Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive on May 14, 2008, 08:48:41 pm
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finished this late yesterday so i was chompin at the bit to get some pics taken.
Its American hornbeam aka musclewood aka blue beech
not the easiest of woods to get a bow from due to the large muscled shape of the trunks, but i found one that wasnt tooooooo bad. it really has some character on the back, unfortunately the camera cannot capture all the good stuff. scraping bark is a nightmare with this wood...unless you smart and wait til spring...which i didnt. lot of tiny strips of cambium still on it, turns out i really like it. it made the back beautiful. the wood is really really tough, i real chore trying to scrape down.
i started with zero reflex or deflex. tilled out to about 1 inch of set. i suppose i consider myself fortunate thats all i got due to its weight and length.
its 63 inches and 72# @26
the shelf is above center about 1 1\2 inches
the tips are from buffalo horn given to me by Wolf Watcher (my camera must be poor, i can never get real good tip pictures)
the grip is deer hide that i "antiqued" by soaking it in black walnut stain for about 5 minutes.
the wood had really nice dark patches running through it. thay didnt seems to be any weaker or harder than the rest but they gave the wood are really nice look.
notice the big natural divot in the top limb. and there are 14 knots overall.
its a really nice shooter, im very happy with the way it tuned out
well thanks for looking- Ryan
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more pics
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Nice one.... Justin
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That looks good Ryan! I like those strips of cambium on the back - like camoflouge. Nothin wrong with the pic's, I can see the tips just fine. That's a stout bow, bet she'll fling an arra :).
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good lookin bow nice job
Dennis
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That looks Great Ryan. I really like the bumpy looking back. It gives the bow a very primitive look.
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Very nice bow. Now we know hornbean will make a bow. Pat
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looking good!
frank
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Nice bow,well done. :)
Pappy
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Great job Ryan and its nice to see a bow from A. Hornbeam something different.
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That's a great job on what I'd bet was a difficult piece of wood to work with. Good job on the tiller, and I like the character! ;)
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Man, that's a great looking bow. Love the character and the overall look of it. How wide are the limbs? That's quite impressive with only an inch of set at that length and poundage.
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Very nice. Those rippled backs make a bow look interesting. HHB can get quite rippled sometimes
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Really like it TL. I bet it was a real challenge getting down to the first ring, it's called musclewood for a reason. An inch of set is nothing that I would even be concerned about with that draw weight using white wood. Nice job!
Tracy
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Very nice bow. Congratulations! Jawge
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That is a dandy and will look great in a collage for May Self Bow of the Month!
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Real nice ryan ! I'm going to be cutting some HHB this summer.
I think you have a contender there for BOM............
John
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Very nice!
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thanks for the encouragment all.
Tracy- no need to chase a ring with hornbeam, just peel the bark and go. but chasing one out this would be a nightmare.
hillbilly- the limbs are 1 5\8 at the widest part. funny, i never measure any limbs i always just take them down to what looks ok to me and let the grain take it thinner or wider wherever it wants. i never think to include dimensions.
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;) Great job,I've been thinking of trying hornbeam, now i'm motivated! Got lots of here, is it better to cut in summer like other white woods?
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great looking bow man! looks very primal with the handle and all, excellent job!
Phil
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ahawi stick- yup cut it now or in the summer if you want the bark to peel off easy and clean. you probably wont get the cambiium to stick like mine did thought. but its a whole lot easier and trying to scrape in between all the little bumps. - Ryan
phil- thanks, i like the grip too. i would say its not a beautiful addition, but i enjoy the antiqued look or primal as you put it.
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wow. thats nice. i got a shortbow i made for my cuz out of the stuff. its awsome. and yeah, it's really hard to find a good piece of it.