Early this spring I floor tillered two osage staves and sealed them up for later
 
Last week I brought them up to Hood River so I could make some shavings with Ted Fry while my kids wind surfed on the river.
One stave is becoming an Osage straight limbed long bow-That is Raptor Archery in the background
 
And the other one is going to be a recurve. What an exciting place to build bows!
 
Stay tuned.............................

That would be cool.

Now that looks like a good time to me.

good wood, good location, why should the staves become no good bows? good luck, please tell us more!

We boiled the ends in a big kettle over a Naptha stove and bent them in a vice...........here's Ted doing an end

hi there,  i'm new to this site  but  i have been reading post  lately  and  like it here.   but my ?  is  afer  boiling  the end and clamping it.  how long did you  hold it  bent as in the pic.  or did  you tie it off?

That looks like an awesome place to make dust...oops I mean bows.

Those are good looking staves Bjorn,  did they come from the midwest? Texas?  

Looking forward to watching them turn into bows. Hope you made them long enough to accommodate your new draw length.

Trap

Knap, the wood cools very quickly. That is why having everything handy when you begin is necessary when bending wood with heat. It will cool enough in a few minutes but you shouldn't stress the bow for at least a week(IMO).
 Bjorn, been there but ain't done that ...yet. I had the pleasure of meeting Ted a few years ago and spent an hour or so at his shop. Did you see his moose mount? I remember reading the tale of that moose in PA quite a few years ago.
 Looks like quite a recurve you are building. Looking forward to seeing the finished bow.

Some people make a form often from plywood(caul). In this case we held it till cool-10 mins.
The stave gets sinewed next and strung lightly backwards.

In the meantime got the LB done

The tips are antler

mr bjorn, i think your long bow looks great. i reall can appreciate the looks of an unbacked osage selfbow. can you show a front profile and a drawn profile? maybe even a closeup of the grip too please?

The recurve is sinew backed and was a real adventure for me-and I had a lot of help from Ted Fry who taught me the backing and bending.
Here's the profile

Really happy with the tips

The limbs were a bit uneven and I had a tough time getting the string centered but it came out in the end

Here's the riser-still some finishing to do and more Tru Oil.............

I know, I know everybody want to see the bow drawn



I can't tell you how well this bow shoots!
So smooth and quiet. Easily the best so far.....
My critic said "Wow, how come it's so fast?"

 Nice work Bjorn !!

Very nice. Jawge

Very, very nice! Bona

How long did that Recurve end up being?

Outstanding Bjorn                

The drawn profile of that recurve is beautiful.  The detail work is fantastic as well. Great job.  

You don't waste any time.  You been working around the clock???  

That young man has good form.  Good stuff!!!!!

Trap

Definetly 1st class! I love the lines on that recurve!

The sinew got 6-7 days of 'settling' in the California sun.
The bow was planned to be 62" but the upper tip didn't quite go as it was supposed to, so now it is 61.5 AMO and 48# @ 28.
TRAP: a recurve is definitely more fiddly-but hey that's what this is all about-right?
Following the two day session with Rod Jenkins that young man is almost impossible to watch! LOL!
There is definitely a stave out there just waiting to become another recurve sometime soon!
Broketooth: Thanks, your pics will be coming tomorrow.

Bjorn
Just think how an Elk is going to feel with Adam eyeballing him?
Your self bow hardly looks like a self bow.