Wanna see my Hickory Holmgaard?

[John B.]

Here's my latest, a Hickory Holmgaard named Great Dane.  She draws 45# at 28" and shoots very nicely.  She's 66" overall with static tips of 10".  The working limbs are 1 3/4" wide.  I left some of the cambium on the back and finished her with a coat of pecan stain then four coats of tinted wipe-on poly.

Lets see if these pics work...

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[ber643]

Looks very nice to me, John B. I love the color, I'd forgotten how pretty and "woody" pecan stain is. Did you use it to tint the poly also? Makes me wonder if maybe I should have done my Hick Holmi with pecan - instead of leaving it natural - LOL.

[Jesse]

That is a really pretty stain. 

[mitchman]

what a beauty. i like leaving some scattered cambium on the back. it makes it camo'ed      very nice bow

[Minuteman]

 Nice bow buddy.
 Looks like you coulda gotten a bit more bend out of the last 1/3 of the workin part of the limb. Looks like a good one none the less. How many bows have you made? I dunno much about the holmie design. Is that all the limb thats supposed to be workin?
 You'll find you can get away with alot more rounding off of the back and belly of the handle section than you've done there.It makes for a more comfortable grip.

 

[OldBow]

That is just excellent. I have one I'm finishing up made from hawthorne. Yours is better. Bookmarked for Dec Self BOM or I can wait until Jan if you let me know.

[John B.]

Thanks guys, I'm proud of this one.  It's my best yet, for sure.

Bernie and Jesse, I stained the bow with the pecan stain, then I wasn't happy with how uneven the color was.  Anybody who's worked with hickory has seen this before.  I used some of the pecan satin itself to tint the poly.  I went pretty heavy at first, maybe 15% stain to 85% poly, then less stain in the final coats.  You have to be careful to apply it evenly 'cause if you put a lot in one area it'll be darker than other areas.  Be careful sanding between coats, or you'll make light spots.  After the first coat I used steel wool instead of 400 grit.

Mitch, thanks.  That camo-cambium back only took a couple of minutes with a scraper.  It's easy.

Minuteman, Holmgaards are supposed to have absolutely static tips.  It was a challenge getting them light, but not bending.  I'm a big fan of the classic American Flatbow handle style. In fact, hanging next to Great Dane just three feet away from me as I type are three lemonwood AFBs from the 1950s.  I find it plenty comfortable when shooting.  When I shoot the only part of my hand touching the bow is the web between my thumb and forefinger and a couple of fingertips.  I'm a loose gripper 

OldBow, thanks for the compliment.  I had a good stave.    Uh, it never occured to me to submit it for Bow of the Month, but ok, sure.  I posted it in December, so it's only fair that I compete in December.  _{now i gotta go see who i'm up against.} 

[cracker]

Very nice looking bow. I guess some of us are gonna have to tighten up. Ron

[DanaM]

John any chance of a unbraced picture? I think ya did a fine job on it but I also agree with minuteman that the
working part of the limb could bend a bit more. But if your happy with it thats all that counts and tiller is in
the eye of the beholder. well done

[ber643]

Thanks on the stain info, John. That fact about Hickory is one of the reasons i decided to leave mine natural - LOL.

[sailordad]

love the color

it looks like it does all the bending in both fades.
yes i know about the non working limb area,but your working limb area appears to be only bending in the fades and not out to the non working limb area.
could be my eyes never know

[John B.]

Yeah, the outer portions of the working limbs could bend a little more, but when she dropped below 50 pounds I stopped scraping.  The tips are light, so handshock is not an issue. 

The stave had a natural reflex to it, and I was scrupulous about not working the bow unless it was dry, dry, dry, so it took very little set.

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[Little John]

Very nice Bow, I am a big fan of Holmies and have one in the works right now.  If it was bending too much in the fades and not enough else where It would have taken set there.  I love the ultra light tips and the speed and lack of hand shock that comes with them. Very nicely done and really like the finnish.  Do you have a chance to chrono or flight shoot to measure performance?          Kenneth

[wakosama]

I like this... ALOT.  Hoping to get good enough to make one someday.  So, right now I'm doing as many bows as I have wood, so I get the practice I need to really know what I'm doing.  I never learned anything by doing it right the first time except being thankful for beginners luck.

Very nice...

LUK

[DanaM]

Thanks for the unbraced picture that helps a lot Sweet looking bow and thanks for sharing eh