Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:07:01 am

Title: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:07:01 am
Hey all! I've been lurking around the sight for a while now and finally got the courage to post some pics of my bows. Here's the first even though its not 100% "from scratch." I got the Sudbury Indian Hickory "stave" in a floor tillered state from another PA member (rudderbows) and immediately fell in with its sexy curves. Unfortunately, by the time I was done tillering it most of those special flares had been reduced to the point that it almost looks like a "regular" American Flatbow. The flares really gave me some trouble as the limbs seemed to want to twist. After I rid myself of the majority of the problem I noticed that I couldn't get the twist out of the very end of one limb. Finally I gave up and went caveman on it by cutting the offending end off (about 4 inches) then doing the same on the other end. This solved the twist problem...but the tillering fun began again. It came together beautifully in the end with a length of 64" (62" ntn) and 57# @ 28". I added the prairie rattlesnake skins, stamped cow leather to the fades and a contoured grip overlay wrapped in camo tape that makes this bow one of the most comfortable shooters I have ever held.

Hope you all approve!

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Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:08:04 am
Flat view
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:08:58 am
flat view again...this time with Pic... ;D

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Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:09:28 am
Back view

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Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:10:13 am
Belly

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Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:10:55 am
Grip from the side

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Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: El Destructo on June 08, 2010, 01:15:43 am
Nice Bow....but I am a little Perplexed....why did you lose the Curves while Tillering a Sudbury Bow? All of the Wood Removal should have been off of the Belly...besides rounding the edges...I have made dozens of these from Staves and Boards...and you have to watch the Boards...if the Grain is wrong...the Limbs will twist...good luck on the next one....because there will be another... ;D
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 08, 2010, 01:25:16 am
I agree. I went about removing wood solely at the belly but when the twist occurred I followed the advice from some fellow archers I shoot with who told me that twist was caused by wood being thicker on one edge as compared to the other. One of the TBB books confirmed this and, given the shape of the sudbury bow, it made sense (at the time) and the end result is as you now see (I am actually very pleased despite the loss of the curves). I understand completely what you are saying about the wood; however, I am also very willing to believe that it was every bit a problem with the bowyer as opposed to the material. Thanks for your comment!


"Remember, REAL men blame their equipment."
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: El Destructo on June 08, 2010, 01:49:40 am
If you need any help on a Future Bow...don't be afraid to ask...I am a lover of the Curved Limbs...my faves to build are the Sudbury....Wampanoag....and Hupa Bows...gotta love the Curves.... ;D
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: osage outlaw on June 08, 2010, 05:51:54 am
Nice bow.  I like the skins.  Be carefull and don't fall off of the chair.
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Hillbilly on June 08, 2010, 08:18:50 am
Good looking bow, and an interesting handle design. I've found several times myself that a particular piece of wood just didn't want to be what I had planned it to be- and in those cases, you just have to listen to the wood. How about a braced and full-draw shot?
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: half eye on June 08, 2010, 08:45:32 am
Allmost,
      Like El D, I make a lot of NA bows with Asymetrical limbs, yours looks very nice. I think they are terrific shooters, and usually shoot hard, smooth and quiet. Like the other fellas said, ya might just as well be thinkin about what yer gonna do next, cause it's sneekin up on ya allready......like I said very nice.
Rich
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Pappy on June 08, 2010, 08:53:41 am
Sweet looking bow,love the finish work,not really into that kind of grip but looks like you put a lot of work into it,that is what is cool about selfbows,to each there own.Nice work. Love to see a full draw pic. ;) :)
   Pappy
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Parnell on June 08, 2010, 09:02:53 am
Nice job and congratultions!  That is an interesting grip - looking forward to seeing more of your work!
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on June 08, 2010, 11:01:04 am
I do approve, Parnell. That bow came out great! For the record, to fix a twist, you remove wood from the belly on the opposite side of the twist. This applies to twists caused by uneven wood removal. Removing wood from the sides won't do it or at least I dont see how it would. But ...I digress the bow is beautiful. :) Jawge
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 09, 2010, 01:20:45 am
Thanks for all the comments guys! As far as a braced and full draw pic goes they will be forthcoming. I made the bow for my nephew as a congratulatory gift for having achieved his black belt, so the bow is currently in transit to Houston. I'll ask him to take/submit the pics when it arrives.

Osage outlaw: erm...yes...the chair...and my stocking feet...yeah, sorry about that. Gotta figure out how you guys take such nice pics without the chair.





"Remember, REAL men blame their equipment."
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: dragonman on June 09, 2010, 06:54:36 pm
Like Hillbilly said, sometimes bows have their own ideas what they want to be and turn out different, often better than what you planned them to be, it looks good to me too
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: sailordad on June 09, 2010, 07:06:57 pm
" Gotta figure out how you guys take such nice pics without the chair."

they dangle from a rope  ;D
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Hillbilly on June 10, 2010, 10:43:12 am
Or crop your toes out of the pic. ;D
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on June 10, 2010, 11:02:42 am
Lean forward, move your feet back and snap. . I don't want hear it. I have size 14's. LOL. :) Jawge
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: El Destructo on June 10, 2010, 11:16:56 am
I don't want hear it. I have size 14's. LOL. :) Jawge

You know what they say about Men  with size 14 Feet ....don't You?

They buy really Big Socks....... ;D

And You All thought I was going to be Nasty...... :P
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: wodpow on June 10, 2010, 12:35:26 pm
I had a limb tip that would twist when the bow was drawn and got worse the more you shot the bow.Bad thing about it it was the way the wood fibers were in line and I almost removed to much belly wood then someone told me to remove wood from the side of the limb to weaken the stronger side so it would pull that way  and straighten the movement into a straight pull it worked. It was a floor tillered Bamboo backed Osage with some really screwed up grain patterns.To this day I hate that bow.wouldn't give it away because it looks out of whack and only draws 35# after adjusting the tiller guess I could cut it down but I hate it to much to try. Myself I wouldn't of shipped something like that floor tillered bow to a customer.
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on June 10, 2010, 01:45:04 pm
Almostpighunter, I understand that you were removing wood from the edge of the limbs and not the actual side. I read your post again. Twists are fixed by removing belly wood from the appropriate places. If we are talking a twist where one side of the limb on the belly is lower than the other, you can remove wood from the strong side, the lower side, and that will fix the twist. However, that will work just fine with a man made twist because of uneven wood removal, from the belly.  Staves that are naturally twisted are best left naturally twisted for the most part unless you use heat. wodopw, please explain some more to me. Jawge
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: medicinewheel on June 10, 2010, 05:06:37 pm
Nice!
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: youngbowyer33 on June 11, 2010, 12:01:28 am
great bow!
Title: Re: Sudbury Indian Hickory Bow
Post by: Almostpighunter on June 11, 2010, 03:42:15 am
@wodpow Yes, your description (including the friend who said to remove wood from the edge on the stronger side, etc) sounds exactly like the way it went down in my case too. Maybe we have the same friend :P. Anyway in my case, I can't say the grain was bad...it looked close to perfect and I have a feeling that, somewhere along the line, the twist developed as a result of the bowyer. Fortunately, the bow turned into a fine shooter even though it lost the majority of the curves.

Twist has always dumbfounded me, so thank you to everyone who posted the helpful tips!