Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Josh B on October 18, 2015, 06:36:25 pm
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This weekend I find myself spending the weekend in Williams IA and decided to do a little bow work. My youngest daughter has outgrown her oak bow and give me pretty specific instructions on what she would like to see in her new bow. First off, she don't want no girly feather bow nor does she want any pink girly stuff on her bow or arrows! Ok....got it. So I asked what she did want. Out came the back issues of PA. She decided that she wanted a snakey bow like Will makes with rattlesnake skins, but...she wants rattles carved into the tips and an arrow shelf like her mom's bow, but not Brown wood! She wants yellow wood like her sister's bow. Ok...I'll try says I! So I dig around and find a wiggly Osage stave about the right length and get to work roughing it out. While working it, I noticed something odd in appearance on the grain. I took it outside in the sunlight and danged if it isn't curly! That was about a month ago. I just started back on it today and got it to floor tiller and couldn't help myself from shaping the handle to see what the grain was going to look like. Wow! Beautiful stuff! The pics don't show it well, but turning it in the sunlight really brings out the beauty in this stuff. Josh
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Curly Osage seems to be quite rare and despite it's beauty, I have mixed feelings about discovering it in my daughter's bow stave. My reservations come from the only other curly Osage I've ever seen turned out to be very poor selfbow wood. This piece has excellent ring structure and ratio, but I am a bit concerned about how it will turn out. Time will tell I guess. Here's where I got to today with it. This is as far as I'll go until I get home. I don't want to take any chances on screwing up such a rare stave because of my crude bow making methods on the road. Josh
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Oh sweet! Curly but not girly. That's going to be a fine one. Keep us posted.
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Nice! I'd love to see what the finished product looks like!
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Josh, you may want to back it with rawhide or silk. It would at least keep it from really blowing apart.
I'm sure this makes a Dad feel better. ::)
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Thanks fellas!
Pat...it is most definitely getting rawhide. The wood feels good and sounds good when you tap on the tip. Good solid ring to it like normal Osage, but I am planning on taking every precaution before it ever gets put in her hands. Josh
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Does it feel kind of wet and rubbery when you bend it? Is the draw weight light for the dimensions? That's how my curly osage bow felt. It acted like it had soaked in water over night. I hope yours turns out better than mine did.
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So far it just feels like good quality Osage. As Rich likes to say, when you bend it, it feels like it wants to get back straight...fast. I'm hoping for the best. Josh
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Story made me laugh, can't wait to see the finished bow Josh
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Beautiful so far, I didn't have very good luck with my Curly Osage, hope you have better luck because it is beautiful wood and rare to find. :)
Pappy
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I think it's awesome that she knows exactly what she wants, and has all the confidence that Dad can pull it off. Can't wait to see it finished Josh
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Josh...are you sure what your seeing is figured wood? I cant see any figure across the back and belly like clints was...i think what your seeing are the medullary rays on the edge grain which can be fairly common sometimes with osage. Id like to see some closer up pics across the back and belly...clints was so prominent that it was clearly visible even in a fuzzy pic. Hope ya prove me wrong pal :P :laugh:
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Thanks fellas!
My camera sucks, but I think I captured a little bit of the curl on the back. Here ya go Chris. Josh
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Thats what i was looking for...thanks buddy!!! :laugh:
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I see it. Do the grain lines wiggle back and forth tightly?
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Looking good so far trucker.
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Cool Josh.Can't witness these oddities shooting glass........lol.
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Thanks fellas!
Ed!!! Glad to see ya back!
Clint, it does wiggle back and forth, but no where near as extreme as your stuff. This stuff is way more subtle. Hopefully that will make the difference.
For those of you wondering what we're talking about in regards to figure and grain. The anomaly that produces the tiger stripe chatoyancy in the wood is known as curl. You see a lot of curl in maple and its fairly common in walnut. It is however very uncommon to find in Osage. I have a piece that Clint gave me that is pretty extreme curl and as such, absolutely beautiful. If you look at the edge of the wood in the picture, you will see a small sliver that zig zags back and forth. This is the grain we are talking about that produces the effect. Josh
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Thanks....I see there are a few new catagories on here now.....horn bow,flight bow etc.Glad to see it.
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Oh sweet! Curly but not girly. That's going to be a fine one. Keep us posted.
Perhaps It has a name!
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The grain squiggle was pretty extreme in the bow I tried to make from it. It looks like yours will be better bow wood.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/bows%202015/20150205_110912.jpg)
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Well...I'm hoping it turns out better anyway. We will see. Josh
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Getting closer on this one. It's pulling 24#@24" and has taken very little set. My daughter has been shooting it in and gave me the go ahead to finish it up. It's a pretty snappy little shooter even with the curly grain. Hopefully I'll get it finished up the next time I get home. Here she is putting it through the paces. The tiller needs just a smidgen of fine tuning, but it's pretty close. Thanks for looking. Josh
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Looking good Josh. Were you able to talk her out of skinning it?
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Thanks Clint! Nope...she won't budge on the skins. I even tried talking her into skinning the bow she's making instead of this one...no dice there either. She wants her bow snaky like a WillH bow and that's that! Lol! Josh
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Great looking bow and I really enjoyed the story. She's a lucky girl.
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Can't wait to see it all finished up Josh
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Looking good !
wish I had some to try
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Doc,
That tiller looks upper limb slightly positive and looks good from my screen...Your daughter has good archery form there also...
Don
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That girls got a good daddy. Very cool!
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Finally getting around to finishing this one after my daughter has been shooting it for a year. I glued on a couple prairie rattlers that had been shot with bird shot. Both skins were riddled with holes from one end to the other. What a booger that was! The rattler tips are dogwood. Hopefully I'll get it finished next time I get home. Josh
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Finished up nice Josh
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WOW!!! Really nice! -OneBow
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Nice. I've never seen rattlers on the tips like that... very cool 8)
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Finished up nice Josh. Was the finish specs 24#@24"? And what length did you make it? Bet she loves it!
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Well done Josh!
DBar
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Thanks fellas, but it ain't finished yet. This was just an update. I believe it's 54" ntn and yes 24#@24". Josh
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Those skins look amazing. Great job patching the pellet holes.
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Thanks Clint! There are a few holes that were just to close together to do anything with, but i got most of them closed up before the glue set. Josh
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Looking good so far, Josh. 8)
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Nice!
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I have a couple grand daughters coming up, and hope I can get them interested. Hope I can do something half as nice.
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Nice work carving those tips to look like rattles Josh and thats a good looking pattern on those skins. A little finish over the whole works will really bring out the beauty of that bow. Your daughter will be very proud of her dads creation I bet.
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Your daughter has some really great insight into how she wants her bow to look and function Doc. I sure hope that stave works out for you it sure fits the bill looks wise. I like the curly but not girly 😊
Bjrogg
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Very nice looking bow Josh.The skins do really set those snakes and profile off nice.
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Great looking bow.
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Thank you kindly fellas! 3 coats of tru-oil so far and the grain is looking good...to my eyes anyway. If all goes well, I should finish it up this weekend. Josh
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I've seen that type of grain occasionally on some of this Iowa osage too.Beautiful stuff.Your daughter should be very glad.
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Finally finished it up. My daughter seems to be tickled with it. Unfortunately today is very foggy so I won't be able to capture the grain in the pics, but I have to go back to work so these will have to do. Thanks for following along. Josh
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And some more pics
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Last ones
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That turned out great! Those tips are very cool and match the skins perfectly. Well done dad :)
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Great work trucker dad. Good memories happening right there
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Awesome. I just made some for my kids and seeing them shoot and smile is just about the most satisfying thing I guy could ask for. You da man!
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Beautiful work on that bow. The skins look terrific and those tips are something else. Your daughter looks pleased. :)
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Oh that's nice. Fits your daughter perfect!
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Very nice, beautiful, Bow and your gal. ;)
Pappy
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Very nice bow for your daughter Josh.I like everything about it.Excellent work.
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Thanks fellas! Our first 4h shoot is the 15th and she is chomping at the bit to try out her new Christmas presents. New .22 rifle, New benelli shotgun, and her new bow. Santa kinda spoiled her this year! Josh
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That just puts a big smile on my face gundoc 😊😊😊 excellent bow she will remember that forever
Bjrogg
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The bow looks perfect for her! Good job Dad. ...but that quiver is purty kewl too! I'd have never figured a skunk pelt for a quiver option.
OneBow
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Nice looking bow. She must be pleased
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Very nice work. I like the tip on this.
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Thank you kindly gentleman! Josh
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How about some better pictures of that grain on a sunny day?
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That can be arranged! Josh
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That came out great Josh, the tips , the skins nice attention to detail
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The bow looks perfect for her! Good job Dad. ...but that quiver is purty kewl too! I'd have never figured a skunk pelt for a quiver option.
OneBow
Same, that quiver is every bit as awesome as the rest of the kit!
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Thanks Bub!
Here's the strap to the skunk quiver
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Excellent!
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Looks like your little girl is gonna have a lot of years of fun with that bow. Beautiful bow; I always like the snake skin backings. I think that kind of gives the bow a special look; very nice!
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Josh, just noticed I have never answered on this thread in spite of visiting several times - sorry for that.
That curly girlie stick turned out very nice and your daugther will pleased for sure!
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Beautiful work. She's a very lucky girl! My daughter is turning 5 this April and I think I'd like to give her a bow to mark the milestone. Thanks for the inspiration!
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That's a cool looking bow!!! Bet the rest of the 4-hers will be jealous!
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Thank you very much for the nice comments! Unfortunately, it's looking like she'll have to wait to show it off as there is nasty ice storm on the way. The 4h shoot hasn't been called off yet, but it will be I'm sure. That'll give me a little more time to make her some new arrows to go with it, so it all works out. Thanks again! Josh
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Some stiff BOM competition this month but I love this bow!
the tips carved like rattlesnake rattles are Awesome!!!
Kevin
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Thanks Kevin! I don't remember who I stole that tip idea from, but I have used it a few times now. They really do set off a set of rattlers. Josh
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Had to take another look at this one....
Josh, I may have to try the rattler nock on my next WDB backed bow...cool
DBar
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Amazing work Gun Doc.