I'm thinking about a winter project of building a longbow from one of the kits sold by Dryad. Has anyone done this,and are they good bows. Was thinking of a cocabola riser veners and bamboo cores.They also offer the bow bolt as and option. Any and all opins would be appreicated.
Im sure my pal Wihill will be along shortly...He has some experience with them! Chris you out there?? :D
What, who - me? :D
Yep, I built one up not too long ago. Mine was bocote with bamboo and black glass, 45@28, 64AMO. When I got it I was initially a little worried about how much talent would be required to complete it, but when it showed up in the mail I had to call up Mike and ask him seriously if he sent me a blank. With a raised rest and some strings groves you could have shot it right off the bat.
Total time invested was around 9-10 hours, mostly because I was overly careful about sanding, and wanted to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it. Most of the tools I already had, but if I had to do a cost on sandpaper and hand tools, you could get away with around 40$ or less if you're thrifty starting from the ground up.
The bowbolt would be great if I was looking to make a takedown, but I wanted to get the feel for what was involved first before I went with that addon. The bow is a solid shooter, incredibly smooth (45 feels more like 40), and really wings an arrow.
For someone on a limited budget that wanted a quality, custom-made bow that (IMO) outperforms the boxstore bows for half the cost, the Dryad Windtalker is the answer. A little sweat equity makes for a truely personal bow.
:thumbsup:
(yeah I like mine alot.)
Chris,
Thanks for the kind words. We have 50 glass blanks out there this year that people have finished. Have not heard one complaint. All have made bows that made weight and the owners are proud of.
Here is a recent thread about one:
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=068124
Mike
You absolutely will not go wrong with any of Dryad's bow blanks or finished bows. We have 7 Dryad bows. The new Windtalker glass bow blank is a super shooter, and good looking bow, mine is 66" osage riser with black glass. About 4-5 hours to finish.
Yeah, I use power tools :-) Bill G.
Hey Mike - any Christmas sales on your blanks? :bigsmyl:
Rick
I built a bamboo backed yew blank (all wood) from dryad. It was a great project and a great intro into bow building. Mine came out a few pounds lighter than I was shooting for because I kept striving for that perfect tiller. I am impressed with how it shoots and I learned a lot. I will build another. Give it a shot.
I'm thinking about ordering an Orion 60" longbow. How smooth are these at my 26" draw. Been wanting to try a longbow and these seem to be excellent bows at a reasonable price.
Thanks
mel
Mel, You would have too look long and hard to find a better shooter than the Orion. Mike and Jason will do you right. I shot a couple at Denton Hills. Honest bow.
Brent