Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs

51-1/2" BL shorty build-along *finished!!!*

(1/4) > >>

huisme:
This is one of my older staves I didn't realize I had buried under its taller kin, making it the most seasoned BL I've worked with. It's not a huge difference from carefully dried two-month wood, but it is slightly crisper to scrape at and chop out the belly with my machete. Methinks I'm going to set aside some taller fellows to season like this one did.

It's fifty one and a half inches tip to tip, one and three quarters wide for most of the limb, and I've already chased a ring and hacked out the belly due to not thinking about maybe taking pictures for the build along  ???

I'm aiming for somewhere between forty and fifty pounds at twenty seven inches, which I've done before with a half in less  ;D

I didn't get the tip alignment shot because I'm a dummy, so here a shot of the clean back. All it needs it a very light sanding and it'll be smooth as butter.


Rings are a little thick, which to me says it'll be slightly more resilient in compression than average BL.


The handle area is currently done in my most common style, but I'm going to grind it down and get this stave bending through the handle. I just like the feel of it right now  ::)


As you can see there's a knot at the bottom of the handle that I'm going to be watching closely. If I was going to keep the handle static I wouldn't think about it much, but since it'll bend I'm going to keep my eye on it.



Finally, the side profile is a little erratic compared to how I like most of my shorter bows. I'll obviously be thinning it a bit more. I should have taken a shot to show the single belly ring I like to chase before steaming. Anyone have any suggestions for bending? R/D, recurves, or just straighten it out?


And yeah, my workshop is a dump, but I swear the shavings are an improvement on the gravel floor. I dinged my machete quite a bit softening the place up  ;)

Crogacht:
Niceee :D

I'm about to go and get my first BL staves probably in the next week or two.

I know about working down to a growth ring on the back with something like osage, but how important is it with BL?

huisme:
A little more important than breathing if you work the wood to its fullest  ;) This stuff will pop splinters around pin-knots all day if you don't get a clean back going. Maybe I'll chase a ring on another stave tomorrow for an example?

BL is my favorite wood because it's faster than all the Osage I've used and available enough at my place to make up for the slightly higher failure rate. Good learning, good performance, and very pretty ;D

Crogacht:
Haha, OK.

BL is my most accessible non-native wood around here, and the best proven wood for bows that I have access to. I have my theories about native wood, but have yet to test them out.

Thanks for the advice. Keep us updated on your bow.

huisme:
I would have had an update, but today got interrupted by a little barn emergency  >:(

Here's hoping for tomorrow.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page