Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: PaSteve on March 22, 2021, 12:37:28 pm
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This bow came from a straight 58" hackberry stave that had been cut in 2018. Never having worked with hackberry I decided to try something else I had never attempted... a static recurve. The stave was 1 3/4' wide so I wanted to try and keep width reduction to a minimum. Every bow I learn something new and this was no exception.
The first recurve cracked so I decided to soak the other tip before boiling and it worked out great. Lesson 1 (when doing a sharp bend soak the wood at least overnight to facilitate a good bend with no fracture). After rasping through the crack I Figured it was best to strengthen the wood with a belly overlay. Thanks to Pat B for his advice on the overlay process. I wound up using maple mainly because that's what I had on hand.
The bow was heat treated twice during tillering and I used dry heat for tip and handle alignment. After shooting the bow a little I was happy with the way the bow performed so I decided to dress it up a little. I had a small pair of sturgeon skins and figured black aniline dye may help cover up the scorched belly from the heat treating. I always liked the way thread wraps look so I I did some with nylon serving thread. Laying out the sturgeon skin I slightly miscalculated the width. This skins were narrow and the width would fit but the scutes wouldn't be centered. I decided to go with it anyway since my bow back was prepped and already sized with hide glue. Lesson 2 (when working with sturgeon skins pay better attention to the pattern of the scutes). This was my first time using sturgeon as a backing and I can say that it reminds me more of rawhide than a snakeskin. I like a matte finish on my bows for hunting. I decided to try pure tung oil as bownarrer recommended. It's a little more timely on the finish end but it was easy to apply and gave me the finish I was looking for. It also really made the grain pop with the aniline dye. Lesson 3 (pure tung oil makes for a great looking matte finish). I made some tung/mineral/beeswax mixture as a top coat to apply and buff off after the tung oil fully cures.
Overall, I'm quite impressed with hackberry. It's easy to work with, very light in physical weight and performs well. The bow has a bulbous style handle with virtually no shock, is pretty short and will be perfect for deer hunting this fall.
Thanks for looking.
Specs: Asymmetrical 58" NTN 47#@26" 1 3/4 wide at fades tapered to 7/16" tips Red heart tip overlays Maple belly overlays
Dyed elk leather handle wrap with kangaroo lace Inlaid beavertail strike plate (left 1/32" proud) Sturgeon skin backing
6 strand 452X string 7 coats pure tung oil finish
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060829087_d3718f7863_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56yc)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56yc) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060829087_d3718f7863_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56yc)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56yc) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060746146_e145a526b0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EUb)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EUb) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060829357_d628cbaaa9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56CR)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN56CR) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr
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Few more pics (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060746376_8e3e77cf40_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EY9)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EY9) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060746661_327b937e1c_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4F44)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4F44) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060031248_5231beddce_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11om)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11om) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060031848_b93be5ada7_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11yG)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11yG) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr
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Last ones(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060030868_f3dc77d7c5_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11gN)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11gN) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060746451_80d39e891d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EZr)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN4EZr) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51060030798_8fe575c8bb_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11fA)Static Hackberry (https://flic.kr/p/2kN11fA) by Steve Woodruff (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155807693@N05/), on Flickr
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Awesome static!!! Very well done 👍🏻
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Very nice steve, I think it turned out great
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That's sweet! nicely done!.... one question that always comes to mind though when I see someone with a sturgeon skin backing.... aren't surgeons greatly endangered? (don't mean to be so grouchy) (lol)
really sweet bow you got there... :)
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Beautiful Steve.
I think those lessons all came with very little damage. Bow looks fantastic to me.
Like the bend. Actually for its length it doesn’t look overstressed. It really looks like if it had to it could go a little more.
I keep hoping to come across some sturgeon some time.
Bjrogg
PS fox I could be mistaken, but I think if you know where to find them. They are raise commercially. It’s the wild ones that are protected and they can live to a very old age.
Like I said though I could be mistaken. I’ve never seen one. I know fishing season here is over in a couple hours. They don’t allow very many and I’ve never tried fishing for them.
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Nice bow Steve. Beautiful finish work. I really like the look of hackberry with a dark stain. Brings out that nice grain. Should be a great bow to take hunting. Best of luck with it and Great job!
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That is a pretty sweet lookin' bow. Very nicely done and I hope it does its job in the deer woods for you.
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That’s about perfect! Really doesn’t get any nicer than that.
I believe that most of the sturgeon we see here are raised commercially, but there is also a fishery in the Pacific Northwest that is pretty heavily regulated but also very attainable.
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Steve
That came out nice. Hackberry dries nice and light, bet it's a snappy little devil. Those little hooks go well with a short bow! I see fu and blood in that bows future.
Hedge~
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That’s a looker for sure! Looks well balanced Mr. Woodruff, really nice...
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. Much appreciated. Fox, the sturgeon skins are totally legal to obtain. They come from a sustainable fishery.
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The bow came out real nice, Steve. The full draw, braced and unbraced are all exceptional. Skins look great too. :OK
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Wow! You really nailed that one! Great job!
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Good looking bow! Hackberry was long ignored as a bow wood but bowyers are proving that its a very versatile wood.
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Wisconsin allows Sturgeon spearing every spring on Lake Winnebago for about a week. Tremendous sturgeon fishery.
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Looks great, Steve! You did those skins justice with that bow.
The skins that I have come from commercially raised fish. They are Russian sturgeon. But like these guys said, there are some heavily regulated sustainable fisheries in the US that you can get skins from if you're lucky and know the right people.
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Looks great, Steve! You did those skins justice with that bow.
The skins that I have come from commercially raised fish. They are Russian sturgeon. But like these guys said, there are some heavily regulated sustainable fisheries in the US that you can get skins from if you're lucky and know the right people.
Okay that makes me feel better :)
I figured they were likely from a fish farm or something
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Spectacular bow. Very special one. Way to make the wood shine
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Very sharp looking bow all around. Impressive work there.
Mike
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Now that's a beauty. :) Very nice job. :)
Pappy
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Nice job on the static Steve. Good looks and a shooter as well. Your builds just keep getting better, keep up the good work.
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Amazing job!
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Got my vote. Love that bow.
Shawn~
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What a beauty. I love a good hackberry bow!
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So,
I've seen lots of Sturgeon backed selfbows in the Selfbow class of BOM. They really are backed bows? Interesting. I thought Sturgeon was more like rawhide or Python skin! Big Snakes are like leather of goat hide.
Shawn~
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gotta love that bow! How did you get the static tips bent? Do you have a jig picture too? They reminder me a bit of the crazy 120° tight curves LittleTree (Brad Mirkle?) did years ago... :OK
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Thanks again for the positive feedback. Hedge, I'm in agreement that sturgeon is much like rawhide, therefore I consider it a backed bow. Bob, I boiled the tips and used this form to get the bend. I think I traced a small paint can to make that form.
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I guess so runners up in Selfbow Class got some hats coming to them I would think, Sturgeon=Backed Bow.
Funny your form looks almost indentical to mine.
Shawn~
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So, any word from BOM ?
Sturgeon is a backed bow? Like using a large constrictor snake on backing?
Hedge~
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"2. Bows backed with soft materials: Rawhide, Sinew, and Cloth backings all fall into the Backed Bow category."~ I have only used sturgeon skin one time and it was thicker and stronger than any rawhide I've ever used....but yes, I've also used some big snakes like Boa that were are strong as any rawhide.
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Yeah, I thought it was like Rawhide but have seen them in Selfbow class Bob. I have caught small sturgeon and ate some smoked stuff but never skinned one.
HH~
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Dude!!!! Thst is one bada%& bow. Being a huge fan of hackberry thst one shot right to the top 3 I have seen. Great work.... Bom for sure
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What I said. . . .
Bet it's a little arra spitter too!
HH~
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I've always entered my rawhide and sturgeon backed bows into the backed category and if it's just snakeskin I put them in selfbow. I definitely think that sturgeon is as tough as good rawhide.