Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Sidewinder on December 14, 2012, 11:00:10 am
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I was just wondering what the tightest rings you guys have worked on osage without backing it? I normally have pretty good ring thickness on most of the stuff I harvest. Somewhere in the four to 8 rings per inch catagory, but I just finished working on one that had a 1" handle thickness and it had 20 growth rings in it. The limbs were 3/8" thick and they had 7 growth rings in them.
I had concerns about whether or not it would hold up but it turned out real nice and I can't believe how micro those rings are. I was pretty happy I was able to chase one all the way down the back and not violate anything. I can tell you this, if its a well cured stave it won't gouge and my super sharp draw knife can find the early growth easily and its just a matter of staying on it all the way down and then cleaning it up with sandpaper and then burnishing it with 00 steel wool.
I used to think I needed thick rings cuz I was concerned about not being able to chase a tight ring but I guess if you spend enough time debarking and chasing rings with a draw knife it becomes rather easy and then ring thickness does'nt matter because you learn to control it very precisely.
I may post some pics of it on another thread I will start soon. Gotta get the photos done first.
Danny
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I have used some that was thin enough that i was afraid to do any thing but a real light sanding after chasing the ring. I never counted the rings though. Never have backed osage yet.
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Yup..its really not that difficult chasing thin rings if you already have the "know how"...I've done a few in the 1/32" unbacked,and they are still shooting great to this day.
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I've never chased anything under about 1/16 of an inch, but I can tell you that using a dull draw knife makes chasing a ring near fool proof.
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Anymore I prefer tight ringed Osage. That bow John just posted had ten rings in the limbs but I've made em with even tighter rings than that. It seems to me that tight rings (with good ratio) make a little better performing bows than say 1/4" rings with equally good ratio.
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Will brings up a good point...its all about ring ratio.....a bow with 1/16" thick latewood with literally paper thin early wood is better than 1/8" latewood with 1/8" of early wood. I look at the ratio more so than the ring size. But most all Osage makes a great bow no matter what the rings look like IMHO. Id take the less dense osage over any of the whitewoods any day of the week.
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Agree. Ratio makes all the difference. Most of the thin ring Bois d'ark i"ve worked however, had better ratio than the thicker ringed stuff. Not always true but generally speaking.
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I agree with you blackhawk! Any Osage is better than them "other" woods! >:D lol
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I agree with the ratio thing. One thing ive discovered tho is a high ratio of spring growth will take more set and is less likely to survive dry heat recurving. Still makes a fine bow tho..
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So hows that yew going will?...it ain't osage...is it? >:D
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It can cook a brat or kill a frenchmen...lol
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Hawkman I'm gonna work on it some more after work today. I'm building an Osage right along with it. Same length, same weight. That way I can get some personal perspective on it. So far I like how easy the stuff works :) gonna put em both on the reflex form tonight :)
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Oh, and I'm gonna start trying out the mass principle on these as well along with badgers no set tillering technique. Well see how it goes!
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Sweet..now ya just need to try out them blackhawk tips too..lol :laugh: yew is an "ole mans" wood for dudes who don't have osage muscles ;) it is a pleasure to work with
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Yep, the thinner the creamy colored stuff is, the less likely it is to go bang!
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thanks for all the input guys. I will be posting the bow I made sometime soon. Danny
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I too prefer thin ringed osage but I usually back it with rawhide for insurance. The rawhide can be pretty cool looking if it becomes transparent with the glue(hide) or an oil finish like Tru-Oil or it makes a great pallet for decorating when it is translucent.
If a thin ringed osage stave has knots or pins showing on the back I think you definately need a backing because it is so difficulkt to get a clean back without voilating the back ring around the knots and pins.
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Anymore I prefer tight ringed Osage. That bow John just posted had ten rings in the limbs but I've made em with even tighter rings than that. It seems to me that tight rings (with good ratio) make a little better performing bows than say 1/4" rings with equally good ratio.
I second that. Although maybe I just have good osage with thin rings, don't know.
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Pat, I had considered backing it with rawhide but when it turned out so nice without it I decided to see if it could take it all the way thru tiller and it did.
The 10 rings in the other post is pretty good considering that mine had 7 rings in a 3/8th thick limb. I'm not sure how thick his limbs were but that puts my rings at a little less than 1/16th. I like how it looks out of the fades because and the dips because of all the layers.
Danny
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Since any osage I find around my house tends to be dropped off by the post man or UPS, I don't tend to pass on much of it. I take it as it comes.
That little trick of backing with rawhide is great ammunition to keep in your war chest. Yeah, high early growth to late growth isn't optimal. But has anyone actually done a good scientific comparison head to head? Are we talking 10% slower? In an average 150 fps from a 50 lb bow, you still have more than enough energy to do a thru-and-thru on a deer.
So if you end up with an RPI that you like, and the early to late ratio isn't amazing, push yourself to milking the very best from the bow with better design and execution. It's all about the challenge of doing your best with the materials at hand. If your final criteria is performance, go play with space age polymers, wheels, levers, hydraulics, and computer aided design.
That's my opinion. and I'm glad there are those of you that disagree and happily post pics of your work! Keep it up!
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Nice :) that bow "10 ring" I made for John was just under 1/2" thickness in the limbs. It turned out to be a real nice performing bow :)