This is a bit of a belated post as the bows are already out the door and in use, but I figured I share with you guys some of the steps that went into the birth of the two bows.
I think the hardest part of building these two bows was deciding which woods to use in the construction of them. I wanted to use a combonation that I hadn't done before, so it took me a while of sorting through my stock of veneers and lumber before I decided on a mix of species that I thought would work well together.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0008_1.jpg)
Somewhere along the line, I'd picked up some Pau Rosa. Together with some Macassar ebony, I figured the two would make a really striking handle. (http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0012.jpg)
After I bandsawed the handle into its three parts, it was off to the profile sander. I had this machine made out of an old wood shaper. It saves a ton of eye-balling and makes really tight glue joints.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0013.jpg)
Steve Tadin prepares to glue up the handles. You may recognize his name from the Glory Hog 2 DVD (he did the filming, editing and narrating).
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0016.jpg)
After the handles are clamped up, they sit in the oven for a couple of hours to cure the Smooth On. Upon curing, they are removed, the quiver side of the handle is flattened on a jointer and then the back of the handle is profiled on the sander.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0019.jpg)
The sight window is then roughed out with the bandsaw, then routed to finished shape with the assistance of a template and template bit. Then it is back to the glue room to have the glass backing attached.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0023.jpg)
way cool...cant wait to see more
I love watching craftsmen work. Thanks for posting this up. Looking forward to the rest :)
It's great to watch masters at work.
Really nice touch on your already grateful effort.
Can't wait to see more.... :campfire:
Wow! :thumbsup:
Very nice to see the birth of a functional piece of art. Thanks for bringing us into your shop.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0024.jpg)
After baking in the oven again, the handles are removed and the drilling for the limb indexing pins and limb bolts takes place.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0113.jpg)
Finally, the shaping of the grip can begin. It is always a bit of a bender for the brain when you are mixing RH and LH handles together in a batch.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0116.jpg)
South, Good on you for doing the Hope&Faith This year. Also for sharing the build-along. You have given me a serious case of "Shop Envy"
Also glad to see the good and proper use of PPG(personal protection gear).
Well done Man. A true craftsman at work.
Chuck
very cool!
After getting the handles roughed out, it is time to start on the limbs. I decided on curly etimoe and Mexican kingwood for the veneers. All the pieces of the limbs get laid out, ready for assembly. The glass is roughed up with 36 grit where the overlays will be glued on.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0027.jpg)
Steve gets the honors on glue duty. Watching someone who has glued up countless limbs, it looks easy, but when you try it for the first time it is like trying to smear honey on fly paper. It wants to stick to EVERYTHING!
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0028_1.jpg)
After the pair of limbs are glued up, they get wrapped in 2 layers of 18" wide food service plastic wrap and put into the forms.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0030_1.jpg)
Inflate with 70 pounds of air, set the timer for 3 1/2 hours and start on cutting out the buffalo horn tips.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0026_1.jpg)
If you ever want to clear the shop of unwanted guests, try cutting on some buffalo horn with the bandsaw. It will do the trick, gaurenteed! It smells like a spontanious combustion at the beauty parlor. Aussie Shane was gracious enough to send me up a pair of Asiatic buffalo horns from Australia. They made some really pretty tips. After cutting a few strips free of the horn, I used some Smooth-On to laminate two strips of red glass, sandwiching a piece of satinwood to the horn.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0119.jpg)
Look good I need to get one!!
Cool stuff South ! Now I can see how my two were crafted ! :thumbsup:
Looks Great!
Mighty good stuff.The "Hope" bow has grown on me and made me want a Stalker of my own badly. Convincing the wife is a bit of a struggle though.lol.RC
Robert....that one will be on the auction in June....and its a taxable donation for the kids. Maybe you should play on her heart strings a bit. :D
Love build alongs. Thanks for sharing the pics and donating your time a talents!
:clapper:
Great build along! It is cool to read this and then be able to pick up Faith and go out and shoot her. Between fighting my annual summertime cold and a busy week at work, I haven't hunted with her yet, but will have her in a tree by the weekend. Still time to get blood on her before sending her down the line.
I here you TG. I`ll play that donation thing hard on her....maybe it`ll work.RC
Right now about to take "hope" up a tree by a peanut field. Got in yesterday in time for an evening hunt and almost got a shot. Moved a bit for this evening.RC
Good luck RC, can't wait to see the pics. I'll get the rest of the build along finished up this evening.
Thanks for taking the time to build and donate these bows, as well as taking the time to post the build pics.
Thanks for sharing the "how to" South! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
And thanks for the donation!
Awesome build, and great bows getting put to use!
After I've shaped the tips and cut the string grooves, it is time to bevel the limbs.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0115.jpg)
Once this is accomplished, I am able to check for weight and adjust the final tillering. It doesn't take much on the sander at this stage.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0120.jpg)
A final overall sanding is done on the flap sander. It polishes the wood, getting out the residual fine scratches from the shaping and gives the first true look at what the wood is going to show us. The real excitement (for me), comes when the finish hits the woods in the spray booth (unfortunately, I forgot to get pictures of this final step). Hope you enjoyed the birth of these two bows as much as I did building them. Good luck to all of you guys that will be hunting with them.
(http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n583/bivyhunter/Hope%20and%20Faith%20bows/IMG_0121-1.jpg)
Beautiful bows. The grip on Hope could not be better. For a fella that loves D bows with straightish to slight locator grips this one has grown on me. Very easy to shoot and purty too.Really cool watching hands on work on the birth of these two bows. Thank You for your donation and good hunting.RC
they sure are purdy lookin bows. Good luck to all the folks hunting with them this year.
South that's awesome....thanx for taking the time bud :notworthy: :clapper:
Cool stuff. Way to step up on providing the bows.
South you are an awesome artisan. California has a good stable of bow makers.
Hey South,
Where is the picture of you adding the "mojo"??? :biglaugh:
Well I hope he added the "mojo" to my new Surge he built for me ! :pray:
I was trying so hard to get them out the door quickly, they went out "virgins"...I never even got to shoot them!
Very nice donation ... many thanks for your generousity and talents.
I bought one of these bows(longbow) from a fellow tradganger really like the riser and it shoots so good.
Wish I had a little longer limbs for it