Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: M2A on December 28, 2022, 10:32:58 pm
-
Cut this piece of flowering dogwood Cornus florida back in March of 2018. Suppose I started working on roughing it out in 2019. Was one of those pieces i'd put a little time into then put back in the corner because it was not working out right. The lower limb has a high crown upper limb started with a high crown then flattened out and is a bit concaved near the tip. Picked up on it again a few weeks ago and things seemed to fall into place. My original goal was 50 lbs and every time i'd put it back in the corner I didnt think i'd get 40 lbs from it so pretty pleased with 49 lbs @ 27". It's 63" ntn which is a few inches shorter than I like to work with and is the shortest handled bow I have made to date. Dogwood is some impressive stuff. Stave was a little thin in the handle so added some ebony and tulip wood and made the overlays from the same. Didn't want to cover up that pretty wood with leather so did some wood burning to give a little friction on the handle. Not sure what I think of that but it looks ok. All shot in and after unstringing holds just under an inch of reflex. All in all pretty pleased with how it turned out. I could go on and on about this build but how bout I just show some pictures. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and here's to a good 2023.
Thanks, Mike
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592976600_0ebd6446e3_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/sLCm89370K)IMG_5238 (2) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/sLCm89370K) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52593067813_46693fc53e_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/3PDsy2Z8dz)IMG_5237 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/3PDsy2Z8dz) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592069827_43fb35b827_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/671W7Yh45W)IMG_5233 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/671W7Yh45W) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592979435_789615ce84_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/AVtQXeqDDV)IMG_5234 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/AVtQXeqDDV) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592977380_7e59d9fce1_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/752VqFKR8x)IMG_5235 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/752VqFKR8x) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592067662_34ca8ea017_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/5c10o41i23)IMG_5236 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/5c10o41i23) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592070127_7104fd74cd_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/10m9154EXu)IMG_E5231 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/10m9154EXu) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52593070213_6e1c7b7d07_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/6XcwbkGu25)IMG_E5232 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/6XcwbkGu25) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592810329_8e1d878182_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/H0cUp7S70D)IMG_5240 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/H0cUp7S70D) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592810239_f949a9d3bb_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/q0r97T8p69)IMG_5242 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/q0r97T8p69) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592815819_68fe7505ae_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/UF38F2W6d1)IMG_5224 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/UF38F2W6d1) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592070912_4d77c2b892_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/3D08350G2a)IMG_5227 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/3D08350G2a) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592810734_a613c19a47_w.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/xL5LMRn7hk)IMG_5239 (2) (https://www.flickr.com/gp/158435722@N02/xL5LMRn7hk) by Mike Allridge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158435722@N02/), on Flickr
-
lol bow I like it.
-
Lovely clean lines. I like the burnt decoration too.
Del
-
Beautiful job on that bow, Mike.
-
Very nice, beautiful bow, dogwood is a beautiful wood. Pappy
-
Nice work, beautiful bow
-
Really nice job Mike. Sometimes those ones you keep putting in the corner can really surprise you. Glad you stuck with it. Looks great and the unbraced profile looks to be holding up well.
Bjrogg
PS Merry Christmas and glad to see you have some time to work on bows again
-
Nice bow, very nice. I had a big dogwood 1/4 log I tossed out when we moved and I regret that now. I was tired of moving it around and wasn't going to move it again.
-
Very nice dogwood bow. Beautiful tiller and overall look. :OK
-
Very nice bow, Mike. Did you heat treat some reflex into the bow during tillering? I like the burnt handle accents. Nice pics also.
-
:) (SH) :-D Sharp looking, nice tiller. I've been Wondering if anyone would make a Dogwood Bow.
-
Very nice looking bow. Well done.
-
I really like it! The different coloured woods make a nice contrast. The burnt decoration looks also great!
-
Thank you gentleman.
BJ-Yeah its was a hectic season but pretty much caught up now. Paper work, meetings and hiding out from the cold for a little while now. With the seasonal help all gone south for the winter I have been helping out making cider but looks like the juice apples will all be used up soon. Got a couple more tillered but need to make strings and shoot them in. hope that does not take too long for me but you never know.
PD- thats too bad you got rid of that stave. you got the skill and experience and I think youd like the wood. But I get it, I save too much and sometimes have to throw out (difficult)staves because get tired of passing on them for pieces I'd rather work on.
I did Will. I heat treated the limbs like I do any other white wood. Started some reflex maybe a little more than half way out on the limb. I suppose I lost 2 inches of that to pull out and set.
Phillip- With an sg of 82 at 12%mc Im supprised you dont see more. Hard to find a straight piece is maybe the biggest problem. I got 2 or 3 more buried in my stave pile but this may have been my best piece and dont know if Ill be able to find another tree I can cut.
I'd love to make a 58-60" bendy from the the stuff.
May have to invest in some better wood burner tools, the ones I have now are cheap. I dont have the artistic skills to do fancy things but could stick with keeping it simple. Thanks again guys.
Mike
-
Great looking bow.
-
Congratulations!
-
Well deserved win. Very nice.
-
Congratulations Mike. Nice bow
Bjrogg
-
Congrats Mike, thats how a well made bow ought to lookalike 🤗
Cheers
-
Thanks fellas. This site is about the only thing I do online. When I first got the bug on making a couple bows for me and the kids, every time I would look into a topic on how to or can I use "x" wood it lead me to this forum. Some of the names and people have changed over the last few years but have always been greatful for the information and knowledge here. You all are a very talented bunch of folks. I always enjoy seeing seeing the work you guys put out.
Mike
-
Nice looking bow
-
With flowering dogwood, do you harvest in spring/summer and strip the bark immediately and use the first ring as the back as with hickory and other Whitewoods? Any advice on cutting, splitting, preparing, and curing staves? Any advice is appreciated. I have a place I could harvest a few bigger dogwood trunks, and your bow is beautiful and inspiring! Congrats and thanks!
-
Very nice bow. Dogwood, working that wood with a spokeshave is wonderful! At least the western that I have worked. So damn long since I made a bow!
-
Thanks Marc.
ssrhythm-Any of the dogwood I have cut has been in the winter because thats when I have the best oppertunity to do so. But yes use the 1st ring under the bark just like any other white wood. The wood seems to have more dips, bumps, valleys and pin knots that can make things interesting so I suggest leaving staves a bit wide so you have some room to adjust the layout. Seal the ends right after cutting and splitting I use TBIII but any wood glue would work for that. I'd seal the exposed back with shallac especially if you cut during the growing season, but even in the winter. It seems to have a bit more character than you think under the bark. Hope that all made sense but I basically treated like any other white wood. I think a high crown is best for this wood, if you have a more flat piece or limb you could trap the back 1/8" each side.
If I were you I'd cut one now, Split, seal ends, and then remove the bark and seal backs. Then rough one of them out. Then come summer you could cut some more but that one you started on this winter could be ready to finish up this summer or sooner. I have read that dogwood will warp while drying but I did not find that to be a problem. there may be some internal stress in the wood that may show up right after splitting the staves out tho.
I'd aim for a final dimensions to be around 66 ntn with a max width between 1.75-2" for a bow if the stave allows but you could get away with less for a 26-28" draw with a stiff handle. I believe the max width on the bow I made was just over 1.75" and 63"ntn.
Good luck. Looking forward to see what you are able to make. If I missed anything, feel free to tell me to be more specific.
Mike
-
Thanks Vinemaple.
I'd agree with this eastern species. Very dense. Makes good curls with sharp tools.