Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: FlintWalker on January 01, 2009, 11:25:55 pm
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I'm gonna try another one. ;D
I got the idea for this one while at Pappy a while back. He had nice looking little sapling bow hanging in the cabin, and I just thought I'd give one a try.
I cut this piece about 3 weeks ago. It's 66" tip to tip and just 1-3/8" wide. I sawed it out a week later and stuck it in the hot box. After one week I took the bark off and gave it another week at around 110 degrees and 20% Humidity.
I floor tillered and steamed in a little reflex yesterday. For the heck of it, I weighed it before and after steaming it. It weighed 555 grams both times.
Today, I put it back on the form and baked the belly adding a touch more reflex. This time it weighed 550 grams and still no checks.
I don't expect much from this piece of wood since it's so narrow and would be proud to get 45lbs from it.
I'm being very aggressive with it just to see what I can get away with ;D
The first picture is before I done any bending. The next two are after I added the reflex and baked the belly.
I'll keep ya'll posted while I either make it, or break it.
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Boy, that's a beautiful shape. Can't wait the see the outcome. Pat
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I don't imagine it'll look that good when I'm done with it >:D
The tree had a natural reflex/deflex shape to it anyway. All I done was "enhanced" it a little.
I imagine it'll loose most, if not all of that pretty reflex it has now.
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Very nice start. I love hickory. Tough wood. Take a fairly long, thin piece from your bow making efforts and try to break. It just kind of folds. Jawge
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The baked belly should help as well as the relatively dry winter weather. Summer is when a hickory bow suffers.
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Nice job Shanon,just jump right in there,Hickory will make a fine bow,just keep it dry. ;) :)
That is looking great so far. :)
Pappy
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I can't wait to see it finished up. It has some beautiful lines so far.
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Looks good to me Shannon and I'm willing to bet it keeps most of the reflex as long as the wood stays dry :)
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Sawfiler I believe it may surprise you. The one i just finished retillering is only a shade over 1 1/2" and it held it's shape well. Like everyone has said I think it's because of the winter being dryer.
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To keep bows dry how about a tall box, like one foot x one foot x six feet tall, so it would stand in a closet or beside the chine cabinet (!?) in the dining room, put a bulb socket in the lower end and some hanger hooks near the top, a small vent hole at the bottom, and another near the top, screw in a bulb, say 10W or 6W, just to keep it dry, not hot. How do you think bows would store in there?
piper
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Saw, looking great so far, just closely monitor the set the bow is taking, if it starts taking set, any set just get more wood working or lower the draw weight. If keeping the wood dry is a problem just put the bow up for the summer and get it out in the winter when the weather is dry. Steve
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He...he...he...... ;D
I can make hickory bows hold reflex. I just hate how they chrystal on the belly unless you make 'em "over built" This is probally do mostly to the moisture problem though. :P Good luck Shannon, I hope this one don't give you fits..... ::)
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looks good so far, I'm interested to see how it turns out, you couldn't give me a few more details how you "baked the belly", could you please?
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Dragonman, "baking the belly" is just another term for heat treating. I held it over a burner on my stove top long enough for it to start turning slightly brown. I like to set the stove on medium heat and keep the bow about 6" obove the burner. When one spot looks "done", I move it over to another area on the limb. It hardens the belly wood and helps drive some of the moisture out of the wood. Hope that helps ;) Saw Filer
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Well I finished tillering it. Everything went well and she held her shape better than I expected.
I was hoping for 45# and ended up with 43# @ 27" It finished out just 1-5/16" wide and 64" NTN. The tips are even with the back and it shoots very nice. BUT...I got the bright idea I'd gain a couple pounds by tempering the belly again and cracked it just above a small knot about mid ways up the top limb.
I never expected much from this and to have turned out as well as it did surprised me considering it was a standing tree around three weeks ago. This wasn't the woods fault, it was mine. I should have left well enough alone.
I ain't much on fixing stuff like this, but feel as though if I can patch it up, it would make a good bow for a lady of someone who can't shoot a heavy bow.
Any good ideas? Saw Filer
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Is the crack on the belly or back?
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It's on the belly, about mid limb Gordon.
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I have a short hickory bow that cracked just like that on the belly at mid limb. I covered the crack lightly with super glue and It's still shooting. Really, hickory is as close to unbreakable as a material can get. And mine was due to over bending while heat treating too. Just keep shooting it.
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Dude, as long as the crack is on the belly it should be fine. I was making a Comanche replica bow for my brother and I cracked the handle part on the belly when I tried to bend a reflex into the handle to achieve the gull-wing shape that a lot of the old plains bows had. The crack was much bigger than the one on your bow and it still shoots fine after 6 years.
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Looks great Shannon, ya done well :)
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yep, just shoot it up with super glue and shoot it and see what happens. As long as the belly doesn't start to collapse around the crack it should be OK. Almost looks like a fret you opened up some from heating and bending backwards. A lot of times you'll get a small fret around a knot on the belly side like that.
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Looking at that tiller I do not understand why a fret happened in that spot except for the presence of the knot. I think Ryan is correct about the knot being a possible reason for it. I try to tiller knotted areas so they appear flat. I tiller them so they bend less than the rest of the limb. I also try to leave the knotted area a little wider in that spot. I think if you did that you would have been ok there. Bows don't have to always have straight lines tip to tip and they don't always have to look like fiberglass bows. :) Jawge