Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: BowSlayer on October 09, 2013, 07:16:46 pm
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some of you will remember my thread where i posted that really small really reflexed billit.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,42110.0.html
well after working on it i got a very short bow out of it it has a static handle. now i only started working on it because i was challenged to make a bow i could fit insde my quiver in an hour or less. so after looking through my stash of wood i found it and here is how it came out.
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154848_zps71bdb8ff.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154848_zps71bdb8ff.jpg.html)
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154844_zps31a90fdf.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154844_zps31a90fdf.jpg.html)
there was a knot on the back and when i was reducing the back sapwood i cut through it and now it's showing some heartwood. opps.
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154824_zps072b78c9.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154824_zps072b78c9.jpg.html)
the reason it has a static handle is because right in the middle/centre there is a hole staight through the sapwood and into the heartwood where i dug out a knot. so if it was a bendy handle bow it would definatly have broken.
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154903_zps7a4f8ef7.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154903_zps7a4f8ef7.jpg.html)
here is a brace pic. sorry about the face i was holding in a sneeze and camera was on timer
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154626_zpsb2d6c9c2.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154626_zpsb2d6c9c2.jpg.html)
now i know this has tones of mistakes and the outer parts look real stiff, they are. but there was alot of reflex in the bow which makes it look worse. i would say that this isn't that bad for an hours work and it also gave me a good idea of how yew bends. there is a F/D pic but lets here some comments first.
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Leprechaun bow? ??? ;) ::) lol! Josh
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Haha. My friend who was watching me make it called it a toothpic
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There is a lot to be learned from miniature bows and they can still pack a punch.
It's good to have had a go with some Yew too.... but wheres the shot at full draw :)
Del
(oh yeah, and for pities sake slow down!!!!! ;) )
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May be of interest to you that digging out that knot and keeping the handle bendy wouldnt necessarily have caused it to break. I'm sure you've seen bows posted on here with tennis ball sized holes all the way through in a working area.
Even chopping through that knot shouldnt be a problem, as it's fairly central. The knot or hole isn't the issue in these cases, it's how you approach the sapwood around them.
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Glad ya took our advice to stop abusing the keyboard and start abusing some wood,cus your abusing it alright :laugh: love it..lol :laugh:
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an hour? What took you so long?
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May be of interest to you that digging out that knot and keeping the handle bendy wouldnt necessarily have caused it to break. I'm sure you've seen bows posted on here with tennis ball sized holes all the way through in a working area.
Even chopping through that knot shouldnt be a problem, as it's fairly central. The knot or hole isn't the issue in these cases, it's how you approach the sapwood around them.
Yeah I thought about it and decided to put a handle there.
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Glad ya took our advice to stop abusing the keyboard and start abusing some wood,cus your abusing it alright :laugh: love it..lol :laugh:
Yeah I really messed up the tillering on this one but hey you learn with each bow you make. There were alot of knots in the limbs witch worried me.
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I really commend you on working on a lot of bows, but it seems that every bow you post starts with phrases like "it isn't tillered well", etc. start taking your time and slowing way down. You be suprised how going slower can help you build good bows faster.
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and here it is. the F/D pic.
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131009_154812_zps5268ed31.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131009_154812_zps5268ed31.jpg.html)
i know there is alot of bending in the fades the mid limbs are stiff due to reflex and the outer limbs could loose a little with i suppose but im running aout of wood the bow is less than 1" wide! but let's here some more comments i think i can take it :o
I really commend you on working on a lot of bows, but it seems that every bow you post starts with phrases like "it isn't tillered well", etc. start taking your time and slowing way down. You be suprised how going slower can help you build good bows faster.
yeah i know. i need to work on that
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It's what I call a 'square' tiller, for pretty obvious reasons.
Del
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If it starts off straight and ends up straight then its not doing at work, free loading wood so it is. Thats unless its a lever or a handle.
Also the less wood you have to work worth the more it needs to share the work.
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Your left limb needs more bend midway & out......LOL.Your right is bending more evenly than your left.What's it look like after you unbrace it?How long is that full draw?
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The only place your little bow is bending is right out of the fades. Get the outer half of those limbs doing some work, including the tips! A short bow like that should bend everywhere. The only reason it's held together is because it's yew.
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Can't u think the handle up and get it working. It'd make it a lot better looking of a tiller.
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ok done some work removing from the sides. but if i remove any more wood it's going to break. i guesse it's less square now witch i asume is a good thing
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131010_150057_zps0fb9a460.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131010_150057_zps0fb9a460.jpg.html)
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Left limb looks better right limb still Working to much in one spot need to take some of the outter part of the limb
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ok so i done some work to that left limb and it looks better. BUT....now im really starting to belive in this bow so im going to bend in some recurves into the ends. :o
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I still think u should make the handle bend a little. 1/3 of the bow looks stiff. If the handle bent u would get a little more draw and take work from the parts working too much
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ok so i done some work to that left limb and it looks better. BUT....now im really starting to belive in this bow so im going to bend in some recurves into the ends. :o
No no no no no!
The central third of the bow (where the grip is) does nothing. The grip/fades need to be shorter and have a little flex at the root of the limbs.
The outer 1/3 of each limb does nothing. They need to flex a bit.
If you put recurves into the tips... all it will do is make that little section mid limb that is working, bend even more and give up.
If you really must put in recurves, then you need to get those outer limbs flexing first!
At the moment the bow looks like two hinges joined by a long grip/fade!
Stop trying to be too clever too quick, get it right first... then mess with recurves else she'll just blow!
Del
@Blaflair2... you beat me to it! ;D
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:P
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Can't you find any reasonably straight/long wood where you live? The crap pieces you're working on are fine for practice but it seems like you'd get farther if you slowed down and worked on a bow you want to last long. The tiller still looks pretty square to me. Have you measured the draw weight?
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I'm with Blaflair2, Forget the stiff handle and make it bendy! That yew doesn't mind a little knot, and it will save you a lot of grief in the tillering! Dale
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Del,I spit my coffee with the square tiller remark, ;D ;D ;D ;D Thats funny I don't care who you are. :) Way to stay at it Bowslayer,you are defiantly coming along. :)
Pappy
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Del,I spit my coffee with the square tiller remark, ;D ;D ;D ;D Thats funny I don't care who you are. :) Way to stay at it Bowslayer,you are defiantly coming along. :)
Pappy
haha. yeah ive decided to slow down so i put the yew bow in the corner for now while i work on my special bow for this month (opps did i just let something slip?)
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I'm with the handle guys. Get it bending right up to the handle and then take a little off of the handle untill you feel it start to flex at full draw.
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If the handle bends it will disperse the stress more evenly. Specially if u wanna flip the tips. If u actually want to make it function nice, If it was me and I was making such a short bow I'd make the working section as long as I coukd(would NOT recurve). The recurve is just gonna make your bow do more work in those already hinging area out of your handle fades(which I may have said to make bend with the handle... O:)) u can totally make it work. Like everyone said just slow down. It's not about quantity it's about quality. I'd rather make one really nice bow than a dozen sloppy ones.