Author Topic: bendy handle elm bow.  (Read 6071 times)

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riverrat

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bendy handle elm bow.
« on: September 10, 2015, 10:39:15 pm »
working on a few bendy handle elm bows. first one im working on is 54 in. tip to tip.a bit snaky, no knots.has a kind of round back. hoping to get a 26 in. draw but i know im really pushing it. im not going for a war bow or anything.lol. would be happy with 40 pounds at that draw, would be over joyed at 45 pounds.its 1 3/4 inches wide just past the handle area.gradulates to the tips. not like piramid style but around 12 inches from the tips it will taper quite a bit.if all else fails, itll make a decent kids bow if it seems to be over worked when im working on it. its slippery elm. its great bow wood. its better longer. but thats in the works for my 4th and 5th bows. im just getting back to it after about a 4 or 5 year break. its a nice tricky to make bow.feed back would be good on draw to weight ratios on elm bendy handle bows. thanks. Tony

« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 11:23:17 pm by riverrat »

riverrat

  • Guest
Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2015, 11:26:56 pm »
i cut this down last week. its a crappy stave. when i split it it came out pretty thin. i worked it to shape kind of green. im not pressed if this dont work out. but ive made some decent bows from crappier pieces of wood.lol the bottom of this section closer to the trunk is going to make a couple realy nice bows. this one and the next two, pretty much practice wood. ill see what i can do. its been awhile.Tony
« Last Edit: September 11, 2015, 11:54:26 pm by riverrat »

Offline bowandarrow473

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2015, 07:37:49 am »
A 54 in bow at 26in draw should be totally doable with a good tiller.
Whatever you are, be a good one.

riverrat

  • Guest
Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2015, 09:36:22 am »
thanks, yea i agree tiller is most important when it comes to a bow.workin on it ;) ........Tony

blackhawk

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2015, 10:41:54 am »
Get the heat out and kick the tips up...not necessarily needed,but itll help with string angles n smokt out the draw a tad more...

riverrat

  • Guest
Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2015, 11:00:35 am »
i was thinking the same on the tips.thats very sound advice. thanks.Tony

riverrat

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2015, 04:42:56 am »
bow number 1 : i call it the snaky elm. its now 53 in. tip to tip. widest just past the handle area is 1 5/8 in. tapering gradually to the tips . which are 5/8 in. wide. its going to be a bend through the handle bow. theres some snaky stuff goin on in the limbs, a little twisting. one knot upper limb not quite out to the edge so i should be fine there.ive already ruffed it out to the point its starting to bend. ive cut in the nocks on the tips.the tips are thick and have reset all on thier own just a tad but i will be heating this to add to the effect. i had to heat to bend it , whole bow, sideways a little. it took a little side to side bend as its dried. i needed to realign the handle and tips. its very close now. might still take a little tweeking but i think ill get it.and with the twisting im thinking a lot will pull out during tillering. im going to make a tiller board and get to tillering a bit more today. i still have to finnish ruffing out the other two to this point. ill post on them as i go on a new post for each.

riverrat

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2015, 04:44:22 am »
top pics nock in tips, middle pic. back of bow. bottom pic belly of bow.

riverrat

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2015, 04:45:04 am »
side view

Offline Knoll

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  • Mikey
Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2015, 05:09:57 am »
Well on your way. Will be fun watching as ya get back into the addiction.
... alone in distant woods or fields, in unpretending sproutlands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day .... .  I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing & prayer.  Hank Thoreau, 1857

riverrat

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2015, 10:50:51 am »
have it bending evenly to brace. now to start tillering....in about a week.the thing is this is only about a week since cut and split then ruffed out. it needs a good 2 weeks drying time before i go any further. right now no set. i want to keep it that way.Tony

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #11 on: September 16, 2015, 08:33:23 pm »
You could give it a week of speed drying where it's hot with good air movement and then give it a good toasting over a fire
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

Marc@Ironwoodbowyer.com

Offline bowandarrow473

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2015, 09:38:38 pm »
I rough mine to about an inch thick everywhere but the handle if im going stiff handled and an inch everywhere otherwise, then I give it a good month or so to dry. but a week or two in a hot car will work fine im sure.
Whatever you are, be a good one.

riverrat

  • Guest
Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #13 on: September 16, 2015, 10:24:50 pm »
suppose to be in the mid to upper 80's the next week. ill leave it outside on non rainy days and inside the garage if its going to rain. that garage, its a huge hot box lol. Tony


Offline sweeney3

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Re: bendy handle elm bow.
« Reply #14 on: September 17, 2015, 01:10:24 pm »
Looks pretty.  In the future, you might consider a full-width-full-length sort of design for those white wood shorties.  Kind of like an Eastern Woodland.  It seems to help spread out the compression a little more.  Those are fun little bows and can be made in a hurry.