Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: PEARL DRUMS on February 27, 2017, 06:38:40 am
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I've never made an osage pole bow nor have I made a sapwood backed osage bow. I did both on Saturday. The bow is 68" ntn and about 8-10# too heavy yet. I wanted to build up the grip with cork before I knocked off the rest of the weight so I could get my fades to work exactly where I want them to. It shot pretty good at 26", for its length.
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Also, I used rawhide for overlays, never done that either. I figured the sapwood might like a little buffer. One limb has about 90 degrees of twist and the other about 30 degrees. I left it as is, no heat whatsoever.
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I'll slap up a few more pics as I get the grip done. My plans are to shape the cork, then make some rawhide lace. Soak the lace for 30 minutes and stretch it around the grip area. It should constrict very tightly in a day or so. That's the plan anywho.
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You are lucky to find such a straight piece, I'm guessing it didn't take you long to whittle it down to bow dimensions. Looking good.
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Nice to see you finding some new firsts Pearl. Gotta keep it interesting. Looks like your gonna end up almost all sapwood by the time you take a few more lbs off. Love the twist I'm sure that will give some others confidence in staves they wouldn't have used without seeing this one. I've got a couple twisty ones but none quite that much. Thanks for sharing
Bjrogg
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Looks good so far, I am wondering how the handshock will be. That seems to be the challenge on these types of bows.
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Looking good Pearl .cant wait to see the finish. Arvin
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Looks good so far, I am wondering how the handshock will be. That seems to be the challenge on these types of bows.
At 26" it was too jumpy for my tastes. I tweaked the bend a bit and that softened it up alot, I think I can get it a bit better yet. But still, it has some that will be there. I have no doubt about it.
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You are lucky to find such a straight piece, I'm guessing it didn't take you long to whittle it down to bow dimensions. Looking good.
I told Clint at about 8:30 am I was going to make a one day pole bow from a stick he gave me, I was shooting it by noon or so. All hand tools on this one, too cold and windy to play with the saw in the drive way.
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cool bow... it will be interesting to see how the sapwood does. It looks like a fun project.
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Nice work Pearly. I cut a similar pole last week. I need to try a sapwood bow like this.
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Nice. I've had a good looking osage branch like yours drying for a couple years now. What was the starting diameter pearly?
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Maybe 2.5" round with bark on?
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Those poles make good bows. I've made a few and was pleased with them all. Nice work so far Pearlie. 8)
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Sweet looking I have a poll stave from my last haul Im putting in a the some day pile looking foward to seeing this one !
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Dumb question here: Are you leaving the twist in it?
WA
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Looks great. I love the look of sapwood backed osage. Those pole bows,at least for me, wanted to be heavy weight draws.
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Yes, nothing will change now but the draw weight reduction. I've already shot a bunch at 26".
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Looks cool, got a hint of the ELB about it. Nice to leave that twist... we don' worry 'bout no steenking twist :laugh:
Good to do something new...
Del :)
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Del I'm almost done with a yew ELB, so this one kind of piggy backed it and rolled into a semi ELB. I just wish I had more handle thickness.
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Dumb question here: Are you leaving the twist in it?
WA
The only adjustment I make in these twisty type sticks, (as long as they aren't TOO crazy), is try to make sure the nocks are grooved extra deep so the loops don't tend to slip off as the bow straightens out during the draw. Sometimes, my OCD kicks into overdrive and I grab the heat gun and pull it around to a more straight alignment just for the looks of the thing, ...but I've not really had an issue when I did not do so.
This should be a fun bow to shoot Pearly. It looks good from here.
OneBow
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Nice pole bow, they do make fine bows, I have made a few but with the sap wood off and the really held their profile well after a lot of shooting, I think there is a lot to be said for small diameter Osage. ;)
Pappy
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pappy I believe any species of wood is at its best as a sapling. They just seem more resilient to me.
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pappy I believe any species of wood is at its best as a sapling. They just seem more resilient to me.
That's not only your belief, it's a scientific fact. The juvenile wood (the wood laid down close to the pith during the first few years of a sapling) has microfibril angles that are quite a bit steeper than in mature wood. This increased angle makes juvenile wood take compression better than mature wood. There's tons of scientific papers comparing the compression strength in juvenile versus mature wood, and all will tell the same for each species studied. (One nifty paper also related it specifically to archery and yew longbow design).
There's a biological reason for that: saplings are strained more by the elements (wind) than adult trees, and this is nature's answer to that extra strain.
My gut feeling tells me this is also true for branches of fruit trees such as apples, pears, peaches, plums etc, which need to carry tremendous loads. All these species make for excellent bows, by the way, and behave similarly to yew in tension and compression.
Joachim
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That's some good stuff pearlie, but i can't believe it took ya till noon to get it shooting, must of stopped for brunch😂
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Looking good, PD.
Good for you.
It's been years since I've done a 1 day bow.
Jawge
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thats a nice bow,, its gonna calm down when you get it tillered out,, :)
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Do you worry about the high crown on these poll bows? Seems to me like there would be an awful lot of tension concentrated along the center of the back.
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It has a very high crown and a belly to match it, the high crown also results in more heartwood than it appears. At 69" I wont worry too much about it. Ive made a few HHB pole bows and they are fine. Most buckthorn bows Ive made had high crowns. I usually make the belly match the back radius.
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Pearl does that mean you hollow out the belly? Or do you crown it? I'm still pretty slow when it comes to this stuff but just seems like if you worry about a crowned back having to much tension you need to basically hollow the belly. Am I thinking right or is this wrong?
Bjrogg
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Good to see you doing something new Pearlie. I had just assumed you had done it all!
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Looking good so far. Can't wait to see the finished product. Great job.
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Great to see one of the masterful statesman at work. ;) How is buckthorn as a bow wood? There is a crap ton of it around here.
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Buckthorn makes a very nice bow
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Crowning both sides makes since to me. The compression and tension may not be flat but they are even. Arvin
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Good build Chris.The one I built long ago had around 20 knots...lol.Without the sapwood.All showing on the belly and pin knots on the back.They all held up though.Built that one with a flat belly and quite a bit shorter.60" I think.A hard hitter.
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Ya put a smile on My Face Pearly ! I really like that type of Bow - I bet it will flat zing and arrah when done. Well done Sir - Bob.
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Pearl does that mean you hollow out the belly? Or do you crown it? I'm still pretty slow when it comes to this stuff but just seems like if you worry about a crowned back having to much tension you need to basically hollow the belly. Am I thinking right or is this wrong?
Bjrogg
The cross section is an oval, BJ. The high crown on the back and the semi oval belly match up nice. This bow started with about 1.5" of natural reflex, I may have lost only 1/2" so far. I love natural reflex for that reason.
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Good to see you doing something new Pearlie. I had just assumed you had done it all!
Doobs I'm different than a lot of guys. I don't go to my shop to relax, I have to be relaxed before I start or its just a tense mess. Needless to say I havent been very relaxed the last few years. I had another bow that HAD to be built, that started my ball slowly rolling again. Feels good to make a mess in my shop again.
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Got my cork shaped last night. I shot it several times and the cork just barely moves with the bow, pretty cool feeling in the hand. I coated it 3 times with TB3 to tighten it up and strengthen the cork. Ill shoot it several more times before I wrap it up. Shintos, #50's and sanding blocks are great for shaping cork. Keep the strokes very light while pushing away and it wont tear out the cork.
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Very nice. It will need heavy arrows to tame any hand-shock
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very cool stik ya got there, love that cork handle
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That's fun, PD. Interesting idea, handle, and the rawhide overlays all bringing something kinda different. Cool ideas!
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Glad to know yer relaxed a bit and getting some bows going. Always like to see them.
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nice handle,,
:)
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Ive always used a very flat belly on high crowned limb bows and was impressed by the results...but ya got me thinkin Bro 😉..... Brian
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Nice handle Chris.I guess I made mine with a narrow lenticular type belly too matching the back's curve.I should of used some of that cork too.
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Maybe 2.5" round with bark on?
Bark ON!? So skinny!
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pappy I believe any species of wood is at its best as a sapling. They just seem more resilient to me.
I kind of agree. They fight me the most with twist, wiggle, and drying problems, but the bows always seem to turn out. The wood just seems tougher and supple.
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Nice! I love those simple sticks. Ive made plenty yew pole bows, first time seeing one of osage
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I left the weight at 58#. I like how it draws and feels with the longer bow, normally I wouldn't use anything much over 50#. The hand shock is pretty much gone, I made the limbs bend farther out towards the tips and only left about 4" stiff, and it seems to have worked. And I think the cork handle absorbs some twang as well.
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Glad to see ya at and that this all worked out for you
Good job my friend
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haven't seen you for a while ...
your work is a must see for me. I have to copy that cork idea, a lot of thin osage in my pile.
Keep it on!
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Looking good Amigo, wrap that sucker up and get us some finished pics already would ya!
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I like the knot with the stick coming out of the back of the handle. You going to leave that? Arvin