Syringa character bow (updated)

[Keenan]

 Well, as per Gordons request I will attempt a buildalong on one of those narly syringa character staves that Dave talked me into cutting.
 The stave I've chosen has some wild bumps and dives so I will try to find a spot where the tips and handle area all line up. We could ofcoarse heat bend or clamp things into alignment but I like to use the natural shape as much as possible. There is also a slight reflex to one side that is fairly clear of knots so this will be the back of the bow. By laying a tape from one tip and pulling straight across the handle toward the other tip I use the side of the tape as a striaght edge to see where the tip would fall. In this case the intersect point is about 60" with the handle area that lines up being right around 30" so I will cut at about 61 to leave a little for safety.  I could have left this stave a little longer but would require much more straightening and also would have put the clump of knots in a higher stress area just past the fades. This way the knotty section will be the handle.
  I think to often we approach a stave with a mindset of forcing the wood to do or be what we want rather then carefully examining and reading the stave to see where the bow is, that is within. If I were to attempt to force this stave to be a perfectly shaped ELB it would ofcoarse be a complete disaster. Yet that dosen't mean there isn't a good bow inside. As JD stated about his character bow. "it is, what it is".
   However Character dosen't always mean that the bow will not last or have poor performance. By being carefull where the bow is laided out in the stave, and minimizing excessive wieght in the limbs, you can have a great bow that will turn heads everywhere you go.
  Dave showed me a bow that he had made from syringa and he had split the stave right down through the pith and it worked well. I could split this one the same way, but it would leave the handlle area thin so I have decided to trim the belly limbs with the bandsaw. That way I can leave the handle area natural and not have to do a build up for the handle. Here is the stave.   Keenan
 
 
 

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[koan]

Really lookin forward to this one, thanks keenan....Brian

[Keenan]

  First I will carefully debark to make sure there are no unseen knots and also to help smooth the travle of the stave through the saw. I've used the drawknife for the rough bark removal by gentle shallow draws on the stave. Then I removed the remaining canbium with a scraper.This way I don't risk violating the back of the bow. I could have left the canbium for looks but will probably add skins so I decided to clean it up.  
 The cleaned up pic shows the handle area.    

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[Keenan]

  Next I'm going to trim the excess belly wood off the limbs. I've double checked to make sure the layout on the handle area will work. I will try to trim close to the pith line in the center but will make sure not to cut to deep and leave the pith line as a guage for depth while roughing in.Also I will be carefull to leave the handle section in tact. 
  I do this by first marking a horizontal line on the end of the stave with the back of the stave up. This way when I lay it on it's side I have a good reference for where the back of the bow will be. I start the cut on the far end, paying attention to my now vertical line on the near end. As the cut gets close to the handle area, I stear the cut out of the stave to leave the handle.
  Sorry but the pics of the line and the cutting didn't turn out. here are the trimmed off pieces.

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[Keenan]

  Next I  Shaped the limbs down a little more with a farrier's rasp to the point where I could see the pith center. I worked the tips down past the pith a little and worked the fades to roughout shape to minimize the hadle section for better drying. I am hoping the handle area dosen't check while drying.
  You can see where I used a small file to clean the pith center.
 At this point I am stopping to allow the stave to dry. I have set the stave in the vice with the belly facing up and wieght hanging on the tips to induce a little more reflex.    Keenan

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[Gordon]

This is going to be a great build-a-long Keenan. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing how you work.

[Ryano]

Keenan, I would paint the fades with wood glue or it will most certainly dry check there. Good luck this should be interesting. 

[Pat B]

This is gonna be good!!!      Pat

[Keenan]

Gordon and Pat thanks for your votes of confidence. I hope we are able to pull a bow out of this stave. I will try to be as detailed as I can while trying to problem solve along the way.
  Having no experience working syringa befor this except the arrows shoots that Dave just gave me, should make this intresting. I have seen and pulled a bow, that He made from syringa, and I was very surprized at the strength for such a small  bow.
  After seeing how durable and flexable the arrow shoots are. I'm very currious to see what kind of bow it's capable of. Dave has some staves that we cut yesturday that could make an ELB.
  We are also going to play around with roughing out and shaping one, while green, for a double curved bow. I did some testing today and the stuff forms very well while green. As long as we can keep the checking in control it should work.
  Ryano, Thanks, I agree, that little nagging voice says I better head back out to the shop and seal the fades. Thanks for confirming what my mind was telling me.     Keenan

[Keenan]

Just for info here is what the growth rings look like.  The white center is the pith.    Keenan

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[Ryano]

Keenan, I never heard of syringa. Is it some type of flowering bush/shrub?

[Keenan]

 Ryan, It's a flowering bush, check out the syringa arrow buildalong that JJ is doing. He gives a little more detail and pics of the bush/tree    Keenan

[Ryano]

Thanks Keenan. I know it as mock orange. There's a big clump of it in my mom's yard next to the drive way. I have to trim it back every year. Ive wondered about making arrows from it, never thought of it as a bow wood though. now you got me really interested.......

[Keenan]

 Ok, so far things are going good. The stave survived the night without checking, but the for next few days it should be losing alot of moisture.
  Here are some pics of the handle section.  As you can see there is a slight natural cant to the left in the handle area. This might be best to be a left handed bow? Being right handed I usually make right handed bows. However I have had some request for lefties. Maybe leave the handle natural for shooting off either side. But it would be good to wait and see string alignment later.   Keenan

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[Gordon]

I like how you are utilizing the natural shape of the wood for the handle.