Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: bowhntineverythingnh03743 on February 26, 2013, 06:38:46 pm
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I just can't do it.... I can't make a selfbow. I have tried and tried and as always something goes wrong and snap, crack, bang, $*%&#&*@*!!!!
Kudos to you guys that can hammer these bows out. I was trying to toast and heat the belly of my snakey elm bow going slow when clamping and snap.... So dissappointed and fed up. Want to hunt bad this spring with a selfbow but its looking like it won't happen. This is as close as I have got to a selfbow and it breaks.... DANG!!! :'(
Time to turn into Roy and grab a cold one.... Try starting again on another tomorrow
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0566.jpg)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0567.jpg)
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Was that a sawmark there where it broke? It looks like it was cut in half.
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thats it voice it >:( , grab 6 cold ones ;) , and get after another bow tomorrow. best therapy in the world.
chuck
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:( I know exactly how you feel. I have snapped 7, some laminates and some boards. The best was the first. Eventually you'll get the right piece of wood and everything will come together, it just takes time.
Hang in there. ;)
"Was that a sawmark there where it broke? It looks like it was cut in half."
Ya kind of looks that way..!
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it can be a bear, but don't give up, get you a nice maple board, or white oak/hickory, and use the dimensions in my build a long, ya don't have to use a tablesaw, just makes it easy er, follow this and you will git a bow, and pm me if ya need any help, Bubhttp://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html
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Looks like a clean grain break to me. Lets see the back Justin.
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Thanks bub... I've made board bows and three BBO but just haven't made a successful selfbow. Somethin always goes wrong.
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Being basically self taught I prob broke the first 20 or so but I'd like to think I learn something from every failure.that was before I got a computer and had acess to the internet.can't see your pics wich is a bummerso am not sure if it was a board or a stave,but knowing what to look for in the grain is Key and how it's tillered is everything!!not to say that I don't break one on occation,but usually when I break my own rules!u can do it!
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Looks like maybe you followed the grain in one plane but not the other. I don't think that Elm was as snakey as you thought.Try a stave for your self bow. If you've already got the tillering thing down, the stave should come fairly easy for you.Turkey season is fast approaching! You can do it!
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Looks like someone gave ya bad wood. Where did ya get the stave at?
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My first two bows turned out and then I broke 7 in a row. It will get better if you stick with it.
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You can do it buddy. Your in the right place at the right time. It has happened to all of us. Heck, I hadn't broke one in four years and just broke one two weeks ago. Sometimes its me and sometimes the wood just don't wanna be a bow. Thats ok find you another piece that does and get to makin shavings. Wer'e here rootin for ya and theirs plenty of help if you need it. Danny
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Heck I broke one bow 3 times:
1. the string slipped out of the nock and torn a splitter
2 Then I piked and tried to flip the tips a bit and lifted a splitter.
3. I sanded the splitter out but I needed more wood to get the draw weight. So, I decrowned it and backed it with hickory and glue line failed.
Talk about getting the most for one piece of wood. It taught me a bunch.
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If you were looking for easy you wouldn't be here.
But you are so.....
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Dude, what is that line on the belly of your bow where it broke? It broke because of it for sure, but honestly, what is it? By the way, you pay shipping and I will send you a stave of snaky honey locust. Iffen ya need it... This will make a nicde bow, and is already very slightly roughed out, 2 years cut and dry.
I have made several very nice bows from this wood. This stave will make a nice bow with a sap wood back and heartwood belly, and look like yew when complete. You will need to chase one ring if you want to keep the heartwood on the belly though, and these are thick rings so it should be easy. Just let me know on here if you need it or not. Will post some pics soon.
Roy, pearly gave him that, I doubt it was a bad bit of wood.
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Are you sure that is elm?? I am very doubtful about that. It looks like ash to me!
I am pretty sure that bow was roughed out using a bandsaw. Either the stave was not split, or a snakey profile was cut out of a straight grained stave. A break like that is impossible if the grain runs in the same direction as the sides. Someone terribly violated the grain there... I also think heat treating a belly is often not necessary. Focus on getting a shootable selfbow first, before you start worrying about heat treating the belly. Actually, I can't even see any discoloration of the wood due to the heat. Are you sure you heated the wood warm enough? And did you heat the belly and not the back?
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Are you sure that is elm?? I am very doubtful about that. It looks like ash to me!
I am pretty sure that bow was roughed out using a bandsaw. Either the stave was not split, or a snakey profile was cut out of a straight grained stave. A break like that is impossible if the grain runs in the same direction as the sides. Someone terribly violated the grain there... I also think heat treating a belly is often not necessary. Focus on getting a shootable selfbow first, before you start worrying about heat treating the belly. Actually, I can't even see any discoloration of the wood due to the heat. Are you sure you heated the wood warm enough? And did you heat the belly and not the back?
Agreed. That break isn't a 'normal' break due to the stave being over-strained through poor tillering etc. As Darksoul says forget heat treating until you've got a finished bow in your hands.
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Are you sure that is elm?? I am very doubtful about that. It looks like ash to me!
I am pretty sure that bow was roughed out using a bandsaw. Either the stave was not split, or a snakey profile was cut out of a straight grained stave. A break like that is impossible if the grain runs in the same direction as the sides. Someone terribly violated the grain there... I also think heat treating a belly is often not necessary. Focus on getting a shootable selfbow first, before you start worrying about heat treating the belly. Actually, I can't even see any discoloration of the wood due to the heat. Are you sure you heated the wood warm enough? And did you heat the belly and not the back?
Agreed. That break isn't a 'normal' break due to the stave being over-strained through poor tillering etc. As Darksoul says forget heat treating until you've got a finished bow in your hands.
That looks like it was cut with a light sabre! Never seen such a thing and believe me I have broken my fare share :)
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Are you sure that is elm?? I am very doubtful about that. It looks like ash to me!
I am pretty sure that bow was roughed out using a bandsaw. Either the stave was not split, or a snakey profile was cut out of a straight grained stave. A break like that is impossible if the grain runs in the same direction as the sides. Someone terribly violated the grain there... I also think heat treating a belly is often not necessary. Focus on getting a shootable selfbow first, before you start worrying about heat treating the belly. Actually, I can't even see any discoloration of the wood due to the heat. Are you sure you heated the wood warm enough? And did you heat the belly and not the back?
I promise you its elm, I cut it myself. I promise you it was split with an axe, wedges and a maul, I did it myself.
And Justin, heat treat away. Its not rocket science and there is NO reason not to do it on your first self bow, or your fifteenth. Its a heat gun and wood, not a lab experiment. You simply missed a turn in the grain as you laid it out, its obvious. Thats why it broke.
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unless, it is a very special bow, i always remember making the ones that broke more than the ones that didn't!
The second bow i tried to build was from cedar, as in "a deck board cedar" that one woke up the neighbors when it exploded! Then there was the white white oak bow that was coming along nicely (i thought) and it too sounded like a gunshot, unfortunately on that one, i was nearly at full draw and i punched myself in the nose, i won't soon forget that one ::) Then there was the one...
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Maybe my eyes are decieving me but it sure looks like you have a lot of grain run off from your picture there.That won't work too well I know.
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I have broken 4! One I had shot maybe 50 times. The last time it was at full draw and CABOOM!!! Punched myself in the face and bout knocked my off my feet. After my brother and everybody saw I was ok laughed so hard at me I thought someone would pee there self. I'm going to make some good ones in my future!
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Bowhuntin',
Me & RBLusthaus are gettin together at my place on the afternoon of 13 April. I'm 3 or so hours away from you. You are welcome to take a drive down. We've got some BL, hickory, HHB. You can pick whatever you want.
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Here is the pic I promised ya... I dont know why the pic is so big, I resized the heck out of it... all the way to 400x400, but its still huge. How do I fix this?
(http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i411/rocketernally/2013-02-28020943_zps2d8d2378.jpg)
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Get you a straight, clean, osage stave forget the boards the heat (straighting,or reflexing) the backing and everything else your hereing.
Just make a 64,66 inch simple bow. You can get a bow in the 40,50 # range easy. If you've broke as many bows as you say you won't have a problem makeing a simple osage bow. My oldest son made a osage bow a 12 years old. I still have it and it still shootable. And he did it with out the internet.
Don't sweat it if you really have the desire you'll make that bow. And beleive me once you do there's nothing like shooting ,hunting with your own bow. Take a deer or turkey or what ever you hunt. You'lljouin a club that not manypeople belong to.
You'd almost have no exsperance at bows at all to screw up a straight,clean osage stave.
I use the KISS METHOD on just about everything.
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPIT.