Congratulations to Ryan Gill (twistedlimbs) of Spring Hill, Florida
His Superb Mulberry Self Bow Tied for December Self Bow of the Month
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,10252.0.html
Here's how Ryan made this bow:
i started off with a mulberry stave that had some deflex and figured it was a good opportunity to make a wide sweeping recurve. i
steamed the tips and put them in my "big recurve" form. they took very well. tillering was pretty tough on this one, it just wanted
to fight! but i got it down to where i am happy. i think the tiller is a bit off but it shoots very well. no stack at all and absolutely no
handshock. it is probably the best recurve i have made to date with the exception of coming in a little under weight at about 45#
@ 26 inches. its 62 inches overall so i didnt want to pike it, so i tempered the belly which in turn gave it beautiful grain highlights.
so to match the grain i went for the "marbled" look with the grip. its deer skin that i dyed with homemade walnut stain. it shoots
really quick for being light and hit where you point it, i feel very confident that it would take a deer. the tips are overlain with
black walnut heartwood and the string is b-50 with bobcat hair silencers. it is just whisper quiet and doesnt carry that normal
recurve "sound". i am proud of this one and hope you enjoy it. thanks for looking- Ryan
Comments from folks who really liked this bow:
-"beautiful bow. I have a mullberry stave and now you've got me wanting to work with it. " -Ranger B
-"WOW! Nice Ryan. Very Nice. I like the way you set the tip overlay ( up high ) and extended the recurve." -RidgeRunner
-"That really is an awesome bow. The tiller looks great and the unbraced profile is really gorgeous." -GeorgeTsoukalas
-"Really really sweet looking bow! Looks smooth and sleek. Very nicely done!" -Saw Filer
And Congratulations to Sean Billups (1/2primitive) o f Dallas, Texas
His Red Oak Bow Tied for This Month
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,10377.0.html
Sean writes this narrative:
I had been looking at the West Coast bows in the Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol 1, and wanted to try my hand at one. In my
browsing and planning, I saw a bow that was about 54" long; this being about the normal length of my bows, I decided to go
ahead and replicate that one. It was Oak, so I got a 1" by 3" Red Oak board and copied the front view as well as I could. This is what I ended up with. It has a 1-1/2" handle, swelling to 2-1/2" at the widest point. The tips are a little narrower than the original's, at about 3/4", and it
was 56" before the recurves, 54-1/2" afterwards (the original was 54-1/4" long). The tips are the same style as the one in the
book, as well as the recurves. The original had no handle wrapping, but I liked the look of a combination leather/cordage handle
(also shown in TBB 1), so I added that as well as a stain to darken the wood, and finished it with Tung oil.
It pulls 60lb@25" and shoots a 700 grain arrow very fast, hard, and accurately.
PA Forum Members Really Liked This Bow:
-"Really nice job on that bow. The tiller looks spot on. I like those nocks. Sweet bow." -ricktrojanowski
-"Very well done, young man!!" -adb
-"Wow!!! Dont think we can call you 1/2 primitive anymore...your all primitive . There aint nothin bad about this bow...how did
you get that oak to take that bend?? OUTSTANDING!! Great work Sean!" -koan
-"Very nicely executed Sean, you sure have a gift" -DanaM
[attachment deleted by admin]