ERC molly?

[KShip85]

I've been browsing through a lot of holm/molly posts and am curious if anyone has ever succeeded using ERC with this design.  I would think it would have some super light tips and good speed.  If one were to try this design what kind of dimensions would be a good starting point and how would it be with a sinew backing?

[ionicmuffin]

unless you have sinew or rawhide it would possibly blow up.

[blackhawk]

Although I have made bows from ERC,I haven't made any style of lever bow with it. But I've made about every kinda lever bow you can think of with quite a bit of different species of wood. If I were to try making one from ERC I would def back the working limbs only with sinew and either rawhide back the whole thing over that or just rawhide over the levers cus even tho the levers are stiff they are still under strain and it would protect them from the stresses and from getting dinged up cus its such a soft wood. Exact dimensions depends upon what length of bow,your draw weight,your draw length,what exact style of lever bow,stiff handle or bendy,and the ratio of lever to working limbs. If you can answer me those questions I can prob come up with a good starting point and game plan for ya.

[sweeney3]

I haven't tried that design with ERC, but my first suspicion is that you would be flirting with a theatrical failure.  However, if no one tries it, we'll never know.  Give it a shot and see what happens.

[KShip85]

Hmm, I'll have to look at my stock to see what I have to work with.  I'd like to shoot for something 66" or less pulling at least 50 lbs at 28" if possible.  My full draw is closer to 30" probably but I'd rather keep it shorter if that meant a better chance of survival.  As far as limb to lever, is 60/40 doable? Also if I were to back just the levers with rawhide, should I do that first and then feather out the sinew over that or sinew first then rawhide?  I'd like to finish the limb section with snake or fish skins to help water proof the sinew. 

I've done a couple ERC bows and love the way the wood shoots when it holds together.  I've pushed my past two too far for being unbanked and want a shooter that will perform but also want a bow I can shoot more than a few hundred times.

Thanks for the help, hope to be able to get something together.  Might mean going on a log run to look for some longer clear timber.

Kip

[PatM]

The sensible solution is to splice in the levers using vertical grain Ash or other hardwood.
 I have one in the works with that design but I also applied a thin Maple backing and will ultimately add sinew on top of that.
 I found a pefectly clean ERC board at a lumber shop. It was only three feet long by six inches wide so I spliced it in the center and added the single Maple strip to tie it together across the back and doubly reinforce it in tension.
 The Maple is definitely enough but Cedar likes sinew.

[okie64]

Ive never built an erc molly but I have seen and shot one.  The bow was sinew backed with snakeskin over the sinew and I dont remember exact dimensions but it was fairly short(56"-58" or so) and the working part of the limbs were over 2" wide. It was a very fast and sweet shooting bow.

[vinemaplebows]

Having workred Cascara, and eastern red cedar...yes, it is possible., infact I don't think it would be that hard!

[ionicmuffin]

If you decide to do one you should make it a build along, I have a few ERC that i would like to use, I would definitely follow one of those, never even seen much info on ERC, let alone a molle. You would be providing a new piece of info to the net.

[blackhawk]

A 40/60 ratio is prob my favorite and most used ratio,meaning 40% of the limbs are levers,and 60% are working limbs. At your draw n weight with a 8" stiff handle I wood make it 62-64". That wood give ya about ~11" long levers or so,and I wood make the working limbs aprrox 2" wide for a starting point.

[KShip85]

Thanks for the input everyone.  I think I've found some wood to try this on.  Can I get by removing some sap wood to get a better sap to heart ratio?  If so is it better to chase a ring or decrown?  How important is it to avoid ring violation if it is getting backed with sinew/rawhide.  I've read on other designs you can get away with it but not sure if that would hold true with this higher stress design.

[blackhawk]

I just simply decrown it if the sapwood is too thick and I want the heartwood in the bow...chasing a ring on ERC is NOT something you wanna try..lol.

[RyanY]

I chased a ring on the ERC bow I made but even so I backed it with rawhide. The heartwood can jump up and down several rings and I'm not entirely sure how that affects the back. I'd guess that your stave has a decent crown though so if I were you I'd decrown it to get a rectangular cross section and just crown the sinew when you add it.

[Gus]

Just cut some real nice ERC over the weekend and was thinking Molly, since I have that design stuck in my head at the moment.
I'll be watching your progress.

-gus