Sturgeon backed locust 5 curve

[Kidder]

So I recently finished up this bow and it represents a lot of firsts for me. This is the first stave bow that I have built from a stave that I harvested myself. It was the first time using sturgeon. And it is the first successful recurve I’ve built. It’s 68 inches and pulls 46lbs at 28 inches. This bow really only exists because I looked at the stave and thought - “this will be a challenge, but I need the practice.” It had so many problems that I really had no expectations and just rolled with what it wanted to do. To begin it took 5 different heat sessions to take out the twist, flip the tips etc. I put in a mild 5 curve design (1/2” reflex out of the handle). There was a punky spot on the back that I never could get clean, and it picked up a tiny crack in the tillering process so I did a sinew wrap. When I was removing the belly wood it caught grain and dipped down too low, so I left it wide there and it made for a cool feature in the lower limb. It also had lots of snake that presented a challenge to tiller. The sturgeon skins were also very difficult to work with, but I feel they add a real cool touch. It’s by far the best bow I’ve built in terms of hand shock, is very accurate, but at the same time is very particular in arrows. Either way, it was a fun process and a great learning experience. I welcome any thoughts or constructive criticism.
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr
Sturgeon backed locust by B Kidd, on Flickr

[Bob Barnes]

Great job and beautiful bow...it reminds me of my last Black Locust bow...but i stained it yellow like osage... You did well...

[Stixnstones]

Ya nailed it... great job on such a challenging stave

[superdav95]

Wow what a beautiful bow.  Gotta find some black locust around here!  I’ll try and avoid inundating you with loads of questions so I’ll limit it to a few…

Did you put a positive tiller on upper limb?  If so how much did you go?

How did you get such nice recurves on that thing?!?  Steam,water, oil and heat???

Lastly how did you apply that skin.  Tight bond? Hide glue, fish glue?

Thanks

Dave

[bradsmith2010]

beautiful congrats,,

[Kidder]

Thanks guys. Bob - thats a beauty! Superdav95 yes I’ve got positive tiller. I’ve never measured it with a ruler, just my hand. I’d guess it was about 3/16” but the reflex isn’t quite even so it might be a little deceptive. For the recurves I boiled them and put them on a form with a metal strap on the back to help keep splinters from lifting. The sturgeon skins were very difficult to work with. I got them with a ton of flesh on them from a friend. Fleshed them, dried them, then rehydrated them. I dyed the back black. I used TB3. The first time i put them on they popped right off with all of the glue staying on the skins and none on the back. I was concerned it was the dye I had used but sized the back good with TB3 and tried again, this time with no issues.

[Will B]

That’s a great looking recurve!  Tiller looks really nice. Black locust makes a great bow. Well done!

[PaSteve]

Very nice Kidder. You did a fine job with that black locust stave. Those skins look great too.