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Juniper-sinew kid's bow

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WhistlingBadger:
I finally finished this bow! The bamboo skewers are complete failures as arrow tips; they came apart on the first shot into the target. I'll have to go pop off a few .22 rounds tomorrow and use the shells to make blunt arrowheads. But wow, does this thing zip out those cane arrows! No problem at all penetrating a target butt at 10 yards, and I suspect it will shoot fine out to 20 or so. I think my little buddy is going to be very, very happy with this.



Elk antler arrow rests.  I put them on both sides so it can be shot right or left handed.


Have I mentioned that juniper is really, really beautiful wood? This is after I oiled it with two coats of lard/beeswax/pine resin varnish. Hopefully that will preserve the purple color, which tends to turn to a rich brown over time.


Leather handle wrap


Elk antler tip overlays. I put overlays on all my bows, mostly for looks. But on this bow it's functionally important: Juniper is so soft that the string would wear into the wood over time. I think I'll use bison hoof on my next one, as the black would look really nice against the red-ivory wood.


This was my first time backing a bow with snake skin. I learned a lot, and despite a few goofs, I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out.


I don't usually name my bows until after they've made a kill, but the name of this one seemed obvious so I went with it. 10# @ 18".

Pappy:
Yep that should make any kid happy, nice job. :)
 Pappy

superdav95:
Very cool WB

WhistlingBadger:
Thanks, guys!  I'm very happy with it.  Once I get the arrows repaired with new tips, I'll give it to Aza.  He knows nothing about this, but he's a real up-and-at-em kind of kid, so I can't wait to see his reaction.

I'm going to drop this here just for my own future reference.  Here some some things I learned from this project:
1.  Juniper requires a very soft touch and finer tools than other woods I've worked with.  It is very soft and very, very easy to mess it up.  On the other hand, once it's backed, it becomes very springy, almost like rubber.
2.  When applying sinew, smaller bundles and a slower pace make for a smoother finished surface.  So does wrapping the sinew layer in an ace bandage for a few hours when it's still wet.  This, in turn, makes the snake skin easier to apply.
3.  Allowing the sinew to dry overnight before applying the next layer makes it a lot easier to keep the layers even and avoid losing my place.
4.  Tillering:  On a bendy handle bow, leave the handle thicker at first; get the limbs bending first then move the bend into the handle gradually.  This was my first bendy-handle bow, and it still has a little too much bend at the handle.  I made it from a small scrap of wood that was uniformly thin all the way across.  I couldn't really fix the handle bend without reducing the weight below useful level, or redoing the backing...but I want to get on to other things.  It's good enough, but something to keep in mind.
5.  The edges of the snake skin can be trimmed off with a file, just like I do with a rawhide backing, for a nice, clean edge.  This works much better than painting the edge.
6.  Dings in the snake skin can be nicely repaired with a bit of egg yolk tempera paint, colored with ground rock or charcoal to match the color.
7.  Acrylic paint pens will still adhere nicely, even if you forget to write on the bow until after you've already applied a layer of grease to the wood.   ::)

Muskyman:
Very cool WB, I’m sure the boy will love it. Next thing you know he’ll be out there elk hunting with you.

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