Ryan what an experience for you and all of us.  I think it really helps put things into perspective how much skill and time goes into the process of building a bow.  Thank you.

After this the wait time may go longer from all the orders....lol! Can't wait to see it with the finish on all ready to go......great post      

nice pics thanks for sharing !

One of the best threads in a long time.  South's bows are real shooters.  Only thing I would like to add...I would like to see the front of his riser rounded just a little bit more.  My buddies all say the same thing when they shoot it.  Shoots awesome, but the grip on the front needs rounded a little more.  Enough to eliminate the "squared front".

Thanks for posting.  Great thread!

David,
Thank you for following along.  It's pretty cool stuff to see in person.

Ron,
Hopefully the finished pics will be up in a couple more days!!!

Thanks David!

Keith,
Thank you for the kind words.  
About the riser, South has taken that into consideration and has recently implemented the change.  On my bow,  I also had him round the area where the tip of my pointer finger contacted the riser.  That's the cool part about a custom bow, he's willing to alter some of the aesthetics as long as it doesn't compromise the integrity.  Thank you for your valued input.  It's greatly appreciated!

Mahalo Gang!

Shooting the "roughed out" bow for the first time
 








South taking his turn




Everything looks good!  Time to do the final sanding and get the first coat sprayed on.

Check out this verawood. With oxygen, it turns a shade of green. The riser turned green overnight, and here's a brown spot that South just sanded away.
   


Final sanding before the spray booth



     

The completed handle  



In the spray booth!!!

I always thought you were partial to those greenish risers Ryan    Some neon green stained curly maple veneers would REALLY set that off.

Simply awesome thread! You two make one heck of a team!

Mike,
I choose green, 'cause you're my hero!    


Thanks for the kind words Trevor!

That is gonna be sharp Ryan!!

Looks great Ryan! Congrats on the new bow. Have fun shooting it  

I totally agree that this is one of the best threads ever on TG.  Thanks Ryan.  Interesting how much work goes into building a custom bow.  I'm very impressed.

I also agree with Keith when he said "I would like to see the front of his riser rounded just a little bit more. My buddies all say the same thing when they shoot it. Shoots awesome, but the grip on the front needs rounded a little more. Enough to eliminate the "squared front".  This is exactly what I found when shooting South's bows at CTAS this summer.  Rounding the front of the riser would make his bows PERFECT.

Thanks Rusty!

Nice footage Ryan!  Viewed a bunch of it today!  

Thanks so much for the kind words  Michael!  
Yeah South sure does work hard to build a bow!  Thanks for the additional input.  Changes are currently being made.  It's great to get insights from the fellow bowhunters.  Thank you!

Beautiful work on both the bow and this thread.I am constantly amazed at those that can bring wood back to life. You have also done a fantastic job in taking all of us along on this journey, thank you.

Bill

Bill,
Thank you for the many kind words. I'm excited to see that others enjoyed the build along too!

Aloha!
Ryan

Ryan thanks so much for this thread it really opened my eyes to how much work goes into a bow.

Fascinating so far!! Appreciate you taking the time to document the process.

You're welcome Larry. I took about 500 pictures so far.  I didn't want to repeat too many pictures but you should of seen the amount of sanding, cutting, shaping, etc.  

Thank John!

Thanks for following along guys!!!