Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: nsherve on October 25, 2016, 05:09:07 pm
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the stave i'm working on has 6 (or 7) knots on the back, with a couple of them near the edge. on the inside, theses knots are just about right on center. the stave is just over 2in wide, and approx 1.5in thick. how do i work the knots? i don't have a camera (wish i did)...so, i don't have pics to show.
also, the stave is osage, and the rings are pretty thin.
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pics please
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i'll see if i can find something....maybe wife's phone...
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I like knots to be at least a 1/4" from the edge.
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I think PEARLS advice is good advice. Dodge them if you can and keep them centered as much as possible. I will say however that if it is Osage, and if you are careful and a bit lucky, knots right on the edge can be still be made into a serviceable bow. I dont recommend it, but sometimes you cant avoid them. In the pics you can see the stave. Knots all over it, so dodging them wouldn't work. I layed the bow out and let the chips fly. Some of them were open voids that were filled with CA glue. I left those areas just a tiny bit flat. Not even enough that you can see it in the full draw, but a bit flatter than normal. It's pretty high draw weight as well. All things are possible. Some are just not advisable.
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can't get the pics uploaded. our internet here is pretty bad...i may try it again tomorrow.
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do y'all file the knots down on the back, after getting down to the ring? or leave them sticking out?
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Leave them as natural as possible.
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do you get the rings close to (right around) the knot all the way down to the one being chased?
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Yes sir. One continuous, clean ring, even around knots.
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I usually island them out as I and chasing the ring, then go back when I get the rest of the stave in the ring I want and chase the ring right around and over the knot, the ring is usually much thinner sometimes much much thinner over the knot so go very slow, I do this with a scrapper and do it very carefully. :)
Pappy
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yea, i've been using a pocket knife to scrape around the knots and dips.
if there's a knot on the side, and i have enough room to get it out, how far in should i go? (does that q make sense?)
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Not completely no. I would rather have a full knot along the edge and go wide around it, than try and squeeze one out of the limb if it means that when I follow the grain the limb narrows as it dips in.
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well, slim, too late for me on that. i took the knot out...it looks fine, i guess i'll see how it works when i get to that point. this is the first time i've tried mock orange...
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some of the nipples (of the knots) stick out .25- .5+in...it seems they can snag of something....should i leave as is, or cut them down closer? not all the way to the back itself, of course.... would that cause a problem?
btw, some of those knots have several small nipples close together and it's taking me a while to get the ring all the way down...
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As PEARL said, one clean continuous ring. No Islands of extra wood and don't flatten them out. Some will leave a knot with a bit of "proud flesh" over it, but come back and carefully remove it early on. That's OK, I don't. I just get it peeled back from the get go. Taking it down to flatten it out will violate the ring and cause a weak spot.
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An old pair of scissors makes a great tool for precision scraping around knots. I left one side pointy and the other half I rounded the tip off.
Could you email pictures to someone so they can post them for you?
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i rounded the tip of a cheap pocket knife for around the knots...still a bit more nitpicky. i'll try to post pics again tomorrow.
or, monday...going to church tomorrow. i may have made it a bit crooked. it looks like the string may be a bit off center.
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Too far off center can be an issue, but a little is no biggie.