Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: white wood on April 10, 2007, 08:14:10 pm

Title: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 10, 2007, 08:14:10 pm
well heres some pics so far. the bow is from a tree me and my uncle took down. we got a ton of straight staves from a 40' section before there were any branches! when my uncle dropped of all the scraps he didnt want, there lay this branch that looked like it might have a bow in it. i split it out and got this nice little pair of billets with some snakey grain and one had a button knot the bumped up and has alot of character. i left a little cambium on for decoration and have only got one coat of tung oil on it. i wasnt going to post this bow until i finished it with a nice handle wrap but couldnt help it.       Its 66 1/2" long, 1 7/8" at the fades then tapers down to 1/2" nocks. it pulls 48#@28" as of now but im expecting it to dry a little more this summer months. here are the pics of it so far. ill post more when i get a handle on it and ill put some nice braced and full draw pics and a better description. let me know what you think so far! -jesse

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Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: venisonburger on April 10, 2007, 10:22:30 pm
Thats gonna be a sweet bow, snakey is cool, but a takedown too.. I like it.
VB
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 10, 2007, 10:48:09 pm
hey thanks VB! this is actually my first takedown. i have always wanted to make one but never got around to getting a set of sleeves. so after i ordered them i got right to it! they are alot eiser to fit than i thought they would be! definatly wont be my last takedown! -jesse
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 10, 2007, 11:09:07 pm
Nice takedown. I think you should name it prince charming. Its got a big old wart next to the sleeve, but man is it nice. Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 11, 2007, 12:21:22 am
Gonna be a nice bow, Jesse. I have a sleeve take down system that was given to me but I haven't attempted an instalation yet. Will you try to explain the process for me? Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: jpitts on April 11, 2007, 01:20:32 am
Looks like a sweet bow Jesse. I'd love to hear your process for the sleeves too.
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pappy on April 11, 2007, 06:24:43 am
Very nice jesse,I like the take down and the snake.Just one question why did you leave the
sap wood on.I suppose it will work cause you are doing it I was just taught to take it off and catch a good ring of heart wood on Osage. ???I was always afraid it would check.Can't wait to see the finished pictures.
   Pappy
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: DanaM on April 11, 2007, 08:00:42 am
Looks good Jesse, waitin on the money shot.

DanaM
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Hillbilly on April 11, 2007, 08:47:39 am
Pappy, it's hickory ;D Looks like it's gonna be a nice'un.
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pappy on April 11, 2007, 09:00:47 am
I am a dummy,should have looked closer.I guess that is what comes with age.I had just looked at an Osage earlier so I guess that is what I was thinking. ;D
   Pappy
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: AndrewS on April 11, 2007, 02:35:08 pm
Hi Jesse,
that looks good. Can't wait for the fd pics ;)

Also I'm interested in the process of putting the sleeves on.

And you have a nice quiver on your tillerboard, I think :)
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: GregB on April 11, 2007, 02:55:38 pm
Looks like a good character bow especially for hickory! :)
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 11, 2007, 08:57:57 pm
justin that would be a great name for it!  ;D hadnt thought of a name yet. now i dont need to!  ;)  sorry for the mix up pappy! hehe i guess next time ill make it more clear. just kiddin, looking quick i guess it could look like osage sapwood. its pretty snakey for hickory. i havnt seen many pieces of hickory that didnt split straight so this is one of the reasons i chose this set for the bow.  andrew the quiver you see is from the belly wood from the billets. as i draw knifed them, thay left long straight thin slats that at the time were wet and pliable. so when i had the billets roughed out to were i wanted them to sit and dry, i looked at all the scrap and decided to weave them. i split them up into as thin as i could strips, and started weaving them. they worked out pretty good, better than i expected.           now for the sleeves, i laid them on the back of the bow and alaigned them with the tips. then i traced them and traced the ring on the but end of the billet. i made alot of guide lines all around the billet to make sure i went far enough but not too far into the wood. i cut the side lines in with a band saw, and the bottom line were the extra wood was on the roughed out billet. i did this for both limbs and then stardet tweaking them with the belt sander. i sanded a little at a time checking the fit constantly.  the sander was a very usefull tool for doing this part of the bow. once i hed them fitted, i put the bow sleeves on and slid them together. they were a little loose fitting but i wanted them a little small so i could adjust the tips and i knew the epoxie would fill any small gaps when i glued the sleeves on anyway. leaving a little room for adjusting the tips, i was able to get an almost center shooting bow without cutting a shelf. this is alot easier to understand while your actually doing it. this project went way better than i thought it would and was fun to build. im planning on doing another one soon and wil make a build along. thanks for all the nice comments, ill hopefully have a grip on it tommorow for final pics. -jesse
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: brokennock on April 12, 2007, 12:14:56 am
Lookin great. I've got a ton of questions for ya but I don't know where to start and the situation is hard to describe without pics. See, I too wish to make a 2 piece hickory take down like yours. I have the sleeves, i have the wood (i think?) and the need. I have 2 full length twin staves, both have X-treme reflex on one half, I would like to cut them each into 2 billets and match the reflexed halves together and the straight halves. I'm having trouble figuring out where to cut so I have enough wood for the handles.
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 12, 2007, 12:27:13 am
Brokennock, I would get enough from the straight ends to make a straight bow and not worry about the X-treme reflexed ends. They would probably put too much strain on the stave at the sleeves edge and they would be difficult to tiller.  Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Psycho on April 12, 2007, 11:29:12 am
That is neat. A character bow from hickory and a takedown at that. Looking forward to your version of the sleeve fitting process and more pictures as the bow evolves. Very nice.
                                                   Eliseo
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Stickhead on April 13, 2007, 11:45:39 am
I've been meaning to do the same thing with a couple of short ERC billets.  I don't have enough length to splice, so I'm thinking sleeve.  Is that the small sleeve from 3 Rivers?
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 13, 2007, 11:52:20 am
Quite a few years ago, Rusty Crain and Mike Westvang wrote an article on making a take down sleeve out of rigid metal conduit(1 1/4" or 1 1/2"). I have some I cut but haven't tried it yet.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 13, 2007, 06:39:15 pm
pat i was thtinking of making my own but didnt know what id make them out of. i think i might make some round sleeves and bend them oval. if i do ill post some pics. sort of a how to. stickhead, i got mine from pine hollow but yes they are small sleeves only because they were out of large. im actually glad i used small now though because they are perfect size. -jesse
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 14, 2007, 10:33:45 am
Jesse, I will try to find the article that Rusty and Mike did. I can't remember if it was in PA or TBM. What I did was clamp the conduit on a vice and slowly squeezed it into an oval.
   The sleeve set I that was given to me is the larger one also. Until I mount I won't know for sure but I think I'd prefer the smaller set.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Marc St Louis on April 14, 2007, 10:38:10 am
Very nice bow. Looking forward to the finished bow
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 14, 2007, 06:38:52 pm
pat the sleeves i used are small and measure 4" long and is 1" wide and 1 1/2" deep. those are the outside measurements. i have large hands and it is very comfortable to hold. -jesse
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 15, 2007, 02:34:53 pm
Hey Pat, did you find the article? I can remember reading it, but I cant remember where or when.
I have a large D sleeve, but I haven't had billets and I cant bring myself to cut a stave in half.  ;D ;D  Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 15, 2007, 03:58:39 pm
Justin, I have just what you need for the sleeve! ;D See ya at the Classic. ;)    No I haven't found it yet I'll keep trying.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: brokennock on April 15, 2007, 10:23:29 pm
 Pat, I was kinda thinkin the same thing. I figured if Ididn't have enough wood at the handle end of the reflexed pieces I wood use them for limbs on a 3 piece takedown with seperate handle/riser. I wish I could post picks of these staves, the reflex is great and matches almost exactly on both pieces of wood. too bad its on 2 seperate pieces.
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 16, 2007, 12:29:04 am
Bob notified me that the article is in the summer of 03 issue of PA. Thanks Bob.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 16, 2007, 12:41:35 am
Bob notified me that the article is in the summer of 03 issue of PA. Thanks Bob.   Pat
That makes since, I went back as far as fall 03 looking for it. Murphy's Law I guess.  ;) Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Mechslasher on April 16, 2007, 12:03:16 pm
hey pat,  mr. don of lexington, sc makes a bunch of take downs using the steel conduit sleeve.  looks simple enough and it has to be easier than mating the steel and brass sleeves together.  if i worked with more billets i would try the steel conduit style of take down.
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 16, 2007, 01:17:32 pm
Chris, Wasn't it you that gave the sleeves to me?  I'm gonna try one with conduit also.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: DanaM on April 16, 2007, 01:21:10 pm
Pat do you use just plain ole conduit? What size? Also if conduit will work how about copper pipe
that would be a distinctive look.

DanaM
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 16, 2007, 01:53:03 pm
Dana, I got the stuff I have from the trash pile behind an electrical contractors office. I believe it is 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" rigid conduit. I believe that copper would be too soft and not be able to handle the stresses. A bow takes a lot of stress at the handle area.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Coo-wah-chobee on April 16, 2007, 02:17:24 pm
      Don't bother with copper pipe like Pat said. Too soft, trust me on this one I know ! ;D.......bob
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: DanaM on April 16, 2007, 03:32:20 pm
Thanks Pat & Bob

Have a bad experience Bob? ;D

DanaM
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Coo-wah-chobee on April 16, 2007, 04:05:43 pm
 Just because its stuck in the ceiling tile, does that make for a bad experience, naw ! ;D....bob
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 17, 2007, 12:59:41 am
Just because its stuck in the ceiling tile, does that make for a bad experience, naw ! ;D....bob
Anytime it misses you its a good experience.  Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 22, 2007, 09:28:05 pm
ok guys heres some pick of the handle wrap i did. i couldnt post it earlier because in maine we got floods and wind and were without power for 3 days! anyways, the handle is a chocolate brown leather with a hemp wrap. i have been shooting this bow for the last couple of days and man is it a sweet shooter! i was worried that with the snakiness and slight twist in the limbs that it might not perform very well but it shoots like a dream. by far the best shooting bow ive made yet. very smooth draw, no stack, and no hand shock at all! this bow shoots close to center because of how i lined the limb tips. because of the close to center rest, it shoots diferent splined arrows almost the same! ill get some full draw pics up tomorrow. the bow also shows little set after unstringing and drops to no set after resting. heres the pics of the handle, -jesse

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Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Coo-wah-chobee on April 22, 2007, 09:50:30 pm
...Very nice indeed Jesse. Hemp and brown leather look really good........bob
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 22, 2007, 10:47:48 pm
Looks good Jesse. I cant wait to see the full draw.  I'm also curious about how the handle feels when you draw it. Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: white wood on April 22, 2007, 10:54:59 pm
justin i was curious about the handle before i shot it but once the limbs are together, its a pretty solid weapon. when its strung, you cant tell its a two piece at all. no weird movements or noises with drawing or release of the arrow. there is no extra bending movements in the sleeves whatsoever. im really impressed with how the sleeves are working. im going to get a couple more sets in the near future. its so handy to take the bow apart and slide it in the quiver. also when i decide to go on a hunting trip by airplane, it will fit in an arrow case no problem! -jesse
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Justin Snyder on April 22, 2007, 11:02:19 pm
Jesse, I was actually referring to the shape of the sleeve. I like the bulbous handles that are a little thicker and deeper in the palm. I am planning to add a little something to mine to give it some shape.  Justin
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: Pat B on April 23, 2007, 01:44:01 am
You could glue shoe leather to the sleeve and shape any way you wanted. Then add another wrap.   Pat
Title: Re: Snakey Hickory Takedown
Post by: medicinewheel on April 23, 2007, 07:56:09 am

can't wait to see thisone finished!
frank