Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Morgan on March 01, 2017, 12:07:24 am
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Hello, my name is Morgan. I'm from Oklahoma.
I've been reading posts here for quite some time and just getting around to registering.
I'd like to thank everyone in this community that takes the time to help newcomers such as myself, it is much needed, and very encouraging. I have scratched out a handful of bows, a couple from boards and couple from staves, and have broke a few too. Most the staves that I have cut have had grub damage, or twisted badly when splitting. I just cut some hackberry a few days ago though that I think is going to make me 10 or 12 nice staves to work on and about 6 not so nice. :) my latest attempt at making a bow was from a 2 1/2" hickory sapling 55" long. I made a stiff handled bow poorly tillered to 47# @ 27". Each limb has twist in opposite direction and I had some problems tillering where some humps on the back are that resulted in hinges. But I guess it's a bow. Started with 1 1/2" of natural reflex, finished with the same amount of follow after 100 shots or so. I am not proud of this bow for what it is, but I really didn't think it would ever push an arrow, so I guess ugly success is still success. Still have finishing work on it.
(http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s479/morgan_w_w/IMG_5584.jpg) (http://s1053.photobucket.com/user/morgan_w_w/media/IMG_5584.jpg.html)
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Welcome to PA! From what I can see your tiller doesn't look to bad.
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Welcome aboard and nice bow
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Welcome. I'd say Its a good bow. You could reduce it to 40 lbs. That will give it more life and allow you 7 lbs to fix the tiller in. Either that or live with it how it is, put qnother 200 arrows through it and put some fonish on. Its not bad. A good shooting bow like that is better than a broken bow.
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Welcome to PA.You did get the most out of that one though and I'm sure it'll shoot.Just think what you could do with a little longer better stave.Good luck with the hackberry.
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Yeah I just see what looks like a hinge about a half handle from the upper fade that's worrying
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Welcome to the group, enjoy. :)
Pappy
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Welcome nice looking bow
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Welcome aboard Morgan. Looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Bjrogg
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Welcome, and it looks like you're off to a great start!
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Welcome Morgan nice bow hope to see more !
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Welcome! Jawge
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Welcome, make your way up to Marshall, Mo here in July and we'll get you fixed up with some good bow wood. Or Ojam is just around the corner. Good to have you on board Morgan.
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Bytheway a little photography tip. Make sure you have a good backround that we can see your bow. The yellow white behind the light wood makes it difficult to see the bend. Also make sure that your bow is straight up and down when drawing it for the pictures sake. In this one your top limb looks like it's leaning towards us and the bottom away. It makes it hard for us to see what the real tiller is like. Now that loon pointed out that hinge it worries me too. I wouldn't finish it until you know for sure it holds up, I've made that mistake. I don't know if you can completely work out that hinge without dropping the weight into the 30s or lower, so I'd say to pat yourself on the back and move on to the next. Either way its still a good piece of work.
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Hey Morgan, Welcome!
Looks like a great start to me. Don't discount the work you've done cause you've obviously put a lot of thought and effort into it. Is the bow canted in the pic?
Got anymore Hckory saplings laying around?
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Thanks for the welcome guys! The bow is definitely canted in the pic and has hinges. Thanks for the photo advice. I don't have any more hickory saplings, have a hackberry sapling that has some knots and a dog leg in it that I think I'll play with when I have nothing else. I have access to a lot of whitewoods, and access to probably all the hackberry I could ever use, so I figure I'll learn on it. It splits well, is easily obtained, and y'all say it works easy. Sounds like perfect beginners wood?
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Hackberry loves heat treatment if you scroll through previous builds on here of the wood.Transforming it into another type bow.It's good wood all around and I should be working more of it myself.
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Hi Morgan, welcome aboard from across the pond :)
Del
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Hackberry is a wood that you can rush the curing process a little, so if you feel like jumping on another bow soon you got an option. Just make sure that the back is clean and sealed with wood glue, paint, shellac, or something to keep the moisture from leaking out the back and causing checks.
Then you can saw, chop, hatchet, split, or drawknife down to near bow dimensions. Let it rest in the house, especially if you can find a spot where air circulates nicely. I suggest you find an inexpensive kitchen scale that will weigh in grams. Weigh the stick every few days and write down the weight. When it is losing only a gram or two daily, you have a stave that is pretty dang close to final internal moisture rate.
Now you can start pushing it a little harder. Leave it in your car/truck with the windows rolled up and parked in the sun. Even at this time of year up here in South Dakota, some days the car can get up to 80-85 degrees. Where you are, it will get even warmer and it will help wring out moisture. When it stops losing any moisture, you are ready to tiller.
I have taken a hackberry stave from green cut to finished sinewed bow in 30 days this way in the summer. No checking, no cracking!
The key points are: 1) flawlessly clean back (easy to do with green hackberry because the bark peels off by hand). 2) Sealing that back tight. 3) Getting the stave down close to bow dimension. 4) Let it dry slowly at first. 5) When drying slows, push a little harder.
You got a great start with what you have shown us, so far! Mighty glad you decide to start posting, looking forward to your next bow!
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Welcome aboard, looks like you are ready to run!
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Welcome to PA! 8)
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Welcome.
Hackberry, by all accounts, is a great wood to learn on, so good luck on your next one. Restrain the small diameter splits to dry.
And I've seen better tiller than the pic you posted, but I've sure seen worse! Much of it first hand! ;D
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Thank you all again for the warm welcome, encouragement, and advice.
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Looks good but a white-wood bow on a white background don't go together well
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Welcome to PA, Morgan.