Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: gstoneberg on February 05, 2011, 03:54:44 pm
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After being stuck inside by snow for a couple days, I couldn't stand it anymore yesterday. Went out to the shop but didn't feel like working on one of the 2 bows in progress. Laying on the floor was a split off a sister I took off so it wouldn't weigh as much when I sent it. It was small at one end and teeny at the other with about 2" of deflex over its length. I thought it'd be fun to try and make a bow out of it. Looking at the teeny end it struck me that it looked like the lever of a molly, and so it became a short bend through the handle mollegabet. I have it bending to 20" where it's about 50lbs now. It has one knot that came loose and I drilled out and removed. I was going to just see how far I could get it to draw before it broke, but now I'm liking it so much I thought I'd ask your opinion. How far do think this one will draw? Most of the bow is about an inch wide. I can't decide whether to go ahead and sinew back it or continue thinning it and see if I can get enough draw length to hunt with unbacked, accepting the risk that it'll break around one of those knots... Here are pictures. George
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6895538921_9f32c407c2_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6895538929_c44d22d7c4_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6895538935_673bfb3da4_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6895538937_9591c6551c_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6895538943_620a94e50d_z.jpg)
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Cool George. I love these scrap pile bows. It don't take much osage to make a good bow!!!
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Nice ;D
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George
How much working limb do you have there? I made a 51" Osage D bow that I could draw to 25"@55#. I had about 43" of working limbs... I didin't back the bow and I still shoot it today. I think the cross of the Molle and the D would make a pretty snappy bow.
Crazy weather your having down there.....Go Steelers!!!!
Jon
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Thanks guys.
Jon, there's just over 34" between the start of the 2 levers. Each lever is about 9" long. That was dictated by the narrow end of the split. I have it drawing to 23" now right at 50#.
It has been crazy. Last Saturday I was working in the shop and it was in the 70s. Thursday when I started this bow it was 17 degrees in the shop, but right now it is 41. Texas does have interesting weather.
I don't have a preferred team tomorrow. I'm watching for the commercials. ;D
George
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looks nice george! shoot some of those cane arrows out of it!
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George,
Nice bend on that sir. Here's a couple of short "D" bows both of these went 26" of draw and both had the stiff tips as well. The stiff tips should give you a little more draw that you may believe.....anyway it looks like you have a good tillering technique going on so you should be able to get another couple inches anyway......JMO
rich
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looks nice george! shoot some of those cane arrows out of it!
Hey, I haven't shot it yet...and that's a great idea. Let me see if I can shoot it without breaking it, pictures to follow. ;) And thanks for those arrows!
George
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Those are beauties Rich, mine is not in that league. Seeing them again gives me hope, I confess I'm a little chicken to really pull on it, after blowing that last short one up. I need to thin the limbs a little more. It really stacks at the very end of the draw.
I did go shoot it aero. At that short draw they're way too stiff but still fly pretty well. The sun wasn't cooperative, but I did get a picture. Thanks again for those arrows. I see there's a traditional shoot in Denton in 2 weeks, want to run over there and shoot it together?
George
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6895538947_3d6f2d4f45_z.jpg)
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do you have any other pieces short like that george? whats the dates of the shoot?
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I have one piece a little shorter than that in the shop. But, I'm splitting wood now for a trade and that's normally when I end up with those belly splits. I have lots of wood on the pile we can turn into a short one if that's what you'd like. Come on over and pick something out. The shoot dates are Feb 19-20. I can only make the 19th. Hey, there's one in Ft Worth on Feb 26-27 as well.
Well, I need to suck it up and go try and get a couple more inches of draw length out of that bow.
George
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i might take you up on the piece of wood. ill be busy both of those weekends, dang it! i wish i could go to one though, so i could help everyone out by being at the bottom! lol
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cool lookin little bow. im still cuttin my teeth so tryin to make a short bow is tough. you have alot of talent george. im lookin foward to seein more of your work. ruddy
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The bow is not finished, but here it is at about 26" of draw where it is 55lbs . I have a lot of finish work left to do, but I feel pretty good about it surviving to completion. It was a good use of the super bowl halftime. I'm embarrassed to say that I have the bow upside down in the picture (the bowyer's knot is a dead give-away)...duh. I wanted to see how far I could get with it this weekend, but it needs heat bent to get the string in the handle. Right now the string lies right down the edge of the bow. I may shoot it some more and see if it does OK center shot like that.
George
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6895544213_ee020c97fd_z.jpg)
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Looking good,looks like a shooter to me. :) :)
Pappy
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Nice little bow. Like those simple sticks.
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Really like this one. I love those knotty pieces of osage, bend looks great in it too. Bookmarked for February Self BOM contest too. :)
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George, that looks great. That's the thing about character bows. You have to keep an open mind about which limb is the top one. Well done! Jawge
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missed this one. d-tillered bows are my favorite. thats a nice simple stick and being osage, probably spits out an arrow.
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Thanks guys. I haven't taken much time to work on it lately and should as it's really close to being finished. I'm fighting the urge to scrape a little more and try for a couple more inches of draw. At 52" and bending through the handle it probably can handle it, but there are some knots right on the limb edge that make it a little risky. It has a little set and I honestly like it as it takes a couple inches of stress off the limbs. I haven't put tip overlays on it and might not. There is an elegance to the simplicity that I like. I haven't shot very many arrows through it, don't enjoy the short draw length. I might trade this one away...haven't decided. Sure was fun to build, I want to do it again and will watch for another short split lending itself to that design.
I just love this forum. I would never have built a short bow like this without seeing Rich's beautiful short bows. So many styles left to try. Going to do an ELB in the near future...have not tried one of those yet. These days every piece of osage I split has a new bow style jump out. Way fun times.
George
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I've taken my last scrape on this bow. This piece of osage just wanted to be a bow even though it is full of flaws. Here is a large sliver that tore out below a knot, which is right on the bow edge sliced in half.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6895544243_417daf0787_z.jpg)
The narrow limb tip had the back badly violated.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6895547873_b39ae11b89_z.jpg)
Both of those spots are filled with sawdust/super glue. Then there's a knot that cracked.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6895547857_af572e93ba_z.jpg)
Weird, all of those flaws are right in the center of the working part of the limbs. It should've broken but it just won't quit. One limb had natural deflex, the other took set to match.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6895544235_729f5d800d_z.jpg)
Dang, this was some kind of bow wood. Have to come up with a fitting handle wrap.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6895544229_620b614745_z.jpg)
George
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I've made several kinda like this one, not osage. I know what you mean about the handle wrap. I just prefer to leave mine plane jane at this point. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with on that. Maybe a wrapped leather grip like what Timo does with a floppy rest? Again, really cool little bow.
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I just saw this post. Looks great, nice little bow there.
Tell
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Here the bow now,I swapped George for it. A few scrapes,a little sanding,hemp handle wrap,and some tru oil. Named him Hank,and he shoots a 575 grain arrow sweet!
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Nice looking bows.
Rob