Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Stringman on October 15, 2015, 12:52:59 pm
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Worked with an ol boy once who said, "tall timber makes for good splitting!" Now I'm pretty sure he was implying something different as he leaned on his shovel and watched the foot traffic, but I can't get that sayin out of my head looking at this purty piece of Locust.
The stick came from Ol' Hippy at the classic and I tried everything I could think of to turn down the gift. Even out right told him, I don't like Black Locust as a bow wood. He wouldn't hear none of it and thrust this stick in my hands saying, "give it a try anyway..."
Well try I did and darned near gave up on it several times. Kept coming back (I'm a glutton for punishment) and eventually got it to floor tiller. I noticed the limbs weren't quite lined up and it was wantin to slip sideways, so I put a little heat to it and attempted to get em lined back up. Crazy thing gave me a scare when the wood started to seperate a little and I came real close to cutting it into firewood again!
After I calmed down, I filled it with good CA glue and let it dry overnight. Soon I was back after it and had er shooting in no time. Kept looking at that crack and expecting compression failure with every pull. Stupid thing never budged. I even wore safety glasses while shooting it in, cause I knew it was gonna end violently! Well, paint me red and call me a chigger, cause I was wrong!
Sanded the snot out of her and the crack is all but gone and still hasn't moved. Might have a 1/2" of string follow after resting and is extremely light and quick in the hand. For finish work I kept it simple, cause, well... Look at her! Wouldn't you?!? 68"ttt 55#@28" with snake wood overlays (thanks G)and a hand rubbed beeswax finish. Ever rubbed a wet finger around the rim of a fine crystal glass? Well, then you know the feeling.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/FF2299CD-31AA-480C-BA20-26598DDCEAE5_zpsvfy2o0rx.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/FF2299CD-31AA-480C-BA20-26598DDCEAE5_zpsvfy2o0rx.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/577A1D63-342C-493A-B14F-C3D0AB3B8B10_zpshc7zdqgw.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/577A1D63-342C-493A-B14F-C3D0AB3B8B10_zpshc7zdqgw.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/A1B8E427-A07E-454A-8386-B9EC89BAB04E_zpstfkjqgdu.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/A1B8E427-A07E-454A-8386-B9EC89BAB04E_zpstfkjqgdu.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/FF405B55-3084-40C8-A180-2894FC13273C_zps4stmb5kz.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/FF405B55-3084-40C8-A180-2894FC13273C_zps4stmb5kz.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/8AB9522C-AB05-45F7-A0A1-F48471654396_zpsuxerbks5.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/8AB9522C-AB05-45F7-A0A1-F48471654396_zpsuxerbks5.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/AAB9EC7D-937F-4BDA-9388-27A0EA2E59AF_zpshd9ly03s.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/AAB9EC7D-937F-4BDA-9388-27A0EA2E59AF_zpshd9ly03s.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/399EE644-1C35-48AA-B357-3CA23B431C73_zpswm8zbtiu.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/399EE644-1C35-48AA-B357-3CA23B431C73_zpswm8zbtiu.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/A2692CCF-5E66-49DA-88AC-68F8C19EF243_zps91opx9bp.png) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/A2692CCF-5E66-49DA-88AC-68F8C19EF243_zps91opx9bp.png.html)
God Bless!
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Sweet, great story, real pretty nocks.
Nice one :)
Del
(Ok... "you're a chigger".. I got some red paint, but I don't have a long enough brush :laugh: )
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"I even wore safety glasses while shooting it in, cause I knew it was gonna end violently! Well, paint me red and call me a chigger, cause I was wrong!"
I laughed out loud at that one... Great bow, well done sir! Thanks for sharing.
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Looks quick with them stiff outers, nice work on the handle 8)
Don
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That's a beauty Scott.
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Very nice Scott, I have learned to like a simple beeswax finish as well.
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Ok..you said so.... >:D
Chigger!!!
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very nice bow. great story. personally i love black locust. was my first bow wood i ever made bows out of. then came elm, then hickory, then ash, then osage. locust is still my favorite. either tiller it perfect or it will fret. teaches you tillering :) , heat bending works great on it. :) sometimes you find a crack in it deep into it. sometimes youll find a delamination of the growthrings. sometimes you go to shave off to one growthring and it will split along the growthring almost the whole way. lol {had that happen once}. best thing it teaches you is patience. its not easy to turn into a bow. but as you see once there, its a beauty.Tony
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Nice BL bow Scott
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Nice Chris! I like that! :)
Thanks guys!
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It's a beauty, I like the grain on that locust and the tip overlays are a looker
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Too far?
yep
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Very nice bow!
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Great work on that BL Scott. Those overlays look great.
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Nice job Scott, looks good to me. :)
Pappy
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Nice bow and great story. I love the tips.
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You did a good job on that Locust bow. Locust is one bow wood I've always had trouble with except for a few occasions.
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I'm with ya Pat, many more failures than success.
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I'm proud of you Scott, that turned into a great looking bow. Of all of the locust I have given away and traded that is the first bow that I have ever seen made from it.
The first few bows that I made were from locust and I love the wood myself. I have heard that locust frets badly but I have never had a fret develop on any bow that I have made and I am pretty sure that my tillering is far from perfect. Hippy
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You tamed that one Scott, good job.
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Nice work, great looking bow 8)
Regards,
Berkshirebowmen.
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Love the look of naked Osage, great looking bow.
Ed
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Nice job Scott.Great bend.Sure it feels light in the hand to shoot.It's still nice to keep some BL around to challenge yourself with.I like the quickness of the return of it while shooting.
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Hey beadman! Haven't seen you around in awhile! Good to hear from ya again.
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That's a sweet looking bow there Scott!!! I love using snakewood to accent tips and handles. It's just so darn expensive that I don't get to use it as much as I'd like to. :( Anyways... Great job!!! If you're ever not sure about it, send it to me for proper disposal. >:D
G-Monee
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I love the looks of that one. Great work altogether! :)
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Great looking bow. Nice job on it.