Osage Birthday Bow

[PaSteve]

    I feel fortunate to have the brother I do. We've been shooting bows and archery hunting together ever since I was old enough to buy a hunting license. He turns 60 the first week of July so I wanted to make him a selfbow for his birthday. He has some shoulder issues so I decided to make him a bow light enough so he could enjoy shooting it but heavy enough to be legal to hunt whitetail deer in PA.
     My first attempt failed when I overstressed the top limb as I was heating and clamping to a form. Lesson learned: I should have used steam and even osage has its limits. Next I picked out a somewhat twisted and undulated osage stave. I decided to leave the twists in as it appeared the string would line up pretty well. I used dry heat for a little reflex and the string bisected the handle as planned so I left it alone. I proceeded to tiller and shoot in the bow. Satisfied, I then fumed the bow for 6 days. (This is the second osage bow I've fumed and the effects are beautiful). It's hard to capture in my photos. I named the bow Xansati which in Lenape means "dear elder brother". The Lenape hunted, trapped and fished in the valley we grew up in. So, I thought the name was fitting.
   
     61" NTN 40#@26" (I tillered to 27" for a lil insurance)
     Asiatic Buff Horn Tip Overlays
     Dyed Elk Leather Handle Wrap, Kangaroo Lace
     Arrow shelf has seal skin and arrow plate is inlaid seal skin left slightly proud (Next time I will chisel out inlay area before fuming)
     Finished with 5 coats tru oil then 2 coats spray spar satin
     String is 8 Strand 8190F
 
Thanks for looking.
rfume8 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickrrfume5 (2) by Steve Woodruff, on Flickrrfume9 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickr20200621_174940-1 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickr

[PaSteve]

A few more:rfume4 (2) by Steve Woodruff, on Flickrrfume2 (2) by Steve Woodruff, on Flicrfume1 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickrkrrfume7 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickr

[PaSteve]

More:rays fumed bow (2) by Steve Woodruff, on Flickrr fume by Steve Woodruff, on Flickr20200620_194824-1 by Steve Woodruff, on Flickr

[Will B]

Great looking bow. Your brother will love it. Really nice handle and full draw

[bassman]

Great you guys are as tight as you are. Nice bow all the way around. Bet he was excited to get that bow, and you were more excited to see him get it. God, family, and friends. That is what life is all about, and you have it all in order. Bet he feels fortunate to have the brother he has too. Good stuff.

[osage outlaw]

Sweet looking bow Steve!

[HH~]

Very nice. Great color and a hunters shelf. I like it!

8190 huh? I pulled a camper with 25 strands 8190 and my GMC. It only stretched 3/8ths of an inch. When bow snaps back to brace with 8190 its like taking the bow swinging it against a wall. Works great until that one shot!

HH~

[PaSteve]

Thanks for the compliments Will B., Bob, Clint & Hedge. Hedge, I got a few spools of that string material real cheap so I thought I'd give it a try. Used it on 6 selfbows with no issues so far. Guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the heads up.

[bjrogg]

Nice bow Steve. It’s a blessing having a brother so close. Really a blessing having one to share both of your passions of primitive archery with. Hope his shoulder gets better. Physical therapy really helped mine.
Bjrogg

[leonwood]

That's a proper birthday present! Beautiful bow!

[simson]

You've made an awesome job here, Steve.
Sweet bow and a nice gift for your brother.
The fuming went out beautiful!

And like some others said already the string is from wheelie bow material. And too many strands!
If it would be mine, max. 6 strands of BCY 452x. This material is a mixture of Dynema and vectran and provides some stretch. Your material is from dynema only - no stretch and no creep.

[PaSteve]

Thanks for the compliments BJ, Leonwood & Simon. BJ, it definitely is a blessing to have a brother like Ray. Leonwood, I thought it was the perfect present also and Simon I just ordered some 452X so I guess I'll be busy remaking some strings. 6 strands it'll be. I should have remembered what I read on your website. Thanks for the recommendation and to Hedge for bringing it to my attention. After the time and effort I put into making a bow I would hate to lose one because I used the improper string material.

[Stixnstones]

What an awesome gift. I'm sure your brother will love it... i love everything about this bow, the tiller and that color is perfect. Great work

[PaSteve]

Thanks for the kind words stixnstones.

[rps3]

Darn nice bow Steve, and it's great you have a brother to hunt with. I've got 3 brothers and a father who dont hunt.