Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: upstatenybowyer on September 15, 2017, 06:41:35 pm
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This one's gonna be a little bit tough to explain, but here it goes...
I'll preface this by noting that I'm really just curious what others would do in this situation.
So I'm working on a piece of osage that's pretty wonky near the handle (hard to tell how much from the photo), mostly in the fade area on the left (the stave is clamped in the middle).
I can't decide whether to go with a static handle, which would result in me having to tiller the bow with the wonkiness, or to make it a bendy handle, in which case I could heat the wonkiness out of the wood before tillering.
I'm pretty sure heating the wonkiness out with the static handle isn't an option cause it would be just too thick in that area.
Hope this makes sense. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with a bendy handle, but I'm curious what you would do if it were you. (-P
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Take it down to floor tiller stage. By then the stave may tell you what it wants to be. I learned long ago, when a stave talks, listen.
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That's good advice Pat. Thanks!
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I completely understand what you are asking Jeff. I have a stave I took to heavy floor tiller this past spring wondering the very same question. I have very little experience with osage. This was the first stave I ever worked on. I was very surprised how easy it was to bend with heat.
I just got home from a long day of work. I've got a bit of a cold and didn't really feel like shooting my 64lb. HHB bow. I looked at my only Osage bow. It's a Badly Bent birch Bark backed bendy handle. Never put it on tree but I'd say it's about 47 lbs at my draw. Just right for how I was feeling tonight. I braced it, exercised it a let a dozen arrows loose. That felt so good I let two dozen more fly. Sorry for all the rambling, but I don't think you can go wrong either way. Like Pat said, sometimes you just have to listen to what your stave is telling you. I think mine is saying it wants to be a bendy handle.
Bjrogg
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Sometimes Jeff those kind of stiff handles if not too crazy put in the right place shoot pretty sweet.
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I agree you could go either way,,
you could start with a stiff handle and go to bendy if you like,,
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Been some long days working with those 4th and 5th graders for me too BJ. Sorry to hear about the cold. Sounds like shootin that osage bow lifted the spirits though. Love to see some pics when you get her finished up. I remember an HHB bow you made a while back with some wonk in the handle and it sticks with me cause the tiller was so spot on. That bow is one of the reasons I'm motivated to go with a static handle, as you proved it can be done right. :BB
You're right Ed, takes some skill though and plenty of patience.
Good to hear you say that Brad. I guess we'll let the wood decide... ;)
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What Pat said... plus you can always try to bend it, if it doesn't move then you've lost nothing and gained some experience..
Del
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I like the idea of the idea of ridgid handle leaving you bendy option but would bet if you got the handle thinned down a bit you could move the wonk a bit with steam & the rest with dry heat looks like a fun stave (-P
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Thanks for your thoughts Del and Stick.
After sleeping on it, I can almost see a D/R side profile in there somewhere. Hmmmmm
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On that left fade if that is a knot then make a rigid handled bow so the knot does not bend. Jawge
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Thanks Jawge. :) That area is right next to where a branch was growing out of the tree. When I split the log into quarters, the split ran right through where the branch was and I was able to remove all the knotted area in that section. The wonkiness is the result of the surrounding wood undulating away from the branch.
I've got the stave roughed out. the handle is a little over 1" thick, fading to 11/16" where the working limbs begin.
Now, it looks like almost all of the wonkiness is in the handle and everything from the fades out can be safely manipulated with heat. What do you guys think?
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That is a lot of manipulation, upstate. I'd go with the rigid handle. Have fun. :)
Jawge
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if it were mine, I would steam the right limb into the same reflex as the left and go with a rigid handle.
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So I did as per Simson's suggestion plus I added recurves. I made a caul for this that adds the hooks and the reflex at the same time. Steamed the entire limb, one at a time. Now it's all about tillering and string alignment
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Nice work and good looking profile you got to start with.I've got one similar going on over here too.
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Good to hear Ed, keep me posted. ;)
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That's looking pretty doable now Jeff. If HHB Bent that nice that wonky one I made for my son probably wouldn't have been so wonky. I just can't seem to bend HHB like that.
Bjrogg
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Yeah, nothing bends like osage. I've had enough success with it, I almost think of it like clay. With the right cauls and such we can convince it to do a lot. :)
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I call osage rerod many times.Like bending rerod with a torch.At least compared to bending hickory and HHB with dry heat it seems.
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I call osage rerod many times.Like bending rerod with a torch.At least compared to bending hickory and HHB with dry heat it seems.
BowEd huh? I dig it. Was wondering who you were there for a second. :)
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Like many on here[especially you] the numbers of bows made within a year seem to make the non bow making archery shooters wonder.What's going on with this fella????That's the thoughts of my FG target shooting buddies over here have when ever I show up with a different bow at a 3D shoot.They picked out a name of BowEd for me while we shoot together.There are a couple that do make their own bows though too.
By the way how's that bow of yours coming?Usually at the last stage I saw it it is done the very next day and shooting.
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lol. It's coming along, but with school in full swing this one may take a while. I did touch up the string alignment though, which is never easy to do after you've already steamed in reflex and recurves. ::)
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Nothing wrong with taking your time.The wood will be good and dry and ready then.Many times it gets a person to just interpret the bows qualities for a bow differently too.It can be the little details that one sees that'll make a difference in the end.Instead of charging right through the process.Looks like your on the cusp of bracing it to see what little else needs to be tweaked.Looks pretty good!!!!To add here I did'nt catch how long the bow is?
I'm at that point with this bow here now too.Fall work and hunting season is taking priorities over it now.I did go on a spree of collecting shoots for arrows though.Through harvesting them locally here and trading also.
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x2 on letting it take its time. The profile looks really cool with that bow, I like how you solved that.
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That's looking nice love the profile how long did you steam it for ? Nothing is hurt by taking your time for sure I have so little bow time some times when I get home I just run my fingers over the stave I'm working on and look it over and discover little sutlties I didn't see before , looking forward to seeing this one shoot !
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Thanks for the encouragement guys. There's no doubt I'm taking my time with this one. She's 66" long with a 6" static handle and about 8" of static recurves. That leaves me 52" of working limb, so I'd be pushing it a bit to draw it to my normal 27". Think I'll target the tillering to 55# at 26".
SB, I steamed the entire limb, one at a time, for about 1 hour before adding the curves and reflex. I set up a contraption outside over our fire pit for this. I'll post a pic of it when I get a chance. ;)