Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Zion on March 24, 2013, 05:49:02 pm
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So a while back i got some nice Mountain Maple and i made one green bow out of it that turned out great, since then i was reckless and broke 3 of the other pieces. This piece was really straight and after seasoning for about 2 months it promptly became a bow.
I let the wood tell me what to do and it turned into a lighter bow with wider limbs than i usually have with less set than i usually have. So i turned it into a target type bow. Even tho it's not that heavy it still shoots great. I'm gonna apply this design to my heavier bows and see what happens!
Mountain Maple
60" TtT
I don't have an accurate scale so i'm guessing 55#@25"
The last pic is the handles of my 2 mountain maple bows, this stuff is great!
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More Pics, tiller isn't perfect but it shoots fine so i'm not concerned. If it was 40# heavier i would have spent more time on the tiller.
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Oops forgot the last one lol! Thanks for lookin
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Fantastic looking bow.
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Looks like a stunner. Any idea what kind of maple it is? Would like to try and look some up.
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Thanks for the kind words guys. It's Mountain Maple, the kind that grows in clumps. The bark ranges from smooth and grey to really rough and grey. I think it's also called Douglas Maple and maybe some other names.
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Nice Zion, looks to be a smooth drawing bow and probably smooth shooting as well. You seem to be able to make a sweet bow out
of any amount of character a stave throws at you. ;D Way to whoop that nasty wood into to shape bud.
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great bow! im also making a bow from maple. i like your handles but would have used something like sinew or artificial sinew to give a more natural apperance but appart from that it looks great!
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NICE!
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Beautiful job there Zion, good job in working the wood.
you are going to know woods a lot more than many, as you're always working such difficult staves.
the tiller looks good, the lower limb maybe a little bendier, but don't really see any hinges.
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Thanks for the comments!
Thanks BB, yeah it is definitely my smoothest bow! The wood wasn't actually that bad at all, it just seems like maple grows like this, the little lumps usually don't affect the strength of the wood i've noticed.
Thanks SquirelSlayer, i didn't care about making this one look more 'primitive' because i will most likely just use it as a target bow. If i wanted to make a bow look 'primitive' i would just go out in the bush with natural materials and make it that way.
Thanks Arrowind!
Thanks richardzane, well i've never found a piece of wood that is completely straight and clean and personally i think it's a waste of time unless it grows all around you. Since i started with the same types of saplings that i'm working on now i guess i'm just used to it. Ya the lower limb could definitely be a bit stiffer, too floppy for what i usually like. But it shoots good and there's no hinges so it's not bothering my OCD too bad lol!
Since this bow is kinda light i might give it to one of my friends in Alaska. he likes shooting 50-55# bows that are around 60" long so really it would be perfect. I'll see what he says this summer. He's supposed to make me a bow too and i ardy made his little bro one so we kinda have a trade going on every summer.
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How do you get away with not seasoning your wood very long and still getting hardly any string follow ?
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Yea Zion, mountain maple is some amazing bow wood! I lived in western Montana for 35 years and mountain maple is what I built all my bows out of. I love the stuff! Those are some great looking bows as usual! I guarantee that you'll build a lot more bows out of it in the near future! As for seasoning the wood, it does dry fast, especially if you rough out the bow, put it upstairs in your house. Six weeks that way, and you got a bow! Dale
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Very nice bow,starting to see a zion signature in your work!thumbs up bro!
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As always Zion your tillering looks fantastic, great bows~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8)
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I am going to have to look for some mountain maple to make a bow. That is one nice looking bow!
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Nice work man, I really like the stain job on that piece. Seems like a dandy target bow to me!
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I really like the overall look. Tiller looks great also. Good stuff!
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Great looking bow Zion! Very natural looking.
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Beautiful bow Zion! You've got to love that mountain maple. I lived in Kalispell Mt for years and made the majority of my bows from it. It takes heat treating very well and can be left pretty narrow even at higher weights. I also agree with you on the knots and bumps they don't hurt the strength I usually saw right through them. It dries really fast with no checking, I've dried it in a week in a car in 100 degree weather just fine. Great wood!
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Very nice. the tiller looks good
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Nice Job!
55# is light? that is about as heavy as I want to go :)
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I do believe that is the most finish I've seen on one of your bows, looks great I really like the looks of your bows, primitive, utilitarian and great bends, Bub
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I do believe that is the most finish I've seen on one of your bows, looks great I really like the looks of your bows, primitive, utilitarian and great bends, Bub
Yes, like Bub said!
I like your work
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Thanks for the kind words everybody!
Joec123able, mountain maple dries very fast so you can get a good dry piece in about a week with quick drying. But i think 3 weeks to a month or longer is best. Since this bow was pretty light that's another reason there isn't much set.
Yeah Dale i had this one as a log for a bit and then i roughed it out and let dry the rest of the time like that. This wood does make really good bows and it's a really light wood too.....
Thanks Bushboy! I guess since i've made a few of 'em now i've found what i like best and that seems to stick.
Thanks bow101, the tiller isn't exactly where i want it, i think the top limb could use a few scrapes on the outer third, but it's good enough(for now) !!
Thanks NTProf, yeah u should give it a try, i think it'll make pretty much any type of bow.
Thanks Accipiter, yeah usually i don't bother with a stain but maple looks really good with it!
Thanks PAHunter, glad ya like it.
Thanks Okie, i actually think it's one of my more 'modern' looking bows, idk tho lol.
Thanks Jmilbrandt, yeah it's a really versatile wood and you can do alot of stuff with it, plus it's easy to dry and is easy to work, that's a good wood to me!
Thanks Victor
Thanks Gopher, well i'm not exactly sure on the weight because i don't have an accurate scale, but i'm comparing it to my other bows and guessing it's around there.
Thanks Bubby, yeah i did more finish work on this one than i usually do and i try to make my bows more functional than pretty, the nice part is that functional things are pretty so no harm done there lol.
Thanks simson, i can say the same about your work ;D
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Another good looking bow,tiller looks good and color is really different. :)
Pappy