Achumawi Replica: Yew heartwood and sinew

[YewArcher]

here is my latest replica bow. It is again an Acumawi Replica. North East California tribe Pit River area. As shown in TBB1 by Steve Allely.

The spces are:
Yew Heartwood
sinew backed with 3 courses
Holds 1.5" of reflex just unstrung and about 2.5" rested.
lenght: 44" n to n
Overall: 46"
Width: 1 3/4" at mid llimb 1 9/16 at center, tips are 7/8"
45#@25:

Here is the unbraced profile:



Front Profile:


Belly profile:


Grip area:




These are the kerfed bent tab nokcs and recurved tips that these bows are famous for. Wrapped in rawhide to keep the string from chaffing the sinew. Ingenious design by these primitive people!





This is the braced from the side:



Braced viewing back as shown with cane arrows made for this bow:



recurved tips at brace hgt:



As viewed from the back. Note the knots. They look very cool on this bow:



Here she is at full draw:



As many of you who have known me for awile now know. I have been working towards this bow for a long time. Starting with osage to get the feel for the design and the bow I have finnaly moved to using the true wood for this design which is heart wood yew. I am very happy with the final outcome of this bow and have labeled it as my own shooter. I end up giving most of my bows away but not this one! It will be my hunting bow for next year. I am awaiting my otter pelt to make a quiver for this set up as well.

Thanks for looking!


SJM

[YewArcher]

PS. Just to catch some of you before you post. i know that the bow could go 28". It is not supposed to as it is replicating a western indian bow design.

sjM

[welch2]

Woo-Hoo ,looks like you nailed it. Very nice.
If you don't mind me askin' what did you paint it with?

Ralph

[Justin Snyder]

It looks like an incredible bow to me.  The finish is beautiful.  I don't know why you would want to draw it to 28" if you can shoot it at 25".  Justin

PS  I was looking at the bow in the vice in the first picture. HA HA

[SimonUK]

That's an amazingly well made bow, love the artwork too.  I'm not familiar with the Achumawi bow, is it flat all the way through, including the handle?

[YewArcher]

Thanks guys,


Ralph, The paint is acrylic. Have not ventured into primitive pigments yet. Hope to for the next one.

Justin, ya. I should have took that other out of the vice. Thats next weeks bow. Potowatmi replica.

Simon, The bow is actually a shallow ellipse through the entiree lenght.

SJM

[D. Tiller]

Nice one! Have you talked with Steve yet on making those bows? Met him at the Glass Butes knapp Inn a few months back. It was a blast talking with him. He had one there and boy oh boy do they shoot well. I really like what you have done with that bow. Did you use hide glue to glue the sinew on?

David T

[YewArcher]

David, No. I have never spoke with him. I would like to meet him one day. Hopefully will be able to show him my bows. That would be cool. They do shoot really good. i would have no hesitation in taking this hunting anything in my parts.

yes, i used hide glue. thats all i use on replicas. have built a few others with TB2 and that works just ok.

SJM

[Gordon]

Wow, that is really a cool bow, I just love it!

[D. Tiller]

Neat! I am going to use some TBII on my Modoc replica since its always a bit wet here in WA and want to keep the glue from getting damp. I think pre soaking the sinew in water before dipping it in water may allow things to set up better. Dont think the TBII gets into the sinew enought to cause it to relax therefore it does not shrink much when drying pulling the bow into reflex. I'll give it a shot and see.

David T

[1/2primitive]

Awsome! You did a great job replicating that one.   I see another replica in progress in the vise behind it.....looks like another bow will be soming soon?
      Sean

[Rich Saffold]

Yew Archer, Thats a beauty, and a great looking full draw photo as well. You should be proud, any Achumawi would love to shoot that!
Rich

[huntinoly]

WoW nice bow!!!

[jpitts]

Beautiful Bow. I love your attention to detail.

[Dustybaer]

awesome.  it doesn't get any better than that