Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: H Rhodes on September 17, 2014, 10:45:55 am

Title: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: H Rhodes on September 17, 2014, 10:45:55 am
This bow hasn't received much finishing work yet, but has been shot a few hundred times and really performs well.  The lower limb comes out of the handle more than an inch stepped down from the upper limb.  I built the handle up with leather so that I could hang on to it and then tillered the bow without the usual tillering tree method.  The limbs were pretty snakey and the upper limb has a big rollercoaster whoopty-do about ten inches from the tip.  I know that the tiller looks sort of crazy on it, but I figured that I would post this bow for all the people who have built an ugly bow that shoots better than it looks.  After the first hundred arrows I like to shoot a 550 grain arrow across the hay field to see how far it shoots as my way of gauging speed.  My really fast bows shoot over a 180 steps.  This one shot three arrows over 170 steps, so I figured it's one of my better 47lb draw weight bows.  It goes back to dead flat afterwards with the hooks sticking up over three inches from the table.  This ugly stick really wanted to be a bow.  Tillering was done by looking at a shadow on the wall in the afternoon sun while drawing the bow.  When it got to where it felt good in the hand and hit where I wanted it to, I quit scraping on it.  This ugly duckling shoots so straight and quiet, it might be a contender for my hunting bow this year.  57" nock to nock.  47lb @ 27" 1 1/4 wide at the fades down to 1/2 tips.  Made from an osage stave from an old fence post.
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: Pat B on September 17, 2014, 10:49:00 am
Wonky can be good if it works.  ;D  Looks like it works!  8)
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: H Rhodes on September 17, 2014, 10:53:42 am
I may name it "Wonky"! ;D  Not much of a name, but in my world, if a bow gets a name it must be a shooter!
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: Pat B on September 17, 2014, 10:56:26 am
 8)   Wonky is a great name and fits her personality.  8)
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: simson on September 17, 2014, 02:54:53 pm
Lovely wonky lady there. Howard please through that phone away and use a camera, the pics do not justice to that nice worked bow!
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: H Rhodes on September 17, 2014, 02:57:10 pm
Lovely wonky lady there. Howard please through that phone away and use a camera, the pics do not justice to that nice worked bow!
Ha!  Thanks Simon, and I know, I know!  You aren't the first person to suggest that I get a real camera.   :D
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: Klondike on September 17, 2014, 03:12:44 pm
That's awesome, love it
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: Pappy on September 18, 2014, 06:09:09 am
Nice job to get a shooter out of what looks to be a challenging piece of wood. :)
  Pappy
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: JoJoDapyro on September 18, 2014, 08:59:25 am
I would call that beautiful, not wonky. Great work! I like bows that are anything but to begin with!
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: burchett.donald on September 18, 2014, 09:10:19 am
Howard I'd say that one is tillered well bud...Like them flipped tips...Your making a great come back and wish you luck this season. I start Saturday morning Lord willing...
                                                                                                            Don
Title: Re: osage recurve wonky but shoots great
Post by: H Rhodes on September 18, 2014, 09:18:39 am
Thanks Pappy.
 
JoJo thanks for the compliment and i feel the same way.  It seems that eeking a bow out of a twisted up little scrap of wood is what rings my tuning fork these days.  It always tickles me when an arrow comes screaming out of one of those "reject stave" bows and hits right where I am looking.  I got a sister to that one that I chased a ring on a couple of days ago.... ::) My addiction didn't get any bettter over the summer.
   
Thanks Don.  I will do some finishing work on that one and hopefully post some better pics later.  Good luck this season.