Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: ionicmuffin on November 25, 2012, 04:40:37 am
-
So ive promised my friend that i will make him a bowstring for his grandpas osage bow. His grandpa bought it YEARS ago and is estimated to have been made in the 1910-20s maybe 30s(according to him) not sure. But. When his grandpa passed it on to his dad, his dad took excellent care of it(according to him, haven't seen it yet.) i am hoping it can be shot. i am being entrusted with this bow to make a string, and if it all looks really good, to shoot it. When i post pics you lot can see if it seems to be safe(ill get my sis to take pics with her nice cam to get details)
What do you all think about the likelihood it will shoot again, given it was taken good care of, and the age of the bow? When i get the pics up i will need tips on how to get it into working shape, granted its not badly damaged.
-
What I know about old bows is just what I've read and so I would not do it unless you don't care if the bow lives. I do know someone who has lots of old bows like that and he would know. PM me if you're interested and I'll give you his number.
-
yeah, i understand that is possible, i wont do anything with it if it needs repairs or would need care to make it function again. Its up to his family of course, but if they give the go ahead then maybe. he may have been wrong about the bow age, because this is what the wood color looked like to him. This isn't the bow, but i was trying to determine the wood that the bow was made of, and that's approx the color that he identified it as.
-
I'm looking forward to seeing it......
-
Alright! Here's what we have.
-
Stop shaking the camera! ;) It's kinda hard to see the details. I'm thinking it's not osage because of the two tones [EDIT: Oh, I see that the darker wood is just the riser, never mind.] what is it backed with? is it a laminate or is it one piece of wood?
-
more pics.
-
More pics.
-
I know what you mean! i need to get some stabilizing thing... I have no clue as to what the backing is, but the backing is very thin, could be less than 1/16 in. There are two pieces of wood in the handle section because its a very thin handle. 1.5 inches deep but less than an inch wide. The tips are narrow, and the grooves are just on the sides. The backing is de-laming.
-
Is it possible that the backing is fiberglass?
-
im not sure, it almost seems to have a grain to it, because its black it allows me to see under light a wiggle in the "grain" of the back. But in all honesty i have no idea what it is.
-
I would put a string on it and don't string it. Give it a happy retirement on a wall. Would be a shame to have lasted all those years to break now. Make a new bow.
-
Ill be honest, he may really want to get it working. I have heard that many of these older bows can work again if properly worked to full draw again. I will have to ask him again knowing that it has a delam. If any of you know of someone who fixes these kind of old bows then that would be great!(even one of you lot ;) ) He is about 15 years old, but his dad gave it to him to shoot, when i ask again about if he wants it to work, or if he would like to leave well enough alone he and his dad can talk it over.
-
i had one very similiar to that one.my backing was a fiber card backing that they used before glass.they also used that fiber backing for electronic circut boards.it probably is lemonwood.they used it alot before the trade embargo against cuba.that is where lemonwood(degame)comes from.
-
I think a moisture meter is a good idea to make sure it is not too dry. and de-lam can be re-lammed, glue is stronger than wood in most cases. Good luck, but I do agree it might a better show piece.
-
Is it really worth it to try to shoot that bow? Especially with that damage. Why not help him make his own bow so he will have one to shoot. I have a couple of old Lemonwood bows that a now deceased friend gave me years ago. I would never string them or shoot them. To me its not worth the chance of breaking them. They are beautiful wallhangers. Good luck with what ever you do with it.
-
Some of the old osage bows have the sapwood on too, and they work. I'm not sure that's what you have here though. Its cool to see an old bow.
-
If the bow has been stored in a living space and that space is not in an arid area, the bow ought to be fine. Get a hypo kind of syringe and inject some hide glue into the delaminated spot and clamp. When the glue has cured, put a string on it and start working it. The backing will actually tighten down to the back when the bow is drawn, as long as the rest of the glue is good. That could be crumbly if it got way too dry at any time.
Don't forget the draw length is only 26". Also, 45# is pretty stiff for the average 15-year-old, especially if new to archery.
A wood bow stored inside with reasonably average humidity for 50 years will be just the same as one stored for five weeks. The moisture meter is a good idea if storage conditions for the last few months were not good or are unknown.
Jim Davis
-
Man we live in washington! its always wet, we dont have real dryness here. Ill ask him where it was kept, hopefully it was somewhere good. Would nox glue work? I have a feeling he would want to peruse making it work again. i did give it a little bend to see if it still had any spring left, it seems to have no issues aside from the delam
-
That is lemonwood. They were standard issue for schools in the 40's and 50's though generally not that heavy a draw. Some of the later ones had backings of man made material. Fiberglass was not available until after WW 2. There were some other "modern" materials used before fiberglass.
-
ok, new info on the bow. It has been stored well and was never in too dry of a place. I also can say late 40s- early 50s. I would imagine you are right about them being school bows, it has a number 2 on it, so it must have been for a school to number them like they do guns these days for boy scout practice.
-
That is an old lemonwood bow in the American Longbow style. Maybe from York Archery.
I'm with Osage Outlaw, let it retire and enjoy it for what it was. I also have a few old lemonwood bows and I would not brace or shoot them.
If they really want to give it a try you have to re-educate the bow and wood to bend and recover. Floor tiller it slowly then add a string but without tension. Work it a little at a time, inch by inch over a few days. Once you get the tips past 4" to 5" low brace it(2") and let it rest, braced for an hour or two. Gradually work the limbs out to full draw(26") and no farther.
-
Heres a old lemonwood bow, I redone the backing with a Komodo dragon skin Mullet gifted.
heres a few pic.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n584/spyder1958/Bows/Bow045-1.jpg)
Notice the backing it looks like wood till you peel it off
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n584/spyder1958/Bows/Bow056.jpg)
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n584/spyder1958/Bows/Bow051.jpg)
-
spyder, is that an old one or is it fairly new? Looks good either way.
Pat. I am not sure if he plans on continuing, i will make sure to have the family discuss what the want to do with it. if they don't want to do anything with it ill take it back to him, if he wants to continue ill follow your instructions.
-
also, with an old bow like this, what is the probability of it surviving if it we to be re worked to full draw?
-
Its old, came from an estate sale, no markings on this one.
-
how old would you guess? is it still going strong now?
-
No ideal, leather wrap was really dried out. wood has a nice aged look the backing had a yellowish look from age.
I have shot it a few times after I rebacked and put some reflex in the tips and added antler tips. basic a total redo. its still in work, but hers a pic or two.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n584/spyder1958/Bows/042.jpg)
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n584/spyder1958/Bows/044.jpg)
-
Sorry I cant tell much from the pics !
As well as a worthless old nut can remember !, the lemon wood bows from the era you are talking, that I have handled or owned are as follows !
The wood shows little to no grain ,and usually the handle was either built up with more of the same or a tropical wood that resembles mahogany . The handle was usually built up on the belly side only ! Many things were used for backings and often added latter not original !
If the wood shows some grain and the the build up for the handle is a north American wood then the wood is probably Hickory ! Many of these have a piece on both back and belly .
Either way they are all fun old bows to have around !!
The tiller on many of the Lemon wood bows is poor to terrible, the Hickory even with a fair amount of string follow are generally still in a better state of tiller !
some I patch up and shoot and some are just too cool to take a chance at wrecking!! The actual monetary value is not high but many have other value !
So there you have the ramblings of one worthless old nut that loves archery !
Have fun !
Guy
-
Here's one that I purchased a few weeks back. :( Sorry to say it didn't arrive in one piece. It was insured by the seller and he allowed me to keep the bow for a wall hanger rather than spending the funds to send it back. Luckily for me I didn't like the looks of the package and opened it in front of our local postmaster. No splinters missing so I used urac 185 glued and clamped it securely back in place and then added sinew extending 1" beyond the break both back and belly and then sinew wrapped.
-
The scratched off lable kind of looks like it could be an Indian Archery bow. You might Google Indian Archery Co and see if you can't come up with an old catalog that the bow would be in. My old Your longbow was built in the 1940s and was used by schools and summer camps. It cost $7 new. I think I paid $5 25 years ago at a flea market. Years ago I contacted the company that owned York Archery and they sent me a copy of the catalog it was listed in.