Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: HickoryBill on February 21, 2011, 09:50:43 pm

Title: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 21, 2011, 09:50:43 pm
I am currently working on an ERC( Eastern Red Cedar) bow.I got the bow to floor tiller stage then long string tillering last night. I noticed when I was using my scraper, on the bow, the blade wanted to dig and tear into the soft wood. I tried sharpening the scraper and it still did the same thing.I got disgusted and called it quits. Before I put the bow away, I rubbed it down with a heavy coat of vegetable oil. When I started working on the bow today, low and behold the scraper was taking off nice pretty curls of wood! Not sure how or why it worked but it did!!   Now my question: The bow has a combed jute fiber backing glued on with TTB2. The backing is really not that appealing to the eye. Any ideas on how to make it look better without putting skins on or painting the bow??? 


 Thanks ....Bill
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: sonny on February 21, 2011, 10:06:04 pm
to comment on what you were saying about the scraper, I discovered that it's easier to do final tillering with a square edge not a sharp edge.
 

Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: beetlebailey1977 on February 21, 2011, 10:09:21 pm
Good to know Sonny.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: tattoo dave on February 21, 2011, 10:29:36 pm
I've backed a couple bows with silk for cosmetic purposes that are real pretty. Any fabric store has silk by the yard, you can sometimes get it 60" wide, just by one yard and that's a lot of backings. :)
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: mullet on February 21, 2011, 11:47:15 pm
 When I scrape on cedar, or, most wood when tillering with a draw knife, I hold the knife at 90dgs and peel off curls of wood. Less than that and it will dig into soft wood or catch a splinter and rip wood on hard stuff.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 22, 2011, 07:26:44 pm
mullet: I was using my scraper at 90 degrees to the belly to.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: mullet on February 22, 2011, 11:01:32 pm
 Is it cured? The cedar bow that Cubanredneck and I worked on a couple weeks ago had been drieing since 2004.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 22, 2011, 11:07:42 pm
Yeah it was dry, maybe to dry!!!  It just blew up in my face about a half hour ago!!!! I Had it tillered what seemed perfect. 52#@26" only had an inch to go, too. Lucky I didn't get hurt. Scared the hell out of my wife!!!!!   You win some, you lose some!!! ( Seems to be the latter for me more often than not)   ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: M-P on February 23, 2011, 12:39:06 am
Dang,  It's academic now, but I was going to suggest papering over the jute.   Art and crafts stores often have tissue paper with interesting designs printed on.  It doesn't add any strength, but it can look quite pretty.   Ron
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Pat B on February 23, 2011, 01:06:32 am
Bill, can you tell from the break what gave first? I like to examine blown bows for the causes.  Sorry it blew but ERC sho do BLOW don't it?  :o
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 23, 2011, 07:21:57 pm
The most explosive I've ever seen,by far!!!  I like the cause was it wa to dry and excessive grain run off on the bottom limb. It broke in 13 large pieces and a shower of smaller pieces, one even stuck in the roof of my kitchen!!!!
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 23, 2011, 08:20:52 pm
The most explosive I've ever seen,by far!!!  I like the cause was it wa to dry and excessive grain run off on the bottom limb. It broke in 13 large pieces and a shower of smaller pieces, one even stuck in the roof of my kitchen!!!!

Wow, now I REALLY want to tear into the ERC staves I have drying in the basement  >:D
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: FlaCubanRedneck on February 23, 2011, 08:51:50 pm
your gonna love it Lee.. i LOVE  ;D my ERC flat bow mullet and i made.. i cant wait till my finger heals so i can shoot it more and break it in...
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 23, 2011, 09:08:58 pm
your gonna love it Lee.. i LOVE  ;D my ERC flat bow mullet and i made.. i cant wait till my finger heals so i can shoot it more and break it in...

I actually started one with a local mentor last friday...we made pretty good progress but when we put it on the caul for some heat treatment to correct some major prop twist on both limbs (opposite directions of twist on each limb) we heard a Pop, Snap, Crackle down through the handle.  So, I have officially busted my first bow  ::) but the disaster wasn't near as glorious as some I've read about...
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 23, 2011, 11:14:34 pm
I wish mine would have  broke that early on, and not that far along( Actually I wish it hadn't broke at all)   ;D ;D
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 23, 2011, 11:35:35 pm
I can only guess how much more it "hurts" to have one go when you are crossing the finish line...heck, who knows...maybe I'll find out on my 2nd attempt  ;D

Good luck on your next one, are you going to try another ERC?
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 24, 2011, 07:44:40 pm
Not for awhile. It's hard to come by in my neck of the woods.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: mullet on February 24, 2011, 11:28:43 pm
 Lee, I have found the best way to correct twist in cedar is through tillering. Take wood off the strong side so it will bend back the other way. And it doesen't matter if it has more sap wood than heart wood. Actually, I think it is better.

 Bill, Cedar is COOL when it blows ;D. I've had pieces land on my roof. When you pull it back on a pulley, and it gets tight you have to make yourself stop.
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 25, 2011, 12:50:29 am
Lee, I have found the best way to correct twist in cedar is through tillering. Take wood off the strong side so it will bend back the other way. And it doesn't matter if it has more sap wood than heart wood. Actually, I think it is better.

That's good to hear Mullet...I still have the roughed out bow, we band-sawed the split handle depth off in our efforts to do a postmortem  >:D  I also removed the bark and basically dropped down 2 rings and chased them.  I kept the thickness the same as I followed the prop twisted contour but what you are saying is that in that sap wood I could have simply removed the higher side on the back or the lower on the belly with a rasp and I may have been OK?  I may still try to save the bow (shock of all shocks, my non-outdoor wife looked at all my recent board bow cut outs for my boys and I and asked "so where's MY bow?")  yup, still dragging my jaw around on the floor  :o

Hey HickoryBill, I actually have (what I feel) is a gorgeous, rather large ERC on the back side of my property...it should have minimal to zero grain twist and with the diameter being much larger than the 1st one I experimented on the crowning affect on the back will hopefully be very manageable.  I could set aside a stave of it for you if it turns out good and you are interested?

Thanks guys,
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 25, 2011, 08:24:36 pm
Lee : that sounds great. Let me know when you wanna do it!!!
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 25, 2011, 10:35:13 pm
Hey Hickory Bill, went out and secured that nice ERC tree today...it was a lot bigger than I figured  :o  It took me and my 11yr old son about 3 hours to drop the tree, trim the scruff off and cut it into sections (and all that was the easy part) Then we haul to drag, haul the pieces out through our 12" of snow to get it to the road.  Anyway, long story short is that I'm fatter and more out of shape than I though  >:D

Here are a few pics of the haul:

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_neJ--vb8EaA/TWhOpf4kJVI/AAAAAAAAAi0/Eo1ajDwQJi4/s912/CIMG0521.JPG)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_neJ--vb8EaA/TWhN81o6dJI/AAAAAAAAAis/-cj2NkNiUbM/s912/CIMG0519.JPG)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_neJ--vb8EaA/TWhOFuGLnqI/AAAAAAAAAiw/z792HUyf5Zo/s912/CIMG0520.JPG)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_neJ--vb8EaA/TWhMj1vuVZI/AAAAAAAAAig/NtqKA26YvLI/s912/CIMG0517.JPG)

Ended up with 5 long logs that obviously still need to be split & reduced but I sealed the ends right after these pics were shot and I am hoping to get have them split by Sunday.  They are 15" diameter, 13" diameter, 12" Diameter, 10" diameter and 7" diameter.

I also scored a sweet little bonus while driving some country back roads in search of the ever elusive Osage (in my neck of the woods) and drove right up on some utility workers who had just dropped this nice size Osage branch than ran too close to the power lines...it's grain isn't premo but it should provide me with some free practice plus now I know where a land owner lives so I can hopefully get permission to cut/buy a couple Osage Trees.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_neJ--vb8EaA/TWhNykSf6jI/AAAAAAAAAio/e1o3hjuNuJQ/s912/CIMG0518.JPG)

Regards,

Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: HickoryBill on February 25, 2011, 10:42:02 pm
What are the lengths of the ERC logs?
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: Lee Slikkers on February 25, 2011, 10:45:25 pm
What are the lengths of the ERC logs?

dangit, I knew I was forgetting something...75"
Title: Re: Working on an ERC bow, a comment and a question.
Post by: sonny on February 26, 2011, 01:05:43 pm
....you may already know this but I feel it's worth saying. Knots in ERC are hard as hell to work around !! The wood
around them desperately wants to splinter,,,,,but I'm thinking that you must be a glutton for punishment based on hauling that wood
out in the snow.

Several years ago I found a straight trunk ERC that had fallen across a creek on property that I used to hunt.
Took the chainsaw back and cut it into what I thought were manageable sizes, though when I threw one log up
on my shoulder I thought my knees would buckle. Ended up going back with a sledgehammer and wedges, splitting into
quarters that WERE manageable. I ended up getting a bunch of excellent staves from that tree, some of which were sent to
buddies across the country.......