hickory/horn/sinew

[BowEd]

iowabo.....the bows' tillered for a 28" draw and if you pull it only to 25" my arrows won't hit the same as my draw to 28".I thought I told you that.

[BowEd]

Thanks osage outlaw and coaster500.

[ionicmuffin]

wow, great build  i would be proud to have something even close to that.
since non of my stave bows so far have succeeded im going to take it slow and take a step and then step back and see what the next step is before diving right in, i have a tendency to just go at it till its done, but often thats not really helpful until you are really good at it and its second nature. even then im sure some of you would rather sit back for a moment or two and think about it. ATM i have 3 hickory staves that i can start working on very soon, 2 of which have bends on one end warping to the left or right. the one stave i have that is strait i have to take the cambium off. nice to see the rack of bows most of them being hickory was a great relief to me now knowing that i have examples of what to aim for! thanks for this build! give a guy hope when times are dark   

[BowEd]

ionicmuffin...That's right I sit back take it in the house after working on it,watch some TV and make some precise marks on it that I want removed and start with it the next day.Don't get in a hurry.Start wide enough and long enough.Sideways bends if they are'nt too severe can be taken out with the heat gun.If they are I'd steam em.If the sideways bend returns to line up it's got some character.Get the limbs bending equally in the beginning either floor tillering first then to the long string then brace.Keep em bending equally removing material overall off each limb.You'll get there.

wow, great build  i would be proud to have something even close to that.
since non of my stave bows so far have succeeded im going to take it slow and take a step and then step back and see what the next step is before diving right in, i have a tendency to just go at it till its done, but often thats not really helpful until you are really good at it and its second nature. even then im sure some of you would rather sit back for a moment or two and think about it. ATM i have 3 hickory staves that i can start working on very soon, 2 of which have bends on one end warping to the left or right. the one stave i have that is strait i have to take the cambium off. nice to see the rack of bows most of them being hickory was a great relief to me now knowing that i have examples of what to aim for! thanks for this build! give a guy hope when times are dark   

[ionicmuffin]

i agree, i decided a while ago to start with my strait-est stave which was absolutely twist-less. i think after i finish the 2 bows that have chosen to work on for bdays i will go ahead and work on the hickory. I live in a humid climate, so i was wondering, what do you do to dry out your staves if its humid? im fairly certain that i wont have any problems yet since its been almost all sun here in washington, so idk.

[BowEd]

I keep em in the house in a controlled enviornment at  at least 50% humidity better at 40% really leave em there and weigh em to see if they lose weight.After they quit losing weight for 4 or 5 days I work on em.Use that graph in the bow wood section in the Bowyers Bible.

[BowEd]

I put em right on top of the dehumidifier or by the wood stove in the winter.

[Parnell]

Really like that one and the quiver is a beauty also.  Great work!

[Pappy]

Like that a lot,very nice job on it,tiller looks great and finish work is sweet also.
   Pappy

[dwardo]

Stunner. 

[Marc St Louis]

Ed
I'm glad the reverse bracing and 2 week wait did the trick

[BowEd]

Thanks fellas.I appreciate it.Having never met any of you guys YET they are nice things to hear.
Marc....After another hundred more arrows it has about settled into the set it originally had before the snake skin was put on.I got a dollar in my pocket of suspicions that I could get the same profile from just heat treating the belly and applying the sinew.Leaving off the horn.Less mass,faster,etc.I was hoping though that the horn might make the bow more durable i.e. longer stringing time.I shoot with a bunch of fiberglass boys at these 3D shoots and thought I'd try to prove something to them.Could be chasing a ghost but I gave it a try.I've seen these Asiatic bows be very resielant after very long periods of being braced.Of course their ratio of materials is divided more evenly.

[BowEd]

iowabo.....I cant my bow a bit when I shoot.You don't plus you are used to shooting off of your knuckle which I am too but have a very small shelf for a reference point with no arrow obstruction.You try to use your back muscles more than me.I'm used to my way and your used to your way.I'm sure I could shoot your bows good too if you put a piece of duck tape on the arrow shaft so I don't over draw.
That milkweed string I think I'd let a fresh bow be strung with it.That string is gonna take a set anyway while shooting.I'm sure a person will get more comfortable with it the more it is shot.Put it on the tillering tree and draw it a while if you are'nt sure.Work your way up to your full draw.

[SA]

very nice, that bow looks like it will last a long long time.

[Jodocus]

 

Very cool bow! Supreme craftsmanship on this one!

Did you intend make it a composite from the beginning?