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Southern Community Bow
bullcreekboy:
It sounds like maybe the stave has finally arrived. Greg, there is a layer of cambrium still on the back that needs to be scraped off. Manny said it comes off real easy with a scraper.
GregB:
Okay Shannon, I'll clean up, sand and burnish the back before anything else. Unless burnishing might cause someone a problem later on with applying backing...if so, please let me know. Pardon me, I forget who is getting the bow after Pappy and I finish with it.
I havn't picked it up yet, but plan to check it out and see if I think it could use some more reflex or not. If so, I'll floor tiller it before putting it on a form. After I take it off the form I'm going to wait so Pappy can take the lead for final tillering. Looking forward to getting started!
GregB:
I've got the stave, and it looks like it ought to make a really nice bow.
It's 68" long, a little longer then we typically make our bows which run anywhere from 60-66". Pyramid style starting from 1-5/8" at the fades down 11/16" at the tips. I'll probably make the tips 7/16" and after relaying out, remove the excess limb width from the fades down. The fades are running a little longer also then we generally make ours, so it might be best to leave it at 68", or no less then maybe 66". I can easily make out the cambrium layer, so hopefully it should be easy to remove...almost tempted to use a drawknife but I'll start off with a scrapper and see.
Right now the limb thickness is 1" at the fades down to 5/8" at the tips. Being a pyramid bow, the final full-length limb thickness should be fairly constant from the fades out. I think I'll play it safe to begin with and layout a thickness at the fades of 5/8" down to 1/2" at the tips after I've first removed the cambrium layer. This should prepare the stave for putting on a form and adding a little reflex, but mostly to put some curvature in some flat spots along the limbs. The stave has 2" of reflex now, but not with a consistant curve full length of the limbs. Most of the reflex is due to a couple of short spots in each limb instead of full length.
If the wood (Guava)acts much like hickory, I think we should be okay with what I've discussed. If anyone with experience with guava thinks I should proceed differently, please feel free to speak up or forever hold your peace...cause I'm itchin' to get started! ;)
GregB:
Is anybody out there...? :)
I've got the bow just beginning to bend some while floor tillering. Just about ready to put on the form and try to get more constant curvature full length of the limbs. Had to take a little break, seems like guava will wear you out to!
bullcreekboy:
Greg,
Was the cambrium layer easy to get off? Does it work like hickory? It sounds like you have it coming along nicely. It seems to be a pretty dense wood.
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