You are way too kind folks.  Thanks.  I've been working on bows all day so I am having a blast.  I tillered a osage recurve and am correcting another one.  Wish I could find another black snake skin     Thanks again.

the talent on this site is just wow. I hope to be like most of you when I grow up.

Very nice John.

Very cool John - keep your videos coming - love to watch them and as a beginner I am learning a bunch!

Mitch

Wow John! that is a really cool bow and an even cooler idea.  I would like to shoot it? please?

O yeah, John where is your black rat snake honey hole?  I might want to drive back and forth down that road until i find one. wink, wink

John, That looks fantastic!  Very original, too.  Nice work.    

Very Nice, John!  Great idea....and a great skin on the back of that bow too!  Just remember for future reference, that imitation is the highest form of flattery....  

what a cool bow. when you said about using muskrat fur for string silencers it reminded me of when i made my daughter a bow. i did use the muskrat fur and she commented that it looked like i tied a dead mouse to her string. again, i think your bow is awesome and obviously a one of a kind. don

Very nice John. It reminds me of a couple bows, one had a hand art painted snake skin on the entire back. The other had a snake heads carved at the fades both ends. The snake head bow broke but was very cool looking. The hand done "snake skin backing" looked like it took a lot of time but was also very cool. Never saw one with the snake carve wrap for a handle.

That is cool John! very cool!
Shaun, was that one with the two heads eating an Egg that was the grip? That bow was the coolest I have seen. I think it did break tho.

Man you all should see this thing with a few coats of poly on her.  Gorgeoous.  I'm thinking about a leather handle wrap.  Would that look ok?

John if your gonna cover up that sweet handle with a wrap then just send it to me, I'm tuff enough enough to shoot her without a wrap    :D

i remember an article where the bowyer would carve faces of "wood spirits", i think they were called, on his bows. he would carve them on the belly side on the upper fades. i also remember a carving of a frog also on the upper belly fade. if i remember correctly, it was in PA, several years ago. does it ring a bell with anyone else? don

Don s,
 I've seen that on John Sturtevant's bows. It's stunning!

Kyle

Yes, I have seen several of Sturtevant's bows with carvings in them.  He is a great woodcarver.

Just watched your vids again. Just a thought with the dremel tool; a shorter bit might provide more control?

Again,,, great job! I still wanna see that rat head strike plate, tail and muskrat silencers...

yes I agree with Joe John a finished pic would be awesome.

John, you make AMAZING bows!  

I put several spray coats of gloss poly.  I'll finish up with some satin poly tomorrow night and then put the strike plate on.  Then I'll get a finished vid or pic up.  In the meantime, check out the first 3 shots from a little reflex tip bow I made on Saturday for a guy I cut wood on.  I might have to keep it  

 

This one is 58-1/2" NTN, 40# at 27".  It's got a semi-locator handle and arrow rest.  I'm pondering doing some checkering on this one.