Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: UserNameTaken on October 23, 2011, 09:15:11 pm
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Does anybody have pictures of Scotch Broom bows that they've made? What measurements work for a hunting weight broom bow? I see lots of broom around here, but it doesn't look big enough to yield a bow.
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I don't have pics, but I heard John Strunk has made bows from it. And around my town we have several Scotch Broom over 4" diamiter, and at least 5' long. There is a field about 10 miles from my house that is covered in Scotch Broom trees.
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I've never made one but a friend has with good reports. I can't get hold of him at the moment to get measurements....but it does make a good bow!
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I've spent the last hour trying to post some pics of mine but I keep getting the "failed security check - contact an administrator" message and I loose all the description text I spend time typing in. All the pics (5 of them) are under 200kb. Very frustrating. >:( Anyone have any ideas about how to make this happen - administrators?....
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Best just to upload the pictures to a photobucket account or similar. Once uploaded you will find a link under your picture that is encased with IMG tags, simply copy this link and paste it into you reply here and your done ;)
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I keep hearing about photobucket ,but I cant even figure it out anyone out there with the Patience to help out an illiterate old man ?!!
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Hey guy...here's the link to sign up for photobucket. Sign up,send ur photos from and thru your email. Then you'll have to copy and paste from your photo album to post pics here. Send me a pm if you need anymore help......ill help ya ole man :laugh:
http://register.photobucket.com/?ref=joinus
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DeerHunter, are you sure that what you've seen is scotch broom? We've got lots of it around here, and I've never seen it bigger than maybe an inch in diameter. If I ever see one with a 4" stump, it's mine!
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Here are a few of mine. The one on the far left was my second successful shooter that passed the 100 arrow test but it was only about 18lbs (but still wicked fast) so it now has 2 layers of sinew (my first sinewed bow) and I plan on adding a final thick strip right down the middle and give it a tiller touch-up. Right now it is about 30lbs@21" 43"ntn (full draw on the tree). The second from left is 50" ntn and 35lbs@24". It is 1" wide from the grip to mid limb the tapering to 3/8" nocks. Heat treated and also wicked fast (don't have a chrono so I can't give you a number just makes a good tthhhwack at 20 yds).
The 3rd from left is a character stave I've had to 35lbs@24" but developed a compression fracture I'll have to patch before I do any more to it or pull it further. Shot it a bunch even with the fracture and it hasn't gotten any worse. This stuff is tough and extremely hard to break and if you do break it (I am real good at breakin stuff), it doesn't explode with a bang like some woods just kind of crushes over and shreds on the backside.
The 4th from left is 60" tip to tip. 1 3/4" wide at the fade tapering to 1/2" at the tip. It's just now starting the tillering process. Very stiff and springy. Hope to get 45 to 50 lbs@28"
5th from left is 58" and is also very stiff and springy. Hoping I can get at least 50lbs from that one as well. Will be trickier to tiller since it has what I calling a knee on the lower limb. I decided if it makes it, Knee will be it's name.
3rd from right is 1" wide and 5/8" thick at center limb and I can't even bend it yet at floor tiller.
The one on the far right is 2 1/2" wide. It started out as a fairly straight piece, completely seasoned, and after roughing it out to that shape it took on a crazy amount of reflex. Just about every piece I've worked with has taken on reflex after roughing out so a word of advice: seal the ends after harvest and leave the bark on and don't rough it out until it has seasoned a month or two or it will completely bend around on itself like a crab bow. I've seen it happen. It gives up moisture really fast and will pull it self apart in little checks if the bark is removed too early.
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I guess it's only going to let me load these 1 at a time
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Braced view
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Scotch Broom and sinew
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last one
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Rand, how big are the bushes that you're using?
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It varies but I've been in Scotch Broom 'forests' around here where the broom is about 14' high. I have seen 4" and 5" dia. stuff. It's common to find annual growth rings 1/4" thick. That's how fast it grows and why it has become such a nuisance. It's one of those plants that nobody cares how much you take.
I recently found some lone stalks shooting up through blackberry brambles to reach the light 10' or so with nice straight stem with no side branches and all the broom at the top. Have to hack my way through the blackberries to reach it.
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I saw a bunch growing around the Cabelas store in Lacy, Washington. I don't think any of it was that big though. What region are you guys in?
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I'm in the city in North Seattle. Most of my SB I've gotten in Discovery Park Seattle. It's an old post civil war / Spanish American war fort that covers hundreds of acres. The park service rips the stuff out and piles it up to be chipped and I come along and pull stuff out of the pile. It can be deceiving looking at a thicket of it, doesn't look too big until you get into the grove and then it is bigger than it looked from the outside. Sometimes you can find thick stuff that is short but could be used like billets and joined to make a longer stave.
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thanks, randman, this is all good info. I'm gonna try scotch broom too- the park i work at has hunderds of acres.
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Yeah, I'm really curious about the stuff too. Just need to find a bush that's big enough.
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The following was coppied from Tim Bakers bow wood list.
SCOTCH BROOM is a yellow-flowering little bush that grows along the roadways of California, watered by runoff from the crowned streets. It’s like countless other such plants, in that at first glance it seems more like a useless weed than the makings for an first-class bow. There are surely scores of such unsung shrubs waiting to sling arrows as well as the known woods if just given a chance. Scotch Broom is a great little bow wood. Dense and tough. If any size at all it tends to be twisted and gnarly. This wood tends to check easily when drying, so treat it like plum. Use trunks as narrow as 1” in diameter. Two such “trunks” spliced together at the grip will yield a 66” or so bow. The high crown will be safe, the resulting low mass only improving cast. The narrower the limb the longer the bow should be. But sub 48”, even 36”, self staves make evil little “Indian bows, the shorter ones limited to 40lb with drawlengths just under half of bow length. 50lb-plus, and stronger draws, can be gotten from mid-50” and longer bows.