Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: RyanY on January 23, 2021, 11:26:35 am
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I recently picked up a copy of The Bowyer's Craft by Jay Massey and was inspired by his shorter length bows and the pictures in the book. I built this maple backed red oak R/D with that as inspiration. It is 58" long and draws 36#@27". Around 1 5/8" wide with a convex taper to 3/8" tips. It is a trilam design with maple back, red oak core, and red oak belly with tapered back and core laminations. The powerlam is black walnut and the laminations are mirrored for the built up handle. Buffalo horn tip overlays. I heat treated the belly lamination to shape to help with ease of glue up but I don't think I got much benefit in terms of performance. Lately I have been coming a few pounds under draw weight with my bows but this one I over did it as it was almost 40#@28". As a result it took a bit more set than I would have liked, a bit over 1" so far. The top limb has some twist which I think is due to internal stresses of the board as I can't find any twist in my glue up form and the limb width was even. I crowned the back and was pleasantly surprised to see some chatoyance when putting the finish on the maple back. The wood planed beautifully so I am not concerned about grain runout. We'll see how it will hold up but it was a nice experiment to show a design that can easily get normal draw lengths out of a short bow.
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More pics
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More pics
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Last ones.
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Nice, I really like the tips.
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Beautiful bow! Nice bend
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well done sir, beautiful bow for sure.
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Cool bow! I don't have that book, but I recognize the Jay Massey poses in those last two photos...
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Nice work! Any new person trying to figure out execution for a board bow project should refer to your work here, Ryan. Well done.
Your being properly dressed with those last photos make them look like they are vintage, in a way. Beautiful bend on that kneeling picture.
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Very nice bow. Great tiller. Another beauty Ryan.
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Someday I will break down and buy this book...they are pricey little boogers.
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I stumbled on a signed copy many years ago. Ryan does a good impression of Jay.
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That’s a pretty little bow.
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There's a lot to like about this bow...everything!
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I think I’ll have to try this design with some Osage billets I’ve had for years. Will probably go for a bit less subtle design and more performance.
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Very nice work, as always. Interesting combination of woods, how do you find the red oak as a belly wood?
Mark
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Very nice work, as always. Interesting combination of woods, how do you find the red oak as a belly wood?
Mark
Thanks Mark. I think red oak might be a bit on the soft side unless you find an exceptional piece. Would probably work well with a thinner backing or one that’s trapped/crowned.
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Some day I hope to be successful with an all wood laminated bow. So far my first two attempts have failed. Yours is clean looking and truly a work of functional art. John
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Very nicely done. Great looking bow and love the pictures.
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Very cool lil bow, looks great...
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Thanks Mark. I think red oak might be a bit on the soft side unless you find an exceptional piece. Would probably work well with a thinner backing or one that’s trapped/crowned.
I forgot to ask, what did you use for a form to do the glue up?
Mark
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Thanks everyone!
Mark, I cut it out of a 2x6" and it was screwed to a larger piece to keep from warping.
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Mark, I cut it out of a 2x6" and it was screwed to a larger piece to keep from warping.
Any pics? I'm always curious to see other people's forms and how the bow ended up off the form.
Mark
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Mark, here’s a pic of the form. Most of the reflex is in the outer half. The deflex is also abrupt and more centered. I think those features of a R/D bow are more pleasing to the eye. The bow sprung back a good amount after glue up. My belly lam was definitely too thick.
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Thanks for that, Ryan. It looks like you've done some heat treating on that form as well.
Mark