Main Discussion Area > Horn Bows
240's sheep horn bow build with Tom Lucas
wizardgoat:
By limb training I mean the bow is very unstable and can sometimes show a weak limb, you can squeeze the weak limb against the string when braced and it will even itself out after a few squeezes.
My second horn bow is much thicker, and much more stable. Draw weight is a combination of horn and sinew thickness of course, but amount of reflex is a big factor too.
mullet:
240, thank you for the build along. I was working in Pocatello last summer and went to the Shoshone Reservation Museum on some time off. I bought a book about the Sheepeaters and it was mostly about Tom and his bows and High Altitude explorations of the early campsites and soapstone bowls. A fascinating read.
Traxx:
I met Tom,years ago,,through my mother,who is an artist as well.We didnt discuss horn bows though,,mostly about Packing and Cowboyin...
NorthHeart:
Mullet- no problem sir!
Wizardgoat- i read your build along and really enjoyed it. I noticed you didnt soak the horn. So for all your horn shaping you used dry heat? With what, a heat gun?
NorthHeart:
Another day working with Tom. My horns which were soaking for about 6 days weren't flexible enough yet, so we did a set he was already working on. We use a clamp padded with a piece of thin wood to hold down the front, then lash the rest of the horn down using a strong rope. The horn lies flat to the 2x4 for the most part, however there are parts where it isn't perfectly flat and for this we go back after the lashing is all tied and we clamp over another piece of wood. We do both limbs the same way. The very tip of the sheep horn has a tendency to twist, so after its lashed we use a crescent wrench to straighten it. Any sided to side discrepancy we fix by tapping the horn straight with a dowel. I ask Tom why not just use a series of clamps all the way down and forgo the lashing. He tells me hes been down that road and prefers this method because he can see what the horn is doing and make corrections easier. He also mentions the lash method was probably how the Shoshone did it as he cant imagine another way they could have. Its a shame none of their methods or secrets were kept alive by their descendants, the way i speculate it, Toms method is likely as close as well ever get.
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