Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: icu812 on February 15, 2015, 02:34:46 pm
-
I picked up a flat sawn 1x4" by 8' hickory the other day that had flawless grain orientation. The mill skimmed the top of the half circle growth rings perfectly and had on excellent orientation on all sides. The tree (a rather large one) must have went through at just the right angles. Not one single grain violation on any of the 4 sides. Laser straight rings.
Anyway, I roughed it out at 65 ntn, 66 ttt, 2 inches wide tapering straight to 1/4 tips. Trapped the back 40% for the whole length. Stiff handle with 4" glued on handle riser and some maple tip overlays. It's 1/2 thick its entire length. Just got it on the long string, tight when the bow is at rest, and its pulling 65# at 20"!! This bow is apparently pulling well over 100# if braced and drawn to 28". I was going for 75# finished, but dang! I've never had one of this dimension pulling so heavy. My last hickory from a board was the exact same dimensions and finished 68@28 pretty much right out of the gate. Anyone got any ideas? Is this board a freak of nature? Reducing the belly as I speak.
-
i would say by my calculations, the bow would pull about 85 @ 28 and then would loose 5 pounds at shooting in , giving you your 80 at 28 and some room to fine tune the tiller,, ,, you would make your goal of 75,,,if you are careful with the tiller
-
Maybe I'll just keep pushing it then. 80 would be fine with me! The tiller looks spot on so far. Pics later today if it survives.
-
Here it is at 20 with 3" brace. The photo is slightly off balance but the limbs are currently pulling equal distance
-
I am not very good a tiiler by photo, I hope some others chime in,, but I feel like it is bending a bit much close to the fades,, and it could bend a bit more mid limb out,,
-
24" with 3" brace. Work outer thirds a little maybe? This will only be my third shooter out of a dozen attempts if it survives. Still pretty new to this game!
-
That's what I was thinking too. Outer half/third.hasnt taken any set so far so at least I haven't stressed it too bad yet! I know pyramids Are supposed to take the most abuse close to the fades cuz that's where the most wood is,but I have a hard time determining just how much of the load to place on them
-
Looks like outer thirds to me. Try taking a photo against a solid dark background.
-
I agree with Mr. Jo Jo, outter half isn't doing it's fair share. That should give you the draw ya want without giving up too much power.(IMO)
rich
-
+1 It's looking like a Molly at the moment >:D
Del
-
Here it is at brace...just finished shooting it in. Finished 80@28 (good call bradsmith). Flipped it a few times to see which way it shot best. Ended up shooting great with 1/8 positive tiller. LAUNCHES my 850 grain bamboos. I wish I had a chrono. This thing is blistering fast and by far my best shooter to date. I've given away all my tried and true selfbows to family, so The only thing I currently have to compare it to is a 60# samick sage with 650g arrows. No comparison! The hickory board outperforms the sage hands down.
I've only made a dozen bows, all unbacked boards, and 4 or so became shooters..two of which have survived a year+ and thousands of shots. A couple met their demise after a few hundred arrows. I'm uploading a video of the hickory shooting so i can get a little tiller critique before I finish it and wrap the handle. Thanks for all the help so far.
-
That bow is looing good. Lets see how it finishes out. I'm sure its gonna be a dandy.
-
Here it is. 5 shots at 28". I really hope some more experienced eyes approve of the tiller cuz it sure shoots sweet! It seems to me like the upper limb is a little week mid limb, but it only looks that way from one side (laying down string facing me) and I think it's the prop twist playing tricks on my mind. If I flip it (laying down string facing away) the tiller looks spot on.
Here's the vid. There is no nock point on the string and no reference point on the handle so I was just wingin' it. Nocked them a little high looks like. Should get the point across for tiller check though.
http://youtu.be/dQhgJEqQ0C0
-
Man that one looks great. I did'nt freeze frame the FD but it sure looks good me. Nice job on that. Danny
-
I am considering building a board bow and this looks like a great start. Would my first bow be best selected from a great piece of board such as you describe. I am thinking it would by minimizing the need for creative tillering. Considering how great your bow turned out, what else should I be looking for when shopping for a board? Besides straight grain, and not cutting through a grain (grain violation?), is there a certain number of rings/inch that would give me the best chance of success? What else should I be looking for? Thank you for your time.
-
Nice lookin bend. I didn't see where them arrows went though! ;)
-
I can't really tell in the last pictures in the snow, but the pictures of it on the tree, the edges of the bow limbs look square. That isn't a good thing, the edges should be rounded over along the length of the limbs while tillering and when finished. The tiller looks good in the video.
-
I can't really tell in the last pictures in the snow, but the pictures of it on the tree, the edges of the bow limbs look square. That isn't a good thing, the edges should be rounded over along the length of the limbs while tillering and when finished. The tiller looks good in the video.
For my own benefit, if I were to take a straight edge along the tillered bow, should I be looking for a continuous curve, where no section forms a straight line? I hope this doesn't sound pedantic, but what kind of a curve should I be looking for? I have seen ellipses drawn within the tillered bow, is this the objective during tillering?
-
I was talking about the top and bottom edges of the limbs looking square, not being rounded off. I wasn't talking about the side profile of the tiller look. But yes you want a continuous arc in the limbs. Depending on the design of the bow, some could have a perfect 1/4 moon appearance and others could have the outer 1/3 of the limbs a little flatter.
-
congrats ,, the bow looks great,, when they shoot great,,, the tiller is pretty good,,
-
icu812,
I am careful to say I am no expert...But I stopped the video and seems the bend is superb and looks well balanced. I like the slightly stiff tips...Looks good from here 8) really good...
Don
-
Good job. You Make that 80lbs look lIke 40
-
Your tiller looks dead on to me! Great job man.
-
Nice work icu812, that hickory is good stuff. Did you paint it or stain it? Looks good.
-
That bow looks great 80# delivers a serious punch for everything creaping on this planet, very nice design, that bow must be fast!
-
Roy - the edges are not square. The back is heavily trapped and all edges are rounded nicely. Could be the poor lighting playing tricks with the camera. I round everything up before bending.
Peacebow - it's stained with Jacobean. This video is filmed in rough completion. Minimal tip work, minimal finish work. Wanted to see if I could pull off an 80# board before going too far.
Adams89- it is really fast. I don't have a chrono but I was smiling from ear to ear the first time I loosed an 800+ grain arrow. I'll take another video with the camera sitting next to the target.
ajooter- if you listen closely you can hear 3 of the 5 arrows hit one another ;). It was 26 large paces
distance.
Zed- check out Jawge's website, and the TBB vol 2 for board stave selection. Maybe consider starting a new topic. The explanation can get lengthy.
Thank you all for the kind comments. It's great to hear words of praise from bowyers far, far more experienced. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. It's a heavy hitter for sure. It took 1-3/8 set on bottom and 1-5/8 n top immediatey after shooting in. Settles just over 1" on each. Doesn't appear to be over stressed! I give a lot of credit to the board. It was the nicest one I've personally seen.
-
I'm out of town on business the rest of the week but I've got it all finished up. Pics, specs, and another short video when I get back.
-
Cool, was just trying to be helpful.
-
I had to take another look at the pictures. Definitely looks like some seriously sharp edges so I know what ya mean! I was fighting with lighting and camera filters. Thanks for the keen eye though. All advice and critques are heard with respect and enthusiasm.
-
Here it is. All finished up. I use my bows very 'carelessly' in rugged hunting conditions, so the few minor tool marks left over don't bother me a bit! It's gonna see a lot more abuse in its lifetime anyway :).
65 ntn, 80#@28". Flat sawn hickory board. 2" wide limbs at the widest with 1.5" fade outs. Straight pyramid taper to 1/4" tips. 6" long by 1" wide handle, 1.5"deep. Wrapped with brown Jute and black cow hide arrow pass, fuzzy side out. Maple handle riser and tip overlays. The back is a continuous ring with remnants of sapwood giving it a pretty neat natural camo look. Was dark Jacobean stain but it lightened up after a few vigorous rub downs with lard. Finish is 75% Lard 25% beeswax melted and mixed then applied with friction heat.
String is 12 strands 8190, double loop Flemish, yarn silencers. It has 1-3/8 string follow on top limb and 1-5/8 on bottom after shooting settling to 1-1/8 and 1-1/4 after rest. I couldn't be happier with it. Shoots real fast and real smooth. This is only my third successful bow out of a dozen attempts, and hands down my best effort to date. Hope you all like it!
-
More.
-
More.
-
The last of 'em.
-
No comment on the tiller. Everything has been said.
Just a note on the shooting, though. Go back and watch how bloody fast you are dropping your bow arm. I know, I know, it is really fun to watch an arrow fly...but a little followthru will help tighten up your groups. When you have a bow as good as this one, get the best out of her! May she long serve you!
-
Thanks JW. I know I'm dropping it fast. It's not my norm I swear! I saw it and corrected my form in a follow up video but when I got back to the house to post it, it had been accidentally deleted! I just said screw it and posted anyway. It was also my first time in months shooting anything over 60, so I was concentrated heavily on release hand follow through. I appreciate the advice! I was waiting for someone to mention the bow arm lol.
-
You intend to hunt farm machinery? Is that why you are going with an 80# bow?
-
Here's a quote by Howard Hill: "Being first of all a hunter, I wanted a bow that would throw a heavy hunting arrow with as little arc as possible. To achieve this end I knew I would have to increase the pounds pull of my bow, and I worked toward this result. I started with a bow that I could pull easily. By practicing constantly and gradually increasing the pull of my bows, I developed, over a period of years, the muscles to pull very heavy bows with no undue strain. For many years I could handle perfectly bows pulling up to 100 pounds at 28 inches, though my favorite weight for hunting was between 80-90 pounds. Few men have ever spent enough time to develop sufficient strength for handling easily such heavy bows as these."
With that being said, I too can pull well over 100#, and 80# is a weight that I can handle and shoot accurately with ease. I suffered a minor rotator cuff injury from weightlifting and my 105 pound tri-lam flatbow is hanging on the wall ever since. My backup/taking-a-break bow is a 60# samick recurve. I have failed 3 prior attempts this winter at making an 80 pounder to get back into the nitty gritty, and this was my successful attempt!
-
Howard also tried hunting things at 50-60 and even 80+ yards.
-
I like it. If you can shoot a heavy bow then go for it. Draw weight is relative.
Patrick
-
Nice looking bow. I noticed your user name and was wondering if you are a fellow Hoosier?
-
Nice hunting bow and I like the way you finished it to highlight the grain patterns. Watched the shooting video and it sure doesn't look like your over-bowed at 80# and the tiller looks excellent to me. That one should be hitting the deer woods for a long time, very well done bow. :)
-
Thanks Badly Bent. Hopefully its first victim is a spring turkey.
Osage Outlaw I'm a resident of southeast Nebraska. If my username means anything else, I was unaware of it. I just thought it was mildly entertaining because it's "I see you ate one too".
-
812 is an area code in Indiana.