Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Christian Soldier on February 28, 2013, 02:08:34 pm
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Howdy, here's my latest bow. Made from a Sassafras sapling cut in December. I've gotten some advice from on here and I was planning on turning it into an ELB but every time I worked on it, the stave just wanted to be a "meare heath" bow. ;)
So I kept it wide to handle the tension and crown and its still going strong after dozens of shots. :)
The pics are a bit big but if you turn the zoom on your screen down to 75% you should be able to view the full picture no problem.
Specs:
Sassafras, no backing
66" long
2 1/4" wide at the fades and most of the limb.
3/8" wide at the tips.
Osage overlays (first time using overlays)
Haven't measured but it feels just over 50lbs at 26"
Jacobeam stain.
1/4" set. Bottom limb has a bit of natural setback.
1 dozen knots of varying sizes and a bit of snake in the lower limb.
Fastest and nicest bow I've made. I'm quite proud of it. ;D
Pictures!
Belly
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5649_zps7a7e906f.jpg)
Back
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5642_zpsa480be6f.jpg)
A few close ups...
Upper limb belly side
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5657_zpsb8bb0f51.jpg)
Lower Limb belly side
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5656_zpsaa6e495a.jpg)
Upper limb back side
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5655_zps0447d4ab.jpg)
Lower limb back side
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5654_zps05c41d17.jpg)
Nock overlay side view
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5646_zps2369cb2d.jpg)
Nock overlay back view
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5648_zpsbbcad586.jpg)
Handle/fade transition
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5637_zps49b33d15.jpg)
Braced
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5636_zps1d7309aa.jpg)
And the money shot... Full draw pic 8)
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/KenpoFighter1/HPIM5634_zps63e68cea.jpg)
Feel free to give me strong constuctive critism, I stive for improvement.
Thanks for looking guys. :)
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only advice i will give is keep it pointed in a safe direction. looks DEADLY!!!!!!! ;D great job!!
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That is a fine looking bow.
Grady
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Nice rustic finish, its looks wicked!
Did you use a hotbox or anything to speed-up drying?
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nice bow, it all looks good to me.
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Good job on some not-so-good bow wood.
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Awesome! This is the first sassafras bow I have seen on here. Beautiful wood grain and great work.
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I really love the overall look of this bow, nice!
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No critisism here. Looks great, especially for such a tricky candidate.
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Nice rustic finish, its looks wicked!
Did you use a hotbox or anything to speed-up drying?
Thanks Guys. I'm thinking about naming it "Sassassin" 8)
I split it right away and in January I put it by the fireplace which was burning pretty hot. So for about a month straight (after I shaped it) it had hot air blowing by it which helped it dry out pretty quick.
My usual wood is Hickory so something that really surprised me was how light weight this wood is. I don't know the exact weight but I held it in comparison to a shorter hickory bow and it was probably close to half the weight. :)
Shoots great, not much handshock because of the bows light weight, but there's going to be some because of that mass in the outer portion of the limb. The price for safety I guess. :)
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Great bow. Sassafras is on my list to try someday. There was a man from alabama that told me his grandfather was full blooded native american and that he would spend all winter in alabama building bows and in the spring he would head north selling them. He said the only woods his grandfather would use were osage and sassasfras.
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Very pretty bow indeed. Very well executed.
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That's really well done! I have a sassafras stave roughed out but didn't have much hope for it since I've always heard it is a so-so bow wood. Seeing what you've been able to do with it gives me hope! Of course, your tillering skills are way ahead of mine.
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"Sassassin" sure came out. Very nice indeed. Good job and thanks for sharing.
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Thats one fine looking bow!
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I like it a lot and I have a bunch of sassafras! Thanks for posting. :)
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Looks really cool! Nice job!
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I cut a 2 inch "branch" of Sassafrass that was growing straight up for 10 feet without knots. I say "branch" because it was a shoot from a fallen tree. I thought I'd make a walking stick or something from it but maybe it would handle a long bendy-handle design. Being so small, and having poor tension strength should I decrown it and back it?
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Beautiful job on that. Danny
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That is a shooter :)
I tried Sassafras once but didn't work out near as well.... great job!!!
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Man that turned out sweet,love the grain,that's a beauty. Never made one from
Sassafras but have a good friend in IN. that uses it a lot and turns out some nice bows with it, I May need to quite building bird houses with it and try a bow after seeing this one. :)
Pappy
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I cut a 2 inch "branch" of Sassafrass that was growing straight up for 10 feet without knots. I say "branch" because it was a shoot from a fallen tree. I thought I'd make a walking stick or something from it but maybe it would handle a long bendy-handle design. Being so small, and having poor tension strength should I decrown it and back it?
Thanks Guys!
David, this is my first Sass bow but I've also seen a few narrower ELBs. If you definitely want to make a bow, keep it long and as wide as you can, and crown and backing it would not be out of the question. I spent several time-worthy hours making sure this stave stayed 2 1/4" wide most of the limb to handle the stress.
Even though I have a new found affection for Sass, I still might go walking stick on that one. with the high contrast grain you'll be the envy of the hiking community. 2" branches are good for osage bows, but you'd be making a lot of extra work for yourself if you are working with sassafras.
I have a very large Sass tree close to a foot across that I plan making some ELBs from, I guess I'll know more then. :)
I know many of yall are considering making these Sassy bows now. Keep em wide and long and you'll be alright. And the bigger the tree (the lower the crown), the better.
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SWEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
I've had a couple SASSAFRAS bows. They are supper light arn't they. Mine were supper fast but the were all in the mid to upeer 60's. With one sinewed bow being 70 #s. I like the lightness but SASSAFRAS will swist if you don't leave the stave big while seasoning.
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Beautiful bow, Dan! I really love the grain pattern on that and the way you retained some of the cambium on the back.
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That's a sweet bow! And the best thing about working with sassafras is, if it don't work out you can make rootbeer out of it. Haha!
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Thanks Guys!
David, this is my first Sass bow but I've also seen a few narrower ELBs. If you definitely want to make a bow, keep it long and as wide as you can, and crown and backing it would not be out of the question. I spent several time-worthy hours making sure this stave stayed 2 1/4" wide most of the limb to handle the stress.
Even though I have a new found affection for Sass, I still might go walking stick on that one. with the high contrast grain you'll be the envy of the hiking community. 2" branches are good for osage bows, but you'd be making a lot of extra work for yourself if you are working with sassafras.
I have a very large Sass tree close to a foot across that I plan making some ELBs from, I guess I'll know more then. :)
I know many of yall are considering making these Sassy bows now. Keep em wide and long and you'll be alright. And the bigger the tree (the lower the crown), the better.
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I think I'm gonna go for it anyway. I'll keep it long, bend through the handle, decrown, and back with paper. Actually I'll keep the poundage low and maybe give it to a lady friend of mine.