Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Josh B on February 26, 2012, 07:40:46 pm
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This is a piece of eastern red cedar that I pruned out of the shelter belt last year. It was about 3" thick with about 3" of natural deflex. It has been decrowned and treated with " Half eye's Michigan Magic bow and arrow elixir" . No backing at all. It shoots pretty nice for having so much deflex. Josh
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Looks nice. Must be magic stuf to hold that together!
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nice simple stick , cant beat em !
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alright Doc....I'm bitin.... ::) whats "Half eye's Michigan Magic bow and arrow elixir"? she looks good by the way
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ERC shoots well with a deflex. It's so light and snappy that it pops back hard even with the deflex. That'll make it safer and last longer too. It's really good wood.
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time to get some tru oil on that red head to make her coloured grain shine...i like ERC too...good job
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Thank you for the kind words. Country, the Michigan Magic is a finish that Half eye makes. I believe it is a mixture of spruce gum and bees wax. When I use ERC, I like to apply some sort of grease to the wood and heat it in. I've used bear grease , mink oil, and even Crisco just something to flow into the pores of the wood and stay there. Half eyes finish gets drawn right into the wood as soon as you apply heat. It has been my experience that this treatment of ERC drastically improves the flexibility of the wood. Am I crazy? Well probably, but I don't have near as much trouble keeping ERC from blowing as a lot of folks seem to. ;) Josh
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Beautiful bend Gun Doc. Nice work! 8)
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Nice looking bow. love ERC.
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alright Doc....I'm bitin.... ::) whats "Half eye's Michigan Magic bow and arrow elixir"? she looks good by the way
I hear tell it's snake oil + frog hairs ...itl put a bend in your bow and a beautiful sheen to your hair :laugh:
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ERC is sure good lookin... Good work!!!
"Half eye's Michigan Magic bow and arrow elixir"? X2
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Good lookin bow. Those ERC bows sure are purdy!!
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looking good. I think it would look nice with a darker finish in it. But its your bow brother :D
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Nice work!!
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Thanks everybody! I didn't sand it or finish it because I may trade it for a hickory stave if the other party is interested . I have a feeling it will look pretty sharp when it's all dolled up. Thanks again, Josh
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Very nice bend on that bow.
Well done.
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cool looking bow! I'm new to this stuff and there is a lot that I don't know so please forgive my silly questions. I was under the impression that erc had to be backed with something. I haven't been on here long, but I don't recall seeing one without something holding it together. I see that you wrote that it is decrowned? What is that? How do you get it to hold together with what looks like a huge knot in the limb? These may be silly questions, but I'm very curious about this.
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Man I am liking the looks of that bow. Did you try to follow a ring when de-crowning it or just plane it flat?
Thanks for sharing the tip of treating the wood with oil and heating it. I happen to have a couple of cedar staves and some bear oil... guess I should get to work. ;)
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Wow Josh that looks sweet amigo ;)
Cipriano
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Thanks! looks like I'll be finishing this one my self. Frank, decrowning means to flatten out the back of your bow when the crown is to high(to rounded across the back) in order to spread the tension out across more wood. For your A-list bow woods like Osage, hickory, locust, and oak to name a few, decrowning is not only unnecessary, but reducing potential efficiency. A high crown on those tension strong woods balances out the tension and compression forces at work in a full drawn bow. It also prevents overpowering the belly causing set and reduces mass. With tension weak woods like cherry, walnut, ERC and a few others, it is neccessary to spread the tension out over as much surface as possible or back with rawhide, sinew, silk or what have ya'. Otherwise, you have a tension failure (explosion).
With this one, most of the decrowning was pretty straight forward. I followed a growth ring down the center for the majority of it. You may have noticed the big knot in the upper limb. If I had simply followed the ring over it, I would have had major grain violation. Instead, you have to visualize how the longitudinal grain flows around the knot and follow it as close as possible. It is the same principal as chasing a ring except for the lack of early wood contrast to guide your draw knife. If you decide to try this practice on scrap pieces until you can train your eyes and hands to see and feel your way around the knot. With most woods, a quick swipe with a wet rag will show if you cut through the grain or not. In most cases, it would make more sense to simply back it with something, but for me, I like to push limits as far as I can. It absolutely tickles me to make a bow that never should have been.
As far as the heating grease into ERC goes, it works good. But don't do it if you plan on backing it. Nothing will stick to it once you've greased it up. I hope at least some of this made since. Sometimes I confuse myself. Thanks again, Josh
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made perfect sense doc......
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Finished pics
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Nice finish Josh
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Thanks Pearlie! I just stopped off at my friend's pro-shop and ran a few through the chrono . With 485 grain arrows, 40# @26", and 3" of deflex it still averaged in the low 140's. Not impressive by any means, but all things considered, I'm pretty happy with it. Josh
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Thanks for the explanation Gun doc. That looks a lot different with finish and a handle! Very nice!
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Pretty neat Doc
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Nice looking bow Doc, your daughter should be happy with it.
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That's a mighty perty stick Doc, I'm sure she's gonna love it :)
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How awesome to give her such a wonderful bow! I'm sure you could hardly put into better keeping...
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Very nice!
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Careful ive heard those erc bows are not safe >:D nice job doc ;)
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Nice!!! 8)
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This is my oldest daughter shooting her new bow in our backyard today. Josh
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Atta boy doc, keeping the kids in bows ;)