Sugar Maple D Longbow

[Robert Pougnier]

This is my latest bow. It's sugar maple harvested in 2021. Very tight grain and growth rings, took a little bit more set than desired but has not been heat treated. The stave had a dog leg on one side and some reflexed kinks on the other so tillering was very slow due to the many crooks and kinks. It has a working handle.

Specs: 52# at 27". 69.5 inches overall, 68.75 ntn. 1 3/16" inch from handle through midlimb, down to 3/8" at the tip. 18oz mass.
Set immediately after unstringing is 3/4". Down to 1/4" at rest.
Horn tip overlays and a cloth handle wrap with buckskin borders. I put a bit of padding under the wrap to increase grip comfort. Finish is one layer of tung oil, the 2 of spirit varnish and a top of paste wax. String is 18 strand b55 Dacron.

Thanks for looking!

[Robert Pougnier]

Detail photos

Last photo is of the dogleg unbraced

[bentstick54]

I have never made a bend through the handle bow, but everything about yours looks great to me.

[Bob Barnes]

I agree.  Your bow has taken very little set, has a great tiller, and the workmanship shows experience.     I have only made a few bendy handle bows but never a narrow one.  It looks like it would be pleasant to shoot. 

[Hamish]

That's a pretty good result, for maple. That's very low set considering it is relatively narrow, and doesn't have a tempered belly.

Got some nice character in it. I don't see many tree stave maple bows, mainly just board bows.

I'm curious to if the bow has much handshock? To me it looks like the tips are a little stiff, but then the unstrung set profile clearly shows there is no excessive amount in the inner limb stress/ set. Tips are narrow too. This makes me think it would feel like a nice shooter, with good cast.