Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: DuBois on June 03, 2014, 09:59:07 pm
-
I have come to the conclusion that I have learned less than I could have because I have been relying too heavily on backings.
I have spent a lot of time processing sinew and sinewing bows. Time that could have been spent making probably a half dozen self bows.
I also think I have been too worried about breaking wood so I have backed some that would have taught me something if they broke...or if the didn't.
Not just sinew but silk and rawhide too. I have decided to stop backing bows until I learnt to better tiller a bow. Tired of so much time into a bow that I don't do justice by my tiller...So it is time to stop shakin and start breakin and learn the skill of tillering a bow with no safety net,
What ya think of that?
Doobs
-
Sounds like a plan!
-
Could work in your favor Marco, if your not confident in your tiller skills this may be what you need. Some may break, flaws in wood, design or tiller error but your right it will teach you a lot. When most is going right a backing is rarely needed IMO. I'm the opposite, I've made 80+ bows since starting this obsession and have only backed 2, both with
rawhide, I just don't like the extra work involved in backing. I've broken my share and I have had to put band aids on some though. ;)
-
no room for fear building bows, just get to scraping, bows break sometimes, can't let the fear of failure slow ya down
-
Just make sure you are using the correct design with a proven bow wood. Then you can concentrate on tweaking the design and tiller to get the best performance out of it.
A backing can make the difference between a bow working and breaking if its a borderline bow wood, or has thin rings on the back. Use a backing where appropriate, if you don't need one for a particular stave don't use one.
Sounds like you need to develop more patience when tillering, rather than trying to rush it. The more experienced you become the faster the bow will be made(within reason).
Hamish.
-
Good decision, aside from wood or boo backed bows I feel like if a bow needs a backing I am gonna cut it up as kindling wood.
-
Good decision, aside from wood or boo backed bows I feel like if a bow needs a backing I am gonna cut it up as kindling wood.
Heck yeah. I haven't put a backing on one in a while. If a piece of wood wants to bust, let it bust. Build another one. i ain't given one CPR or trying to baby it. If it is tillered good and the back is good and slick, and it's a decent piece of bow wood to begin with, it will be durable. I think you are on the right track DuBois.
-
We all strive to get every aspect of bowmaking into our game. I've not done enough with sinew, as the amount of work puts me off.
I guess on average, between us we've got it about right.
Follow your heart, we are all doing this for fun, right?
Del
(Ok, it's to get away from decorating and house work too.... ;)
...Yes Dear, I'll be in to lend a hand soon! >:D )
-
Good decision, aside from wood or boo backed bows I feel like if a bow needs a backing I am gonna cut it up as kindling wood.
+1 ;D
The only exception is if I am purposefully making a bow too short for it intended drawlength...it's time for sinew and lots of reflex!
-
These wives.... they ask you to do something and if you don't get it done fast enough, they nag you every 6 months about it!!! ::) :laugh:
-
Good choice, I do back one on occasion but it's not usually in the starting plan,if the wood is not exceptable to start I usually won't use it. Sometime in the middle I realize that the wood was not what I thought and rawhide back. Rarely sinew back because of the work and never because I think the wood needs it to hold together. Never backed one with Boo or wood at all. Not against it ,just never seen the need. ;) :) Just jump right in,sure some will break but I imagine some of the backed bows break also. :)
Pappy
-
Sounds like a good plan to me dooby;) I'm all for keeping it simple :)
-
I only tend to soft back a bow for aesthetics these days and usually with silk. To hide an ugly back and maybe add a smidgin of insurance but I dont think it would ever stop a bow from breaking if was destined.
So half the bows you backed probably didnt need it anyway ;)
-
Well, I always counsel beginners to back their first few.
I won't hunt with a baked bow.
I agree with Pappy.
Jawge
-
Good decision, aside from wood or boo backed bows I feel like if a bow needs a backing I am gonna cut it up as kindling wood.
+1 ;D
The only exception is if I am purposefully making a bow too short for it intended drawlength...it's time for sinew and lots of reflex!
Mike I agree on the sinew, I consider sinew bows to be a style on their own. I maybe do one or two sinew bows a year.
-
I aspire to fly high above the crowd with no "safety-net" or a backing on my bows as you ascribe, ...but then I look at the quivering little piece of wood that I put SOOOOOO much time and effort into cutting, hauling back to the house, splitting out properly into staves, drying for nearly a year, and I instinctually reach for the backing materials and the glue bottle. I'm a coward when it comes to bending wood. It had just as well be said. I don't like things that go BOOM on my tillering tree and make me feel like I need to urgently pee! I overbuild stuff because I'm afraid of the failure that might come if I don't. ...and yes I hear all the "It's just a piece of wood" and "...so make another one" comments and I understand they are coming from a genuinely charitable place in the heart of bowyers that have been there and done that, BUT - this is MY piece of wood, and I worked hard to make this ONE succeed. I enjoy the process as much as the next guy, ...but I really like it all to work out in the end too! I frequently try bows outside of my comfort zone, ...but the temptation to overbuild sneaks in as I work on it.
So, I back bows that probably don't really need it. I reinforce tips that would likely make it just fine with out the help. I build 'em longer than necessary so there is more wood to share the work. I tiller an inch past the point I mean for the bow to be full drawn. ...and my bows will probably never approach the narrow edge of high end performance that they might otherwise have attained. I'm a coward bowyer. <sigh> :-[ :-[ :-[
OneBow
-
Onebow, your thought reminds me of something I often think about. Sometimes I will have a perfect stave that was maybe gifted to me, other times I will have a marginal stave that I have a ton of time and work invested in harvesting, sometimes I may have paid too much for a stave on e ebay and it really isnt worth what I paid etc. Once I go to work on a stave I forget all about the history of where it came from. I tend to approach them all the same. If I have 8 hours tied up in a bow and I screw something up I won't spend another 8 hours trying to fix something I never will be quite happy with anyway. Kind of hard to explain but I take the attitude that it is what it is, no matter how I feel about it I can't change what it is. Enjoy the process and the journey and it is always a win win situation when making a bow, a good outcome is the bonus and the carrot on the stick we are always chasing.
-
practice on some hickory boards
-
Hey, thanks fellas. You are the best bunch of folks I never met ;D
I'm not so much worried about gettin hit by flying chunks (not that smart). I've just noticed that the more time I put into one the more cautious I become about messin it up. Kinda like Onebow said escept I gradually become a coward bowyer :'(
I have had fun doing all the backings but I just think I got the cart before the horse and need to work on the basics for quite a while first.
(silk backed mulberry trade bow in progress excluded from this post)
-
These wives.... they ask you to do something and if you don't get it done fast enough, they nag you every 6 months about it!!! ::) :laugh:
Hilarious!!! :laugh: :laugh:
-
Onebowonder,nothing wrong with that at all,I tend to overbuild and not push the envelope to far myself,just general do it with an air backing. ;) :) :) I am about like Steve,it is what it is and if it don't work out like I want/weight/tiller I usually won't spend a lot of time trying to fix it,a little wrap here and there or maybe pike it a bit for weight or some heat tweaking for alignment but that's about as far as it goes. :) That is why this hobby /addiction is so cool. To each their own. ;) :)
Pappy
-
I've only backed one bow for whatever reason I just like the idea of just the wood and nothing else just seems as pure as it gets
-
I think it's great! A foundation is always critical and going back to the basics of bow building will help give a good foundation.
-
Yeah Tim, I don't think I took enough time on foundation. Went a lttle crazy when I saw all the cool stuff being made on here.