Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: kylerprochaska on September 15, 2009, 11:18:41 pm
-
Just wanted to share a pic of my first recurve...just boiled the top limb for 2 hours and put it in the form!! Im pretty excited about it.
-Ky
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
That's a heck of a hook! :o
-
wow big curve like to see it done.
-
WOW what a curve!!!
How long is the bow??
-
Looks good so far. :) Don't fall in love with it yet. ;) :) Keep us posted on the progress. :)
Pappy
-
Whoa! That's a crazy curve. I can't wait to see it done.
-
the bow is 60 in tip to tip, im expecting some of the curve to pull out...its about 7 in of recurve right now...only one question...how long should i leave it to "dry" or "cool"??
-Ky
-
I would give it at least a week in a good dry place after you are done with both. You can take that off after it cools and do the other.
Pappy
-
Thanks pappy...I'll post some pictures after I get the other limb bent into shape tonight...Im still contemplating whether I want to put sinew on the back of this one... ??? I'll see what you guys think after I get the other limb bent.
-Ky
-
nice feet, too!
-
not too be negitive, or bust your your bubble;..but that will never work,, too much curve...just an opinion....snake......keep us up too date..??..ive been wrong?...snake
-
Well I just took it out of the form and a few splinters lifted up but nothing too deep...maybe only through one ring..Rattlesnake...I think it may bee alittle too much too...I may trim an inch or so off of each end once i have both limbs recurved....Im also planning on deflexing the handle a bit more...its naturally deflexed by about in inch or maybe two...that should help out a little bit i think...Im also going to sinew the back
-Ky
-
Well I got both limbs recurved...noticed a couple splinters but none too deep to worry about. I did have one crack in the belly that is right in the bend of the curve...but I think i should be ok....but you know what they say...you never learn by not doing!
-Ky
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
I think I would make those recurves working instead of static. You have more curve than you have working limb to support them. The splinters can be filled with super glue as with the crack on the belly but I believe that will be the least of your problems. Your curves look very good but the ratio of curve to working limb are way off.
-
HOLY @#%#$^#@@$!!! Wow, that sucker has got some curves! Talk about a voluptuous bow, that thing would put any woman with curves to shame! Too bad you can't "make" your woman like you made that bow!!
Those recurves sure are taking up a lot of limb, but what the hell....make it into a bow anyway and see how she turns out. It just might blow the doors off anything that's been attempted before, plus you might end up winning "Bow of the Month"! Looks kinda like a Korean horse bow....on steroids!!
-
Man, when you said ya wanted a recurve, you must of really wanted a RECURVE!!! ;D Now comes the fun part.... Listen to what pat said and make it a working recurve. Have fun tillering that beast! ;)
-
BAAAAAAAD curves!
What I see here must have 200+# I would think!?
-
JustAim you are right...I have a lot of work ahead of me...Im gonna try to tiller it as a working recurve and re enforce the tips and back with sinew...Im gonna be shooting for 50-60 lbs so at least i have a lot of wood left to work with...this is kind of an experiment bow for me being my first recurve...liek i said earlier..you dont learn anything from not doing
-Ky
-
Looks like a real learning project here, great job,
wondering is it usual to bend the limbs before tillering? I was thinking how hard it must be to tiller a curve?
-
No woories on the splinters. Brad Merkel,(Little Tree) has been building bows such as yours for several years now and he did a demo at mojam on boiling the curves. He sets them up for a a "prepared failure" meaning he aims for a splinter to lift,releiving some pressures from the back. Some of his curves are much stronger than that.
Steady on, it'll work,just gotta be patient. much to learn with a project as such.I'll be rootin for ya. ;)
-
good lord, talk about a recurve!
best of luck to you man! keep us updated. i wanna see it finished more than i wanna see it explode, but either way, we all want pics of how it ends up. ;D
-
Go for it. It will work fine if you got what it takes to tiller it and get the string lined up. Nothing ventured nothing lost. ;D
-
So I just got the bow out and I noticed small cracks about 6 inches long running with the grain of the back....I thought i may be able to save it until I noticed small cracks all the way through the bow looking at the end....through the different layers of the grain....(It looks like a brick building)...I would like to save it but I really don't want to waste my time/materials to have it blow up in my hand....I think I may just stick with flatbows... What do you guys think? Can I save it?
-Ky
-
Did you put the limbs in the water while the water was still cold? lf you waited for the water to boil first, and then put the limbs in the boiling water the limbs can crack. Bring both wood and water up to boil at the same time. And dont give up on making recurves and make flatbows only, this stuff happens. And just how deep are the cracks on the back anyway? lf they're not to deep you can chase it down another ring or so...you got alot of wood to work with from what l've seen.
-
I started the limbs in the water when it was cool and brought them up to temp together...the cracks on the back aren't any deeper than one ring but im more worried about the cracks i can see on the tip of the bow....they only go through one ring but there are alot of them...if i can get my macro setting on my camera right ill try and take a picture.....Im planning on putting sinew on this too....will that help the cause of this bow?
-Ky
-
Here are acouple pictures of what Im talking about...the ones in the back don't worry me as much as the one of the end....what do you guys think?? oh and by the way I think if this bow does work out and is shootable Im gonna call her "Everyone's Bow" just because I've used you guys for info so much on it lol 8) 8)
-Ky
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
;D Heck, that aint bad at all. Those little tiny cracks will be long gone by the time you get done with her. Did you seal the wood before boiling? lf you didnt, do it now so it dont get any worse. Those look like drying cracks to me, or a result of applying to much pressure with the clamps. l'd go and chase another ring on the back though, then sinew it.
-
Yeah i did seal it with poly before i boiled it...but i noticed that some of it melted...so those could be drying cracks...and now that u mention that i didn't notice them when i finished the boiling process...not until today did i notice them....ill probably chas another ring and put a few layer's of sinew on her...thanks JustAim
-Ky
-
If those little checks don't run off the sides I wouldn't give em a second thought. Get some super glue in em and go on.
-
Leave em be....if you are planning on Sinew Backing it... Should be just fine......I'd be more worried about then 90 degree bends causing problems than the dry cracks
-
Don't know how much weight you're after...but some superglue in those cracks should totally take care of it, no need to chase a grain and risk not having enough bow for your desired finished weight. Sinew backing the bow only reinforces no need to chase a grain. :)
-
super glue the ones on the back and cut a 1/2" off each tip. How long has that wood been cut? Seems like it might have been pretty wet....you might think about letting a cure in a warm dry place for a month or so before you go on tillering.
-
the wood was cut 8-10 months ago...some moisture may have gotten to the wood in the boiling process...the polly i used to seal the bow melted a little
-Ky
-
Poly can't stand up to the heat and moisture with steaming or boiling. Shellac can and does a good job sealing under these conditions, plus it is easier to remove if needed.
-
My recurve form is 60 degrees and folks comment on how sharp those tips are. With that in mind I will say the first hickory board recurve I started on 2.5 years ago, got exhausted on 2.4 years ago, began working on again this past summer and then hickory backed it last month, blew last week! As was mentioned before, don't fall in love with it just yet.
If I can suggest it will much easier to tiller if the tips are cut down to extend only 2 1/2"-3" from the curve. I originally tried to make mine 4" and the instability just frustrated the fire out of me. Then I noticed that Marc St Louis' tips are at best 3" and he has some very impressive recurved bows, too. Plus, if you cut them down the little cracks may just disappear.
Hope it all works out.
-
Kyler,
Those cracks are common in osage, especially if you boil it for as long as you did. Two hours is a bit overkill. My dad tried making an osage recurve several years ago, and he wanted it to have thick but narrow recurves. He got the exact same kind of micro cracks in his bow as you did in yours. It didn't hurt the bow one bit. But if you want to avoid them in the future, I would only boil osage for 20 or 30 minutes. 2 hours is a bit too long, and once you pull it out of the water, all the moisture evaporates as steam, making the limb super dry until it cools down and re-absorbs ambient moisture. I think that might be one reason for the cracks. But yeah, don't worry about those little cracks....that osage is pretty damn tough and it takes a lot more than that to hurt it.
-
this is an interesting post and project.
enjoying the ride.
best of luck. keep at her you aint done yet. I wanna see it shooting :)
later
wade
-
I got alittle work done today on it.... got the limbs bending some and I got my arrow shelf cut out ;D I still haven't put it on the tillering tree...I don't know wheather I should before I get sinew on it....but I still have some more to reduce and then the sinew and then hopefully put it on the tree!! Its actually starting to look like a bow to me (even if the bends are drastic) Here's some pics of the progress
-Ky
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
I'd put it on the tiller tree before I added sinew. First of all you want to be sure both limbs are bending evenly and together. Also If you get it bending a bit the limbs will react more positively to the shrinking sinew and draw into a bit of reflex. You may loose this reflex in tillering but you will be ahead of where you'd be if you didn't do it.
I'd say she's sitting at about 125#@28" now ??? . You have a good bit of wood to come off, especially if you are adding sinew. Don't rush the wood removal but do it thoughtfully.
-
Oh I forgot, I have another question....does titebond liquid hide glue work for sinew backing....or is it not gonna work? just wondering
-Ky
-
It will work but it has a shelf life and if it is over that it will take forever to cure. Another option is Knox unflavored gelatin; used for making jelly. It is a food grade hide glue.
-
I would also suggest that you not put a ton of time into shaping the handle, shelf, etc. until you get it tillered out. That way, if it doesn't work out for ya. You don't have a lot of time and effort invested in it.
I also like to wait till it's tillered before I cut in the shelf. The tillering will tell you which limb wants to be the top and bottom. ;)
Keep going. We're all rooting for you. :)
-
I'm with Shanon on the shelf and handle,I don't do much to that part till I know it will shoot,plenty of time for that later,it make it much easier if it dose go bad. :)
Pappy
-
How thick are the tips on that bugger?I need to recurve some mulberry that PatB sent me and i am wondering if i could get away with bending mulberry that thick.