Osage Bow Follow Along

[SLIMBOB]

   Good December morning to you all.  I hope the season finds you all well.  I have not frequented PA much over the last couple of years, no biggie, just lot's going on.  Mostly, all good.  Anyway, I'm working on a new bow that I will share with anyone interested.  No new ground to cover, just a straight up build on a sweet piece of Bodark.  It has some character to it, and some challenges that should be fun to tackle.  Everyone is invited and the admission is free.  I only ask that if you are one of the "guests" that frequent the site, sign up!  If you are a new bowmaker, or would like to become one, this forum is the place to make that aspiration a reality.  Ask questions and participate, you will find more wisdom here than you can imagine. I have been a member here for 10 years or better, and much of what I know about this madness was learned right here, from the generous folks willing and eager to share what they know with anyone involved.  This wont be an A to Z How to, but I think we will cover a few things that you may find helpful.  So, off we go...

  Nice, thinnish ringed Sage with decent late growth percentage with-in the rings.  Straight grained, long and wide enough.  Two, troublesome knots to contend with.  One I can avoid entirely with my layout  The other will be incorporated with-in the working limb.  The bigger issue, is the concave back just past the big knot.  Yuk!  If this bow breaks during the build, it will break right there, but I...think...I can make it work.  We shall see.

Full disclosure, in real life, I am beyond what you are seeing here, not by much, but some, and I will catch up to " Live TV" soon, by skipping thru the commercials.  I hope you find it interesting and helpful.  (now if I can get these pics to post).

[SLIMBOB]

Chasing a ring on this one was fairly easy, until I got to the knot, and it was a bugger bear.  It tore out in the knot, so I took it down another ring.  Finally got it right. A pristine back, tip to tip, including the knot and the concave area just beyond it. I will talk more about dimensions once I lay the bow out, but I have room to easily make it 1.5 inches wide at the fades, (wider around the knot) and enough length to get it 66 inches long, and that is the plan. There is a knot on the edge of one end, I think you can see it in the pic.  With my limb taper I was able to eliminate it as a concern all together.  I will lay it out on the stave in the next post.

[Bob Barnes]

well done...thanks for letting us watch.   

[SLIMBOB]

Thanks for checking in Bob.  I hope this will be interesting and maybe a bit informative to those watching and myself.

[Selfbowman]

The knot is at about mid limb? Good ratio on early to late. I’m watching!

[superdav95]

Getting my popcorn ready for this one!  Can’t wait to watch this one.  Thanks for taking the time to post this.  I think we need more experienced guys like yourself to post these kind of builds.  Thanks again.  Really looking forward to this one. 

[SLIMBOB]

So on to the layout.  I want to find where I will place the center of my bow (lengthwise), and draw a semi permanent pencil line across the stave.  That will be the center of my handle.  From there, using a 5 inch handle, I will go 2.5 inches lengthwise, both directions and draw my lines.  That's my 5 inch handle section.  Now, from each of those lines, go 2 inches and draw your 2 lines.  These will be the fades.  On to the working limbs.  In this case, the bow is 66 inches in length.  So from the beginning of the bow limb (end of the fade), I went 16 inches and draw my lines on each limb.  This area I will run nearly parallel limbs, from the fades to this point, tapering about 1/4 inch.  More on that in a moment.  Then, the last 12.5 inches narrows to about 3/8 inches at the tip.
Next, I will draw my longitudinal center line from one tip to the other.  On this one I started at the handle and free handed the line to both tips. Pretty straight grain, so I went back over that line where possible with a straight edge, to give it definition.  This line MUST, follow the lateral grain.  Somewhat precisely.  Not doing so is a recipe for disaster later!  Follow the grain!
On to the edge lines. My handle is an inch wide, so .5 inches from the center on each side gives you the inch wide by 5 inch handle.  From the outside fade line, got that 1.5 inches wide (centered) and marked that width on the line.  Now draw a diagonal lines from there, back to the top of the handle.  Bam, your handle and fades.  More on the fades a bit later.  Now I go to the 16 inch mark on the limb, and measure a width 1.25 inches and make my marks.  Now the tricky part.  If the limb is board straight, just connect the dots.  If not, you will need to free hand it following the centerline, while adding a small taper.  Again, follow the grain, defined by your center line.  You will violate the grain along the edge, as a result of the taper, but the angle of violation will be minimal if your center line is on point.  Left the tips an inch or so wide for now.  Sorry for the long post, just no good breaking point before now.

[SLIMBOB]

Hey Arvin.  The knot is dead center left to right, and about 6 inches from the fade. Not the best place for a problem area, but it is what it is.  Thanks for checking in sir.
Thanks superdav.  Let's see what happens here.  I will enjoy it regardless the outcome. I think I can get it to bending, knot and all.

[Hamish]

Lookin good so far. I don't think that knot, hollow will give you too much trouble. Nothing a pair of outside calipers couldn't deal with.

[SLIMBOB]

Hi Hamish. I think your right about the knot.  It's the divot next to the knot that concerns me more, coupled with the fact that it is happening nearish fade.  Just need to finesse my way thru the thing.  Thanks for stopping in.

[SLIMBOB]

I have taken it down to final width (except the tips).  I have rounded the edges well, and feathered in the fades.  No sharp angles.  I've taken wood from the belly and checking the floor tiller.  No bend yet, but soon.  You can see from the pics, the mess I am working with near the knot.  If you look into the...geometry I guess, of how different shapes bend, and where the forces are most pronounced, it is the raised edges that will feel the most stress, or so my understanding.  To even those stresses out, I left the belly crowned down the center of the divot.  By the way, I believe it was Del some years back that posted the videos on bending mechanics.  Neat stuff.  Anyway, the center of the divot and the edges are the same thickness, resulting in the crowned belly.  If what I understand is correct, and I believe it to be, the stress felt along the raised edges should be lessened with the crowned belly, the stresses being more evenly distributed.
In the pic with the tips, you can see I left them wide.  This lets me file temp string knocks for long string tillering.  I will eventually sand them off when I narrow the tips.  I will get it bending at floor tiller next.

[Pappy]

Looking very good so far, watching and loving it. Love them challenging pieces of wood and they make some great bows. Pappy

[superdav95]

Yes.  Me too.  I’ve got a similar stave that I’ve been putting off.  Taking notes here. 

[bentstick54]

Welcome back SLIMBOB. Looking good so far. I know here’s never a guarantee, but so far I think you have t minder control. Will definitely be following along.

[SLIMBOB]

Hey Pappy, good to hear from you.
Hi Bent. Thanks for checking in.