Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Stringman on June 08, 2012, 11:01:55 am
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Ok. So I had this idea. I wanted to do something a little different with the bow trade theme. So earlier this year when I went up to John's (iowabow) house for his little get to together I took a couple pieces of prime osage. They were actually sister staves and well dried. At some point I approached John about the idea and then remembered I had a third stave off that split at home, so I invited JW into the little scheme as well.
The plan was to take one of the sister staves and build your best bow and trade it to the next guy. All three bows will have come from the same 1/8th split of a massive osage tree and we decided to name them all Burlington Brothers.
So after names went in the hat, I drew John's and got started as soon as I got home. I quickly realized my stave wasnt perfect and what looked like an easy build turned frustrating. In the bottom limb I found a wind check that went all the way through the limb. I decided to cut it out completely, but that left me with only about an inch of width on the working limb. And so the challenge was on. Could I make a bow with a little bit of hedge?
John's wanted a 62" bow to draw 55 - 60# @ 24"...
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After reflexing the stave I realized that it was gonna come in light with the narrow limbs. So I turned all my attention toward making sure I nailed the tiller early without a lot of scraping. i also, contacted my buddy Cipriano for a set of skins because the bow was taking on a little character and I wanted to really show it off.
After gettin a good idea of the floor tiller I went ahead and flipped the tips. I wasnt really trying for strong recurves, but I am not used to working on short wood. So it came out a little stronger than what I thought.
After flipping the tips, I decided to go ahead and rough out the handle and cut in the shelf. I know that John doesn't normally shoot with a shelf so I wanted to give him a taste to see if he liked it.
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By this point I had scraped her into shape and the tiller was looking pretty close. When the skins arrived I went right to work and got them cut out and layed down. Nothing prettier than a slender girl in tight jeans and this one was startin to stand out!
I knew I was close but there was a piece of the puzzle eluding me... After talking with Cipriano again on a different subject he mentioned a unique piece of mesquite that he had laying around. I asked, and he said "sure!" (what a guy!)
The BB bow has tips...
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After the knappin that John and I attended last weekend I had him shoot the bow and t a test run. I also took the opportunity to take some "money shot" pics. He seemed pleased and I can't wait to hand it to him as a completed bow (I didnt have the tips on it then.)
Now with the BB bow completed, I have to say I'm pleased with it. The bow is snappy in the hand and light, without any extra weight. i must say that it pushes the limits with it's narrow limbs and recurved tips, but it gave me a new appreciation for well tillered osage wood.
I cant wait to see what JW and Iowabow turn out!
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:)
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Beautiful bow,very well done,tiller looks good and finish work is very nice also. :) :)
Pappy
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great explanation of the process. love the bow too!
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Yes Sir Stringman!
Dang Fine looking Bow!
What were Her final specs?
I see that you were shooting for 55-60# @24"...
Thank You for showing her off!
-gus
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The bow is beautiful but did notice one thing in the lay out lines in the first photo. Yo did not follow the lateral grain with your center line. It is usually a good idea to do that especially with osage. Jawge
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mighty fine bow ya made there!
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Yo did not follow the lateral grain with your center line.
I'm curious what you mean by "lateral lines" Obviously, I'm still learning some of the verbage, but I did try hard to follow the grain of the wood when laying out the center line (faintly visible in the first photo.) My first consideration was keeping the small pin knot in the middle so it wouldn't effect the limbs integrity too much.
Did I miss something?? ???
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What were Her final specs?
I see that you were shooting for 55-60#
-gus
Gus, I was thrown when I lost all that width in the lower limb. The final was closer to 45-50# @ 24". A fact that I'm not proud of. I was hopng to get a little closer to his "requested" draw weight. However, it is a good shooter and John was drilling the spots he was looking at. My hope is that is becomes a nice target bow for him.
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A fine piece of work, Stringman!!
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There's nothing wrong with that Stringman...
Sometimes Wood is like a box of Chocolates...
You just don't know what your getting until you take a bite...
HAHAHA.... :)
-gus
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Scott builds a fine bow! My first arrow through the bow at 15 yards just drilled the spot and the second was within inch! It pulls so nice and is a great bow to shoot. I really like the tips and it will be my first snake skinned bow. I only hope JW's turns out as nice. Thank you Scott!
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Scott that's a mighty fine bow! John looks happy with her. You did great with those skins and the tips look excellent. Always happy to corrupt folks with the beauty of mesquite :laugh:
Cipriano
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so ya missed the # by a few, he got one heck of a sweet bow, and he look's down right happy with it, Bub
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Thanks Bub. Youre right I think he is pleased with it. The untold half of that story is that I always have trouble shooting against him. Every time we compete he walks away with it and leave sme feeling like a kid. ::) And now I made him another bow he seems to shoot well... I really need to start practicin more!
Cipriano- You were right about that root color. It does appear to be a shade darker than normal. In any case it is a very nice accent on that bow. Thanks again!
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Good grief, Stringbeans, you really set the bar high with that bow. I will endeavor to bear down and do you proud with the stave you gifted me.
For the rest of you, I have the stave down to a growth ring. I dunno how old this stave is, but it is seasoned to a fair-thee-well. The rings slipped right off under my new spokeshave. It was a pleasure and I was tempted to take the whole thing down one ring at a time until there was nothing left. But the honor of the Burlington Brotherhood required I save enough to make a bow. I'll get some pictures and I will post my own thread on my part of this tryptic trade.
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Haha! If youre refering to that little jewel of craftsmanship that I almost tried to take from you... Then I bet that was a fun stave to whittle on. That was a beaut of a spoke shave!!
And I would like to point out that this is not a contest, (I think you already know that.) More a comparison of three different bow types being made from the same piece of wood. The fun will be in seeing these three bows drawn side by side. I meant to apply no pressure. Just couldnt help myself to get the ball rolling. :laugh:
Thanks to both Johns for agreeing to humor me in this endeavor!
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I like that Scott has made me a bow that can shoot better than my bows now i can really get the best of him in the next shootin contest. Maybe i can split you arrow instead of just hitting the notch hehe. Notice i did not tell the whole story.
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;D ;D ;)
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You are right, this is not a contest between the three of us, I never felt that way. BUT...with the regard I have for the other two participants I can accept no less from my own efforts than my very best.
I'm starting to get an idea on what I am going to do with that stave. She is starting to whisper to me in my sleep and tell me what she wants.
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Fun adventure you guys.Great tree too.You got my vote.Made myself another yellow bow too 65" 56.5# at 28" while waiting for my sinew bow to cure.