Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: MWirwicki on September 10, 2011, 11:45:12 pm
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I’ve wanted to make a horn and sinew composite bow for years and finally set my mind to do it. Recently, I visited Mr. Norm Blaker at his home. He showed me a bow made by Lukas Novotny without the siyas typical of the Asiatic composite bows. Immediately, it struck me as the style that I wanted to attempt. I thumbed through my book collection, and struck gold when I saw the front cover picture of an early print of Jim Hamm’s – Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans. As I am a fan of short bows, I had to attempt the 36-inch, horn and sinew composite bow.
I had water buffalo horns long enough for two 18-inch pieces. I cut and sanded them into strips then glued them using hide glue to a 1/8 x 1 x 36-inch long osage core that I worked out of a quarter split stave. It was a bit disheartening cutting that nice big stave into such a small, thin slat. After letting it dry for a couple of weeks, I sinew backed the osage side with three layers of leg sinew. The bow was coming along very nicely. From the beginning of this project, I swore to myself that I would take my time on this one. It was my first horn/sinew bow and it was going to be special. I waited about a month between sinew layers fighting the constant urges to rush into them sooner.
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Finally after the last layer dried, I strung it up with a long (relatively speaking) string to check the tiller. To my surprise, it looked good enough to shorten the string to brace height. In many ways, I was relieved since I really didn’t know how I was going to tiller the bow. I didn’t think that I wanted to scrape the belly. Was I to sand off some sinew from the back? Luckily, I didn’t have to try either. I drew the bow down to 23-inches. I noticed though, that the bow needed to be stiffer in the handle area so, I unstrung her and added a fourth layer of sinew just at the handle area and a bit beyond. That did it. So, I guess that I figured out how to tiller the bow; just ADD sinew where it needed to be stiffer.
Now for the decoration – I wanted some horizontal designs but, knew that I wasn’t much with a paint brush. I also liked the idea of snake skins but, I wanted something different. To me, this was far too special of a bow to settle for common rattlesnake skins. I thought about coral snakes. I began spreading the word that I would give my right leg for a set but, quickly learned that they weren’t too common. Also, they are a very small snake and to get two skins that were a close match and then for both to stretch even an inch wide was going to be tougher. After about another month, a friend in Texas came up with a set. Then, it was time for the hair on the upper limb. Instead of horse hair, I saved a beard from my first wild turkey that I took 3 years ago. The magic in that beard had to be part of it. Here are the final specs: 36-inches long tip-to-tip. 42 lbs. The arrow in the pics is 24" long. The bow bottoms out at 23 inches of draw.
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Now that is a bow.......sweet jesus that's some bend. While your finish and decoration is certainly examplary the physical bow is what really trips this old man's trigger......most excellent.
rich
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Wow! That is a lot of bend out of that thing. Very nice work.
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holy cow matt,that is one of the greatest bows i have seen this year...i really wish you would have done a how-to on it...it would be neat to see the whole prosses...it would work great in the brush...thanks so much for sharing...john
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outstanding bow!! thanks for the motivation
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Woa!
How does it bend that deep?
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YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! Sweet baby jesus look at 'er bend. :o
Glad you found a set of coral skins for her Matt. That finish turned out awesome brother. That is one special bow. Hold onto that one n never let it go.
Glad I got to see this one in person,but it was before the skins and finish and it was awesome then,if I only could see her now in person all prettied up afterwards.
P.s. Marty sent me a sneak peek pic of it finished up a few days ago ;)....again AWESOME JOB
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I keep coming back to this thread. I'm mezmorized!
I'd love to see a build along. Where/How did you get the horn that big?
Think that would work with bamboo?
What is the draw weight/length? I'm trying to get shorter and shorter (without breaking) to eventualy arive at a bow that I can shoot frommy kayak. Since I basicaly sit at water level 36" is perfect!
I can't believe it bends so deeply. I had heard that horn was wonderful on compression.
I'm guessing you used a form for the glue up? Hide glue? It holds well for actual use?
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Half-eye, Outlaw, Blacktail, JBoyd: Thank you for your kind words. I was really excited by this one.
Blackhawk: I knew about the sneak peak. But, I knew the "cell phone pic" wouldn't do it as much justice. Thank you brother, It was a fun build.
Prarie Bowyer: I got the horn years ago from Lukas Novotny. Evidently, water buffalo horn gets that long. I don't know for certain if bamboo would take that much compression. My educated guess is not. It draws 42 lbs at 23 inches. It won't pull a bit more than 23. It just seems to STOP right at 23. I did not use a form for the glue up. The horn has a natural curve to it. I glued each horn half to the osage core. Yes, hide glue. It holds up extremely well.
P.S. On the horn. Not having longer horn at the time, Jim Hamm adjoins 4 pcs about 9-inches long on his bow. Since the horn is on the belly (compression) side of the bow it works.
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Very nicely done sir. Thank you for sharing such a special thing as this.
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Man I have to agree with Blackhawks first sentence, Its got to be one of the nicest bows I've ever seen. Good on ya, cant wait to see your next one.
Crg
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Hot Damn!!!! Now THAT my friend is a Hornbow! I love everything about it but that bend & length (or lack there of) is the cat's meow.
I have 4 sets of water buff horn coming shortly. I was/am planing on some Asiatic style builds but I will be trying one of these...
Did you groove the osage and horn or just glue them as they are? Any idea on the speed of that shorty?
Thanks for sharing the pics on this one Matt!
Oh, and why does that hairy cheeked Blackhawk guy get all the special treatment? ::)
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I think you got all the bend out of that one. That is one, pretty, bow.
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KILLER...!!!
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That is absolutely beautiful. Great job!
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Mullet, Medicinewheel & Bryce: Thank you for your kind words. It was a lot of fun to make.
Lee: I didn't groove the osage & horn. I did scratch them up with a fine toothed band saw blade. I don't know how fast it is. I shot 1/4 inch arrows through it before it was finished at Elm Hall. It was quite simple making it well over the 100 yard Elk's back. It weren't my intentions to make it over the back. I was trying to hit the elk.
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very nice composite,, i really like the snake cover,,, ,, how much sinew is on the bow??
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8) 8) 8) That is one bad bow with an incredible bend! Nice snake choice too!
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Amazing crazy bend in that bow!
short bows generally isnt my thing...but i have to make an exception for this beauty.
Nice skins too,well done!
/Mikael
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Holy #%€# !!!!! That bow is absolutely stunning! I would give my entire collection for that bow... My hats off to you, absolutely amazing..
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awesome bow that is just amazing
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Robustus: There are three layers of leg sinew on the bow. Plus an additional layer at the handle area.
Hobow, DBB & Ifrit: Thank you, kindly. I wished I'd have done a build-a-long. It was my first hornbow and more experimental for me. I will when I build another.
Thank you, Dazv!
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i think its all been said , however it is a great bow and refreshingly different from what we see daily. great job Matt a lot of work went into this one , i love to see a bow work and this one is on OVERTIME.
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Cool bow.
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wow that is awesome! You are a master!
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Matt everything has been said and I agree with all of it. Outstanding job!!
Lane
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beautiful job Matt, that is one sweet bow. most impressive!
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Gorgeous bow. If you make another I think you could save yourself a lot of material by only laminating the horn to the middle half and only sinewing that part as well since that's where all the bend is occurring. Also since the outer limbs are stiff they could be narrowed to a greater degree for better speed. Having all the horn and sinew at the tips now is just a lot of dead weight, especially considering how much heavier they are than wood.
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Whoa!!
Matt,
That thing is awesome !!
Glad to have you back at it !
Guy
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Simply Awesome!!!!
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Amazing craftsmanship. I'll take one in black ;D
Jeff
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Thank you: Ken, Scowler, 4nolz, Johnston, Eric, Ryoon, Guy, Beetlebailey, n2nhuntn.
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man i cant get over the bend in that thing , great bow .
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Can't add anything to all of the positive comments about this bow. Just want to say great job, you have a lot of votes coming your way much deserved!
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Incredible,awesome piece of craftsmanship. ' Frank
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~Ummmmmm! Nice. 8)
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Cool Matt! I have seen that little bugger in action I believe. The Coral skins are the finishing touch for certain.
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Very cool little bow Matt, Tiller looks great and the skins are awesome. :) :)
Very nice job. :)
Pappy
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Wow, just saw this thread. Amazing bend.
George
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I can't say anything that hasn't already been said, Matt. That is a great looking bow, and I've got a feeling it might earn you a new hat.
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Yes Sir,
That's one Fine looking Bow!
-gus
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Speechless. I cannot say it any better than those before me. Magnificent creation!
John
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Dunno why I'm so late gettin' to this party.
Great bow, great photograph too.
Excellent work.
I can see I'm just going to have to do shorty, and a horn sinew bow soon.
Inspirational work, clean and simple. I like the tillering info too.
Del
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Wow! That bow is beautiful, Matt. It didn't look near that pretty at Elm Hall. LOL Great job!
Darryl
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Thank you, SA, Awahi, Sparrow and Mike for the nice compliments.
Drums: Yes you did see it at Elm Hall. I said that I wouldn't post it until is was completely finished.
Pappy: Good to hear from you. Hope all is well.
George, Jonathan, Gus, Hawk and Del: Thank you all, it means a lot to me.
Darryl: It was great to see you at the Elm Hall shoot. Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon.
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BRAVO!!!!!!! Simply amazing. The 36" length and 23" draw show that your bow is the height of the art of bow making. Incredible finish all I can say again is AMAZING.
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Keep coming back to this thread OFTEN hoping for some more photos, details, snakeskins up close, whatever. Be creative... :)
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That is amazing. Very nice. How does it shoot?. God Bless
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Missed this one somehow :o
Great work, wonderfull shorty!
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JBL, ScottD, Fusizoli: Thank you very much!
Pete C: It shoots pretty good! Zings an arrow right where you want it.
Medicinewheel: Here's some more pics, as requested. Thanks for asking!
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I really love this little bow! ;D
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You are just making me jealous :D exellent bow by the way.
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Everything about this bow is beautiful. The tiller is perfect for such a small piece of wood, but demonstrates how the first people utilized many materials working together to obtain optimal performance.
Cipriano
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Simple design, beautiful bow, and making full use of the horn sinew combo
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Thank you for your nice compliments, Parnell, Legionnaire, Cipriano and Chuck! It was a lot of fun to make. Also too, a great lesson in patience. I'm building some reinforced horn self nocked, obsidian point arrows as we speak. Gonna just have to try taking some game this season with her.
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wow - talk about pushing the limits! Glad your patience paid off. Truly stunning bow!
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I just don't get tired of looking at this little bow.... Amazing!!!!
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One of the BEST I've seen in a while. Good work!