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BL molle buildalong: FINISHED!

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huisme:
I'm doing this primarily for /r/bowyer on reddit but figured a couple people here might appreciate it (or laugh with me if it blows up ;) ). I haven't decided on draw weight at twenty eight inches yet or proportions as I just picked out the stave this evening right before I ran out of light.

This is the stave. It's some fairly dense (not incredible, but decent) black locust with little twist save for a few inches at one end. It's close to sixty eight inches long, about as tall as I am, and it's just about perfect for a mollegabet.


It's a little wavy from the side, some reflex and deflex here and there. I might heat bend some areas to match, but usually I like to leave a bow with its original character.


Most of the rings are medium thickness relative to my experience with black locust. I plan on going down two or three rings everywhere but the tips to do blended knocks, which are my favorite knocks, which you saw on that earlier mollegabet I posted.



I just used a string where I normally wouldn't to give an idea of the current alignment. Easy adjustment to make.




That's all for today, I'll be showing some ring chasing action and the rough blank before I post a part one album on reddit, but you'll probably get more current updates.

TRACY:
Looks like you're off to a good start Hulsme! Enjoy working BL also and will be following this one.


Tracy

huisme:
Finally have this much done for reddit, and my camera dies. Go figure  >:(

I'm going to do a very simple handle with only minor forming on the belly. The handle is roughly four and a half inches, off -center by about half an inch, and about an inch wide. The fades are two inches and will be rounded. I'll eventually add a jute wrap and leather shelf.


To place the outer fades and levers I take a string and lay the tip at the tip of the stave.


I pick a spot roughly two thirds of the length of the limb away from the handle, then -


- I pinch the string and make a mark. I don't let go of the string because-


- I use the string to mark an equal-length lever on the bottom limb.


I like to mark my rough levers about the width of my thumb. I'll grind it down with my rasp later; the levers will be very narrow but thick, maintaining maximum strength at minimum mass.


It's very important that the levers follow the grain. excessive runoff, especially if the center strand of wood fibers is interrupted, spells explosion. I try to let the wood split away for most of the lever forming rather than cut through the wood.


And my camera died when I started to hog away wood  ???

When I say it's time to hog away wood, I mean this is as far as I got with exactly fifty swings of the machete. My machete is indeed faster than my other tools, but I'm still very slow and methodical about every shaving I take from the stave.


More when I get batteries I guess ::)

I should mention that I'm starting this build along with a wet stave. It's been drying in the garage for a month, so it should be crisp in a timely fashion. If not, we can wait a couple weeks at a time, right?

IdahoMatt:
Looking good man keep em coming. 

huisme:
I've tried three different brands and none of them last long enough in the camera for me to record ring chasing for the people of reddit. I'm just going to get the best I've found again and stick to pictures.

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