Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: danny f on October 30, 2013, 06:22:25 pm
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hi all, i have just got my hands on my first osage stave, it is very short at only 51" abd has already been roughed out, it has a 4" handle which is 1" wide and then straight tapers to half inch tips. on the belly it has a gouge from a bandsaw so the limb thickness will only be about 10mm i was wondering whether i could get 50 ish # out of this stave. at 25" i plan on doing my first sinew backing too. also would it be a good idea to flip the tips to help with string angle? another thing i though was maybe splice some tips to get abit more length but am scared of ruining it. as the tips are so narrow already there isnt room for mistakes. any advice appreciated thanks danny.
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Got any pics , I've seen a lot of short osage bows lately , some under 50" pulling over 50# at 27" .
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Hey Danny. I rarely think in terms of how thick a limb will be once I'm finished. I just get it tillered right and what ever it is it is if I have limiting factors like that. I know others will be better able to answer that question. I would flip the tips for sure. Sinew backed little Plains bow sounds cool to me. Good luck with it and keep us posted.
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i will try and get pics on tommorow when its light. slimbob by the limbs being 10mm i just meant they wouldnt be any thicker because of the gouge, they may even turn out thinner. i will post progress as i make the bow. i am limited because the bow has been roughed out and is so narrow and short but im looking forward to the challenge. if anyone knows of any bows with dimensions similar to this if you could post a link and i will check them out. thanks
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http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,33710.15.html It really depends where the 10 mm thickness is. If its on the outer half of the limbs you should be able to do that pretty easy with sinew. If its that thin at the handle, maybe not so much. It really is hard to say for certain. All you can do is try. I wish I could be more help on that. As far as flipping the tips goes, I generally flip the last three or four inches on those kind of sinewed shorties. It does improve the smoothness of the draw considerably. Josh
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the 10mm would be about midlimb the handle had about 3/4 inch. i thought with it being pryramid the limbs would be pretty much the same thickness throughout there length. thanks for the link that bow is a stunner. thats some draw for 49"
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I understand what your thinking on the thickness taper, but to get the equal thickness all the way down the limb, it has to be more of an exagerated pyramid. Going from 1" handle to 1/2" tips is not enough of a width difference for even thickness to work. What your talking about with this stave is actually closer to an elb than a pyramid bow. If you think of an elb profile, it pretty much tapers in width to the tips, but since its so narrow, the thickness has to taper to the tips as well to bring it into tiller. I hope that makes sense. Josh
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I understand what your thinking on the thickness taper, but to get the equal thickness all the way down the limb, it has to be more of an exagerated pyramid. Going from 1" handle to 1/2" tips is not enough of a width difference for even thickness to work. What your talking about with this stave is actually closer to an elb than a pyramid bow. If you think of an elb profile, it pretty much tapers in width to the tips, but since its so narrow, the thickness has to taper to the tips as well to bring it into tiller. I hope that makes sense. Josh
Yea I agree it would have to be more of a dramatic width taper like 2 inchs tapering to 3/8
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Maybe this will provide some insight.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,39483.msg526024.html#msg526024
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i see what you mean. thanks. im glad i didnt just start hacking wood off to get it all to one thickness. lol. thanks for the link jon that bow is nice i saw it when you posted it. you did a great job. with a bow like that how many layers of sinew would you put on? i havent done any sinewing yet i have only used rawhide.
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Danny If you are going to put in the time to sinew you might as well do three.
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well i got the bow floor tillered and have put some static recurves in. the belly wood stayed good but the back has some cracks i wasn't sure whether to bother sinewing this bow, but because of these cracks i was wondering if i would be better off doing it now? this bow is very narrow and i wouldnt like it to explode on me. i am hoping for 25" maybe 26" at a push, does it look possible with this stave being so narrow and short? heres some pics of it.
(http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr292/dfee82/IMG_1651_zps94d7a9d3.jpg) (http://s493.photobucket.com/user/dfee82/media/IMG_1651_zps94d7a9d3.jpg.html)
(http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr292/dfee82/IMG_1697_zps73531925.jpg) (http://s493.photobucket.com/user/dfee82/media/IMG_1697_zps73531925.jpg.html)
(http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr292/dfee82/IMG_1698_zps0805b857.jpg) (http://s493.photobucket.com/user/dfee82/media/IMG_1698_zps0805b857.jpg.html)
(http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr292/dfee82/IMG_1699_zps8a0007ba.jpg) (http://s493.photobucket.com/user/dfee82/media/IMG_1699_zps8a0007ba.jpg.html)
(http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr292/dfee82/IMG_1700_zpsb06f1519.jpg) (http://s493.photobucket.com/user/dfee82/media/IMG_1700_zpsb06f1519.jpg.html)
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Those cracks happen when you steam wood that isn't dry enough. That can happen with "seasoned" wood just as easily. Its all about the moisture content at the time you steam the wood. It'll do it every time. I would suggest rawhide, unless you have sinew ambitions. Either will be fine. Fill those cracks with ultra thin CA glue first before you do either. Those statics look great! Im a sucker for hooks.
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Very nice recurves Ive steamed wet wood multiple times and never had those cracks appear
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You got lucky big Joe. Did you seal the area steamed? Sometimes it can help.
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This is a good example why I seal the back of any stave with shellac, whether it be green or seasoned. Had you sealed the back you probably would not have gotten the checks. Shellac can stand up to steam and heat.
That is gonna be a nice bow when done. 8)
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You got lucky big Joe. Did you seal the area steamed? Sometimes it can help.
Yep after ya steam and bend into shape I like to put wood glue on the back and belly where it was steamed
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Every piece of Osage I have has a check of some sort in it. Super glue and it will be fine
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cheers i was pleased how the recurves turned out, i have plenty of sinew or rawhide, im just unsure which way to jump, the sinew needs processing first so i could save the sinew for some yew thats seasoning. and at least with rawhide is quicker, as i can be abit impatient waiting for things to dry lol.
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i bought this stave from someone on another forum as you cant get osage here very easily.and it was cheap, so i dont know whether it was sealed or not. i was worried about the belly as i have had wood split there before but i didnt expect the back to go at all. you live and learn. i will get some super glue in there and probably go with the rawhide on this one. and save the sinew cheers for the advice.
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Pearl Pat and Paul are right IMO. Has to do with moisture in the wood when your steaming it, sealed back will minimize it. Fill with CA glue and forget 'em.
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With your length and mongo-hooks, I would definitely lay down 3 courses of sinew for the drawlength you want. And I agree with Paul. Fill those cracks with thin superglue and forget em. Josh
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I've had that sort of cracking when I use really dry wood, with heat(dry heat in my case). I have also found that shellac makes the problem worse as it keeps the heat in the cells trapping it until the pressure builds up so much the cells burst. I haven't had the problem since not having shellac on the back and using vegetable oil to help the heat penetrate with sealing the cells.
Not exactly sure what method of heat bending you used? Most guys steam or boil for tips, some guys even get away with dry heat(not many). If you steamed or boiled the tips the only thing I can think of might be to try letting the the last foot or so of the limb sit in a bucket of water for a week before steaming.
None of your cracks look like they run off the side of the limb. I have a feeling that the superglue method should be enough, but you would be bulletproof with rawhide or sinew, like the other guys have said.
It looks like a really nice stave despite the checks. I'd go with sinew if you want a long draw on a short bow.
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I steam wet/unseasoned [2 years or less] wood and dry heat seasoned/dry wood and seal both, have trouble once in a while but not usually.:) when I do I just fill them with Superglue and move on as long as they don't run off the edge. I'm with Gun doc on the sinew, you used up a lot of working limb and it short for the draw you want already. :) IMO.
Pappy
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+3 on the sinew
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the recurves where steamed for 50 mins. i have had bad luck with dry heat and bending recurves. looks like i better get processing some sinew then. thanks for the advice everyone. :)