150# recurve

[JW_Halverson]

I had a few requests for higher poundage bows over the years but nothing over 65#, that is why I started putting double nock grooves on the top limb an a wider one the bottom limb, so I could  could use a simple cord bow stringer to string those bows when they were first strung up at probably 75#+ pounds. At first I left the overlay chunky and filed it down to one groove as I finished the bow. Later I started incorporating the second groove in the finished bow as a way for the owners to easily and safely string their bow with a two loop piece of parachute cord.

A chunky stringing groove that has almost been filed away and one on my later bows;

That's exactly the upper tip overlay that I am doing these days for EXACTLY the same reason. My bows now go out with a bowstringer that has a leather cup for the bottom limb and a leather tab with a little hole to slip over the tip and fall into the uppermost smaller groove. Someone that bought his first bow from me back in 2011 just got a another (his 3rd or 4th, cannot remember) just commented on how much he loves using a bow stringer. The latest bow was 59# @ 27" and he said it was a bear to string the push pull method, but even his 8 yr old daughter could string it with a little effort.

[Marc St Louis]

I had a special jig that I used to brace heavy bows, nothing more than a 2X8 with several 3/4" holes drilled down it's width and a support for the handle.  Even with that it was a nightmare to brace it for the first time.

As far as dimensions go I didn't really keep track of the information but if I remember right it had 1 3/4" wide limbs and the length would have been in the 67" range

The backing was sugar maple and I found that maple is a more reliable backing than hickory and it was quarter sawn, or edge grain.  I had access to high quality sugar maple from land I owned.

I'll try and upload picture to the site, I'll have to crop and reduce their quality to do that.

[superdav95]

Very cool mark.  Those short little recurves look sweet. 

[medicinewheel]

150#... sure... why not...

[Marc St Louis]

The title says 150# but I noticed last night that the folder those pics are in says 135# so I guess it's actually 135# @ 30".  It was still a crazy build, might have been that bow that made me quit 

[medicinewheel]

I can imagine that!

[RyanY]

I’m always amazed at the dimensions of your bows. Really speaks to your skill in getting the most out of the wood.

[jameswoodmot]

Generally, I’m fairly good at understand new skills and knowing how to improve, just takes me a while to get the theoretical knowledge into practice.
However, I have absolutely no clue how you can get that much bow out of that much wood. Like I really cannot fathom what you have to do to that pieces of hop hornbeam and maple to get it to store and release 135lbs without either exploding or taking 20” of set.
I’ve not worked hhb but I’m here struggling to get 70lb out of wych elm with a wider stave of the same length and you’ve not got 10 or 20lbs more than that you’ve got DOUBE that.
Absolutely incredible