First off, sorry to those that have seen this bow already in the Warbow section, but I'd like to post it here as well to take a crack at BOM. The thread in the warbow section is a build-along, and for anyone that might be interested, it can be found here:
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,44867.0.htmlThis bow was a long-time in the making - one of those winter projects that I just chipped away at, a little bit at a time. That was probably for the best, considering all of the advice I received along the way that certainly contributed to my success. Completing this bow resulted in many "firsts" for me. I've made many laminate board bows, and attempted several from a stave, but this is actually the first
self bow that I've made that survived all the way through to completion. It is also the first bow I've made that exceeded 100 lbs. So I'm quite happy that it not only survived it's first couple outings in the field, but it also seems to be performing quite nicely (my best cast so far was from a 77 gram arrow that flew just over 230 yards). It was also the first time I've worked with horn to make this type of nock, and the experience certainly taught me a few things
NOT to do with them. A small horn inlay also marks the arrow pass.
The bow measures 79 inches between the nocks, and draws 115 lbs at 32" of draw. It's 1.5" wide at the center, and 1 3/32" thick. The tips are about 5/8" diameter. The bow needed several sessions of dry heat, both to heat treat the wood, and to correct some twist and tip alignment issues. It ended up taking about 1 1/8" of set. The string is a 14-strand continuous-loop string made from Fast Flight.
I used some leather antiquing gel on the belly to make the grain stand out a bit, as well as to provide a bit more contrast between the sapwood/heartwood, before finishing it off with several coats of wipe-on polyurethane.
There are plenty of pictures in the build along thread, but here are a few of the finished product.
