Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Swamp Thang on September 14, 2016, 11:46:32 am
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Split an old stave and it didn't go so well a sliver came off and figured it would be perfect chance to give it a shot the handle is 1 and 1/4th and the tips are 7/8ths. Gonna taper the tips to 1/2. Am I headed in the right direction or just scrap?
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Oh yeah and it's 58" T/T
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Sounds good to me :)
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Sounds like plenty of wood, post some pics
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What kind of wood?
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Sweet and...... I dunno the kinda wood that grows leaves lol its fairly hard. I'll try to get some picks in a few.
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This is the specimen
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The reason I asked was I just finished a Pacific Crabapple sapling bow. It's 1 1/8" at the widest. In order to keep the weight up I left it thicker and it took about 2 1/2" of set. At least that's my excuse :D
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Elm of some kind maybe? It's not like anything that grows around here.
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Cedar Elm maybe? Ulmus Crassifolia.
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Gonna put some heat to it before I try to tiller it it had about 2" of reflex after splitting it now It's extremely straight after I felt it to floor tiller it. On the belly should I leave it rounded?
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Sure enough looked it up and it showed a branch with flat corkey things just like this tree...good bow wood?
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Never made one from it. Cut some about 10 years ago and it split all to heck while drying. I have seen a few others though. Do a search and see what you get.
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Don't get that handle bending too much. Words from experience talking.
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I'd have to say elm leaves there.
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Should the belly be rounded or flat?
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I'm a flat belly guy. "Flat Bow", flat belly.
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Oh yeah! Sounds great had a hang up shaped it and started thinning the limbs. Guess it had some moisture left in it because today it was perfectly straight 3/4 of the way still but deflexed at the end of the bow. Put some heat to it straightened it. Should I leave it alone or just heat it up and drive the moisture out....assuming it is moisture.
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It's still losing moisture. Heating it may cause it to split. I would let it dry a bit longer. Strap it down to a 2x4 to keep it from moving on you. At the size you have it, it should dry pretty quickly. I just don't like to rush them into a bow and I rarely have to as I have seasoned wood around.
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I thought It would be seasoned enough I'm not a patient man unless it's for my son who's currently climbing on me or archery. It's been sitting there for a year.... Ba humbug. Okay I'll leave it alone .... right after I sand it smooth ;D
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If it's normally more than 65-70% RH where you live it will never get dry enough. It has to be in about 50% RH until it stops losing weight.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html
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Even after a year, as a full stave, it can have moisture in it, especially internal near the center. I assume you just took it down to bow blank size. It will lose excess moisture now pretty rapidly, assuming it's kept in dry conditions. Watch it once you get it bending at floor tiller. If it takes any set then, leave it a while and let it dry some more. If you see no set at that point, continue on.
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what do you think about putting it in a very low heat box or in front of a fan,,
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I live in SE TX it stays humid almost year around : / don't have the money to build a heat box but I do have a fan.
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Well couldn't wait strung it to check the tiller stiff on one lumb need the tips to bend a lil more. What kinda brace should I have on it?
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And it had about an inch and a half set but now it's straight???
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Haven't weighed it yet but.....
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Brace looks good.
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It's stiff on the lower limb just a lil to much I'll be taking it down a tad. Question, hoping to pick up the poundage a tad recurve the tips or pike it an inch or so....both?
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Basic rule of thumb....Minimum bow length is draw length X 2 for a bendy handle. So a 58 inch bendy handle bow can go to 29 inches. Safer imo to add 10 percent to that...so that 58 inch bow can be drawn to 26 inches (26 X 2 = 52 + 5.8 inches (10 percent) = 58 inches). So cutting an inch off is not advised if you are shooting for anymore than 26 inch draw. It looks to me as though your tips are working. Flipping them a bit is fine. May induce set depending on draw length and quality of the tiller. Give it a try. A bit of reflex will increase the draw weight, but it will increase the strain on it as well. Its just sliver so give her a try.
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sweeeet
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sweeeet
Thanks I :laugh: loved the process about to start another one
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Basic rule of thumb....Minimum bow length is draw length X 2 for a bendy handle. So a 58 inch bendy handle bow can go to 29 inches. Safer imo to add 10 percent to that...so that 58 inch bow can be drawn to 26 inches (26 X 2 = 52 + 5.8 inches (10 percent) = 58 inches). So cutting an inch off is not advised if you are shooting for anymore than 26 inch draw. It looks to me as though your tips are working. Flipping them a bit is fine. May induce set depending on draw length and quality of the tiller. Give it a try. A bit of reflex will increase the draw weight, but it will increase the strain on it as well. Its just sliver so give her a try.
If I flip the tips should I slightly thin them?
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I typically leave my tips stiff, so they are static and non-bending. Reflexing bending tips and getting them to hold the bend is tricky. It wants to pull that bend out and return to straight. I would have them flex a little at most. That means draw a line on the belly at 4-5 inches from the tips and leave everything beyond it alone as you tiller. I dont know how much wood you have left to remove??? If very little then the tips are about what they will be bend wise, right now. That is the reason I said "try it" earlier. I have had little success on working recurves, they just pull out over time. So leave them as thick as you can right now. You can always thin them up at the end.
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Hhmmmm....haven't taken anymore off I'll leave them and set a good bend. On the issue of adding a few pounds.....what about a boo backing? Not sure if it would fit this style. If I did I want to try a concept I've been thinking off not sure if it's a good idea but when applying the bamboo use fish glue seal it and at the nods secure with sinew with a serving style wrap. As it's humid and wet a lot to help curb it from seperating.
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I'm a self bow guy, with a few sinew backed ride alongs over the years. Hard backings are something I don't have enough experience on to be of much help so let someone else answer those questions. I will say this, self bows are an art in and of themselves and they are, when made well, complete without any backing. My advice to folks is usually the same, get the bow making basics down pat first, then add to those skills all of the various tangential skills like backings of different types. The foundation of this craft is the ability to get that wood to bending where and how you want it, without it breaking or breaking down. Beyond that, if it IS bending where and how you want it, was that the right call for this particular bow?? Once you have gotten your head around those things, and become competent at them, all kinds of directions you can go. Just my opinion for what it's worth.
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Sounds good!!! :D
Just trying to get the tiller perfect ended up felling kinda light....but then again I am used to stringing and shooting an 80lb recurve so it might be somewhere CLOSER to what I was aiming for guess I should weigh it first :laugh:
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Heat treating the belly nothing fancy as a temp gun how hot it to hot. Other than the obvious charing
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I have found that with my gun, I set the dial at 8 of 10. Thats glowing red near the tip. Then I heat the section of the limb I am tempering by moving it swiftly in a sweeping motion along the limb until it is evenly hot over a 12 inch or so section. Then I start at the handle an inch or so above the belly and point the tip toward the tips. That way I am pushing the heat out in front of the area I'm working. I let it start to smoke and turn brown and slowly move down the limb as it cooks. I have gotten the limb too hot and burned too deep, so I stay close with the gun so that I don't linger in one place. It's kind of a feel thing and that's the best way I can describe it. I would rather err on the side of not deep enough and hit it again as I tiller than burn one clean thru (obviously). I am working tonight on a short Persimmon bow and I have tempered it once. I will temper again as I scraped all the charring off tonight while tillering.
Let me also say that this is how I have been doing it. Others may do it differently, but this has worked for me.
Maybe Marc will chime in and add his take as he is the authority on this.
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Okay looks like the mechanics are almost done came in close to the weight I was shooting for at 18lb @28". I wanted 25lb @ 28" but it's fairly fast for low poundage.
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New brace pic. Took SLIMBOBs advice and did static recurve tips full draw pic is at 28"
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Hey man, that looks pretty darn good. MUCH improved over the first one you posted.
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Haha yeeaaahhhhh sure hope the have frogs and snakes were the guy getting it lives. it's for the Christmas trade.