Main Discussion Area > Horn Bows

Turkish learn-along

<< < (2/5) > >>

MattZA:
And finally, this is just a photo of the wrapping that I used to put the horn on the belly. My experience with this is fascinating. Initially I thought it might not be as tight as traditional C-clamps, but boy did I learn a lesson there.

It's a good thing I've left the core 1 3/8" wide, because the wraps had no trouble crushing the edges of the core, leaving waves along the outer limbs that I'll shape off when I begin carving it.

bownarra:
It isn't that the hoen will fail more that gemsbok tend to be too narrow and thin. In a way it is better to cut them into narrow strips and then glue the strips in parallel on the belly. This way you waste a lot less and get better thickness to work with.
If you are going to use a section in the middle to 'lengthen' the strips then max length should be 3 inches. Any longer and the joint will be in a bending section. Any joint in a bending section will fail.
the horn only needs to go about half the length of the kasan.

MattZA:
Hi bownarra,

My immediate thought was the same as yours - the glue used is likely to fail - especially in the areas that have been steam bent.

Thus far though it's surprised me. The glue holding the pieces together still seems absolutely rock solid. I boiled an offcut for an hour to test the glue. I then bent it to see where it would break, and interestingly it survived a similar amount of force to an un-boiled sample (approximately the same force as maple). Interestingly, it also didn't show any signs of failing at the glue. It broke in tension like any other wood would.

Assuming I use a normal maple core next time, what kind of dimensions would you recommend I start with? By that I mean when it's still nothing more than a block of wood.

DC:
Hi Matt, good to see your post. One of the things that has surprised me about these bows is how thin they are. The jury is still out on how much DW mine will have but I was down to 6-7-8mm thick for both the horn and the wood. They are about 3mm each. At one point I got out my other set of horns thinking that I might be able to split then on the bandsaw and double my stash. I don't think they are quite thick enough. On the Fletchers Corner forum one of the guys uses Ostrich tendons. You might be able to find them there.

MattZA:
Hi Don,

You're right about the thinness of them. I keep feeling like I'm just holding a backing strip or something ;D

Finding horn the right thickness and length and width is frustratingly tough. I've got another Gemsbok horn which is actually considerably larger than the one I used initially. Once I'm done with this bow one way or another I'll try and use that horn. The only issue is that it's a little bit twisted, which creates another issue altogether.

I was pondering something about horn strips. As bownarra said above, bends in joints tend to cause it to fail, so gluing my horn on in strips could be a slight issue. However, will it fail if it's applied in staggered strips? Think the brick-laying pattern of sinew, but with horn on the belly. I wonder...

In fact I've only ever used ostrich sinews. This bow will be the first time I use anything else. The only problem with ostrich sinew is that it's used everywhere as a dog treat - therefore can be very expensive. My butcher is taking forever to process the sinew he promised me, so I'm considering just biting the bullet and heading to the local pet store.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page