Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Sidmand on July 19, 2019, 09:00:07 am
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got my ring chased, and now I want to start working on an osage bendy handled sinew backed bow, and I would really love some help. The stave isn't super challenging for yall, but I'm scratching my head a little bit.
My GOAL is:
- mid 50LB draw at 27"
- bendy handle with a floppy rest or something glued on (not cut-in)
- preferably 60" or less tip to tip due to thickish woods in my hunting area and ground blinds
- flipped tips
- sinew backed
I will post a lot of pictures here to get feedback on what direction the fine folks here think I should go.
Here is my stave. 67 inches end to end, with some wiggle, a little twist, and some natural reflex and deflex. A few pin knots, a weird kind-of knot/brown spot, and only about an inch wide in a couple spots, but lots of thickness to work with. The first 3 attached here are of the full stave with the centerline marked. My knife is sticking up right at the natural center of the stave.
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MORE PICTURES:
3 pics of inclusions in the stave
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MORE PICS:
few more inclusions, plus thin area in relationship to the center.
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LAST 3 pics for now, just some better looks at the pin knots
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(-P
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I would choose the "best" 60" in the stave for the bow thinking about width, knots, twists, reflex and deflex. The more even the those 60" are the better. You can make corrections with heat later on if necessary when you get to first low brace to see how the string tracks under tension.
At this point you could start at about 3/4" thick at the handle area and tiller the limbs down from there. This will give you a stiff handle area to start with but you can bring the bend back into the handle at the far end of the tillering process. I like to feel the handle start to give as I hit full draw. I like the tips to be about 3/4" wide with single side nocks on these simple bendy bows and you can set the side nocks up to counter act somewhat any twist in the stave when the bow is drawn...plus they are authentic and cool looking. 8)
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I would choose the "best" 60" in the stave for the bow thinking about width, knots, twists, reflex and deflex. The more even the those 60" are the better. You can make corrections with heat later on if necessary when you get to first low brace to see how the string tracks under tension. ....
Pat, what 60" would you pick if it were your stave? If you would pick any area, given the measurements, what section of that stave would you pick - what inch to what inch on the white ruler - or what inch would be your centerline?
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Without holding the stave in my hand and getting a good look at it I can't say. See how the twist and bends go and where the reflex and/or deflex is and try to determine the area with the lease amount of artificial manipulation needed. You should look at all 4 sides before determining.
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...and, unless you specifically wanted to sinew back the bow you have plenty of wood to achieve your draw weight and length in a selfbow without a backing.
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... See how the twist and bends go and where the reflex and/or deflex is and try to determine the area with the lease amount of artificial manipulation needed. You should look at all 4 sides before determining.
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This is good advice - I will do this and try to mark up where I think the stave will require the least amount of heating/scraping/twisting/etc to get my bow out of it.
I do want to try the sinew - I have some I get from you (Pat B) in a trade earlier this year and along with what I already had I'm itching to put it on a stick.
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Then, go for it. :OK We'll be here if you need us. :BB
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I think I got it, here she be. I used the part of the stave that gave me the most width with the least amount of wiggle, but I'm still going to have to correct it some. It should be ok though. 60” end to end, 1 1/8 inch wide at handle, sneaks out 7ish inches to 1 inch wide, then it's 1 inch for 12 inches, with a 6 inch taper to 1/2 tips.
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Leave the tips wide for now. You might be able to make corrections from side to side of the tips by removing a little width from the offending side. Once you hit low brace you will see how the string tracks then you can make the corrections and narrow the tips. You can put in temporary side nocks just deep enough for the string then make the style nocks you want later.
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Will do Pat. Gonna start rasping soon.
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Keep us posted.
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Got it rasped out to the lines, now I got to cut the excess belly off. I'm thinking 3/4 of an inch thick per earlier suggestion, that sound good? That 3/4 will be from the edge, so any crowned area will be a little thicker.
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Ok, got the belly split off, and now I need to work on some corrections I think. Problem is, not sure where to start. I got some side to side, a little bit of twist, and some up and down. I think the side to side needs addressing first, but would like some feedback.
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These next pics show the wiggles and the little twist.
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You can work side/side and up/down at the same time. Clamp the handle area well and work out the worst limb first heating and clamping as you go then on to the other limb. You can also add wedges where needed to eliminate twists.
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Like Pat said. Doing two directions in the same spot at the same time is the way to go. When you're doing this kind of thing keep in mind that if you bend an area in one direction and then come back later to bend it in a different direction you will loose what you did the first time round.
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Ok, think I got it all mostly straightened out. there is a little bit of twist still, but I need to bend the hooks in still, and I'm sort of thinking that the twist will be easier to remove after I get the curves bent. I have a about 3 inches or so of reflex right now.
While I wait for the bow to rehydrate a bit, I have to start processing sinew. I have a little over 3.5 ounces, some processed, some not, so I got some work to do for a minute or three.
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Sidmand,
I will be following with interest, I love a good bendy...Nice pictures also
Don
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Thanks Don!
Got the stave further reduced, and I got my hooks in there. When I look at it, I see some twist, but it seems to compensate itself, o e end twists a little one way, and the other the opposite, so the string still seems to run through the center of the bow. I could use some better eyes and insight for sure, what would y'all do?
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Get the bow to low brace and see how the string tracks. It will track somewhat different braced than not. Once you're there would be the time to get most of the lateral bend(off set tips) with a little heat then you can remove wood from one side of the tips or the other to get better string alignment. Best to do all this before sinewing the bow. I like it a little farther in the process(about half draw) before adding sinew, some add sinew early on and some add sinew after tillering.
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Get the bow to low brace and see how the string tracks. It will track somewhat different braced than not. Once you're there would be the time to get most of the lateral bend(off set tips) with a little heat then you can remove wood from one side of the tips or the other to get better string alignment. Best to do all this before sinewing the bow. I like it a little farther in the process(about half draw) before adding sinew, some add sinew early on and some add sinew after tillering.
Roger that Pat, will go ahead and get it to low brace. It's actually got a lot of bend in it now - it's not even and needs some gentle coaxing here and there yet, but I bet with an hour or two of work I could have that guy to brace or certainly low brace.
I did see a crack that opened up on the belly running with the grain up close to the tip, so I need to go get some superglue. I have some katalox (Mexican Royal Ebony) that I think I'm going to use for some thin underlays on the hooks, I want to see if the katalox will bend with heat. If it's anything like Ipe heat won't do anything to it, but I'm going to try it just because I have it and I can. Will post some pics of that experiment.
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If you can cut the katalox thin and even enough you might be able to just bend it to the shape of the tip while glueing. Be sure the surfaces are flat and well mated before gluing.
Getting both limbs bending evenly and together early on will allow you to concentrate on achieving your weight goal. Leave the center 1/3 of the bow alone for now. When the rest of the limbs are bending well you can bring the bend back into the handle area. I like to feel the handle area bend slightly when I fit full draw. If you work the center too soon you'll get too much bend there too early.
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Bjrogg
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I'm following btw. Pat's advice is as always spot on. Enjoy and good luck with it.