Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Fox on January 30, 2020, 07:01:12 pm
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new here..... This is my first osage bow, 8th bow, its 63" ntn 1 1/2" mid limb and decrowned and backed with dogsbane fibers my actaul draw is 26". im a bit worried about it though and need some tiller advice. i will post pics this weekend but in meantime i have a few questions. i would like this to be a hunting bow and was thinking 60# for deer? or should i go lower? right now i shoot a 50# bear archery bow but have not hunted with it yet. how wide should it be at the tips? 1/2"? more less? the stave was a limb only 2" in diameter and the bow has some cracks running up and down the belly right now its on a long string. any advice would be awesome! ... Thanks!
-Fox
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What bow?? 8) 8) 8)
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Look forward to seeing it, as for weight 50 is more than enough for deer. :)
Pappy
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Yes, 50 is plenty for whitetails even big ones.
HH~
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I'd be interested to hear how you think the dogbane works for a backing after its all finished.
.5" nocks is narrow enough for most styles, but not sure what style your making.... You may consider to leave them a bit wider then narrow them up when you get it to brace height. That would give you the ability to adjust where the string travels relative to the handle.
Mike
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I finished up a 2 inch Osage sapling bow last fall that ended up 45lbs at 25.5 inch draw , and 58 inches long nock to nock. The bow is one ,and quarter inches wide coming off the fades to one half wide at the tips. It has 15 knots in it.I had to find the back, and chase a ring.I tillered it to about 95 percent finished, and flipped the tips just a little,and put a light heat treat on it.It held together on the tiller tree at 24 inches. Then I sinew backed it, put fake snake skin over the sinew, and retillered.I will post some pics here if you like. It may give you some idea of what you would like to do with your bow.
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I would love to see some pics! thanks for the help guys..... the desighn im basing it off of is the one in TBB the osage flatbow. okay ill go for 50# then.
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That decrowned Osage bow in the Bible’s really made me want to procure a small sapling to replicate. You don’t see decrowned staves often at all.
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Heres the pics i promised. i have been taking matereal off for days and it seems like the pundage hasn't changed but a little! is this normal for osage? The bow is about an inch reflex in it and a little flip tip. the backing is kinda odd, think i should leave it or tryan re-do it with rawhide or something? any opinions apreaciated.
-Fox
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I'm gonna say, that backing isnt doing you any good all tangled up like that. It needs to be straight laid down, like the strings of a guitar, and laid directly side by side. Also, if the bow has survived this far, you probably dont need a backing at all.
Ok, gonna modify my reply a bit after rereading your post. Because you decrowned the bow, and I dont know if you followed the grain or not when you did it, I cant say whether you need a backing or not. When done right, a decrowned back doesnt need a backing at all.
I still say that your fibers currently on there are doing absolutely no good. I think you should peel them off, sand the back down smooth and give is a picture of how the rings on the back look. That will determine if a back is needed or not.
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okay ill see if i can redo the baking.... really about the no no backing?? it has so many ring violations and it decrawned.. badly, i would rather not back it but the growth rings were so tiny and im bad with selfbows. trying to get better though. thanks for the advice sleek :D
-Fox
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How about the tiller any recemondatins?
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I modified my reply above because I didnt read your original post carefully.
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How about the tiller any recemondatins?
The right limb looks to bend a little more than the left, but so far every thing appears to be bending in the right places.
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Okay read your edited post, and i will do that later today. thanks again!
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Shorten your tillering string until it is just long enough to fit both knocks. It is too long right now, and that distorts the actual bend of your limbs. the right outer third looks a little stiff, though. I don't think that backing is helping either. Do you have the ability to remove it and do it over with straightened fibers?
If this is your first, I would think 50# would be a good weight to aim for. It is more than enough to hunt with. Your tips look fine. I don't think there is any reason to go narrower for a normal hunting bow.
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Okidoki ill fix that, thanks.
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I have another question... so i have had this osage bow inside and in my room wich is in the loft and its pretty darn dry cause we heat with a woodstove.. should i worry about th MC being too low? should i put it somewhere a little less dry? and wait for the MC to go up a bit or do you guys think its fine? i don't have a moisture meater... thanks
-fox
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when you say low humidity, what part of the country do you live in? I'm out west and the "humid" part of my house is sitting at 35% today. If you live east or south, I doubt you can get too dry for osage.
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Im in virginia so its like 60%-80% so pretty damb, so it should be fine? it seems really heavy still for how much wood ive taken off but then again ive never worked with osage so it could be normal.
-Fox
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I would seriously doubt your wood will get too dry in those conditions. If it breaks, it will likely be from a grain violation
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Sometimes, an osage bow with really thin rings can survive decrowned without a back. I would recommend lowering the draw weight to 35 or something if you choose that route. Just me but I get a lil nervous drawing back a bow that's not intact ring wise.
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Well it's backed with rawhide now, not letting me post pics so I guess I'm on my own ;D
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the mositure content could get too low in a room heated with wood stove,,
put it somewhere that is cool,,
yes its normal for osage to take a bit of scraping for the weight to come off,, just take your time,, do not hurry,,
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Alright thanks thats helpfull. ive been going extra slow for this one.
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I'd also make a tillering Gizmo if you haven't done many bows before
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More questions :D so a little crack formed around i guess a knot on the edge of the bow.... whadya guys think i should do?
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That crack doesn't look good. I don't like cracks on the side of the bow. I'd proceed with caution.
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Yeah its pretty worrying...
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I'm sorry bud, but that bow is now a wall hanger. Not even sinew will fix that. Out of curiosity, where on the bow is that?
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Right at mid limb... yeah i when i saw that i pretty much thought it was it :'(.... but its all good i learned more on this bow than any other.