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ERC longbow build-along and questions
CraigMBeckett:
--- Quote from: Stretch on June 04, 2011, 02:22:43 am ---I'm also building an ERC bow right now and the knots are a real pain. They explode when I try em with my draw knife. I've been having the best luck with saturating them with CA glue paring them down with a very sharp chisel working at them from both directions a bit at a time.
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Not being from North America, I have no Idea about ERC or the difficulties you speak of, but if the knots behave as you say I would suggest that the axe/adze I spoke of are not the way to go so please disregard the advice when it comes to dealing with them. What about rasps, files and saws do they also cause the knots to explode?
Craig
Stretch:
--- Quote from: CraigMBeckett on June 04, 2011, 03:11:45 am ---
--- Quote from: Stretch on June 04, 2011, 02:22:43 am ---I'm also building an ERC bow right now and the knots are a real pain. They explode when I try em with my draw knife. I've been having the best luck with saturating them with CA glue paring them down with a very sharp chisel working at them from both directions a bit at a time.
--- End quote ---
Not being from North America, I have no Idea about ERC or the difficulties you speak of, but if the knots behave as you say I would suggest that the axe/adze I spoke of are not the way to go so please disregard the advice when it comes to dealing with them. What about rasps, files and saws do they also cause the knots to explode?
Craig
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Rasps, files and saws all work fine, but I'm a woodcarver by trade so I have a tendency to think in terms of chisels first. I tend to forget I have rasps. ::) ;D
Lee Slikkers:
#1, for and ERC stave that is NOT a lot of knots and I'd kill to get a piece that "clear". I just tried a longbow from the stuff as well, had 60+ knots but she blew on me (had a knot running out the side of the stave) so all in all I think you have a very nice, workable piece of ERC. 80lbs sounds like a pretty high poundage goal for ERC but maybe it's possible with a piece of wood as nice as yours...good luck and keep us posted on your progress if you can.
gstoneberg:
Mark,
ERC is tough wood to build your first bow out of. That is a beautiful stave though. If I were you I'd be letting that one season a while longer and looking for some other local bow wood to get my feet wet with. Hickory, Ironwood, mulberry, osage, elm (and probably others) are all easier to build bows with than ERC. That's just my opinion, but if you want to go cedar, this is the best place to get your information. I'm an osage guy so I can't help you much from experience. I've been watching for a straight, clear cedar branch out at my deer lease. So far I haven't found it.
Good luck,
George
Stretch:
--- Quote from: gstoneberg on June 04, 2011, 11:47:06 am ---Mark,
ERC is tough wood to build your first bow out of. That is a beautiful stave though. If I were you I'd be letting that one season a while longer and looking for some other local bow wood to get my feet wet with. Hickory, Ironwood, mulberry, osage, elm (and probably others) are all easier to build bows with than ERC. That's just my opinion, but if you want to go cedar, this is the best place to get your information. I'm an osage guy so I can't help you much from experience. I've been watching for a straight, clear cedar branch out at my deer lease. So far I haven't found it.
Good luck,
George
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I'm using the cedar because all my oak and maple are on the bottom of the lumber stack and the cedar was easy to get to. It's a half round from a log I had cut into lumber about three years ago and has been air drying in my shop all that time. By the time I roughed it in on the band saw I only had one knot to deal with, so that made me happy. It seems to be going well so far. Like I said I saturated it with CA glue and didn't have any trouble paring it down with a chisel after that. I basically have no money invested in this piece of wood as the sawyer had thrown it in the burn pile. If it fails I'll have learned a lot from it, and if it doesn't it's a bonus. Building this bow has been very relaxing for me and that's all I really care about at this point. BTW I have a whole stack of 2" slabs from the same tree and I bet I can get you a couple of mostly knot free staves out of it. They're drying out at a friend's farm and I'm heading over that way next week so I'll see if I can't pull some likely candidates.
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