Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Mo_coon-catcher on May 03, 2024, 03:25:50 pm
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Here’s a pretty charactered one from a dead standing Osage cut two winters ago. The tree had no sapwood left. I left all character involved and never touched it with heat. One limb has about 3” reflex and the other about 3” deflex. One limb has a sideways swoop and the other is fairly straight with a slight lean. There’s also a good amount of propeller twist, somewhere around 120*. The top limb is around 80* on its own. With all the character going on the string still lines up with the handle. It pulls 50# at 30” with no noticeable sets there’s a little handshock but nothing serious, just a little thump from the swoop in the top limb. Overall it was a fun bow and is entertaining to shoot.
Kyle
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A few more
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Last couple. Sorry about the full draw pic. By the time I got it down to size it lost all clarity.
Kyle
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That certainly is one crazy full draw coon catcher. Well done.
Bjrogg
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Now that is just wild. You definitely have more patience and skill than I do. Wel done for sure.
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That is wild, bentstick is right. That puppy looks like a propeller. Excellent job coon-catcher.
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Kyle, you always do things your way... congrats. I always enjoy seeing your tiny hammock/tent thing at MoJam, but I'm old and fragile and prefer a real tent/camper. You did a great job on that bow and I look forward to seeing it at MoJam. I would have heated it...but I'm old and lazy. See you in July!
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These are tough ones, and I believe you have done an excellent job tackling a tricky problem stave. Some people try to tiller them so the look like a conventional bow at full draw. They look "proper" but one limb ends up doing most of the work, and don't usually have good cast.A stave like this needs to look "wrong" in most people's eyes to get the best out of it.
Curious to know your reasoning for not cranking it even with heat? Did you just want a massive challenge, to see if you could do it justice?
I have made a few bows like that, earlier in my bowyering life, (before I knew anything about heat bending) and confess it is a much more difficult way to make a bow.
I didn't have a digital camera in the mid 90's, so I used to make detailed drawings and notes, so I kept a record of what the stave looked like before working on it. Then I'd make a drawing of what I thought should be the unique shape for that particular stave, to try and get the limbs to work evenly. If I hadn't done that, I probably would have stuffed them up, due to confusion, especially if I had a break and need to come back to it a few weeks later.
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Thanks guys!
Ya this one was almost purely a “I wonder” kind of bow. Wondering if i could pull it off without changing the natural shape. I did the other half of the log about a year ago and it turned out to be a mirrored version of this on and shot very well. So I figured I’d try this one the same way. This bow draws a couple inches further so is a bit longer. I havnt chronographed this bow but the previous chronographed in the high 170s with a 28” draw and this one feels similar with 30”.
Hamish I do the same with the really crazy ones that look like arollercoaster from the side. I’ll trace the starting profile in a board so I can compare to and see where set is and and hold the braced bow against to compare the mount of bend. I’ll also mark on the back of the limbs which sections are reflexes and which are deflexed so I don’t forget once braced.
Bob I need to get my days marked off but I’ll have my set hammock setup there again. It’s Slowely getting a bit more refined and each time . Now I have a proper hammock stand for it and that reflective tarp does wonders for heat reduction. I’ll see you there in a couple months! You should try out the hammock if you get the chanc, it’s pretty comfy.
Kyle
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Gonna add that now I really wanna shoot it!
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Very nice bow, Kyle. That’s what I call a challenging stave! Beautiful work!
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Thanks guys! It was a good challenge, but being my second one of this kind I had a good idea of how to handle it and it wasn’t too bad. The hardest part was balance. Video the draw really helps the last bit of tillering to o get the proper balance
JW - this one will be goi g to its new home this week, but I’ll still have its twin and will bring it to Mojam if you’ll be there.
Kyle
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Wow, that is one weird bow! Great work.
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Nice work Kyle! Post that full draw pic up on one of the Facebook pages and watch the trolls come screaming about how terrible the tiller is! As you know it takes extra patience to properly tiller a bow like this, but you nailed it. I like the finish and the leather work on it as well. Great job.
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Thanks!
I’m definitely gonna have to do that! Now should I include the unbraced photo before they give their input and really have some fun with it.
Kyle
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Just goes to show the prefect tiller ant what a lot of people think, beautiful work, very well done. :)
Pappy
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That is a really wonky bow! Good job!
Hawkdancer
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I want to shoot it. Well done.
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It’s looking like I’ll have it and it’s mirror bow at Mojam this year if you want to fling a few arrows.
Kyle
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You could make a bow out of anything mocoon!! Nice job!