my HICKORY MOLLY!

[jturkey]

i started this just to see if i could do it it is 71.5 inches ntn 74 inches t2t hickory working limbs are 2" wide handle an 1 1/8" 5" long to fades fade are 2 inches on both side the workign limbs are 15 inches and the non working lims are 15 1/8 " my miscalculations on that one. i put double notches on the tips for a stringer and am planning on wraping the handle with some twine and covering with a blue racer skin i got from a road hit and run accident(lmao). was going to cover the back with something but can not think of anything i would like. any ideas??? draw weight is 65#s at 27" my elbow can not draw any more than that.

[half eye]

Very nicely done, sir !!!! really good lines on that bow. They way those Mollegabets shoot yours ought to have tremendous cast with heavy arrows.
rich

[bubby]

nice lookin' bow jturkey, you can just stain it or paint a design on the back, or a combo of the two like this, Bub

[jturkey]

bub- what is a good stain for hickory i have always heard it is hard to stain. looking for the green colors and dark shades of blue if i have to paint it. will the paint not crack on the back of the bow being  stretched like it will be.
rich- i shot some of my cane arrows i made for my dad outof them and easily hit 75 yards and they are well in the 600 grain range or better took 20 minutes to find the first one was seeing how far it would shoot but was too close to the woods when i launched the first arrow i have a little work to do on the grip a little to square and is hard on my knuckles when at full draw but i really got almost no handshock there is a little but not really enough to worry about i like the design but it was a pain to tiller for me. but did like ken said tried to let the handle fades to be the last pace that bends and it seemed to work. 

[bubby]

jt, hickory can be a pain to stain, had some trouble on my trade bow but that was more me trying to get fancy whith it, I've used liquid rit dye diluted whith alcohol and plain old wood stain, the one in the pic is rit dark brown, and the only problem with paint is as you use it the paint will get worn in spot's, but that just gives it that antique look, this other pic is my trade bow, put some dark stain on then sanded the flats and used somedanish oil based walnut, hope that helps, Bub ,

[scp]

Well done!
I also make 50/50 Molly but mainly from oak staves. I broke too many (three) maple staves. The conventional wisdom says that the working limb of self bow should be as long as your draw length. How much set does your bow have? It does not appear to be too severe in the picture. I usually steam bend the tips to remove all string follow, but that is a good way to break a 50/50 Molly.

[George Tsoukalas]

Very nice work! Well done. Jawge

[ken75]

glad it worked for you , very nice bow you will enjoy it

[jturkey]

took it out early this morning and shot well over my hundred yard range i have available behind the house. but it did take a little set about 1.75 -2" worth but not because of anything it did i forgot to brace it when i heat treated the belly and it recieved most of the set then. but the picture was right after being shot and relieved from brace height so other than what i happened to put in it by accident it really seems not to recieve any extra set. oh and i decided to make it so i could shoot either limb as top or bottom  for fun as well hence the extra inch of handle area. and ken and rich thanks for the information i would have had short outer non working limbs and a serious hinge without you to.
 

[bubby]

jt, remember that you measure the set on these bows at the end of the working limbs,not the tips sounds like ya got a good bow, now go get some blood on it , Bub

[scp]

Bubby, how about the string follow? Do you measure it the same way?

[bubby]

yeah, but string follow is temporary so inless it's a bunch I don't think it's a problem as long as you're bow shoots hard all day, jmo, Bub

[scp]

Bubby, we might be using the term differently. I usually use it as in "Archery Glossary - By Tim Baker, String Follow: Where by set, design, or deflex in the stave, an unbraced bow’s tips rest some distance bellyward of the back. Usually the result of set." I will continue on this issue here only if "jturkey" is interested.

[bubby]

the mostly accepted definition of set is the permanant deformation of the bow limbs, with string follow being the temperary deformation of the limbs from bracing and shooting the bow for awhile, and goes away after resting, this is just what I have picked up from guy's on here over the years, Bub

[jturkey]

bub in that case my set is only about .5 of an inch which is better than i thought the non working limbs would be the other measurementsi'lll get a better # for you tomorrow. and i agree set is the permantent and string follow is the temperary due to name because string follow meant the string was on temperary and then released as set means set for life. just my 2 cents worth on that subject you can look under several different books nad get several different answers but we can all just verify what we mean if we think the answer was not what we thought it should be. right.

 john