This is a Sinew back juniper bow, 56” NtN, and is 50 lbs @ 28”. The back and tips are painted with natural earth pigments. The bow holds about 5” of reflex when unstrung. I tried to avoid getting the crack down the middle of the limb by keeping the bow in more humid environment, but that didn’t work. Every juniper bow I’ve made has always sent a crack down the middle of the limb between 2 knots. The lower limb has no knots, and did not form a crack. The knot holes in the limb are filled with turquoise.
The red is from a road cut that had a small deposit of red rock, and the black is juniper charcoal. I used hide glue for a binder. Using earth pigments has been difficult to learn. It seems ever material requires a different ratio of binder to pigment, as well as getting the right water to hide glue ratio. The grip is a simple calf leather grip just wrapped on to keep it simple.
The coating is a truoil, that rubbed out 3 times before it came out right. I’d rub out the finish, and I would go through the finish, and have to recoat a bunch, then wait a month to rub out again. I think this bow took about a year and a half to complete with all the little time consuming hick ups. Thanks for looking
