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Thanks 
Recent Posts
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Bows / Re: Good things come to those who wait!
« Last post by Selfbowman on June 27, 2025, 04:59:59 pm »Beautiful bow! And Kidder is a stand up guy. He makes great bows I have one!
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Bows / Re: Good things come to those who wait!
« Last post by Burnsie on June 27, 2025, 03:48:20 pm »Daaang! That is beautiful.
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Bows / Good things come to those who wait!
« Last post by superdav95 on June 27, 2025, 01:10:12 pm »Hey guys, I got this bow from (kidder) Brendan today in the mail. I am super stoked to receive this bow. What a beautiful and well crafted bow. It shoots like a laser and is super dead in the hands. It’s an osage recurve pulling 57 pounds at 29 inches. I will post a video here of me shooting it pulling to maybe 27 or 28 due to a shoulder injury. I’m still recovering from. I’ll do some proper testing of it later when I’m all healed up, I absolutely love this bow, the simplicity and the beauty and the care that has been taken to preserve the character not only does this bow look awesome. It shoots equally well. I was supposed to receive a trade bow last year and didn’t receive one so (kidder) Brendan took it upon himself to make it right and send me a bow and he did not disappoint. The saying goes good things come to those who wait. Brendan, you are a solid dude for making this right thank you so much for such a great bow!
short video clip
https://youtube.com/shorts/xjdB-_vUh-0?si=4qdFQY4Aj1SfjBLQ
short video clip
https://youtube.com/shorts/xjdB-_vUh-0?si=4qdFQY4Aj1SfjBLQ
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I don't know how to post pictures from imgur any more, just the link.
Mark,
In imgur you click on the picture you want, then click on the button with three dots in the top right and click on 'get share links'. This will open a pop down that has link options. I use the BBCode link to post in forums, you just click that link and then paste it in your post.
Mark
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Bows / Re: Hunting the Osage Bow
« Last post by Hamish on June 27, 2025, 10:03:40 am »Its a great book, but I can see that it might be a bit intimidating for a beginning bowyer. You need drying boxes, reflexing forms, tillering trees.
I have built many bows following his advice, but I had about 5 years experience under my belt, before I used his methods. Personally I would recommend reading the Bowyers Bibles first and getting a good handle on the basic concepts, tillering and design, to learn what makes a good bow. Then combine this knowledge with Dean's. Dean really shines with the details on what to do with all facets of the process. The book itself is a work of Art, an ode to making the osage bow. A blueprint for present and future generations to keep the skills of the bowyer alive and kept at the highest standards, both for practical and artistic goals. He was a real perfectionist. One of the greats of the wooden bow renaissance.
I have built many bows following his advice, but I had about 5 years experience under my belt, before I used his methods. Personally I would recommend reading the Bowyers Bibles first and getting a good handle on the basic concepts, tillering and design, to learn what makes a good bow. Then combine this knowledge with Dean's. Dean really shines with the details on what to do with all facets of the process. The book itself is a work of Art, an ode to making the osage bow. A blueprint for present and future generations to keep the skills of the bowyer alive and kept at the highest standards, both for practical and artistic goals. He was a real perfectionist. One of the greats of the wooden bow renaissance.
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Around the Campfire / Re: What Did You Do Today?
« Last post by Eric Krewson on June 27, 2025, 09:53:22 am »Corn freezing day, the local Amish sell it for $4 a dozen, I bought 4 dozen ears.
I froze the corn in the shuck, no blanching, vacuum sealed it last for years in the freezer.
I traded wild turkey feathers for this huge vacuum sealer years ago, it weighs 25#, I call it Big Bertha.
Done, having plenty of corn and deer meat in the freezer is like being rich.
I froze the corn in the shuck, no blanching, vacuum sealed it last for years in the freezer.
I traded wild turkey feathers for this huge vacuum sealer years ago, it weighs 25#, I call it Big Bertha.
Done, having plenty of corn and deer meat in the freezer is like being rich.
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Bows / Re: Hunting the Osage Bow
« Last post by Eric Krewson on June 27, 2025, 09:40:54 am »Dean's book was a very important in my progress as a bow maker, his recommendations of proper handling of osage from the stump to the bow was the most important part of the book for me. I didn't have a clue until I read the book, I had lost a lot of osage to bugs and checking when I started out, there wasn't any available information on the subject back then like we have now.
I follow his way of laying out a bow to this day but found that his facit tillering just didn't work for me.
All in all, his book was the most instrumental resource to get me where I am today as a bow maker.
I follow his way of laying out a bow to this day but found that his facit tillering just didn't work for me.
All in all, his book was the most instrumental resource to get me where I am today as a bow maker.
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Bows / Re: Hunting the Osage Bow
« Last post by willie on June 27, 2025, 04:16:16 am »bow wood can certianly be dried faster than a few years
reducing your stave will help speed drying, and monitoring the drying is prudent when you consider it can be dried faster until the free water leaves the wood and may have to be dried slower as it gets drier.
you might have to change drying envrionments depending on ambient conditions.
having the piece a consistent thickness will let it dry evenly
wasnt Deans steam bending method exclusively for green wood?
reducing your stave will help speed drying, and monitoring the drying is prudent when you consider it can be dried faster until the free water leaves the wood and may have to be dried slower as it gets drier.
you might have to change drying envrionments depending on ambient conditions.
having the piece a consistent thickness will let it dry evenly
wasnt Deans steam bending method exclusively for green wood?
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Bows / Hunting the Osage Bow
« Last post by Burnsie on June 27, 2025, 12:46:05 am »I’m not sure why it took me so long, but I just finished reading “Hunting the Osage Bow” by Dean Torges. I liked his writing style, and I know he was considered as one of the well known gurus of osage self bows, but I have to be honest, I don’t think I could build a bow by following the process he works through as he tells his story. I enjoyed the story, but I need specific instructions, there are a lot of blanks you have to fill in on your own.
Has anyone ever built an osage self bow using his process? - ie: going from a felled tree to a finished bow in the matter of a couple months - using his drying methods. I am pretty new to the self bow game, but up until now I’ve always assumed you cut an osage log, split it into staves, sealed the ends, and then set it aside for a year or two to “season”. Then you turned the stave into a bow using heat to make some corrections if needed.
What’s everyone’s opinion on Mr. Torges’s method of bow building.
Has anyone ever built an osage self bow using his process? - ie: going from a felled tree to a finished bow in the matter of a couple months - using his drying methods. I am pretty new to the self bow game, but up until now I’ve always assumed you cut an osage log, split it into staves, sealed the ends, and then set it aside for a year or two to “season”. Then you turned the stave into a bow using heat to make some corrections if needed.
What’s everyone’s opinion on Mr. Torges’s method of bow building.