trip to Germany this summer. When I got home, I finally added the sturgeon skins and did the rest of the finish work.
Here is the result. It is 70" long knock-to-knock, and 1 3/8" at the fades tapering down to about 1/2" at the knocks. It draws just over 50# at my 29" draw. Because it is so long, it draws really smooth, and while it isn't a rocket, the arrows fly straight and consistent. Finish is 8 coats of tung oil dulled to a satin finish with a pumice powder rub. I dyed the sinew dark blue under the skins to help give it a starry night finish. I think it turned out well--at least the way I wanted it to. Tip overlays are buffalo horn (I think) also from Penderbender for Christmas. The grip is a piece of elk leather that I think came from Mullet, but it might have been in another trade. I dyed it to match the back.
After all the work and setbacks, I am really happy how it turned out. I have about 300 shots through it now and I am starting to trust it. The first time I pulled it to full draw after the skins were dry, one of the scutes cracked, and it sounded just like a back does before it lets go violently. The first 250+ shots I did with protective eyewear just in case.
Well that is too many words. Here are the pictures
