Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Kegan on August 22, 2009, 01:56:00 pm

Title: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Kegan on August 22, 2009, 01:56:00 pm

I finished this one up today, another to help make some summer scratch (the last one helped me afford the supplies to do my senior project thankfully).

It's 66" long, 2" at the widest, 45# at 28". A little wide for the weight, but I had done this bow a few months ago on a whim to see how fast I could make a board bow. So it got a good bit of abuse through that little experiment. Slightly overbuilt, but the wood wasn;t the best. Really smooth and comfortable, it's not speed demon but in truth I only had 550 gr arrows. Walnut stain, with metallic silver Sharpie drawings on the back that faded in after the spar urethane to really look neat. Leather shelf.

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Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on August 22, 2009, 03:54:38 pm

Looks great! Jawge

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Dano on August 22, 2009, 04:04:36 pm

Looks pretty dang good for being abused. ;D I like the art work.

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Little John on August 23, 2009, 01:04:45 pm

Looking good, didn't know you messed with any thing under about 70#       Kenneth

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Pat B on August 23, 2009, 01:57:19 pm

Cool bow Kegan. I've always been impressed with your bows and now your quality is catching up with your ability!  8)

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Kegan on August 23, 2009, 02:16:19 pm

Thanks everyone :)

Dano- Vines are pretty much the only thing I can draw that I don't get tired of looking at after a while. But I didn't realize the silver Sharpie would fade under the finsh, it came out alot nicer than I thought it would.

Little John- I've enjoyed making lighter bows actually... but I still don't want to shoot them when they're done ;D

Pat- Thank you! Looking at all the bows aroeund PA finally wore off on me :D

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Grunt on August 23, 2009, 05:43:12 pm

I like oak! Good looking bow out of wood we should use more often.

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: OldBow on August 30, 2009, 01:16:47 pm

Bookmarked for Aug BOM!

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: youngbowyer33 on August 30, 2009, 09:54:17 pm

kegan, right now i am making a red oak board bow, and i am going for a low draw weight of 25# @ 25", got any tips for making one or for making a light weight one?im getting frustrated as my tillering is going absolutely nowhere so tillering tips would help me alot

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Pappy on August 31, 2009, 09:14:55 am

Nice job,great looking bow. :)
   Pappy

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Josh on August 31, 2009, 10:39:42 am

cool bow keegan!!!  Red oak is so much fun to work with isn't it?   I have made more bows from it than any other wood so far.  Nice job!!!    :) -josh

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: John K on August 31, 2009, 11:17:42 am

Real nice Kegan, tiller looks great !

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Kegan on August 31, 2009, 11:31:14 am

Thanks guys ;D!

youngbowyer33- get a good striaght taper in the limbs and go slowly from there. For these, I make them 5/8" thick outside the fades, tapering to 3/8" thick at the tips. You could start there, only with a bow about 1 1/2" wides, and take it down as you tiller. Do you have a tillering stick/tree?

Josh- I love oak too!  I have a few more red oak boards in the works, one of which is gtting a trapped boo backing. My current hunting bow is made from white oak too :)

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: youngbowyer33 on August 31, 2009, 11:43:58 am

ya i have a tillering stick

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Kegan on August 31, 2009, 01:14:19 pm

Excellent! Then get a good taper and start slowly tillering with the long string. Mark obvious stiff spots, and get it to brace height. String it up, and continue to about half draw. At this point, the tiller and taper should be pretty solid, so I just leave them sit braced overnight (4-6 hours). Then unbrace it the next day and that afternoon tiller it to full draw and shoot :).

When tillering, it really helps if I do a radiused belly too, not just flat.

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: youngbowyer33 on August 31, 2009, 02:09:28 pm

thanks for the advice but why is it better to have the belly radiused?i heard a bow with a flat belly has less of a chance of breaking then a radiused belly?i just want to know

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: Kegan on September 06, 2009, 11:41:24 am

Quote from: youngbowyer33 on August 31, 2009, 02:09:28 pm

thanks for the advice but why is it better to have the belly radiused?i heard a bow with a flat belly has less of a chance of breaking then a radiused belly?i just want to know

A flat belly is less likely to take set, but a slightly radiused belly is easier to get a good taper on (and low spots in the taper are what kills bows).

Title: Re: Another red oak board bow
Post by: NTProf on September 06, 2009, 03:25:35 pm

I still love seeing red oak board bows!