Back in the saddle!

[n2everythg]

Pat,
Clad you are carvin on bows again. was a bit worried about you.
Looking good.
wade

[bigcountry]

well, here is where I stand today. The bow is basically tillered to 28" and I have a few pounds to play with(weight range 50# to 60# @ 28").
  Because of all of the "character" in this bow I opted to add a rawhide backing(snake skins to come!). When the rawhide cures out well in a few days I will dress it up with a file and sandpaper. Then I plan to put 100 arrows through her. If everything goes well her final attire will consist of timber rattler skins and bison horn nocks. I'm still undecided about a handle wrap. She will have a floppy rest but it will go on the wrong side! 

Pat, did you put in that reflex?

[RG]

Good on you Pat When I get over this deal I may need someone to push me back into it mighty easy to get lax and keep putting it off especially when you get our age


Ron

[John K]

" floppy rest will go on the wrong side " I know it's not for me, someone will be happy with it !

[hedgeapple]

Pat, it's good seeing you bending some sticks, again.  I"ve always admired your bow building talents.

[Hillbilly]

Looks like it's gonna be a goodun. Good to see you carving wood again. Now you need to come over here and boot me in the arse and get me fired back up, I haven't made one in over a year now.

[Josh]

"She will have a floppy rest but it will go on the wrong side!"

Hey if it's a lefty, I will shoot it in for ya... 

[Postman]

Lookin' good - lotsa curves in that one - way to start off easyy after your break

[cracker]

Jeese I dunno Pat it's all crooked and knotty.... Seriously nice lookin bow it's gonna be a beauty. Ron

[robtattoo]

Beautiful work Pat, can't wait to see her all dressed up!

[Badger]

  That bow sure did hold some reflex. Nice to see you making bows again. Ineed to dust off my tools. I have a couple of unfinished projects. Steve

[dragonman]

 Nice work, that stave looked like a serious challenge to me, but looks  like you've done a seriously good job on it.

[kerryb]

nice so far pat, cant wait to see it all finished up.  Kerry

[Diligence]

Looks good so far Pat.  Wondering if you'd care to share a couple of close-ups of your handle shaping.  That's something that is still a bit of a question for me....

[Pat B]

Jaye, I got my handle info from Dean Torges' "Hunting the Osage Bow". He does a lot better job of explaining than I can!    If you don't have a copy, I'll lend you mine. 
  Badger, with all the heat I put to this stave to get where I am, I'm not surprised it has held it's reflex. Plus I exercise the crap out of it between wood removals. Most of my wood removal after first low brace is done with a scraper and I think that scraping action not only removes small amounts of wood but burnishes the wood behind the scraper. I've never done a direct study on this but I have given it quite a bit of thought...or it could just be the patience acquired with age! 
 King Ron, just ask. I'm better at pushing than I am at doing!      When you become physically and mentally ready, you will know! but if you need a nudge, just ask!.
  Thanks everyone. I hope I didn't jinx myself by posting this. It has been a tedious task so far but fun and enlightening. For me, the best way to jump back into the saddle.  It is good knowing, even after 25 years of building wood bows there is still a lot to learn about building them. If you want to learn how to build wood bows get the crappiest osage stave you can find and make a shootable bow out of it. I'm convinced, there is a bow in every osage stave. Finding it is the challenge and the more challenging it is the more you will learn about wood bows.