Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: radius on July 14, 2009, 10:28:46 am
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My first attempt at a yew holmie failed miserably due to a mistake at the bandsaw. This time it's all hand tools.
The stave i chose has 3 big knots in it, i mean huge. I drew the outline a couple days ago (massively over-sized) and used a pullsaw, mallet, and chisel to cut to the line. The dark line down the center is the pith, and i laid out the bow from that. The outline is approx. 2" wide through the bending limb. But since yew can handle warbow caliber draw weights at just 1.5" wide (and after getting the look from ravenbeak!), i made the outline 1.5" wide, and am planning on 60# (the stave is 62" long) which i think will be easily attainable.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture001.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture002.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture003.jpg)
That was all i had time for that day.
Yesterday after work I got out the drawknife and taught myself how to use it. In keeping with what i think is tradition, i stepped down the sapwood along the back EXCEPT at the handle. On each limb, i chased rings and although each limb follows a different growth ring, yet they are both pretty complete. Damn hard to get just one, though!
Hopefully these pics turn out. I was trying to show how the sapwood steps down from the handle and from the knots...This is going to leave me with a handle which is proud at the back and comfortable in the hand.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture004.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture005.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture007.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture008.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture009.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture010.jpg)
The heartwood ring i found for each limb is not the same ring: they are different colours. But i think it'll be okay. I just about have the back established (if not tidied up!), and tonight after work i'll set a centerline and reduce the width of this thing...hopefully i can almost entirely eliminate one of the knots (a big one near the handle) and significantly reducethe others...
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don't mind the mess
::)
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This is more of a "help-along" than a buildalong...cuz i need help!
Guys, you see i have 3 major knots in this stave, one just out of the handle (so it'll be in the bow); one in the first third of one of the non-bending tips; and one right in the transition area from bending limb to tip.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture011.jpg)
In this one, you can really see how the handle will be raised in comparison to the back of the bow. And you can see the damn knot.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture012.jpg)
This one is right in the transition area, where it gets narrower AND thicker! oh boy...
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture014.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture013.jpg)
So...how do i handle these? Can i just rasp through the knot (to save the blade of my drawknife)? The outer section knots won't actually bend.
I can't wait to see how this turns out. It's cool how the heartwood is a different colour at each limb...it looks like i scraped down quite a bit more on the one limb...but it was also thinner (at the belly) to begin with.
radius
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okay,
so last night i reduced the stave to "final" width, with my drawknife, and handled some of the knots in a pretty aggressive manner: saw and chisel. I looked at Pat B's warbow and saw the giant knots in that, and it gave me courage.
Also, i realized that i was still in sapwood on one limb, it's just that it was a darker colour than the rest of the sapwood. So i chased it down some more. I tried to get just one ring, but i think the back's been violated more times than a southern belle with too many male relatives. >:D
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture024.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture020.jpg)
This picture shows the stave's twist.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture017.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture015.jpg)
Overall, i LOVE working with this wood! I find that the admonition to leave extra wood at the knots is almost unnecessary, because it's impossible not to! The grain changes direction around a knot, so you are forced to turn the knife and come from the other side. The effect is a natural little mound of raised wood.
So, I just traded a stave for a dozen handmade arrows, painted and nocked...i think it's a good trade.
I'm looking forward to shooting this bow.
No way i'll be able to recurve this one: too much going on at the tips already. But i've drawn the approximate shape of the tips on the sides now...
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture027.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture026.jpg)
Slightly different from each other, due to the placement of the knots, but still similar and i think they will look cool.
more to come
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What a week! The obsession is back in force!
Tonight after work i tackled the big knots for serious this time. So far i've just been pecking at them...but they gotta go, so tonight i sawed them off with a pull saw, then hit the tips (all i got done, really) with the gooseneck scraper, a bowyer's best friend. I cleaned up the tips so i'm pretty happy with them, other than their bulk.
Here's a few pics.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture028.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture029.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture033.jpg)
Here is the other tip.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture030.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture032.jpg)
It's starting to come together...i dunno though, these tips are gonna be pretty heavy...maybe i should go for 65 or 70# just to make up for it.
tomorrow i'll clean up the last knots and then do some work around the handle before flattening out the belly at 1/2 " thick.
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Hey guys,
I did a buttload more work on the thing today, and finally got to floor tiller stage. Those big knots are coming off, one by one...god i need my bandsaw back! Even if it is just a little guy....
I took the bark off the back of the handle, thinned the sapwood opposite the fades (somewhat, more to do there), and drawknifed the stave to 1.5" wide for the bending portion of the limbs. I also made the tips 1" longer, both for leverage and aesthetics, carved out the handle a bit, and flattened the bellies. Here is a pic of one belly.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/Picture.jpg)
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Tonight i plan to take the thing down to the lines. It's starting to bend a hair now. I have a bunch more work to do on the very time-consuming knots that populate this stave. I'm gonna take the handle down to where i can hold it at least, and start on the fades, get them roughed in.
Tomorrow i'm gonna make a steampipe like Pappy uses, only out of pvc. This stave is deflexed at the handle and it has a minor twist. I think i won't worry about the twist just yet. But when i steam it tomorrow, i'll clamp it into some reflex...probly put 1.5" block under each end and clamp the sucker down. That'll give it more pep. While it's shedding moisture over the next few days, i'll try and collect some more wood, and also get started on a kid's bow i just offered to do for a friend's son.
This bow has been a real lesson in carving, that's for sure! All these knots! I bet a smooth stave would go MUCH faster. God i can't believe the time i've spent just roughing it out!
I've got the bending limbs dialed down to 1.5 "...is that too wide for yew? Am i going to get a 100#'er?
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hey scott,
that is looking great, i look forward to seeing it in person
cheers,
Jamie
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Man of man we really are birds of a feather my friend! I thought I was the only one making big messes of shavings right in the house !
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Man of man we really are birds of a feather my friend! I thought I was the only one making big messes of shavings right in the house !
heck i have room in the basement just for orking on my bows,even do a little knapping in there(with a fan on of course).
its nice cause that room is on the recirc side of my furnace and all the air has to go thru the hepa filter,helps keep the dust from knapping and tillering from going thru the whole house
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I was able to work on stuff in my apartment but now that we bought a house my wife gets mad at me when I even let shavings fall off of my shorts in the house. She has no mercy even in 100 degree weather, so I wait until they are on a trip to work inside then clean up really well. They're off to a family reunion next week, so that means I get air condition for a few days work :P
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i just got back from the hardware store...i bought a 10' section of 2"x3" drain pipe (rectangular, like comes down from gutters) and an elbow. the elbow is in the pot, i cut the section to 90" (to accomodate warbows) and the "holmegaard" is in the pipe right now...plan to clamp some deflex out of it...
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hm, i'm having troubles with the photo site....it must really love that belly shot!
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Okay, after i steamed it for about an hour (give or take) i clamped it to the table with blocks under the limbs about 20" out from center. The blocks were 1.5" high, and as you can see i've got a little spacer under the handle area.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture036.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture037.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture038.jpg)
After a few hours i released it from the clamp and it came to straight. The deflex was eliminated. Now i just have to do it again, i think, and try to get a little actual reflex in there. I think i'll do that before i do anymore scraping to the thing.
On a related happy note, i got my bandsaw back yesterday, and a couple big sticks of rosewood that i'll be using for tip overlays and in the handles and stuff...i think the rosewood/yew combo is going to look fantastic.
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Are you gonna' work that cashew and almond into the bow somehow ;D
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nah, they're just there to give you something to remark about...
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well i've put some more time in on the thing. Got my bandsaw back: that speeds things up!
Today i gave the initial shape to the handle. I've preselected an upper limb (based on a big knot just out of the fades on what is the Lower limb) and carved the handle to provide good arrow-pass in the right spot. I'm going for a dished handle on this one, too, first time. See how that goes. Tell me what you think of the sapwood and how it steps down on the back. I like it, and it makes the handle stiffer so i can get closer to center on the arrow side. The sapwood is not the same on each end of the handle, again because of that knot.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture039.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture043.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture044.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture046.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture047.jpg)
I was careful when bandsawing the relief cuts on the handle, but still went further than i intended...i call these mistakes "INCENTIVE" for working with the rasp and scraper.
Also today i started actually floor tillering this thing, and here are a couple belly shots during tillering. I'm just about to cut nocks on and i'll post pics of that later.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture049.jpg)
I've had a couple of cool ideas for this bow today. Both have to do with the tips.
One, an issue that presented itself right away: TIP MASS. With the knots out at the ends like this, i thought it was gonna be a turtle bow. But i'm finding you can take those knots right down. But i also thought of carving designs out of the sides of the tips, which would relieve mass and create a sort-of I-Beam effect. Any ideas?
Other idea about the tip overlay. I have a bunch of rosewood, but is the heartwood of yew strong enough that i shouldn't have to bother?
Thanks for looking, guys
radius
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Okay so i floor tillered it until it bent smoothly, then hit it with a nock-to-nock string. My desired weight on this one is +/- 60# @28. Well i'm not far off.
With the string set so that it's braced 1.5 " from the heartwood ring which is the bow's back, it pulls to 50# at about 18". It's not got the perfect arc yet so i'm not gonna pull it past until i eliminate possibilities for hinges to set in.
As adb will agree, the holmegaard has to maximize the working limb, since it's so short. This means i'll be heading toward the fades as soon as possible, but i have a flat spot to take care of before i do.
Sorry, can't give tillering pics, cuz i do it all in the mirror and with a tiller stick. Mirror for shape, stick for poundage.
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(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture054.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture053.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture062.jpg)
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You can see a few things in the above pics.
1. Look at the back of the handle, come down a few rings to the darkest ring...this was the one i initially mistook for the heartwood! Good thing i kept going...
2. The string is almost dead center despite the little twist in the limbs. I will use this reference point to help me tiller. Essentially, the working limbs will be parallel down their length, but obviously i missed a spot! I can take wood off the side there to bring the string to center and thereby help tiller.
3. I discovered how to use the rings to gauge thickness of the limb, not only down its length, but across from side to side. I'll show a few more pics to demonstrate, but the gist is this: if one side has more parallel growth rings running down the limb (i.e., if the edge-grain section of the flatbow limb is wider), then that side of the limb is thinner. I have a bunch of tillering left to do, and as the forthcoming pictures will show (if they aren't too terrible), all of the wood to come off will come off the thicker side of the limb.
Notice that the limb that is showing has even grain patterns: this limb is equal thickness both edges...but due to the twin knots that spot is a bit high and so it has to come down.
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This island shows that the limb is thicker here than it is in either direction. A stiff spot.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture055.jpg)
Here's that same spot after i scraped off the pencil marks. I scraped it quite a bit more after this!
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture056.jpg)
Here is the lower limb fadeout...you can guess how much thicker it is on that side than the other, because the big knot is right there, but the rings themselves show it. This is an awesome new thing for a board bow guy like me to discover!
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture059.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture058.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture060.jpg)
I can hardly believe the thing is pulling 50# at 18" or so already. I have to be very careful with my tillering, to hit my intended draw weight of 60# @28". The bow does feel a little bulky, i admit it...but i'm looking forward to taking the tips down and perfecting the handle AFTER the main work is done and the limbs have been trained to bend.
Getting there!
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Well, everybody: tonight i turned it into a bow at last. It pulls approximately 55# at 28". I have no idea how it shoots. It started with deflex and has some string follow...we'll see how it looks tomorrow. But i don't wanna cook the belly for reflex: too many knots. I'm happy. This stave was an amazing challenge and i learned alot about carving yew. Plus, if it shoots em fast enough, this is the bow i'm taking on the hunt this year.
Here are a couple tools i used a little bit...i thought i'd use them more.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture064.jpg)
This is the upper limb. These two knots right out of the fades actually don't interfere that much, and one of them actually gave me some INCENTIVE.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture065.jpg)
Here's a shot of the handle and the whopping brace height of what, 3"? Fistmele for a midget. Notice that the handle is semi-dished. It's not yet as good as i'd like it.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture066.jpg)
Ok, here's the upper limb again, a little while later, showing the incentive. I broke the knot with the rasp, and made a big valley right on the edge. This gave me my next tillering idea: trap the belly. I went approx 1/4" face of limb, 1/8" on the edge. This got rid of most of the chunk-out, and helped me to get it bending a little better along the whole length (well, not the whole length!)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture067.jpg)
Here's a shot with the brace height of 6". The handle has been dished out more and is pretty comfortable. That's my first go at a dished handle...i'll try that again.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture068.jpg)
The back of the bow, lower limb (over that big knot).
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture069.jpg)
The whole back of the handle. I like how the sapwood pattern is different, top and bottom.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture071.jpg)
And here it is braced and hanging on the closet doors.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture072.jpg)
This stave was a huge lesson in carving, as i must have said at least 5 times already! So many knots! They change the shape of the back all up and down the bow, and require special attention in filing and scraping: you have to change direction all the time, and sometimes it doesn't seem to make any sense at all! The knots are the places where the limbs are stiffest, and paradoxically they are the most difficult to file away, and i had to be careful not to remove too much wood AROUND the knots and cause hinges.
The limbs bend pretty evenly for all their twist and knottiness. I'm stoked. I might file down the back a bit for finger grooves, and i will add more solid nocks. The whole thing needs to be well sanded and burnished, and then i think i'll get some tru-oil for it...how many coats should i use? One a day for a week and leave it at that?
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Nice, that looks good.
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thank you kindly
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Wow turned out nice. When do we get full draw pics? :) -josh
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josh, u'll get it the second i get it!
maybe my roomie will take the pics...
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Awesome. Can't wait to see the finished bow. Great buildalong Radius!
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well, i'm glad you think so...i don't know if i'm really imparting much, just sharing my experience. Last night i glued on tip overlays. I was going to try some elm, because its colour looked so good in relationship to the sapwood on the back of the handle. But it was just too coarse-grained...i think it must be a ring-porous wood...i rejected it and went with rosewood.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture073.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture076.jpg)
The overlays were just barely wider (like 1/32) than the tips, so i had to be super careful about alignment during glue up. I used a strip of tape to start, then a small spring clamp at the very end. When that was good, i put a 2nd spring clamp at the other end of the overlay. Then starting from the center, i added the c clamps and set the spring clamps aside.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture077.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture078.jpg)
the knots and their cracks
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture074.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture075.jpg)
To take the tips down i used my drawknife, then rasp, then 4in1 rasp, then scraper and finally i put sandpaper under the overlay and sanded the tip to suit. I "mostly" got it.
Later on I'll make those tips look as cool as i can, and clean up the handle. Soon it will be ready for final sand.
A couple issues: cracks in the big knots. I'm not sure what to do. One of them is at the bottom tip: it doesn't get stressed and shouldn't much matter. But the other one is at the big knot just out of the lower limb fades. It is a "working" crack right now: when the bow is drawn, the crack closes up, and it releases a little when the bow is let off. I guess i'll dribble in the superglue like they say.
A side note:
I bought the vise last weekend from a guy who also had a cool scraper/burnisher/sharpener set. A steal of good veritas tools for 50 bucks...only i didn't have 50 on me after buying the vise, and he was running out the door to go island hopping.
I went back last night and picked up the kit. It has a # of scrapers of different thicknesses and widths, a scraper holder, variable burnisher, chisel jig, and a honing compound. The sharpening stones are 400, 800, and 1000. This guy was serious. He was once a piano tech and repairman, and when he found out i'm making bows, he ran inside and came back with a little stack of ivory strips, about 1/16 thick, 3/4 wide, and 2 " long. He told me to soak them in warm water to make them pliable. So for this special bow and this buildalong, i'm going to inlay an ivory arrow pass. That will be the next step after reshaping the tips.
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First of all, never mind what i said about the ivory inlay. haha. But I am going to do some inlay on this bow, and i've got lots of pics of the process. And i did find some good uses for the ivory after all.
Okay: the focus of today's work on this bow was twofold: shape the tips, and inlay a strike plate.
First i did the tips, since the big ugly clubs were hanging off the ends. The two roughed-out overlay pieces have been sitting in my junk box since last year, as a solid block carved into a crude wedge. I used the hobby bandsaw to slice up the halfway line and then cut the two pieces out.
Today, i drew a line from 1/4 down the back of the tips toward the belly, bisecting where the yew and rosewood met up.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture081.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture082.jpg)
Right after this cut, without the pin nocks cut in, they looked like this.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture084.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture085.jpg)
But my first attempt at the string groove was lame and so it looked like this.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture087.jpg)
So i fixed the suckers and now they look like this.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture088.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture089.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture102.jpg)
But then i thought, I've been concerned about tip mass the whole time, now the things look huge (even if they do look cool)...so i covered the belly portion with my scraper.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture114.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture116.jpg)
And then drew lines and cut them with a drawknife, scraper, and file. You'll see that in these photos, one of the tips still needs work at the belly transition.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture117.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture118.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture119.jpg)
NOW, THE INLAY
I don't really know how to do this, so i just make it up as i go. I'll show ya what i did.
Here is the piece of rosewood that i used to make some inlay options. It is about 3/32 thick and 1 1/16 wide.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture119.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture092.jpg)
I used the edge of the gooseneck scraper to draw the arc. I made two options: 1 was arced to the center, the other was arced to about a third of the width. I hope that makes sense.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture094.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture095.jpg)
I chose the one which arcs off center.
But it turned out to be a little wide.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture096.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture097.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture098.jpg)
Perfect.
But...big gap.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture100.jpg)
I put the inlay in here, and heated it with the gun.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture101.jpg)
Then, i clamped it onto the side of the bow, and heated it further. Scorched the bow a bit, but that's ok. While i had the thing cooling down in the clamps, i marked its position with a RAZOR knife. Not a pencil. In fact i did more than mark it: i cut into the handle all the way around it, starting at the corners and pulling the knife in the "field".
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture107.jpg)
When i removed the clamps, the inlay had kept the shape of the handle, so it looked like a little boat.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture108.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture112.jpg)
You can see i installed the inlay with lots of glue. The old stairbuilder i used to work for said, "You can never have too much glue. But you can have too little." I remember that line every time i glue something up. Is he haunting me?
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture113.jpg)
As for the ivory...i don't know how to work with it yet. I put some in water like he said, and it cupped pretty noticeably. I tried to cut some with my bandsaw and kablooie. But i found a great use for the little ivory slats: protection against file runoff. This is a 4in1 rasp, which i used a hell of a lot on this bow.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture083.jpg)
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An interesting thing happened.
I put the rosewood on the tips not thinking that what i was doing was making the nock to nock distance Longer than what i had tillered the bow at. I was sunk, cuz i thought that this would reduce the draw weight. I thought this because to raise draw weight you can shorten the bow, lengthening the bow seemed likely to reduce the draw weight. But if anything, the bow pulls a few pounds heavier. I don't offer any explanation.
But i am going to do a force draw curve for this one. I'll get that on a little later.
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(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture120.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture121.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture122.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture123.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture124.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture125.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture126.jpg)
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These tips are cool, because they give a sort of recurved or flipped appearance (and effect? i don't know, haven't shot the thing)...originally i wanted to recurve the holmie tips but due to the knots in the ends i didn't even try...this works.
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we need full draw pics. cant wait.
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just you hang on!
I just now cut some inlays to put in the rosewood tips. But tonight, i'm going to go get drunk and hopefully meet a nice lady for a casual encounter. Guy can only pound away at the wood for so long!
Tomorrow i'll put the inlays in, and take pics. I bought some sandpaper and some tru-oil and possibly as early as tomorrow, we'll get full draw pics of the FINISHED bow.
radius
wish me luck!
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Projects for today:
1. Install yew inlays to the rosewood tip additions. This is gonna be very tricky? At least, i don't wanna mess up!
2. Make an arrow rest from a piece of elk antler i was given by the archery rep at the outfitting store.
3. Get some superglue into the cracks at the knots.
4. Finish shaping the transitions at the tips. Not quite happy yet.
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Ok, those projects went well except for the arrow rest...i put one on, but i might just shoot this off the hand, take that sucker off.
INLAYS
These were not easy. Well, this part was easy: drawing them on a blank. The blank is a slat of yew which is 3/16 thick. I used a sliding bevel to make the angle, roughly 60 degrees. Next time i will make it a true 60 degrees, because then it will match the taper files i bought to clean out the inside corners. You'll notice the shape: a straight line with a hook at each end. This is the rune i was going for, because apparently it means Yew Tree. But sadly i busted one end off, making it a rune which means emotion/imagination/magic. I've put a couple pics in which show permutations of how two of these "L's" can be combined. One way of course is to make a longer version of the rune i originally intended. Another way is shaped like an arrow: another rune which means victory.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture129.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture130.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture132.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture133.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture136.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture137.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture140.jpg)
Here, i show how i taped the tip, outlined the piece to be inlaid, and cut the outline into the wood. I taped the piece of ivory to the limb tip in case of knife error. After the inlay fits in entirely, i mark it all around with a pencil to determine depth. It helps to see where it doesn't go in deep enough. After a couple errors at the handle, i realized i wanted a thicker inlay and a deeper set. That way, when i inevitably gouged the surrounding wood, i'd have plenty left to file and sand down with no one the wiser.
You can see how i worked the chisel: vertically, back and forth. I acquired some 400,800, and 1000 grit sharpening stones the other day (from the same guy who sold me the vise) and i put those to good use and that really helped. Sharp tools. Very important.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture141.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture143.jpg)
Here is the inlay after the clamps came off. I mixed some rosewood/yew sawdust in with superglue and filled the mortise, adding more superglue once the spooge was spread around to make it all thinner. This has hopefully had some effect on the outcome...still need to work on my inlay skills. Even so, i think it looks pretty good.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture144.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture152.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture156.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture159.jpg)
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I found it difficult to chisel out the mortises for the inlays, using a knife at first and then switching to a sharp chisel. The several tight corners were a real hassle. I back-cut the inlays a fair amount in order to seat them in deeply enough to allow for finish shaping and sanding. They are not perfect, but overall i'm happy with them.
I'm gonna knock the arrow rest off, sand that sucker, and give it a coat of tru oil...
cya soon
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ok i broke down and built a tiller tree. I don't have a spring scale yet, so i'll use the tiller stick to get the weight, and know how far i can draw it on the tree to exercise it and find out where to remove the wood. This is a very simple affair which cost 30 for the pulley.
6" from the belly
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture160.jpg)
12" off the belly
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture161.jpg)
17" off the belly
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture163.jpg)
22" off the belly
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture164.jpg)
26" off the belly
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture165.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture166.jpg)
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not perfect, but not bad...now i just gotta sand and seal it...and shoot it!
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I think it looks right fair,considering the piece of wood you used. Not sure ifin I would have tackled it.
Tip inlays is a nice touch. Neat idea. ;)
On your next ones,make you some small chisels out of hacksaw blades.You can cut and file them to work in just about any corner/curve. Most long gun makers use them for their wire inlays.
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that sounds like a great idea Timo...i'll definitely try that...
and as for the hard to work stave, yeah it was a biotch no kidding. But i learned a lot and it is pretty damn good for so many knots. It wasn't easy, and almost entirely with handtools...the only thing i did with electric tools was trim some of the worst of the knots off with a bandsaw...oh and i used the bandsaw to rip the tip overlays out of a rosewood wedge...
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It looks great from here! Well done.
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thanks bro...
that painting above my tiller tree is by Robert Ives, a local artist of unbelievable talent. We recently did a trade: that photo for the osage/hickory holmegaard i made last year
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ok, yesterday i gave it 2 coats of tru-oil...here's how it looks this morning...oh i should add that before oiling it, i sanded it from 80 to 120 to 150, wetting in between, and then boned the entire surface of the bow two times with a birch dowel.
that was a laborious 2 weeks of bowmaking, amigos...for a first stave, and a knotty mofo, i am pretty happy with my product here...be chewing on the venison soon...
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture167.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture170.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture171.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture173.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture175.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture176.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture178.jpg)(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture179.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture180.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture181.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture182.jpg)
thanks for coming along with me on this one...
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Wow looks really great Radius! Thanks for bringing us along on this incredible journey. Nice save from such a difficult stave!!! :) :) -josh
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Yeah that looks wicked oiled up, have you shot it yet?
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Wow looks really great Radius! Thanks for bringing us along on this incredible journey. Nice save from such a difficult stave!!! :) :) -josh
well thanks alot Josh! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've got a couple new pics showing the front view of the bow.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture184.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture185.jpg)
(
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some manny shots my son took, showing the height of the bow in relation to me, how the tips have a slight recurve, and the low string angle.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture148-1.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture149-1.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture150-1.jpg)
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk314/NomadArchery/yew%20holmegaard/Picture151-1.jpg)