Main Discussion Area > Bows
Eastern Woodlands build Part 1
Will B:
Good luck with it, Mike. Glad you are feeling better. Learned a lot from your previous builds. I’ll be watching. I love black locust bows!
M2A:
Thanks fellas!
I'd suggest to keep your eye out for some Muskyman. Easier for me to find nice straighter pieces of locust than anything else.
Kidder maybe I explained it wrong. Its not so much the ratio as it is locust with a little lighter mass in general, faster growing stuff so wider early wood and late wood. 1st stave i have tried on this tree so fingers crossed. But similar staves have worked out well for me. I think it less tension force. Have staves from a tree with late wood hard as glass and it works good too so maybe i need need a bit more research in that.
Got a good bit done over the weekend. Used a draw knife to take the grain run out a little bit at a time until i was close to my 1.5" width, then a rasp to to complete. Not how i like to do it but didnt want any of that run out left in the stave if i could help it then a rasp to get the final width.
IMG_5808 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Not much room to spare with the width but think it will be fine. I was able to get this out tho. not sure what they call these but its not a knot. Not sure how it would affect things if it was on the back but had a bow break on me when i had one on the edge. But its all gone now.
IMG_5811 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Here the stave is after getting it to 1.5"
IMG_5812 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Plans are to leave the middle 50% at 1.5" and taper each outer limb from there so laid that out and cut down to the line. Hope to leave the nocks at 7/8 but may have to take them down some yet.
IMG_5818 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
I got more done but short on time so hope to that in the next day or 2. Might be a few days before I am back in he shop.
Have a great new Year folks.
Mike
superdav95:
Very cool. I don’t think we have much of it up here but I’m interested in how this build goes. Watching eagerly
M2A:
Thanks Dave, I am pretty close to its northern native region according to a USAD Forestry map. My best guess is that it move up the Ohio river valley and stayed close to the banks as its range expanded. I have seen original land surveys from the late 1700's of the area and a few property markers along the banks of the Monongahela river were marked by locust trees. Not sure how far its range has expanded with the help of people but think its pretty vast.
With the front profile complete I figured good of time as any to remove a thin ring i was using to protect the back of the potential bow and get down to the ring I want to use for the back. I could have done this before, but its nice to do that last ring and take my time to do it well. so back to it with the draw knife and a scraper.
IMG_5825 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
That completed I moved on to rough out the thickness. Figured I would start with 3/4" across the whole piece. I suppose the middle of the bow(handle) will finish up around 1/2"+ and the tips being about 3/8"at the nocks, so plenty think but easier for me to use a rasp and card scraper to get it to start bending. Cant put wood back on if you get to thin roughing out :)
IMG_5827 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Back of the bow is on the left and have my thickness line down both sides.
Pretty basic to remove the extra wood on the belly but just in case someone is new.
I remove corners first. Down to the line or close to it.
IMG_5828 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Then remove the center.
IMG_5829 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
It could be easier if you mark those angled surfaces with a pencil or marker so that when the ink is gone you are down to your line.
IMG_5830 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
M2A:
Finished side profile roughed out.
IMG_5831 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Hope to get some time today to start getting it floor tillered. And think i forgot to mention the plan is for 62" ntn. so i did cut the length leaving 1" for lower nock and 1.5" for the upper nock. so its 64.5" long.
Thanks, Mike
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