Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: steve b. on December 15, 2012, 06:53:28 am
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Bored at work so I thought I'd share my latest project. Its about 63" and at floor tiller stage. The handle is recessed so much (5") that I don't really know what I can do with the draw length. I'm just going to start tillering and see what happens. It has lots of knots and wobbles. I had to steam the handle and fade on the upper limb and hang about 40 lbs. off the tip in order to bend that limb in line with the handle.
It was just under 2" wide for most of the length but was getting so thin that I finally narrowed it to get it bending. I'm following the back on the belly....
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120186.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120248.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120258.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120274.jpg)
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(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120272.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120270.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120261.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120266.jpg)
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Yahoo!!!!
You get that one shootin you did something :)
What weight you shooting for???
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Good luck with that...thems are called teacher staves ;)
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Watch them bumps ;)
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Way above my skill set.
It would have been firewood already ;) Good luck.
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I would love a stave like that
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Like Blackhawk said that is a teacher stave. It will teach you a lot about wood bows if you listen and do what it wants. ;)
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I wish you luck, from what I see you may have took to much off to soon.......I hope I am wrong. Extremely reflexed vine maples are not easy.
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Sure hope you keep posting pictures...way cool bow...
Catahoula
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Looks like a fine Vine Maple stave. Typical VM reflex. Just be sure to follow all those humps and bump clusters with the thickness taper and scoop them out on the belly side and you'll do fine.
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Thanks alot for the feedback. I welcome any comments.
My ultimatel goal is to build a really nice 60 lbs. (ish) big game hunting bow from one of the two or three VM logs that I aquired. So I'm "getting to know the wood" (bend testing in essence) by using the the scraps or challenged splits to make lesser bows as I make my way to the choice pieces.
So with this bow I just want a good tiller and a bow as heavy as possible that will draw as far as possible.
Definately a teacher stave. Much more desirable at my intermediate skills than building yet another bow from a straight, clean stave.
I know Bryce would have no problem with this stave. I just finished a 49" D-bow from this stock and I experimented with the humps by treating them like humps instead of knots and followed the contour on the belly by cutting across the belly with a round file and dishing out the trenches, as randman says. These humps otherwise become large reinforced stiffened areas that rob the bow of its potential.
Its less than .5" thick in the upper limb and wasn't bending at all when over 1.5" wide in that area. Its down to 1.3" or less now and the widest part of the bow is about 1.8" and it is floor tillering now. So I don't know how that's taking too much off too soon, VMBs, as it is barely moving at this point. But I want to hear about it.
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Good luck with this one Steve. I hope to see it shooting.
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You can do it! ;D I have one tillered and ready for finish that is very similar. Full of bumps and about 7 inches of natural reflex. I kept expecting it to lose some of the reflex but it has not. Your bow will probably end up with a slightly recessed handle area like a gull wing. Looking forward to watching this.
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It's lookin real good ;D
More pics!!!!
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I am watching, and like I said I HOPE I AM WRONG. :) I could try to explain, and those that have tillered staves like this I think may understand what I am refering too.......it takes some serious patience to tiller a stave like that....ido you plan to have it bend through the handle?
VMB
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Update?
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I'm glad you asked, so I didn't have to go in seach of my thread. Wow, this thing really tested me. I had to work each hump whilst tillering and took it SO slow until it finally started looking like a bow.
Its obviously not done as you can see the tiller is off. I'm going to thin the upper section of the upper limb to make it match the lower. The upper is an inch longer, as with all my bows. The tips have elk antler overlays that are very long and not quite finished.
My question is this: I am pulling it about 20" max with 3 or 4" of brace. Besides the obvious tiller problem, how much draw can I realistically get out of this and should I weaken the fades in order to get it?
It started with almost 5" of handle backset and now has about 2.5". The upper limb had a natural deflex in the center and also a knot there so I left it thick and now the lower limb is setting in the same area and so is matching the upper, which I like.
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120327.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120336.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120322.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120320-1.jpg)
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(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120311.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120309.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120318.jpg)
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(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120317.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120315.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120313.jpg)
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That's looking awesome! Way to stick with a tough stave. It's really hard judge tiller on a wild stave like that just based on pictures so I won't try to give any critique on what I see. If it were my bow I would coax the remaining draw length out of the fades area.
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It's hard to tell w/o a side unbraced profile shot.
I'm working a piece of yew that has a sharp kink right out of the handle and it's making me work.
You'll get it bud.
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Very tough stave, looks like you are almost there. Tillering staves like that will add a few gray hairs. :)
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Just based on the pictures, I'd try to get her working as close to the fades as possible. That should relieve some of the mid limb stress.
Your doing a great job on a tricky stave, keep at it.
Gabe
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Ok, if nobody else is going to ask, I will. What type of wood is that stump your bow is setting on? Good luck with that bow too, I tried one like that, bracing it sucked and then mid limb she broke. My tiller had stressed the mid limb out to much. Easy thing to do on that style. Maybe one day I will try again. Keep workin at her, looks like it will come around.
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WOW,Man what a crooked stick looks like you are coming along nicely. :)
Pappy
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I kept my mouth shut earlier,but ill say it now....on staves like that with all those knots n humps n bumps,and with that setback handle,I default to making a bend in the handle bow to spread the stresses out thru all the character spots and the mid limbs due to the setback handle,and you'd be able to squeeze out a couple more inches of draw.
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I'll second what blackhawk said. I have not had luck on knoty limbs with stiff handles.
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Thanks alot for the feedback and support. I really like the varying opinions and insights. My goal is to always be trying something new so that I am learning to be a better bowyer. And again, here I'm working up to some cleaner VM staves so I can build a heavy hunting bow. My last bow was a short D-bow that took the stress I wanted and so I knew this stave, being much longer, should handle a similar stress and so I made the handle stiff.
If this one ends up only being able to pull 22", or breaks, or sets, or whatever, then so be it, and I will have learned something toward my future VM bows.
I should be able to squeeze another inch or so of draw out of this if I fix that upper limb and weaken the fades a little. And then I'll see how it handles being shot.
That stump is doug fir. I'm gong to build a heated shelter and fire pit there so I can build bows there no matter the weather. I'll use that stump for a table.
I'll finish this bow up today......
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Blackhawk has said what I have been thinking...deflexing the handle with steam and making the bow a working handle (only slightly) or steaming the tips making a R/D effect would have let you retain more wood on the belly. I have been down this exact road myself and although you are doing very well at tillering it the way the stave was in it's natural state, by the time you get to 28 inch draw (because of limb length) the bow may look like it is being overdrawn. I would have myself made it a R/D. Still watching... great effort on a tough stave. :)
VMB
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Whatever. I'm pretty much done with it. I shot it 50 times. It came in at 45# @27", much lighter than I wanted but it shoots very nice. Still needs sanding and finish. Later.
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120363.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120364.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120366.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120367.jpg)
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(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120342.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120353.jpg)
(http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/SteveBush1/P1120361.jpg)
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Whatever?? Ok. I think you done a excellent job finishing it out :)....You said.."I really like the varying opinions and insights" guess you changed your mind? Whatever.. :)
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Steve, that looks sweet. 8) I love that unbraced profile. Are you bringing that to Sylvan next week?
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That looks really good!!!
Nice job!
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Thanks guys for your comments. Its a little funky looking also because the upper limb is longer and has a big knot in the center (not a hump, a knot) so is stiff there, causing the upper limb to arc less.
I can bring the bow to Sylvan's, sure. I'll post one more pic when I get it all done.
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Heck yeah man bring it I wanna check it out.
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looks excellent considering all those bombs along the limbs :laugh:
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I would have lost patience on that and tossed it to the side, where it would have haunted me until I did something with it, which would have wound up breaking it due to impatience. While even though everybody was holding their breath and wincing at every photo you posted ( I know I was, just imagining the explosion that must come next ) you turned around and made it a functional bow. Congrats man, looks nice, especially knowing why that upper limb is a touch stiff. I would like to make one recommendation if I may, please wear safety glasses when pulling on a stick like that until you have shot it enough to be certain its not going to send splinters into your eyes. I have come close to that, and I wear them for that reason. Just a thought, as I have had bows leave bruises on me.
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Thanks ionicmuffin.
Good advice sleek. I actually take off my safety glasses just for the photo because they are so funky looking. I have to wear them as they are prescription and I can't work the bow without them unless I were to wear reading glasses. I've actually entertained the idea of wearing a low profile helmet when pulling some bows, at least until, like you say, they are shot in.