Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: 330bull on June 01, 2007, 12:03:39 pm
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Hello! This is the bow I did the cherry bark backed build along..and it's done!
Final Specs:
- 65# @ 26"
- 64" ntn
- 3/4" width @ shelf
- 1 1/8" wide above & below handles, then fades to 7/16" @ tips
- 3/4" thick limbs @ deepest part and then eventually fades to 1/2" @ the tips.
This bow was tons of fun to build and shoot. It's a screamer regardless of the string follow. It still shoots easier than my 59# recurve.
I call it.."The Apprentice" because John Strunk oversaw the building of this in his shop. I know this is presumptuous, but please do not consider this for a selfbow of the month nomination. John Strunk helped me on this and I'll wait until I build one w/o anyone's help. I'm still proud that I did the final tillering, backing, finish, and handle wrap having never done that before; and I did it without John's help or guidance.
If anyone has an opportunity to travel to Tillamook Oregon for a few days, please take a few days and hang with John for some personal instruction; he is an absolute pleasure to be around and an outstanding instructor.
Enjoy!
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Very nice looking bow,good job. :)
Pappy
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More pics & details:
The handle is "John Strunk Style" wrap, and the handle's shelf is an actual ivory tooth from a 6x6 bull I shot in Idaho in 2001; man I love that part! I'm also using FF string per John's recommendation; he swears that's great string material for selfbows.
The red wrapping around the limbs is to cover the seam where I have the bark backing pieces spliced together; strictly cosmetic and I almost considered just leaving it alone.
Enjoy!
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More Pics!
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One hell of a nice looking bow Joe, man the cherry bark really sets it off.
Dana
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Again very nice. :)The tooth is cool.
Pappy
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What a great bow! I love it. I get together with John down there (or up here) a couple times a year. He's the best teacher out there. He's right about FF too. I use FF on everything now--even Yew self bows.
J. D. Duff
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I have always heard fast flight would cut the tips off if it wasn't overlaid or reinforced someway.
May just have been a Myth ,lots of them going around. :)
Pappy
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Wow, that bow sure turned out nice Joe. The cherry bark backing is very distinctive and I like how the ivory tooth and handle look together. Really, really nice!
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I have always heard fast flight would cut the tips off if it wasn't overlaid or reinforced someway.
May just have been a Myth ,lots of them going around. :)
Pappy
It cuts through fiberglass I hear. I probably wouldn't use it on soft wood without horn tips or overlays.
J. D.
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Thanks for the compliments guys I am very proud of this bow; it's the 5th shooter I have ever made.
I actually think I'll stick with cherry bark for a while now; it's free and really accentuates most bow woods. I'll also use this on a Vine Maple Bow in a few months.
Cheers! Joe
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Joe I'm assuming it took four pieces of bark to cover the back?
Dana
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Beautiful work Joe. This is one to be proud of. I used cherry bark as a backing a few years ago with good results. It sure is pretty stuff. What did you use to glue it down? Pat
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Very nice bow, I should try a cherry bark backing. But no, I have a cherokee style bow to make. And an osage recurve. And a west coast indian replica...... I'll add that to my list. ;)
Sean
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I love the bow. Great job! But your still fired! :) Jawge
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Hah I was waiting for a response like that!
Dana - Yes it took 4 pieces to back the bow.
Pat - I used Titebond II, I also posted a cherry bark buildalong on this exact same bow. You can find the thread pretty easily.
Enjoy!
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Question: how big of trees do you get your bark off of? I've been looking at a lot of bitter cherry lately but I haven't found any worth debarking. I was cruising some older forest last Friday with a timber manager who wanted to show me how big cherry trees got. Wow.
J. D. Duff
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JD - This bark came from a tree that was 10-12" in diameter. But the way I see it, unless you find a huge tree that you can get one continuous piece out of...a 6" diameter tree will bear ~18.8568" of bark. :)
Joe
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Thanks Joe,
I don't know if you're seen them, but bitter cherry gets quite large. I was wondering what size of tree you got your bark off of because I didn't find anything but paper-thin bark on the very large trees I was looking at. I sorted through a pile of big bitter cherry logs once and found some bark that was nearly 1/8" thick. I haven't ever seen anything like it since--even on the biggest trees.
I've built a vine maple bow backed with cherry, by the way. Nice contrast.
J. D. Duff
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I REALLY REALLY like that bow you made Joe!!!!.... :o...THAT´S BEAUTIFULL!!!!... :)...
All on that bow is awesome mate.
Only a few questionas Joe:
What kind of pen do you used to paint over your bow...?...
and...
How did you to protect this paint from outside elements...?...
did you applied more finish coats over it to avoid umidity penetration, or something like that mate?...
Thanks for share that BEAUTY!!...
Cheers...
Asier.
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Hey Joe ;)
What a nice bow you have worked out! Congratulations to this beauty!
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Very nice bow
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Stan, I think that decision is Joe's to make. ;) Pat
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Thanks again everyone fro your compliments; I am humbled.
JD: I just harvested a bunch of pretty nice bark , did you need any? The bark I used on this tree was probably .030" thick or so, definitely not an 1/8".
Asier:
1. I put 5-6 coats of Tru Oil, then applied the writing via Pigma Micron Pen. 2. I let the ink dry for 10 minutes or so but don;t smudge it, because it will smudge!
2. I then immediately applied a coat of "ACE Hardware Store – Clear Professional Finish. #Gloss – 90081" finish to seal the ink.
3. Afterwards I applied 3 more coats of the polyurethane and then hit the final coat with 0000 Steel Wool.
4. After that I place 4-5 coats or Carnauba(sp?) floor wax; that's how I seal the finishes from the elements!
I hope that helps everyone!
Joe
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Hey Joe!!!
Thank you for your fast and accurate description regarding to de sealing, ink and finish...REALLY HELPFULL FOR ME and EVERYONE...!!.. :)...
THANKS ALOT mate!!
Cheers and keep up that cool work you make!!
Asier.
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Cool bow all around Joe, love that Strunk style handle wrap - where could I find those direction's? I was thinking about backing one with Birch bark - same story, the peices I have are only about sixteen inches long. Do you saturate the bark with glue, or keep it dry on the backside?
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Nice work Joe. This is an impressive bow. Justin
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that is a beauty, indeed.
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Here's the link to the Chery Backing Build along.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,2366.0.html
Randy
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Really fine craftmanship. Love the handle work and the added mojo of the tooth. The bow is a real head turner in person I'm sure.
mack
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Primo bow, Joe! ;D
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That is trully a beautiful bow! Lots of great detail that really sets this bow apart. ;)
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Beautiful Bow, Joe......Impressive
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very nice bow! - thanks for the build-along, too!
frank
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JD: I just harvested a bunch of pretty nice bark , did you need any? The bark I used on this tree was probably .030" thick or so, definitely not an 1/8".
I've harvested some lately that's pretty nice. I'll have to mic it and see how thick it is. .030 is probably not far off. I'm just surprised at how the bark thickness ranges from tree to tree. Do you find that you get your best bark further up the trunk? It seems that way around here.
J. D. Duff