Started my trade bow - full draw and shipped

[criveraville]

Jorge that's looking a lot like a very nice bow

[Elktracker]

I really like the profile on that, sweet stick so far

[DEllis]

That looks real good George. A lot more symetrical than I expected from what you had told me earlier. That's gonna finish out really nice
Darcy

[gstoneberg]

Thanks guys.  I hope it comes out nice.  I need to make a caul off that recurve limb.  I really like the way that feels as the string comes off the limb.

[youngbowyer]

George, it always ceases to amaze me how you crank out such beautiful bows form those twisted and gnarly osage character staves.
That is a beautiful and stunning bow!

[Del the cat]

Hey, some nice build along shots there. Thanks for takin' the time & trouble.
Interesting to see you tackling that big twist.
Del
(We don't seem to get those nasty borers here in the UK, which is a relief).

[gstoneberg]

Thanks.  Texas is easily the worst place I've lived for borers.  I'm glad you don't have them.  I'd hate to think of yew wood riddled with holes, I wouldn't wish that on anybody.  I had a guy give me an old osage beam that was used in a building.  I was excited at first as it was dead straight, but when I looked at it up close there was not a square inch of the wood that did not have a borer hole.  I didn't even split it.

And Tom, I just cut up some bow wood that was too crooked for me.  You should have seen it.  It's firewood now.  It was not that crooked when I cut it, but the minute we split it (after seasoning a year) every little bend in the tree turned into a major problem.  I do have a sister stave to the trade bow and I haven't decided if I want to do it all over again.  I think I'll wait.  I've got some ipe boards and bamboo that's calling me.  Some arrows too.

George

[gstoneberg]

I have my trade bow on a short string, actually a little too short.  It's a brand new string and I expect it to stretch a little, but so far it hasn't.  The recurve is beginning to work a little, mostly because I'm working hard to try and thin one side of it to get it to bend so the string is more in the limb.  From the side it looks pretty decent.



But from the recurve tip you can see the challenge:



It seems to draw pretty well so I hesitate to do a lot more thinning on that strong side to straighten it anymore.  I'm trying to avoid heat bending it again, but may have to.  I didn't pull it all the way to 26" where I have it tillered to for a picture as the borer hole I filled with superglue and sawdust came out of the tip.  I knew it was loose, but today it fell out.



I've been trying to decide whether to shorten that limb so the borer is beyond the string nock, or just cover it with an overlay and fill it in from the bottom.  The bow is only 61" n2n so I'm not real anxious to shorten any more.  I still have a couple more inches of draw to get.  Hope to launch some arrows out of it later this week.

George

[Elktracker]

Thats looking really good imo, the string isnt off too bad. As far as the borrer whole and trimming it down I agree it is gonna be on the short side unless backed. Thats a tough one, I really like the bow though.

Josh

[criveraville]

I really like the profile pick... Well, I have a few skins you can pick from to put on the back... Will bring em to hunt..

[DEllis]

Looking pretty nice George.
Those recurves don't contact too much so you could probably get away with a fair bit of string misalignment......if you had to. Shouldn't be a problem for stability......that said, if it was mine, it'd drive me nuts until I got it straightened out
I can't imagine that borer hole causing any trouble for you, must not be bending at all way out there. I'd just fill it with straight epoxy after degreasing the hole so it sticks better. Your gonna cover it with the overlay anyway.
Lots of challenges with that stave
Darcy

[gstoneberg]

Thanks guys.  I know Darcy, I personally wouldn't have a problem with it but the person I'm sending it to might?  I could ask them directly and ruin the surprise.  Dang, I hate to do that though.  I plan to shoot it before I do anything radical.

That'd be great Cipriano!  Thanks.  Looking forward to getting out there with you.  Gary is still hoping to go with us.  The lease got 2" of rain in the last 2 weeks.  Should be a lot greener than it used to be.

George

[Elktracker]

If it was for me the borrer whole would matter

[gstoneberg]

If it was for you I'd clean it up real nice and hide that hole under some mesquite...   Probably do that anyway.  By the way, the borers like the mesquite  even better than the osage.  I brought home a couple logs and they are riddled.

George

[gstoneberg]

I think I've finished my tillering tonight.  I took a picture at about 27" of draw, though I've drawn it to 29" (I have a heck of a time making myself hold it at max draw for a picture).



As I hoped, some of the recurve I added has come out so it better matches the natural limb.  That limb has also taken a bit of set which also helps it match the natural limb.  The limb on the left (the upper limb) is pulling a bit further than the other limb.  I taped on a temporary rest and shot a couple arrows tonight.  It shoots hard and quite a bit faster than my osage bow, but it is nearly 10lbs heavier too.  I was reluctant to go to full draw with it, because without the string served I was afraid the arrow would come off the string.  Here's how it looks unstrung:



Still struggling with whether to bend both limb tips straight.  I'm leaning against it, since it was such a crooked old stave it seems appropriate that the bow would reflect that.

George