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Yew Recurve Build-Along

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High-Desert:
I worked on a bit more tillering. After 24" of draw, I don't use the tree much, but take pictures of the bow hand draw with my phone set in a vise, with a timer set, taking 10 rapid photos. This way I can bring around the top limb to even of the tiller. This can just as easily be done by feel once you have your tiller good to go and you just need to bring the top limb around, giving the positive tiller. I like to take photos just to be sure everything stays even tho. So i have her out to 45lbs at 26", and pulling 48lbs at 27" just for safety. I took it out and put 100 arrows through her as well as a few hundred pulls to full draw on the tiller board. We'll see if she holds her shape after leaving it strung for a night, and a bit more shooting. Well that was more fun than tree'n a coon, now, on to the hard part of bow making.....the finish.
I will try to decide on what skins to put on it. I have a few copperheads, pacific rattlesnake, a WDB, and a canebrake to choose from. I'm not sure yet. After that, ill begin layers of truoil, this is where everything slows down for me, like a herd of turtles through peanut butter. This might take me a few months.....although I am getting a bit better at it. Now I need to clear my phone and make room to take pictures.

helmet:
Nice work, you're making it look too easy! :OK

High-Desert:
Got out to the shop today to try and get a few photos after clearing my phone a bit.
I decided to shape the tip overlays like rattlesnake rattles, an idea I got from Dan Viles, a bow maker who lives a few blocks away. I asked him if it was ok that I used the idea, and he didn't mind. I had decided to go with copperhead skins, but when I was in the middle of making the tips look like rattles.... I realized copperheads.....don't have rattles. It would bother me to to do something like that, so I will go with some sort of rattler.
Here's an unbraced profile pic.
Here is where I am with the tips. These have taken me much longer than I expected. I went at these with a triangle shaped file, and a round file. It's been difficult to round the inner portion of the rattle.

High-Desert:
I had a small brand made last year, to brand my wood stuff. If I heat it enough and let it sit on the wood for about 5 seconds, it makes a nice groove that I can inlay material into. A buddy of mine uses turquoise in a lot of his woodwork and gave me a bit to use so I thought I'd give it a try on this bow. I gilled the groove with fine turquoise, and covered in CA glue, and then wiping down with a rag dipped in denatured alcohol, then repeated the process to ensure the grooves were full.

Hawkdancer:
Nice looking bow!  The rattler tips are unique, and nifty!  Good build along!
Hawkdancer

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