Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: SportHunter on July 21, 2011, 01:15:00 PM
-
Hello TG, this is my third attempt at a self bow.
I had the first one (1x2 plain sawn) shooting but piked two times to raise weight and raised a splinter then cracked a limb along the hinge that formed. This bow had twisted tips and I got carried away trying to fix the tip twist and lost weight in the process and generally compromised the bow structure in the process.
The second bow (1x3 rift sawn pyramid styla ala 4est trekkers build along) taught me about pin knots and now sits in two pieces after being very close to shooting.
So here is the third attempt. This started as a rough cut quarter sawn red oak board I picked up from a cabinet makers shop. It is 67'' NTN 68 overall with walnut and brazilian cherry tips. The nocks are Grumley style brush nocks since I tried them on the second bow and like the way they look. This time was much easier to craft the nocks.
This bow is similar to a pyramid bow but the limbs are one width (2 3/4'' to start/now 2 5/8'') for about 8 inches after the fades then tapering to 1/2 nocks from there. The Handle is 4 1/4'' inches with 2 1/8'' fades for a total of 8.5''
So far no creaks and I have it tillered to 38@22''. Shooting for low 50's @ 28'' Hoping to get this one all the way to the finish stage.
Any tillering advise/opinions would be appreaciated. I started with 1/2 thick limbs and work from the fades to about 12'' from the ends. Should I start to work the ends more now?
I have been using the gizmo and built the tillering tree as well thanks to all the build alongs here on TG.
Here are a few pics
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0146.jpg)
Drawn to 21''
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0148.jpg)
Drawn to 20''
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0147.jpg)
-
Here are a few more pics
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0156.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0157.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0155.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0154.jpg)
-
Mid limb on the right is a touch stiff. Nice brush nocks.
-
Very nice SH! Those nocks are sweet. I agree with PD. You might wanna scrape a bit from mid limb to your recurve on the right limb. Good score on the quartersawn. I'm looking forward to seeing her shoot and finished.
-
looks good except for the afforementioned mid limb. Love the oak board bows and those are great nocks.
-
nice nocks and fish would know he is pretty good himself at those.
I take it slow and think about what you need to do and that is going to be a very nice bow and if it shoots half as good as it looking then Wow keeper for sure.
-
Thanks guys, I'm trying to take this last part slow so I can hopefully get a shooter.. I will scrape on the right limb tomorrow morning before the temps get back up. We had a 113deg heat index today...too hot! Thanks for helping, I'll post some more pics after working on it some more.
-
Here it is after 20 scrapes from mid limb to couple inches from tip.
Here was the process:
5 scrapes, 20 pulls-rest-20 pulls rest. (x 4)
got it pulling to 24 inches now.
didn't lose any weight from yesterday 38@22
Are you guys still seeing a stiff mid limb on the right? Drawn pic is to 20''
I tried to take a more straight on photo today at the same elevation as the bow.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0160.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0158.jpg)
-
Still stiff. Have a look at that mid limb point only and you will see it is flat with almost no bend. Get a Gizmo and check it, it will show up for you in pencil led.
-
After much more work here are a few more photos.
Photo of the bow unstrung right after my session working the limbs.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0167.jpg)
Braced
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0161.jpg)
Drawn to 22''
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0164.jpg)
I worked it to 27'' buy using the gizmo with the bow pulled to 16'', then later to 20'' then later to 22'' and quickly marking the limbs unbracing and scraping and again and again etc. Felt like I figured it out finally, what do you guys think now? I still have some work to do but I think its getting close.
New draw weight is coming in at 37lbs at 24'' so I think it will end up in the 40's somewhere.
-
Nice! If you stop now you should be darn close to mid 40's @ 28" after shoot in and sanding. Pull her right to your target draw and see what you get on your scale.
-
Very nice now.
-
I think I'll to do some finish sanding and work on the handle & finish next week. I appreciate the input and will post more pics when the bow is complete. Thanks!
-
Well gents, here are the results of going for the final inch in draw weight on the tillering tree BREAK!!! I heard a very quiet tick when it got to 27 then I let it rest for a few seconds. I tried to work it up slowly to 28 and got it there but it snapped on the tillering tree in quite a violent manner. Real happy I wasn't pulling the string myself.
Here are a few pics of this bow and the other two I mentioned in the opening of this thread. So far wood is winning this battle 3-0
Still I'm learning alot and it is getting easier but it would be great if I could get a shooter soon.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0186.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0185.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0187.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/104_0188.jpg)
Thanks for the help, time to look for some more wood, maybe a stave this time. When I finally get one built you guys will be the first to know.
-
Oops. You know what I say, SportHunter.
There is a buildalong on my site. Make sure the grain is straight on your next board. From what I can see the grain looked pretty good on your last one.
"Still I'm learning alot and it is getting easier but it would be great if I could get a shooter soon."
The stick with simple. Leave the bow 1.5" wide for low 50 poundage or rip it too 1 3/8" fo 45-50#. Let the handle bend. No glued on pieces. Leave the handle full width. Follow the buildalong on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/boardbowbuildalong.html
-
could you take a better picture of the bow break of the middle bow??
Its hard to tell but the board looks as if it may have been cut from a twisted tree. How was the side grain?
-
Get yourself a stave and to heck with board grain. Boards make decent bows, Ive made plenty. But finding the right board is a pain in the batoot. Get yourself a stave and get a shooter on your next try.
-
Yeah, PD I think the next roll of the dice is on a stave, probably from ****. I plan on cutting some soon but they won't be ready to work for awhile and I'm wanting to get a few bows ready for the field by hunting season. I have plenty of other bows but I'd really like to hunt this fall with a self bow.
-
Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Boards are quite viable. Take a look at the stacks as you shop and you'll find a suitable board. Be picky. Another good option is the sapling bow and whitewoods are good choices for those. Keep looking for a board as you wait for the sapling to dry. I can continue on the sapling bows if you are interested. Jawge
-
Im not bashing boards George. Its just hard to find good ones sometimes is all. I tend to stick with hickory if I get a board itch, even a so-so hickory board will hold together for you.
-
PD, I know you are not bashing board bows. :) Jawge
-
Hey Paul if you can make your way up here to the Elm Hall shoot in two weeks I will give you a premium White Ash stave to take back home. It wont need any straightening or heating. Just carve a bow out of it.
-
Thanks PD but I haven't been able to travel much over the past few years due to family health issues but things are getting better these days. I really appreciate the offer though. Very nice gang here. Sooner or later I'll be making it to some of the Midwest shoots.
-
I hate that little "tick"
+1 for being happy it went on the tree.
if it's going to go that's the best place for it.
(better than ending the post with a bloody forehead or black puffy eye)
keep at it.you will have a corner full of shooters before you know it.
-
I've come to the conclusion, that I can only tell the board how heavy I want it to pull to an extent. In the end, it's going to want to be a certain weight, and so far for me, about 1/10 will come in at the weight i'm looking for (50's). Most come in at the low 40's and upper 30's. I also don't back my bows, and don't heat treat. Yet. BUT, they shoot great and are a blast to shoot. To me, in the end, that's why the bow was made. So don't get too caught up on the weight. I don't think that bow would've lived long anyway looking at the way it broke (I have a lot of experience on broken bows as well!) The one on the far left may have had a better chance. I started a thread not too long ago on tillering preferences. And I forgot what got my early shooters was tillering by hand and shooting the bow in the last few inches. Once you get her pulling to your draw length, after many many shots, and you gradually work her up to it, then put her on the tree (still at an inch less than your draw IMO if using peg style trees) to see your tiller.
I had 5 straight break on me, cause I forgot that one very important technique, but the gang reminded me in my thread, and it worked. It brought my confidence back as well, which when it comes to tillering, can make or break the whole process.
Good luck on the next one, and go at it full steam.
-
I just picked up a huge (8'long) old mulberry trunk. Going to try and get some staves out of it. This wood was very tough. I had to cut the whole log in half and was trying to cut it into smaller pieces but the chain on the saw snapped due to hitting a wedge. I can't confirm if its mulberry but he had numerous standing mulberrys on the property.
Had to load the huge pieces in the truck to deal with later. The wood seems sound but there are some knots to avoid. The owner said it was standing dead when they bought the place and he had it taken down in within the last month along with a few other trees (poplar & maple). Of course the good wood was at the bottom of the pile.
Here are a few pictures of the endeavor, I probably won't try something this large again:
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030231.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030233.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030235.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030239.jpg)
-
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030240.jpg)
used some leverage
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030242.jpg)
and finally in the truck
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/SOLOHUNTER/P1030244.jpg)
-
Trunk was 22'' x 15'', way too big. Hopefully this will be worth the effort. At least next time anything smaller than this will seem EASY.
-
doesn't look like mulberry.
mulberry has a yellow heartwood and white sapwood.
-
Yeah, I'm not sure what it is. I'll try to cut out a stave and see how it does. Seems like tough stringy wood, really tough to split.