Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Gordon on May 10, 2008, 09:38:19 pm
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A good friend of mine, Ron York, recently had neck surgery and asked if I would make him a bow that would be easy to draw and carry. Ron is part Creek Indian and had some Osage that he picked up from a reservation in Kansas. The stave was weathered as it had been sitting on the ground for about 10 years. When I began chasing a ring I saw this was going to be challenging because the bugs had done quite a bit of damage. I did manage to find a ring that was fairly intact except for one borrow that ran diagonally through the ring. I ended up filling the hole with a mixture of superglue and sawdust. I also backed the bow with rawhide just to be safe.
The bow is 53” ntn, is tillered to 40# @ 28” and bends slightly through the handle. The width is 1 1/4" to mid-limb and then tapers to 1/2" tips. Ron doesn’t pull 28" the moment, but he will eventually when he fully recovers. This was my first Osage bow and I have to say it is wonder to work with. Ron painted the design on the back which is a Delaware Indian pattern. The quiver pictured in one of the photos was hand-made by Ron including the beading. The arrows are Potawatomie style. The person posing in the full-draw picture is Ron.
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow01.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow04.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow05.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow06.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow10.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow07.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/RonsBow/RonsBow13.jpg)
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good lines Gordon...elegant
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Damn Gordon don't you ever have any honey-do's ???
Beautiful bow and that much more special because its for someone else, well done Gordon, well done :)
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OUTSTANDING!!
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as always gordon, beautiful bow, i really like the paint work,awesome and authentic to boot.
sweet looking stick there.
tim
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Very nice little bow, Gordon. Gotta love osage. ;) Pat
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very nice work. Very refined nocks.
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beatutiful bow, gordon, as always!
the braced profile really looks great, so does the full draw; really like the paintjob, too!
frank
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awesome. what a perfect package. one day, you'll have to learn to make normal bows. i bet, poppoing out one masterpiece after another is gonna get boring sooner or later ;D
by the way, if you could get some close-ups of ron's fletching, that would be very nice.
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Another Beauty, 53" NTN drawing to 28" :o :o. Can you post any full draw pics. That must look wicked at full draw.
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Wow, that is beautiful. Great job as always. I like the painting, too.
Sean
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just awesome
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that really looks good
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Thank you all for the nice comments. I do want to point out again that Ron did the artwork. He painted on the design using acrylic paints and I then finished it with Tru-oil.
Ron is an amazing artist - he makes all sorts of indian artifacts from full beaded quivers, war pipes, craddle boards, to moccasins. It was a special honor to collaborate with him on this bow.
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That is a Beautiful and well crafted Bow. Good Job Gordon and Ron. Joel
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That is great bow! Well done. Jawge
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ok i gotta ask,what do ya mean by "war pipes"
or would this just be a peace pipe that is smoked before going into battle?
is it still made from pipestone?
i have a peace pipe made by a native american(from the pipestone area of mn.) and i have a 5lb block of pipestone that was quarried there as well,just waiting for the right project to make something out of it. if your friend could do a build along that would be awesome,dont know how to make the pipe handle/stem as of yet,not sure how to hollow out a long length of wood for it.
thanks,
tim
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Thats a beauty Gordon.
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Awesome Gordon, Your attention to detail is always incredible. Sometimes those short ones are alot harder to hit the tiller but looks like you nailed it. I'd say you probably got another hat coming from that one ;D Keenan
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Tim,
Ron explained to me one time that war pipes were smoked by the warriors before going into battle. I give Ron all my yew scraps for his pipe stems. I believe he makes the stem by splitting it, hollowing out the core, and then reassembling. You would never know it, however, by looking at his stems because the seams are invisible when he is done. I don't know exactly what kind of stone he uses for the bowls, but I do recall he got pretty worked up about a nice piece of soapstone that he found somewhere on the oregon coast. I'll ask Ron for more details about the stem construction.
Rick, I should have taken a pic of the bow at 28" when I had it here - it didn't occur to me that Ron wouldn't be able to come back to full draw because of his surgery. I'll see what I can do. I will tell you this though, I don't think any of the other woods I've worked with would handle such a design. You guys that have easy access to Osage are really fortunate - what a great bow wood!
Thank you all for the comments, I really appreciate it.
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Keenan, interestingly enough I pretty much had the tiller I wanted at about 60#. The trick was maintaining the tiller while removing wood to reduce weight. Ron actually wanted a 35# bow, but once I hit 40# I just couldn't bear to take off anymore.
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Nice job on that one Gordon. Thats quickly becoming one of My favorite designs for a short bow.
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It's a very nice design for a short bow Ryan. And I am amazed at how quiet it is. When Ron shoots an arrow through it, it barely makes a whisper.
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That's sweet Gordon.
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Absolutely top-notch, through and through :)!
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thats a sweet litlle bow :)
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Wow, that is a beauty. Justin
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Really nice bow Gordon. You tillered that one out very well
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nice bow ,really good I like the indian look
Dennis
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Beautiful in every way. Nice job both of you. Kenneth
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;) Two artists, one masterpiece! That bow is a true work of art, the curves and tiller are precise, complimented with the beautiful and authentic American Indian art, thank you both for sharing !
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Congrats Gordon. That one is damned nice ;)
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Very nice Gordon,beautiful finish work as usually and tiller looks great,I know he will enjoy that. :)
Pappy
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That's really a beautiful bow, I'm sure it will turn heads where ever he may take it!
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Great looking bow, Godon-and Ron's artwork is amazing.
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working with osage is addicting. gotta love those short, curvy bows!
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gordon, that bow is simply stunning! would you know some general thickness measurements at handle, fade, midlimb, tips? i have a couple friends on my list to make bows for, and somewhere in that poundage would be perfect for them. love the bendy handle design.
thanks
stan
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Gordon rules as usual! Short bows are intriguing and this is a fine one for May Bow of the Month
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Great bow, I really like that design and the artwork the owner did really made it!
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Stan, unfortunately I didn't record the thickness measurements but I will try to get that the next time I see Ron. I used an oval belly and I am certain it was not any thicker than 5/8" at the fades (if that). When I tiller a bow I usually end up with tip thickness that is between 3/16" and 1/4" less than the fades. In this case it would probably be 3/16" less.
Osage could certainly be adicting. The wood hardly took any set despite being tillered all the way to 28". That's a lot to expect for such a short bow. I don't think I could have pulled it off with any of the other woods that I commonly use.
Thank you all for the great comments.
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Gordon-
Great looking bow. Ron did a wonderful job on the art work.
It really turned out to be a beauty.
Bryan
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Beautiful lines and artwork. Outstanding tiller. Wow!
Dan
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Greetings Gordon,
This is LuLyn,Keenan's wife, and I just had to write after viewing your most recent bow. Gordon, that is a beautiful bow, just everything about it screams, expertise!!! It definetly has my vote for bow of the month. You definetly blessed your friend, with a gift of a lifetime. Update, on Keenan's new bow, he really ............really likes it and shoots it alot. I have to admit, I really like shooting it too. :) Keenan and I are looking forward to the upcoming rendevous. Blessings, LuLyn
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Thank you LuLyn, I much appreciate your kind words. I'm pleased to learn that Keenan is enjoying his bow- now just remember to let him shoot it now and then ;D
I'm looking forward to seeing Keenan and you this weekend!
Take care,
Gordon