New osage #47 66" longbow, figuring out my arrow and bow spine now, and I'm struggling a bit with the grip, as riser section is rather square. I'm used to rounded smooth factory grips so I think the bow is rotating counterclockwise with each shot, and string makes contact with my left forearm.

Any tips? Thanks!

Quote from: Kirkll on Today at 06:25:04 PM

Quote from: Watsonjay on May 11, 2026, 06:04:36 PMI tweaked the design a little. The middle is a bit thicker now. Seems to be working out well.

I will be curious how the bow looks with limbs mounted on the riser. and how you finish the limb butts on the bottom with that J hook going up to the limb pad.

 That's a very unique design that may require some thought in the future using solid wood vs spectra ply. I see no issue with the spectra.  But An I - beam may be needed for limb pad strength on the bottom with the J hook design for solid wood and the exposed end grain....  Food for thought. 

I actually got rid of a bit of the j-hook. I had to do that for room for the hand as it is only a 14" riser. Here is the current status. I still need to do final shaping but am currently gluing on limb tips and overlay then will do final shaping. Its a 52" and I did put a diamondwood I-beam

Quote from: dbeaver on May 12, 2026, 01:59:03 PMoh kirk nice touch with the toe nail polish for a quick tip repair ill remember that.

Just don't let your wife catch you rooting around in her war paint gear. And be damn sure not to leave it in your shop. You'll get busted for sure.

What I do myself is spray a little clear polyurethane in a cup and use an artist brush. But for guys that dont build bows the toenail polish works fine. Comes with a brush too.

Wondering if he's still shooting his Widow?

What type of material did you use for the socket build up? 

I didn't want to epoxy it to the riser for that reason, possibly messing up the finish if/when I had to take it off. The hot melt ( I use kimsha) doesn't hurt the finish. I just dip the corner or a rag in hot tap water or almost boiling and put over it and it softens up. You can peel it off, or use a piece of floss, serving, whatever and put between the rest and riser and saw it off lol. Use the hot rag to wipe excess off. The residue comes off with some DNA or rubbing alcohol. Yes, Velcro over it or leather with barge cement would work great. You're going to
Want a side plate anyway.

Quote from: Watsonjay on May 11, 2026, 06:04:36 PMI tweaked the design a little. The middle is a bit thicker now. Seems to be working out well.

I will be curious how the bow looks with limbs mounted on the riser. and how you finish the limb butts on the bottom with that J hook going up to the limb pad.

 That's a very unique design that may require some thought in the future using solid wood vs spectra ply. I see no issue with the spectra.   But An I - beam may be needed for limb pad strength on the bottom with the J hook design for solid wood and the exposed end grain....  Food for thought.   

Next thing to try is the lam splices.

I'm not much of a reader. But I did get so much out of instinctive archery insights that I wrote Jay Kidwell an email to thank him. He wrote me back too. Seemed like a good dude. I've always enjoyed Peter Hathaway Capstick books too.

I wish these guys were still around.

Whew thought I really screwed the pooch, I've read about using an amount of thick petroleum paste to line the socket and take up that last bit of space that may cause clicking internally.  Man there is a right amount that's for sure, way too much and it makes it impossible to seat the tenon, a little too much and the two pieces were sliding off during string up.  I wiped both surfaces good and went back to stringing up like it should.  Hope it  stays this way.