Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: osage outlaw on July 17, 2010, 09:37:25 pm
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Last fall I made a bow for my son. We went to a couple of shoots together this year and he started to get interested in traditional archery. He told me the other day that he wants to make a bow as a 4-H woodworking project next year. "Well, we better get started" was my reply. Luckily, I have a few osage logs on hand. We picked out the straightest one, which also happened to be the biggest, and started splitting.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10501.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10502.jpg)
I cut this log last summer after it fell in a dry creek bed. It seemed dry and split fairly easy.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10503.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10509.jpg)
After we got it in half, we had to stop for dinner.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10510.jpg)
From a half to a quarter.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10511.jpg)
From a quarter to a stave.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10512.jpg)
And finally the finished product. There is a knot on each end, but it is plenty long enough to cut them off. Now we need to remove the bark and sapwood and let it dry. We might rough it out, and wait until winter to finish it.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10513.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10514.jpg)
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You outa get a few nice bows out of that log. Good luck!
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Good luck- there should be some bows in that log!
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ok- others have pointed out the good bows in the wood already- i'd like to point out all the kid calories that that log will eat! ought to be enough to wear him out real good quite a few times!
that's some family time for ya!
Rob
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Looks like a good 4H project. I'm looking forward to your son's progress in this project. 8)
Being that you kept the log intact the wood probably needs some more drying time. If you remove the bark and sapwood be sure to seal the back very well or it will check(crack). You can take the bow down to floor tiller stage, seal the back well and clamp it to a form to dry. By this winter it will be well on it's way to being seasoned.
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looks good ! i just turned 15 an built my first bow just a boardbow although it turned out pretty good. if i figure out how to upload pictures an post topics maybe someone can give me some feedback on how it looks an how i should finish it
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He was doing all of the work and didn't even break a sweat. I was just talking him through it and handing him tools and I was soaked when we were done.
We are going to take pictures of each step and make a log book with the amount of time it takes him to make the bow. If the woodworking judge doesn't know anything about bows, he might not know how much effort it takes to make one.
We are going to remove the bark and sapwood this week and seal it. After a week or two, we will probably rough it out and wait until winter. Should we make the bow about as tall as he is or a little longer? He has hit a growing spurt. The bow I made for him last year looks like a toy to him now.
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How tall is your son? If he made it his height by the time he has outgrown it he will have made another. With all that nice osage ;D how could he resist!
What is his draw length?
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He is about 5'3 or so. Fairly skinny, he turned 11 in May. I was thinking 35-40 lbs. He tried pulling my 50 lb bow back and couldn't get it to full draw. By next year, he should fill out a little more. I haven't checked his drawlength yet. If I had to guess, probably around 23 or 24".
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Make it 66", 1 3/8" at the fades and out 4" to 6" then a straight taper to 1/2" tips (to be narrowed more later). At 40#@24" you can tiller it out to 46#@26" then out to 52#@28". That should take him a few years to grow into.
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Thanks Pat. Those sound like some good measurements.
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We got some more done over the last couple of days. I set him up on the bench and got him started removing the bark and sapwood. The bark kind of peeled right off. We didn't even need the draw knife to remove it. He sealed the back after he was done.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10520.jpg)
We took it inside that night and used PatB's measurements to lay out the bow. We layed it out just a tad bit wider just in case he had problems cutting it out.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10530.jpg)
He split the bottom of the stave off so it would be easier to cut.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10524.jpg)
Next I turned him loose on the bandsaw.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10536.jpg)
This was a great stave for him to start on. It doesn't have any knots or twist at all, and only a very small bend in one limb. He used the heatgun to straighten it out. I did have to get on him once. I caught him trying to catch a business card on fire with the heatgun.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10546-1.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC10548-1.jpg)
The bow is straight as an arrow now. I put it on top of the TV cabinet in our living room to dry. We have a little over 5 hours in the bow so far. He is really enjoying working on it. Hopefully he doesn't loose interest while it is drying.
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Cooool...!
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That a way to pass it on,very cool.It is looking good so far,can't wait to see the end results. :)
The hard work part is done, :) now all he needs is patients. :)
Pappy
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Tried to catch a business card on fire, huh? Well, he had to add a little "spark" to the project, now didn't he? >:D
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guess i wasnt the only pyro at that age! lol. man, i wish i could have had that kinda guidance when i was younger.. all i had was TBB 1-3 and some juniper to work with! my bows sucked, but the arrows i made came out ok! anyways, good project and nice looking log there! if you have too many staves, send a few to me, i can do something with them! lol
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We got back to work on his bow finally! It should be good and dry now. One limb had too much reflex, and the tip was deflexed on the other limb. I got him set up and let him heat bend them.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC11291.jpg)
Once we had it straightened out, it was time to start chasing a ring. I explained it and marked the areas that he needed to remove wood from.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC11319.jpg)
After a few minutes, he says "OK, I understand it now", and away he went. He went to town and removed two growth rings one at a time all the way to the handle. It was getting late so we had to stop there. He is really into it know. He has already asked if he can build another one once this one is done.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC11318.jpg)
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Very cool! Getting a kid that age to do anything Dad wants can be difficult but it looks like he is coming to it naturally and with interest. 8) He has aged since your last post. Better teach him quick, it won't be long before "other interest" will kick in. ;)
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tell me about it Pat mine are video game monsters....i must play , i must play !!!
great project !
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Remembering from my own youth (back during the black plague I think >:D), what really locked me into something was having my own tools. In fact I still have the steel square my father got me before I started school. Still playing with wood also. 8)
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Excellent post. I'll be watching.
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great post - can't wait for my boy to get a little bigger and try one.
Did he get his hair to close to the heat gun, too? ;D
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Cool project He's doing real good.I also approve of his haircut ;D Hope it turns out
Thanks Leroy
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Awesome post....signed my son up for a Boise Bow longbow workshop in Columbus , OH in April. He's really amped about. He's been reading my Primitive Archer magazines and you can just tell he's got the glimmer in his eye and wants to build a selfbow.
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Way to pass it on! That is a good thing to see. Jawge
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way to go to you and your son.bow looks like it's comeing along great.
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He worked on chasing the ring the rest of the way tonight. He had about 10" left when he dug in too much and violated the ring. He knew he messed up as soon as he did it. I had him keep on the ring he was working on until he got to the end, then turn around and go down one more to the ring he dug in to. He got to the handle, and we called it a day. Momma came home with some pizza! Hopefully tomorrow he can get started on tillering.
His hair got a lot longer than in the first pictures. We finally made him cut it.
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We have been working hard lately trying to get this thing done before the fair starts. We kept track of the amount of time we spent working on it and came up with 19 1/4 hours. He did almost all of the work. I would help him get started on something and then turn him loose. He even learned how to make a string for it.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13821.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13858.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13864.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13881.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13882.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13887.jpg)
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Its finished! It has been a long process, but its done. All we have to do is glue on a floppy rest. It is 60" long and 30 lbs @ 24". It took on a bit of a gull wing shape, but for being built by a 12 year old, its not too bad.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13899.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13896.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13894.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13895.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13897.jpg)
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Thats awsome!!!! He did a great job! He has great shooting form too ;D
Josh
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Nice bow. Gotta love the smile on his face for a job well done :)
Darcy
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Did a damn good job. I'm sure he has a great teacher too!
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Thats just great! :) nice work! and in half the time it took me to make my first osage :P i sure hope i can pursuade my son to scrape out his own bow when he gets a lil older :D
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Awesome job. And good job dad. Cool thread to see the progression of the bow and how much your son aged in that time.
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Great Father Son time, I know he'll value the time, the bow, his Dad.
Job well done.
Del
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great job, you can tell how proud he is and he should me, and I'll bet your just as proud if not more.
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osage outlaw, this is just such a great thread. The bow looks great. The time spent together is just fantastic. I see to do a fair bit of reminiscing in the morning. Ma and Dad bought me a Ben Pearson 20# recurve when I was your son's age or a year younger. 2 years later it pulled up a splinter. I remember thinking how great it would be to make my own from a tree. With your guidance your son did, and a lot sooner than I did! Enjoy your time shooting together. Jawge
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Very cool. In years to come this will be a touchstone for both of you.
Lane
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Holy Crap, dad......get the man some arras ;) Ask yer son if he's got the time to make on for a oneyed old yankee, eh?
rich
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I just flipped through and checked out all the pictures. That's a great job from both of you! I also noticed how your son grew a couple inches and several haircuts later a fine weapon ;). Now there's a lifelong memory..
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Thanks for all of the kind words. I really enjoyed helping him along the way. I tried to encourage him, and not make him work on it unless he wanted to. His interest with it would come and go. He would work on it for a few days and be really into it. But if he took a break from it, it was hard for him to get started again. He is very proud of it. We are planning on going to Cloverdale again this year and I'm sure he will be showing it off there.
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Great looking bow, He did awesome and thats looks way better then My first bow ::). Great thread and great way to share the sport and spend some quality time. ;)
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Great thread Osage, tell your son he did an awesome job. I bet after cloverdale and showing off his own handy-work he will be more interested in making another.
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Awesome! That has got to be very rewarding! He did a great job. Must have a good teacher...
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This is awesome great job Father and son !!
It does not get any better than this!!!!
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as someone trying to learn to work a stave, i really enjoyed this post and learned from it. if a 12 year old can do it, my 20 year old but should be able to handle it!
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Clint,
This is a great thread. I know this has been an inspiration to all, young and old. Great memory making there and great bow. Congrats!! ;)
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Thats cool Clint. Im glad he saw it through to the end. Thats what the fair is all about. Do you suppose I could hire him for a few days to split some osage and mulberry for me? HAHAHAHAHA!
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I love this post. that is what my dad did for me when I was like 8 years old. I wanted a bow but wanted an all wood bow and he was not a bow maker by anymeans and have never made one. we did some research and went to work. we make it out of a cedar board we found at a construction sight waist pile. it came out nice but my brother broke it because he was jealous lol I got to use it for about a week and then my bro snapped it over his knee. Great way to get him into it and my hats off to him for sticking with it for that long and not loosing intrest at that age. Very nice looking bow as well. he will probably enjoy this for years to come thanks to his pappy.
Good Job!
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Thats cool Clint. Im glad he saw it through to the end. Thats what the fair is all about. Do you suppose I could hire him for a few days to split some osage and mulberry for me? HAHAHAHAHA!
You sure can. I get $20 a day plus expenses. ;D He would probably do it for free. He loves to push mow too.
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That sounds perfect to me. Its worth every dollar of a 20 to sit back and watch!
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He entered it into the 4-H fair woodworking class last week and today was the first time we were able to see how he did. He won Grand Champion! His bow was judged the best out of at least 20 other woodworking projects. I think it helped that the judge was a bowhunter ;D He was really supprised to see a bow as a woodworking project. We made a book with all of the pictures from this post and a few extras and displayed it with the bow. We also had a log sheet with the dates and times that he worked on it. I think that helped show how much work went into making it. We didn't want people to think it was just a stick and a string. Now the bow gets to go on to the Indiana State fair.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13970.jpg)
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that is awesome Clint.this will be a memory that will last you guys a lifetime.he will never forget this.you are a good father.my hats off to you guys.job well done,steve
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That is very cool!!! I bet it sparked interest in allot of people who saw it as well. I wish him luck at the state fair! Let us know how that turns out. Thanks and again he did a great job!!
Josh
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This is a Great Story and a fine lad with a fine bow.
Hopefully I will be able to do this for my boys, now 2 years old and 5 months old, one day. :)
Thank You for sharing this with us.
-gus
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Congratulations on a job well done! And good luck, keep us up to date ;)
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Congratulations!
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Wow Congrats. Great Job
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This is very COOL, Clint and congratulations to your son on his bow building and Grand Champion win. Please let us know how the Indiana State Fair works out for him. 8)
PA Magazine is always looking for stories for the magazine. This is a story that I think they would love to publish. If you think it is something that the 2 of you would like to try, give Ed Ingold a call or email and he will let you know what is needed.
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Clint,
What an experience for you and your son. Congratulations to him and best of luck at state. We will be praying that he wins. You gotta watch Hoosiers movie together, since he is going to state and all!!!!
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Thanks everyone. He was really excited about winning. We were waiting for the doors to open yesterday so we could see how he did.
Pat, If you think it might make a good article for the magazine, I will contact him. Where could I find his email?
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Think it will make a good magazine article? Are you kidding?? I would read it with my son and it would encourage him. ;)
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Definately something to be proud of. awesome story and cool results. best thing is you were able to teachhim through the process.
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WOW !!!
This is an absolutely awesome thread.
Congratuilations on wiinning Grand Champion...
This would be a great article.
This is sooo cool
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Awesome !!!
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Man, he's got bragging rights for a while now, don't he. Not alot of people can say the first bow they ever made won grand champion in a wood working competition! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I bet he takes the top at the state one too. It's a perfect tiller and a very well made bow. He really did do a great job and I think he deserves it.
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Way to go, both y'all! This post deserves a ribbon, too.
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I couldnt agree more with Pat B, this is an inspiring build along and would be a perfect fit for the magazine. This is the epitome of P.A. I cant even imagine the amount of pride the two of you share. Got my BOM vote for sure.
Hoosier Daddy!!! ;D
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I contacted the editor. He agreed it would be a good piece for the magazine. Now I need to write it out. I'm not much of a writer so I am not looking forward to that :-[
n2huntn, Hoosier Daddy is my fantasy football team name ;D
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;Dni
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Clint, that's great news about the article. If you write it, I would be happy to go over it for you. I'm an English major and writing comes easy.. I enjoy editing papers for fun too :D
Also, if he wants to put a skin on it, let me know. Be happy to gift him some scales.
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Just came across this thread...excellent! Good luck with the article...my 13 year old went to his first MOJAM this year and has the 'bug' now to make his own...now, whether or not his patience will last is another thing altogether! Look forward to the article and congratulations!