Keenan, I firmly believe that the fixing of problems is a important as the building. I’ve examined a few bows that John Strunk has “reconditioned” and you cannot even tell that they have been repaired – that’s what we should strive for IMO.
Thank you Rick. It is not necessary to remove wood under the wraps. The wraps have no effect at all on the tiller.
Thank you Dana. I’m not sure I have much in the way of artisitc ability, but I do pay attention to the details. I got a little of that from my father who was a master woodworker.
Thank you Tracy and BH for the compliments.
David, the frets are localized on the edges and do not extend across the limbs so I think I’m okay after I fixed the tiller. But to be safe I reinforced the areas where the frets occurred with rawhide. I don’t know what species of hawthorne it is, but it grows in abundance along rural roads in Oregon’s Willamete Valley. I did not have any trouble drying it at all – I just split the wood and removed the bark immediately after harvest. No problem with checking.
Thank adb, these sapling bows can be harder than they look to bring to tiller. Don’t give up.
Thank you George, that’s a fine compliment coming from someone as knowledgeable as you.
Mattco, I used bowstring serving as the wrapping material.
Thank you Robb for the nice compliment.
Thank you John. There is hawthorne all over the place near where you live. You will find it growing along almost any rural road. You can distinguish hawthorne by all the sharp spines on the branches – be careful when you cut it!
Thank you John, hawthorne does take a dye nicely.
Thank you Don. I am a little particular about how I photograph my bows. I believe that after pouring your heart and soul into a piece of work you owe it to yourself and the community to present it in the best possible light you can. And with modern cameras and software it’s not really that hard to take a decent picture.
Thank you JBL. Hawthorne is not as commonly used as some of the other white woods – but I’ve seen a few others make very nice bows from it.
