Hickory bow build.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Tough problem, but not unlikely with sinew and hickory. Both are tension monsters. That poor belly is in for a battle, I would think. I vote for a boo belly. Horn is nice, but heavy and will probably not help the mediocre performance you speak of.

That's my .0314287 cents

[superdav95]

Arvin I’ll weigh it and let you know.   Ive started prepping for the horn already but prior to that it weight about 690grams.  The tips and handle could be slimmed down a bit yet I think too.  I would say finished out it would have been around 650grams. Now with the horn it’ll be closer to 750-800grams. The bow I did last year similar to this build was around there for weight.  It shot around 195-197 at 10gpp.  So close!   I had some readings at 203fps with 400grain carbon arrow. 

Bj I think I’m gonna go with the horn laminate on the belly.  I’ll get it set up today and post some pics. 

[superdav95]

Tough problem, but not unlikely with sinew and hickory. Both are tension monsters. That poor belly is in for a battle, I would think. I vote for a boo belly. Horn is nice, but heavy and will probably not help the mediocre performance you speak of.

That's my .0314287 cents

That’s funny PD. I was up late last night debating this and cut and prepped a set of boo slats as well as horn slats.  Trying to decide I figured I would decide this am.  I am gonna go horn as I know I can still scrape a bit to fine tune tiller.  The boo I’ve done too with great results but it is trickier to get tiller right with belly lam.  I hate scraping too much of the power fibers off to fine tune.  Yes the weight increase with horn is an issue but it’s pretty elastic and tough.  Horns is a known match mate with sinew and wood core.  I literally just decided this before seeing your post. 

Thanks for your input. 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Good thought. Boo would limit the tweaking you are able to do. Maybe the compression strength of the horn will add enough performance that the extra mass it adds is negated? You could very well end up with a rocket ship Hope you do!

[bjrogg]

Good thought. Boo would limit the tweaking you are able to do. Maybe the compression strength of the horn will add enough performance that the extra mass it adds is negated? You could very well end up with a rocket ship Hope you do!

Well you two both know way more about this than I do. Don’t let my vote make you go against your better judgement.

I have never done anything with sinew backing or horn belly but I do know it is a very durable combination and you have experience with it.

I’m thinking that the horn would probably be pretty thin yet? Are you going to try for a heavier draw weight?

Bjrogg

PS I’m still thinking it’s going to be a rocket launcher too. Still routing for you. And have my respect for sharing the details of this build as it goes

[PaSteve]

Just curious Dave. I'm assuming you would use fish bladder or hide glue for the horn belly? Also, how thick would the initial horn lam be and much draw weight do you think it will add? I have zero experience with horn. Just trying to learn.

[superdav95]

Hey guys.  I glued up the horn belly lam this afternoon.  They are drying.  I used ea 40 smooth on for this glue up.  I’m hoping it will give a little more stability and be less susceptible to moisture using hide or sturgeon blend glue.  I’ve had good results with both really.  The sturgeon glue is quite a bit trickier to pull off and I wasn’t in the mood for today.  The ea 40 is great glue for horn to wood.  I just do a wipe down with acetone on both surfaces prior to glue up.  It’s a gooey sticky mess but it works well.  Here’s a couple pics of the mess of clamps and inner tube wrap.  I made sure to pre heat bend the horn as much as I can so that the sinew isn’t fighting it.  I do a quick dry run and then glued it up. 

Hard to see what’s going on here with the mess of clamps but there is a bow in there.  The stick at the bottom is to keep the tips aligned while drying. 

I didn’t measure the slats but they are approx 1/8” thick and taper some towards the tips. 

Thanks for following along

[bjrogg]

The build along that keeps on giving.

I’m surprised you got the horn ready so fast Dave. I was expecting it to take weeks. I’m assuming you already had slats prepared? Or can you buy them that way?

We’re going to get a good education from this build.

Bjrogg

[bentstick54]

Very interesting for sure.

[George Tsoukalas]

Dave, you are very persistent. I hope it works out for you. Jawge

[superdav95]

The build along that keeps on giving.

I’m surprised you got the horn ready so fast Dave. I was expecting it to take weeks. I’m assuming you already had slats prepared? Or can you buy them that way?

We’re going to get a good education from this build.

Bjrogg

Bj.  Ya. I have slats that I bought last year but they need to be shaped into consistent thickness.   They come pretty rough and uneven.  I like to pre Bend with a little heat and do a dry fit for good measure.  For this build I hadn’t intended to use horn and for a bow with sinew and horn on wood laminate I would glue up horn first and may be inclined to use fish glue.  I wouldn’t be concerned with the heat interfering with the sinew if done in right order.  So normally horn first then sinew.  So the ea 40 was the way to go.

[superdav95]

Dave, you are very persistent. I hope it works out for you. Jawge

Thanks jawge.  It’s that or stubbornness;)

[bjrogg]

Thanks for the explanation Dave. Makes sense

This certainly has become a good lesson in problem solving.

I still think this one is going to be worth the effort

Bjrogg

[Selfbowman]

Wha kind of horn you s it?  I have used gemsbok and water buffalo. Horn does tiller good.

[superdav95]

Wha kind of horn you s it?  I have used gemsbok and water buffalo. Horn does tiller good.

Arvin.  It’s water Buffalo horn.