Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: ionicmuffin on March 16, 2013, 09:24:30 pm
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Ok. so im probably insane to even consider this but heres a piece of wood that i found in a pile of branches that my dad just cut today. Its fresh and its a cherry plumb. i was considering a sinew backed with high recurves. as you can tell, its already got the curves, so i was kind of hoping that if its possible, that i could turn it into a bow, even if i dont start it until im 30 lol
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Good luck with that one.
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i know, thats the problem. even if i did go on with it, im not sure if it would have a chance. i know the other ones i picked out were very strait, this one on the other hand i figured id ask just in case it was a possibility.
If its not even a remote possibility i may just burn it. but if not it would be the coolest stave ive ever collected.
And once again the bow bug has bitten very hard!
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I'm 30 and I'd walk right past that if I saw it in the woods. ;)
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ok. so then maybe i should turn it into a bow stand for displaying bows i make
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Looks like something I would have tried. I'm not all that smart sometimes :o
Gotta learn by peein on the electric fence for yourself sometimes though.
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Personally, I'd go for it. But I am an experimenter by nature. I wouldn't get your hopes up for anything, but I'd give it the ole college try.
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All I can see is firewood
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i kind of figured my hopes were far fetched. i guess i could take a swing at it, ill be using a pulley system tillering tree thing when i do and ill be around 20 ft back from it with glasses on lol.
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Put some brass hooks in it and call it a bow rack.
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I'm the kind of person that wood try like hell to get a bow out of that just to prove all the naysayers wrong...my only concern is the string tracking is pretty far off..but the side profile is def doable and manageable. How long is it around the curves n all? The wood looks pretty.
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Here is how you handle the string tracking. Cut a scarf joint out of that handle to realign the tips. After that, sinew the heck out of it, and make the bow. I would try it and expect to get a bow of it. I see no reason for that stave to fail. The hardest part will be cutting the handle out, and aligning the tips. But thats not even hard.
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Hahahah if your brave try it it could work just not a high chance it would
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sleek i see what your saying. why not instead use a brass sleeve? or whatever those are made of. I imagine that it would work with that too. ill go check the length, your talking about the measure of the wood following the curves right?
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ok, official length is 30 inches on the longer one that is more recurved. the shorter one is 26.5 inches. i could always lop off a little if the extra recurve is going to be a problem.
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Reason I asked length is because of a splice or billets possibitlty......you could cut in half and splice but you'd only get a kids draw bow basically....since its green id reduce it asap down to bow dimension and steam it to try and correct as much as you can,and leave it lashed/clamped down to dry
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alright
ill get to it
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Sleeves would work too bud. Just be careful, because its gonna be the handle that makes or breaks this bow. Oh, and dibs on it if you get rid of it :D
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lol, i figured there would be takers of the same insane thought process as me lol
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Dude thats an awesome piece of wood! Just have some fun, it doesn't matter if it's doable or not, how do u think people break records or make un-makeable bows! >:D
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Even a very experienced bowyer would have problems turning that into a bow. Now go out there and prove me wrong! ;D
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Life is far too short sorry :D
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YOU CAN DOO IIITTT!! Lol
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oh yeah i can! although ive been re-thinking sinew because that would just add more stresses than necessary, instead i could do rawhide
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Cherry is fairly compression strong and I believe that it can handle sinew just fine. I think it would tear the rawhide up though before the hide could do any good.
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Looks like a good start on a bow rack to me, but then again I haven't made enough bows yet to get tired of working nice wood. I guess if your froggy on that piece then knock yourself out and jump on it. I don't think I have enough desire to try it. Now if it was osage.........hmmmm. >:D ;)Danny
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Sinew backing would be a problem with weak compression but i think it would do well if you added a decent amount of sinew + heat-treating the belly to make sure it doesn't chrysal. That would make a hell of a bow to shoot!
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it can be done!!! dream on
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YOU CAN DOO IIITTT!! Lol
You gotta try now ;)
No turnin back!
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oh i know right? well ill just have to work hard on it. If it turns out i think i will name it "Impossible Insanity"
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I can diffently see a sinewed back bow in there. But cherrys not really good wood for that design even with the sinew. I'd keep it wide as long as I could and 2 thick layers or 3 thin layers of sinew and hope for the best. I'd go with the 3 thin layers. I've made HICKORY AND OSAGE bows from limbs that looked like that. I sinewed the HICKORY. I'd stay away from the heat with cherry. Made CAUL and clamp it to it green.
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If you succeed I'll call you Sir.
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oooo sounds like a nice title! guess now i HAVE to succeed! oh well. no going back now lol.
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If you dont, I'll call you a sissy....
I double dog dare ya...
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When I first started I looked for the cleanest/straightest wood I could find,then after a while I looked for the wood no body in their right mind would try,after a while with that I am back to clean and straight,mainly clean.It's all a learning process, go for it, the worst thing that can happen is it won't make it and after all it's just wood for now so don't fall in love with it. ;) :) Good luck and keep us posted. ;) :) :)
Pappy
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I say give it a try!
I have a pruned christmas tree sealed up and drying in the boiler room. It probably wont come out as a great bow, but it'll sure be a good stave for practice!
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A bad stave for practice is about like saying a bad woman is a good practice wife.... Do your best to get it right the first time...
That being said, I am willing to bet a Christmas tree can make a good bow, but very specific conditions must be met, length, draw weight, length, knot placement, tiller, frontal profile, and others I havent thought of yet. I would say a Christmas tree bow is a good idea for a bored experienced bowyer, not a new guy. But if you wanna try it, good luck, start a thread and im sure we will all try to help ya... Oh, wear safety glasses :)
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Just can't see anything good coming from an Xmas tree stave. Waste of time. You will learn that a knot covered soft wood won't bend very far without breaking. Here's a tip...a knot covered soft wood won't bend very far without breaking. If you now take that as a given and move on to a decent stave, one you can learn something from, your ahead of the knucklehead trying to make Xmas tree bows. An experienced guy might, as an experiment, get a working bow from an Xmas tree, but you don't see many (read any) popping up in threads on PA.....there's a reason for that...a knot covered soft wood won't bend very far without breaking. :)