Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Knocker on June 14, 2008, 05:35:01 pm
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Just finished up my second bow. It came out at my goal of 50 lbs @ 27". I learned a lot of new stuff with this one. First time for perry reflex, hardwood tips, bamboo backing, IPE. You'll recognize the things I have picked up from the Primitive Archery forum, and I would never even have attempted this bow without all your ideas and encouragement. Looking at all your photos really gets the creative juices flowing! Thanks especially to Brian Melton for the IPE and Boo, and to Justin Snyder for looking at my photos and his coaching on the tiller.
I am pretty happy with the final result. Certainly not perfect, but I hope each one will be a bit better than the last.
Keith (Knocker)
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Good job on that one!
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Beautiful tiller! Pretty dang good for it being only your second bow. I like the tips especially but the handle wrap looks nice also. Boo backed ipe is a wonderful combo. Pat
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Looks pretty much perfect to me...
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very nice!
that tip looks fantastic!!! is it made ipé, too??
frank
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Thanks all,
Medicinewheel - the tips are another hardwood. Not really sure what as it was a small scrap I had laying around. You can see in this shot that the color is darker than the IPE. I'll also attach a top view of the tip.
BatB - I am thinking I made the arrow shelf a bit too wide. The wrap is buckskin leftover from my first spike buck. I used black leather lacing over that. This IPE was pretty hard and dense - it helped me go slow on the tiller. :P
Nomadic Pirate - Here is another of the tiller. The bow has a couple of inches of reflex.
Keith (Knocker)
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Very impressive for a second bow. Never hurts to have some world class tutoring along the way. Pretty tips too!
Rich-
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That means a lot to me coming from you Rich. Justin told me YOU where the guy to ask about Boo-Ipe, but he also kept repeating "Keep taking more wood between 3 & 5 on the right limb" and it finally came in when I hit my weight. I admit I was getting nervous and it took some faith... ;D
Keith
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You did a great job. You shoudl be real proud of the way it turned out. The tips look incredible. Justin
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That looks really nice, Those tips look deadly :o. Beautiful bow, really nice work.
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Thanks for the kind words Keith. It's always a good feeling seeing someone get some skills while saving an ipe board from being walked on the rest of its life as decking..
Rich
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Hey Rich, I hadn't thought of it that way. If I were a tree "I" would rather be a bow than a deck... :D
Yeah Rick, I figured if I couldn't hit something with an arrow, I could at least stick it with the end of the bow... >:D I learned a lesson that too. I made the tips before tillering, and it was difficult to keep from messing them up while stringing and unstringing the bow a thousand times - I'll save the tips for last next time.
Keith
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2nd bow eh :o She's a beauty, tiller, tips and finish all are really nice.
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Looks Great to me! The tiller's as good as it gets and I bet it's a nice shooter too. ;)
Congrats on making such a fine piece of equipment. Saw Filer
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:o . A bow like that doesn't happen on accident. Great work
Jesse
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Nice bow! I love the grip and the tips are great. I learned that lesson about the tips the hard way too. With the overlays on it was really hard to scrape on without banging the tips all over my workbench. I bet that thing shoots like a lazer. If you run out of arrows you could just unstring and though it at a deer like a spear. The ultimate weapon ;D. Can't wait to see #3
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You scored big time on those tips! Very nice bow and bookmarked for June Laminate BOM!!
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Turned out well Kieth..... ;D
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Very nice bow! :) Looks like a screamer. It would be perfect if it were right handed ;D
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Thanks for all the encouragement everybody. I found out today that I need to have surgery on my left arm, so my third bow might need to be a 25#er for rehabilitation. What do you think? Maybe a short bow? Maybe an ambidextrous longbow for my wife (she is right handed) so I can shoot it for a while? I could make lots of bows and use the rasp and scraper for therapy, but not being able to shoot them might make me crazy... :'(
Keith
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Keith, Another option will be shooting right handed, getting a friend to pull on bows and be a live tiller system until you get back into this...
It was a dislocated shoulder from an awkward hangliding landing which got me into this 20 years ago...Scraping on wood and then shooting again, this time with bows I had made...Pulling on the bow again was interesting for sure..
I'm sure you will get back soon, and a light bow is wise in the beginning.
Rich-not young anymore..
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Kieth, Very nice bow, gotta love that Ipe. Another option on the lite bow is make it long. 72 or 74" would make it smooth and nicer on the shoulder.
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WOW! Man that is a beauty! Those tips could be used as a spear if needed! Just awesome!
I am addicted to hickory backed Ipe......just a great combo!
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As everyone already said - Wow!! ;D. Fine looking bow and those tips, the way you rasped or sanded them to fade into the boo - I know that took some time. She's a beauty!
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Beautiful bow,love the tips ,tiller ,don't know how you could do much better than that.Very
nice job ,all round. :) You guys just amaze me,1st 2nd 3rd bows turn out like that. :)
Pappy
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Thanks Pappy, Cowboy, Stonedog, Mullet... I am a bit surprised at how nice the newbies bows are coming out too, but honestly, they are just copies of what the Masters on this site are doing. I would have had no idea to even attempt the things I tried on this bow without your examples, and I'd probably be staring at my 6th broken bow and wondering "what the H***" instead of shooting and enjoying the first two out the gate. And I know y'all will be there for me when I start crying over the first busted one too... :(
Thanks again for everyone making this the great site it is! I wonder if back in the day, Bowyers freely shared their craft, or if bowmaking was top secret, cloak and dagger, national defense stuff?
Keith
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I finally got a chance to launch a hundred arrows out of this bow over the weekend. I notice I am able to shoot accurately at greater distances now. It is a lot :o faster and flatter shooting than my first Osage selfbow. But my Osage developed a fair amount of string follow which I suspect may be making it softer & slower? Now, with something to compare to, I think I am starting to understand the concept of hand shock. The Boo/IPE is not terrible, but I am wondering if it wouldn't benefit from lightening the last 8 inches of each limb a bit more?
Keith
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Keith, you can pare off some weight from the tips as they are a bit thick. A bow like yours "ideally" should have no hand shock at all.
Brace height can affect it some too, or if the arrows are too light.
Rich
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Beautiful bow, and awesome job in creating something like that with so little experience. You sir are an artist! Keep them coming.
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Great looking bow. What is the length/width on it?
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Rich - I am shooting 55-60 lb arrows and about 6" of brace. I think I will shoot her in a bit more, but I imagine the perfectionist in me will eventually have me thinning the tips a little bit more.
Thanks Apex! I like that there are so many different types of bows to try - I am guessing this will keep my interest up for quite a while...
Hillbilly - the bow is 69" nock to nock. 1" wide at the grip, maintains that width for 16" on each side, and then tapers to 1/2" at the tips.
Keith
(Knocker)