Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: PEARL DRUMS on March 20, 2012, 07:29:55 pm
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Im going to try another build along, hopefully much better, in real time and more complete than "Twisted Sister's" was. I have a good friend that I wanted to build a bow for. He is a wheelie guy, but cant say "no" when I offer him to bring a bow and some arrows home for a few weeks. He draws 25" on a good day. I love my hackberry and had the perfect chunk set aside for just this occasion. Its a few years old and ready to rock. I am going to build a 58" ttt rigid handle static recurve with a heat tempered belly, sinew backed and whatever tips I choose when I get to that spot. Below is the stave I started with. Its widest point is 2.5" and its narrow point is 1.25" by 58".
DISCLAIMER: Im hearing allot of rumbling about "speed" and "fast". I may be a bit hyper when it comes to bow construction. However, this build along isnt a race or a way to show how fast I am. Speed has NOTHING to do with it. Im only recording my time spent because we get asked often how long it takes to do certain things, or how long it took to build a certain bow.
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As you can see the back needed some work. I went down two rings and found some good stuff. It's clean of cracks, knots and kinks for the most part. Once I got a good back with my draw knife I layed the bow out. I found my center then went 2" beyond the line both ways to make my grip section, then 1 1/2" beyond those lines to create my fades. Once I got the handle layed out I went out 12" beyond my fade lines, this will be my parallel section of limb. From there I went out 4" and tapered to 1 1/4" wide and carried that to the ends. I will leave my ends wide until I get the bow recurved and heat treated. As of now I have about 45-50 minutes into picking out a chunk, cleaning up the back and laying it out. Unto my best friend, Mr. Bandsaw! Oooooh I love that thing :D :D :D
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I will be definitely be following this one! Can't wait to see the finished product :) Thanks Chris!
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When I cut blanks out I always cut outside the line and never worry about what I leave behind, a GOOD ferriers rasp will eat down to the lines in a very few minutes. Its not worth trying to stay on line only to wander in and wreck a blank. Needless to say my blanks can be a bit Frankensteiny when they come off the saw, but I promise the lines I drew on will still be seen! Once I got her cut out I headed back to the shop to start roughing in a better taper and getting her cleaned up some. After cutting it out and roughing in a taper I had another 60 minutes spent. I will be adding more in the coming days as I work on the bow. Again I plan on doing it close to real time.
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This is going to be great!!!!! I really like what your doing by keeping time of the time.
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looking good buddy ;)...so im assuming if this is in real time that youll be flinging arras tonight with it mr speedy mcgee :laugh:
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This will be good.... Pearl Drums style :)
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Yes Sir!
I'll be a watchin'... :)
-gus
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Come on..... What's takin' so long ;D
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Chop, chop, pudden pop ;D
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Real time? I guess we're on PD time, now. All that would have taken me a week! Lookin good so far!!
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Looking good, Drums. What? You gonna show real time pics in your pajamas?
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You guys are going to give me recurve feever
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I bet by now Ol' Pearly is in the back yard with spotlights shooting that hackberry bow
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You guys must be thinking of Crackhawk, he is the speedster around here! Im just steady.
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Whos on crack ? !!
Are you done yet ?!!!
TICK TOCK !!
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Pudden Pop!!! :) :D ;D
-gus
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I just added sinew to the recipe so you smart butt, tough guys are just going to have to wait even LONGER to see her finished up!!! I may even slow down some just to antagonize.
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We love it !!
where are the pics of the sinew process ? !!
Pearl You all ready know there ain't anybody slower than Me , so no real presure here !! :)
Guy
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Andale Perla.. Andale.
Cipriano
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I have always wondered how that was spelled Cip, thanks!
Day two - 2 hours total
I layed out a simple 1/2" thick thickness using my .99 cent brass compass ;), no taper. I use my ferriers rasp to get me close, then finish it off with my Shinto. I finish the whole limb with my scraper when Im done with the thickness. I like to keep all edges at least rounded off during the whole build at all stages, and especially when any bending is going to happen. My sanding block is easily my second most used tool.
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I worked the handle and fades as close to finished as they will get for now. I floor tillered the bow as close to perfect as I could get it. I prefer to have my bows floor tillered, or even long string tillered prior to any sinew or heat treating being done. I feel your less likely to get a suprise off your caul that way. I then sanded the entire bow down with 60 grit and rounded the edges more. If you keep the surfaces you intned on heating up smooth wou are more likely to get a good, even temeper job and less burnt frays. I use a cheap Wagner two-stage gun for all my dry heat work. I start at the fades and work towards the tips, clamping as I go. In this case I moved my gun HALF its diameter every 90 seconds or so. This gave me the color I wanted and hopefully the temper I want. Every build is different so be sure to experiment some until the color you want comes around. I went 20" up the limb and stopped. I see no good reason to heat treat a portion of the limb not working much. You will notice a clamp on the opposing limb. I learned the hard way a while back that bows rock in that caul. The first limb I would do came off basically straight while the second would be highly reflexed.....hmmmm Einstein? I now place a clamp on that side to prevent the rocking and get a perfectly even reflex. I did one limb today and will finish the other tomorrow. Im whipped.
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Looking good Pearly. I really like your shinto rasp and heat gun stand
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You guys must be thinking of Crackhawk, he is the speedster around here! Im just steady.
Crackhawk ;D ;D ;D
Looking awsome ,i do love build alongs
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your throwin in the towel at 6:30 and already whooped....liar,ive seen you go for hours on end straight right along side me...i think you need another hit of dew and get back in there. you got plenty of time to finish off the other limb
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Lookin good so far PD. You got me wantin one of those shinto rasps.
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your throwin in the towel at 6:30 and already whooped....liar,ive seen you go for hours on end straight right along side me...i think you need another hit of dew and get back in there. you got plenty of time to finish off the other limb
Quit nagging me! Its all done now alright............I will let her sit until Monday.
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Is it me, or does that heat gun stand look an awful lot like a mic stand ??? I'm all for making things work for other than their intended purpose! ;D
Lookn good!
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good timing for this thread I just roughed out my trade bow , its a snakey hackberry and I will be following this one so I can steal some ideas >:D
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Is it me, or does that heat gun stand look an awful lot like a mic stand ??? I'm all for making things work for other than their intended purpose! ;D
Lookn good!
Thats an old desk lamp Kevin. It works very good for the gun.
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Looking Good Indeed...
Been lusting after one a them Japanese saw rasps...
-gus
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Day 3 - 2 hours total
The bow came off the caul and held at least 80%. That made me grin. One limb has a touch more mid limb relfex. There is a good chance I will designate it as the bottom for now. The blank is DEAD straight and flat. Thats very important for static recurves. I attached some pics showing my tempered area and where I start and finish the process. Keep in mind this bow will not be bent at all for 4-5 days while its moisture adjusts back to fairly stable. I can still work on various things, but no bending.
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While the bow rehydrates from tempering I will steam the static recurves in. It doesnt take much equipment to bend wood. A pot half full of very low boiling water, some tin foil and a piece of wood to bend. I just finished up some new static jigs and I was anxious to test them. I made two so I could do both limbs on the same boil. Its important to be sure you never lay the back of the bow on the rim of your pot. It may burn it or scar it. Most wood I steam for 30-40 minutes per 1/2" of thickness. These tips are about 5/8" thick so I steamed them for 50 minutes and it worked like a charm. The wood bent easily and with no tension cracks. I make the whole bend at once on all woods. This particular bow has very short statics, only 3 1/2". I wanted as much working limb as I could get with this short and narrow bow. I will leave the whole riggamaroo in the shop until Monday. It will give the bow time to stabalize.
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A pot half full of very low boiling water, some tin foil and a piece of wood to bend.
Some metal strips will do a good job of keeping splinters from lifting on the belly as well.
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Looking good. I am not allowed to use the kitchen stove anymore for such things...at least when the wife is home.
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Looking good. I am not allowed to use the kitchen stove anymore for such things...at least when the wife is home.
What they don't know won't hurt em ;D
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Lookin real good. I steamed a fairly green peice of osage once years ago and the kitchen walls turned yeller. Was along time before wife woul let me steam in the kitchen again.
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I have an actual full stave steam rig in the shop. I use the kitchen for small stuff only.
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Very informative build a long....learning alot, PD. Thanks!!
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Looking Good PD!
Got me a Hot Plate for outside steaming...
I didn't realize you toasted the limbs that dark...
Been going for a nice Carmel color...
Do you toast Osage this dark as well?
-gus
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I dont toast osage Gus. It doesnt need compression help.
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Ah... Mi Savy!
-gus
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Very nice so far always nice to see how the masters do it ;D look forward to following allong!! Thanks for doing this!
Josh
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Sweet man!! Thanks for posting this!
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Looking good Pearl! 8)
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Day 4 - 1 hour
The recurves and reflex came out great. This bow is very straight and flat. I clamped a piece of twine on center of each end and eye balled it. I realize its 5-6" off the bow, but it still helps some. As you can see I have no adjustments to make.....yet.
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I am different than most in that I prefer to finsih my tips before I begin to tiller or sinew a bow. Its just my thing and it works. Now that the statics are bent in I can narrow the tips closer to where I want them. I went back 8" from each tip and narrowed them to 3/4" wide for now. You can see why I love a very flexible ruler. It forms right to the curves for tracing perfect taper lines.
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Looking great Chris!!!
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I chose cherry for my tip overlays. Both the bow wood and overlays where harvested here in Michigan. I like to prep my tip overlays as much as possible before I glue them down. I dont want to mess with the area where the back and overlays meet if I dont have to. I sand the taper right to a sharp edge. I use my scraper to gently flatten the back without going through a ring. There is no right or wrong length to make your overlays. I used 1" long for this bow because the statics are short. Be sure to always apply glue to BOTH surfaces with any application. I very lightly clamp the ovrlays as to not squeeze all my glue out.
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I have enough sinew to apply two light layers to the working section of the limb only. Which is fine by me. The recurves need no help and the extra weight isnt needed. I plan on sinewing the center 30" of the bow. I like to soak my dried sinew in a sink of water a second time. It loosens up more of the unwanted crud and makes for sinew that frays on the ends more, which makes for a smooth backing. After a 90 minute soak I use my fillet knife to scrape the pieces again. Then I lay them on wax paper to dry. They seem to stick right flat to it, I like that. I will let it dry down again for a few days and begin the process of applying it.
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I just can not wait to see this one finished! Looking real good Pearl.
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starting to look like a bow. are you going to trap the back?
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starting to look like a bow. are you going to trap the back?
Since I dont have enough sinew to really stack it up I dont think it will be any problem leaving the back as is.
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Day 5 - 90 minutes
Its not all that hard to get your hands a nice set of TIP'S........ ;) Patience and thoughtfullness work well here. They are more "drawn" out and symmetrical than most other parts of the bow build. The first thing I do is find my center and mark it. Then taper the width to my liking, there are no hard ands fast rules there. Keep in mind I'm only roughing them in for now. I then flip the bow over and drew a line that bisects my glue joint. The picture is miserable, but I think you can see the pencil line I'm talking about. That is my bottom angle. I use my Shinto for all my rough tip work. When I'm happy with the basic shape I use my good ol' sanding block and 50 grit to smooth out my tool marks and tune the shape up a little more. Ready for temporary string grooves.
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String grooves are a very important part of any bow you build. They must be in line with one another to prevent limb twisting, or even strings flying off if they are bad enough. Static recurves are especially sensitive to this. I don't use any hard and fast rules for finding my initial groove line. I just eyeball it and find a solid looking area for the string to ride and mark it on the appropriate angle. The harder the tips are flipped or recurved the more horizontal your grooves need to be. Once I get one side half cut in with my chainsaw file I flip the bow over and lay the file in that half round and use it to line up my other side. This helps keep them right on line. When I'm happy with my alignment and depth I will roll up some 50 grit and gently clean out the grooves and round off sharp edges. Again these tips are beefy and temporary, but they still need to be smooth as to not cut your tiller or build strings.
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Its been 3 days since I tempered the belly. I was going to hold off until tomorrow to get her low braced and tillered. I believe today is a better day just because. I dont think the bow will know the difference and hackberry prefers to be extra dry anyway. I like to get my bows tillered to 10-12" before I sinew them. I hope that translates to less suprises later. The bow now has tips and is ready to go. Its still perfectly straight. A low brace will tell me MUCH more about alignment. We shall see! If it needs corrections I can still use my heat gun to tweak it.
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Day - 5 sesssion two - 90 minutes
I have the bow tillered to 15" at a 3" brace. The weight is right where it should be and I see no reason I cant get a 50-55# bow. I like to use my tree only for the first few long string checks. After I get the bow braced I prefer to use my vice and wood scraps to hold the bow drawn while I eyeball and scrape. I also like leaving the string on the whole time and just lifting it to work on the belly. As you can see the right limb is a few pounds stronger. I will catch up with him after the sinew cures. The string tracks as close to perfect as I can get it. I didnt need to make any corrections as of yet. I still need to add string grooves to the statics bellies. I put the bow on my tree and drew it to 15 and it never moved. My alignment is super, the grooves wont be working too hard ;).
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Very vice Drums, really enjoying this build!!
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Thanks Kip. My shoulders and elbows are telling me the same. Anytime I vary from osage to marshmellow wood they are happy!
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;D Just notice my post "Very vice" ..... must have been that nice set of tips that caused the Freudian slip >:D
Man I know what you're talking about with the shoulders.... makes a guy start liking Yew and White woods quick :)
Great build!!!
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Nice detailed buildalong PD. I commend you guys that do these. I tried to do a buildalong over on tg one time and figured out pretty quick I didnt have the time or patience for it. :)
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man thats gonna be sweet when its done 8)...looking great friend o mine
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i have to ask, how flat is the back of your bow. it seems that you have minimal limb twist after steaming and bending your tips.
ive tried this on osage and hickory. im still working with the osage to try to make it better. and the hickory is in the corner of shame. rv
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Very nice PD. It's been awhile since I've made a sinew backed recurve like that
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Nice build along pearl.... nice to see the whole process that somebody else does...
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SWEET! Awe man... more options to consider!
That is it! I'm starting my first recurve this week! I'll reward myself after finishing a bit of Logistic Regression Analysis. Must stay focused.... Work then play.
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i have to ask, how flat is the back of your bow. it seems that you have minimal limb twist after steaming and bending your tips.
ive tried this on osage and hickory. im still working with the osage to try to make it better. and the hickory is in the corner of shame. rv
Rudy I believe the key to keeping them flat and straight is to have plenty of form beyond the curves. My forms are two feet long. That way I know at least one limb and recurve are lined right up. If your forms are just long enough to make the bends your limbs can waiver left and right causing poor alingment and twist. Also it helps to take it off my reflex/temper form dead straight an flat.
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Very nice PD. It's been awhile since I've made a sinew backed recurve like that
Thanks Marc. Your recently published PA article scared the snot out of me. I though to myself, "Great, now they have something correct to compare mine to........not good!".
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Nice build along pearl.... nice to see the whole process that somebody else does...
Thanks Country. I used to be timid about discussing how I did things. Now I have no problem posting my way, like it or not!!!!!
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Looks great, PD. Jawge
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Great build along, PEARL! I'm learning as you go. Great photos to explain everything too. Thanks for doing this. Gives me the confidence to try it...sometime. Darryl
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Thanks for doing this build along! YOU are making me better. ;D Thanks so much for your willingness to share!
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Day 6 - 2 1/2 hours ** I actually did the sinew job yesterday and was tired and not in the photo editing and typing mood. **
I every tool I need to apply sinew in the first picture. I will explain the uses for each as I go. The first tool is my homemade shredder. I use only back sinew because Im a lazy sinewer. Its just some 3/4" long subflooring nails and some 1/4" slats of hickory backer cutoffs. Used the way I use it, it does beat up the surface under your sinew as you rake. I would suggest an old chunk of formica or something. Maybe even an old cutting board. I hold one end of the sinew and drag the shredder over it in various directions until its broken up well.
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The next tool is my secret..............don't be blabbing to everyone about it. Its a de-shedder for dogs and cats and works VERY good at really fluffing the sinew up and making less cover more. Once I like where Im at with the de-shedder I switch to cheap plastic comb and run it through a few times to separate fibers some. When Im happy with one half I flip the sinew over and wrap the processed end around my finger to keep my poop in a group while I rip and comb the other half. I like my bundles to be uniform and very fluffy before I lay them down.
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I have a small $10 crockpot I use to heat up my hide glue. It doesnt have a thermostat or even temp controls. Its basically on low/med all the time and keeps my glue around 120-150 depending on how much is in there. It seems about one cup of glue will do two layers on two average length limbs. I start by pouring a rough amount of glue in and add some water until it blended well. Then add water until it gets to be like syrup. Let it get warmed up good while stirring often enough. You will know better when it gets warm if you need to add water or more glue. Its not rocket science or highly precise, dont be scared to try it. The jar is my wifes (and mine :P) empty bath salt jar. It works perfect for storing left over glue in the freezer. Its microwavable as well.
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While my glue is warming up I took my Shinto on the fine side and using basically the weight of the tool I scratched up the back of the bow. I blew it off good and it was ready for sinew. My method is quite simple. I screw two screws into my work bench wide enoug to fit the bows handle. Then I grab some hemp cord and tye it down tight. This bow had about 5" of reflex as is. I slipped 4 x 4's under the limbs and added another 3". If I can keep anything over 1" of that I will be tickled. You can add or take away as much reflex as you choose. There is no single recipe to cover every bow.
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Lookin good :), nice sinew setup
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I have very limited pics of the actual process. A photographer wasnt in this projects budget. I use nylon gloves because they seem to stick less to my work pieces. I keep a 2 gallon bucket with 3" of water in it for my sinew to soak, and my tools. I let my bunldes soak 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the size of the bundle. I like to let them just get softened up some so they lay flat and hopefully suck up less glue and leave a little behind to hold it down. I comb the bunldes once again prior to dipping them in the glue pot. After a swish or two I lightly sqeeze out the excess glue and flatten the bunlde out at the same time. I start with my longest bundle centered on the bow through the handle. Continue to methodically cover the bow being fairly mindful to keep the layers and weight close to the same on each limb. I was lucky on this one because I didnt expect my sinew to cover as much as it did. I got two good layers and a heavy 3/4" band down the working center. I use a chunk of deer antler to smooth the sinew out as I add it. Always stretching it towards the tips. I covered all but about 6-7" of the tips. I used that sinew for the extra band down the center. I felt it was better suited there than on static tips. Its quite dry in my shop right now, and warm. I will give it 7-8 days and see how its doing.
See ya'then! ;)
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Incase yor counting. I have 11 hours into the bow so far, maybe 2 quarts of sweat and 6-8 dews.
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You're not supposed to be sweatin in March Pearlie, too early for that.
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Looking great so far PD. If ya can keep 6" of reflex that bow will be a SCREAMER!
Jon
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Looking great so far PD. If ya can keep 6" of reflex that bow will be a SCREAMER!
Jon
Thats what Im hoping for Jon. Being only pulled to 25" I need to find power elsewhere. Hackberry is the fastest bow wood I have used yet. Lets hope I mixed the ingredients right!
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nice sinew joby man...good n straight ;)....cant wait 8)
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It looks 10x better today man. I was just in the shop drooling on it a few minutes ago. Its almost clear and smooth, smooth, smooth. It looks like only one thin layer was used. Pretty cool.
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man that is a purty sinew job PD, Bub
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Definitely a masterful backing.. I am curious about one thing though. I have heard many people say that when you sinew back a bow you have to go over the sides since the sinew shrinks as it dries.. I always thought that this would be kinda ugly.. It seems you have left your corners exposed however, and I like the look much better... In your experience does this work as well?
Jon
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Yes Sir P.D.!
That Beauty is really looking good!
:)
-gus
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Definitely a masterful backing.. I am curious about one thing though. I have heard many people say that when you sinew back a bow you have to go over the sides since the sinew shrinks as it dries.. I always thought that this would be kinda ugly.. It seems you have left your corners exposed however, and I like the look much better... In your experience does this work as well?
Jon
I never have ever.
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Sometimes I think to myself "Self, you need to start working with sinew and sinew back some bows" Then I see the pics of the sticky gooey mess and reach for bamboo rinds again.
I'm like that with sticky gooey stuff. LOVE bread, fresh baked breads. HATE sticky mucky hands enough to watch other people eat it and hope for a scrap. My 4 year old can some how con me into making her favorite Oatmeal bread. Why is it that when you have hand covered in crud . . . something itches, or the phone rings. :P
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Thanks for taking the time to post this. I've learned a lot reading through it.
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You're the man, PD! I can't wait to see the finished product!
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Definitely a masterful backing.. I am curious about one thing though. I have heard many people say that when you sinew back a bow you have to go over the sides since the sinew shrinks as it dries.. I always thought that this would be kinda ugly.. It seems you have left your corners exposed however, and I like the look much better... In your experience does this work as well?
Jon
Jon that sinew is right to the edge, its very clear. I build it up towards the center to create a crown. There is one layer on the last 1/4" of width on both sides. I never leave my edges totally exposed. I will narrow the bow slightly after the sinew sures and dries. If I had more sinew I would have draped it over the edges slightly as you read about, its the right way in my mind as well. After it cures you can clean them back up flush with a scraper or sanding block.
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You're the man, PD! I can't wait to see the finished product!
Thank you. The truth is guys like Art, Pat, Pappy, Steve, Gordon, Matt, Marc and such are the MEN. I wasnt born knowing this stuff. Those guys pouring info out for years on the internet and magazines makes it all possible for me and anybody who wants to take time to read and retain. Its ALL there if you look.
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Very modest of you - but I would include you in the list of names you quote. Thank you for taking the time to do this. It means a lot to me, and I daresay, to many others as well.
Russ
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Im very pleased with my sinew results after 7 days and very high humidity, over 70% for 3-4 days. I had a 1/4" gap between the bottom of my handle and my bench when I sinewed the bow. After only 5 days the bow had reflexed more and loosened my string holding the bow in reflex. I removed it from the bench and the last 2 days it has spent in our sun room warming up and hopefully shrinking down >:D. That is a 12 oz. pop can under the bow. There is about 3/4" of air between them. Once our humidity drops and levels off I will tiller it and HOPEFULLY call it a bow. Its too short and too narrow so it scares me...........I aint gonna' lie.... :-[
(Inside joke) - Enjoy your new bow Casey Lowbassy, hope she holds!!!!!
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ya got me looking for good piece of hackberry ;)
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Pearlie, she's gonna be a screamer. The light physical weight of the hackberry and the strength of the sinew(laid smooth and straight for the best performance)should be a great combo. Let her dry for at least a month, more the better. Put her somewhere dry but out of sight and let her cure. Go work on one of those other bows you've got going! ;)
I'm looking forward to seeing her complete. 8)
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Dont tell me what to do Pat B., your not my boss! :P ........You know I appreciate every ounce of knowledge you share. ;)
Day something or another, I have 1 hour to this point.
Two weeks is my max paitence for waiting on bows. Its a horrible affliction, but I cope. The bow was long string tillered prior to sinewing. I weighed my sinew so I knew I had close to equal amounts on each limb. The first thing I did was put a long string back on the bow and pulled it to what felt like 20# about 50 times. I wanted to be sure all the sinew and wood knew how to bend together. I snapped a pic after that exercise period. The right limb is stiff midway as you can see. I took it down and scraped that area about 30-40 times and exercised her 50 more times to the same spot on the wall. The second pic shows the results. Still stiff in that spot, but better.
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This time I took it down and not only scraped that stiff area on the belly, but I narrowed it down some as well. That spot must have tempered more than the rest of the limb because it is stiff and allot of my temper color is gone. I will leave that belly area alone from here out, only width reductions in that area. I put it back up and tugged on the rope another 50-60 more times and snapped a pic. Still a touch stiff there so I scrpaed just the width in that area and tugged another 50 times and snapped a pic. Its close enough for me to put a short brace to her, maybe 1 1/2 - 2 1/2". I dont see any glaring errors that will hurt the bow if I brace it. Dont ever brace a bow that isnt tillered for ANY reason. Target draw weight is second only to proper tiller. Give me a tillered underweight bow versus an untillered heavy weight anyday!
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Here she is short braced and I can dig it. I dont see much in the line of flat spots or hinge's. I pulled the bow to 18" about 50 times and now I will let her sit short braced for a bit and think about being a bow ;). Then I will finish the tiller and get to my target draw weight plus 3# or so. The last pic I tossed in just to show string alignment at brace. Its rule numer one for me when building static bows. If its not a perfect blank, or if I dont think I can make it perfect it wont be a static bow.
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Very very nice PD.. Have ya kept all the reflex so far? I personally might take a couple scrapes on the 2 inches coming off the fades in the pic... It doesn't look like its working much and with a bow this short it might need to be... Just a thought.. >:D Can't wait to see the finished product!! ;D ;D
Jon
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I increased the brace to 4" and pulled the bow to 20" 50 more times. That annoying little flat spot is still there, barely. I scraped the width in that area again about 10 - 15 times per side and drew it 25 times. I like where it is now.
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Dang that looks nice, I'm sure she'll turn out a great shooter
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I increased my brace to 5 1/2" and didnt remove any wood. Im calling that the brace height for now. It may go up or down as I tune the bow. The last few pics are of my final tiller. The bow is pulled to 20" in the last pic. The bow is going to be about 5# lighter than I wanted, but this tiny little thing just didnt have that in her. Im quite sure the speed it gets will more than make up for a few pounds in draw. Time to shoot it 40-50 times and see what it looks like. If all is well I will finish the handle and add some skins.
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Could that be a tad stiff coming outta da upper limb?
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lookin good in the tree..but hows she look in the hand ;)
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lookin good in the tree..but hows she look in the hand ;)
I know, I know. Im not a tree fan at this point, but its hard to do a build along any other way. I will get some hand drawn shots tonite. Wifey might just be nice enough to snap a few.
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lookin good in the tree..but hows she look in the hand ;)
I know, I know. Im not a tree fan at this point, but its hard to do a build along any other way. I will get some hand drawn shots tonite. Wifey might just be nice enough to snap a few.
Sometimes thats the hardest part of building,cus if your not in good graces with the wife then no pics for you..lol :laugh:....i dont know how mine puts up with me ::)
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That's lookin real good PD! Great job, so far! Git her finished up so we can see her fling them arras.
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Looking good Pearl !
lookin good in the tree..but hows she look in the hand ;)
Blackhawk
Maybe thats why I cant get any pictures to work !!
I can't wait to get together with you folks again !!
Guy
I know, I know. Im not a tree fan at this point, but its hard to do a build along any other way. I will get some hand drawn shots tonite. Wifey might just be nice enough to snap a few.
Sometimes thats the hardest part of building,cus if your not in good graces with the wife then no pics for you..lol :laugh:....i dont know how mine puts up with me ::)
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Looks like she's gonna be quite the speed demon! Nice work and graceful curves. Can't wait to see her skinned out!
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She IS quite a speed demon Kevin. As of now she has all of 4" of relfex. I shot it last night a bit.
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Really comin strong Drums.... I like it!!
Great build :)
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Kinda got a Marc St Louis photography thing going on here, ;D
Great looking bow.
Gabe
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1 hour - skins and grooves, plus sanding.
I shot the bow about 25-30 times today at 26", very fast little thing. The tiller looked good in the mirror. No photographer yet. The bow is drawing 42# @ 26". Im really hoping it gains another 2-4#'s this summer. Its time for string grooves on the belly of the statics. I braced the bow and made a pencil line where the string stopped touching the belly. Thats where my groove will end. I grabbed a 3/16" round file and file a groove half its diameter dead center until I find my pencil mark. Go slow here, its too easy to make worm tracks with a round file. I roll up some 50 grit and clean the grooves out some and make sure my grooves in my tips run into my belly groove.
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I sanded the whole bow down after filing in my belly grooves. I went down to 120 grit for now. Its time for skins. I had a chunk of Timber Rattler laying around that was 18" long. I split the skin and had just enough to cover my sinew, how cool is that! Skins are very easy to apply to any bow. A few basic tools are needed. A bucket, pan or bowel of water, bath towel, glue and some skins. The first thing I do is drop the skins in water. Then spread glue evenly and completely over one limb. By the time Im done with that the skin is ready to come out.
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Once I have the glue spread nicely and around the edges some I grab a skin and lay it scales up on a towel. Then gently fold the towel over and tamp the skin slightly dry. I lay the skin on the bow with the head towards the tip. Be sure to have the pattern lined up as best you can. Air bubbles form when the skin contacts the bow so you must be sure to work all them out by gently running your fingers with the scale direction squeezing air out as you go, be sure to also keep the edges tacked down. I like to "pet" my skins for about 3-4 minutes after final alignment and smoothing is done. I do this just to be sure all surfaces stay stuck and to be sure the skins are in full contact with the back and edges. TBIII sets up fast and usually 3-4 minutes is enough "petting" to ensure good adhesion.
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I like to trim the belly skin and scales off right away, most often before I even apply the skins. You will find that belly skin curls right up fast after taking it from the water. Get rid of it so it doesnt ruin your work when you come back to a curled up mess! I did a repeat on the second limb and will let the bow sit for two days. I will wait 18-20 hours on a hard back bow. With hide glue and sinew backed I want to let it sit extra long. Any slight ridges in the sinew back will hold extra glue that will need time to harden up unlike a smooth, hard back.
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Very nice venison stick PD! Enjoyed looking at the evolution of this bow in the last 20 minutes. I like the heat gun "stand"!
Tracy
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Looking real nice, PD....real nice.
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Thanks guys. I beginning to better understand why more build alongs arent done. I cant say for sure that I have more time setting up for pics, taking pics, editing pics and typing than I do actual work time on the bow. Its a close race Im sure.
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Thank You for doing the Work P.D., in getting this Build Along together for us.
I've learned a number of things, and gotten ideas for others, from this build along alone.
:)
-gus
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That's a fantastic lookin' bow, PD! I love hackberry; got two in the dining room and some more outside waiting to become bows soon. It's great that down here in Texas they call it a trash tree....folks will give me about as much as I want! >:D
Great build a-long, and I love the way you prepared the sinew. Picked up a few tips.
Bryce
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man this is looking great. It looks like you have been shooting off the top of your hand :-) i have the same.
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Great job on the build-a -long, Chris. Almost makes me want to tackle a sinew back....almost. lol
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man this is looking great. It looks like you have been shooting off the top of your hand :-) i have the same.
Yup! Stinkin test firing stiff arrows. I picked out a chunk of red feather quill the next day at work. Must have been 1/4" long.
Great job on the build-a -long, Chris. Almost makes me want to tackle a sinew back....almost. lol
Thanks Darryl. Bring the goods over here and we can do one on my sinew jig and you can bring it back home to cure out.
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The skins dried down nice with only two small areas that popped up. Super glue works good there. The scales rubbed right off with my fingers. I use duct tape when needed. I vice the bow up mid way and run my Exacto knife down the edge carefully trimming as I go. I try to just get it close for now. Then I grab my ol' faithful sanding block and gently clean the edges up. I will run it lightly down the "corner" in the same direction the scales run. That really smooths off the transistion between wood and skin.
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Once done with the skins I sanded the entire bow with 220 grit and wiped it down with a VERY lightly dampened rag to remove dust and such. Then its tw dips per half in my dip tube. Its a piece of 3" PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end and the other pops on and off. I dip my arrows in there as well. Its an excellent way to seal a bow. I use Zip Guard gloss, Helmsman Spar is cheaper and works just as good. I like the amber hue I get from Zip Guard so I pay the extra $7.
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Lookin' good Pearly. I might have missed it, but how many oz.'s of sinew did you use on it?
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I know this is a little off topic, but I noticed the orange grips on your farriers rasp in your last picture. Where did you get those? I always tear my hands up using mine. Thanks for putting all the work into this post.
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Thanks Adam. That is a Nicholson brand rasp. They come with the orange rubber caps, and yes they are very nice to have on there. I dabbed a bit of glue in each so I dont lose them.
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You are turning that wood into a real piece of art, PD. I can'[t wait to see pics of you shootin it.
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WOW. just found this... you are doing a wonderful job on this bow.. Can't wait to see it all finished up. :) Thanks for posting the buildalong!
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Awesome build along!! These kind of posts are the most helpful for beginners because they get to see the sequence of events and what needs to b done before the next step
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The bow has been dipped twice per half and sat around for two days to dry hard. Without too many boring details I make my grips from whatever leather I can get. I try to match thickness up with th egrip size the best I can. Leather will usually stretch one way more than the other. Use the stretchy direction to wrap around the handle. It give just enough to allow the leather to mold around the rest. The rest is just a thick piece of latigo I glued down 1 1/2" above center with Contact cement. I punch my holes every 1/4" or so on the grip. That $5 hole punch was a great investment many grips ago. For the strike plate I use adhesive backed Velco 1" wide. I just cut a trinagular shape each time I need one. The Velcro dots work equally well.
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And here is the best my crap camera will give up! The full draw shot will come tomorrow afternoon when my buddy comes to grab her up :'(. It was a relatively trouble free build with no suprises. Thanks for ALL the comments and thanks to those super secret readers that followed along silently........you know who you are ;). Its been fun and thanks PA for letting me use this site to post my hardheaded opinions on and post pics.
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that an outstanding bow PD, cant wait for the money shot, Bub
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Sweet beast PD. good to see it completed. Love the classic smooth curves in the recurves and the handle area.
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This bow is really a beauty. I think its my favorite bow you've posted. Hard to let em go when you've put so much in. But you wouldn't want it any other way.
Gabe
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Good job sinew looks great ...cant wait to try it some day...thanks for the pointers ;)
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Well done Drums !!! Thank you for sharing your talent :)
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Man I hope someday I can produce a bow that sweet. Thanks for the time you spent showing us new guys how it's done!
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Thanks all! I will try to get some better colored pics when Casey gets here to grab her tomorrow. Maybe a few action pho-to's.
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buddy...that is a beauty,and a timeless classic looking recurve there....im serious...thats awesome man. :)
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I knew when you flipped the tips on this one it was gonna turn out great. Fantastic job, PD. Very educational and informative build-a-long. Thanks for taking the extra time!!
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Woowee that's good lookin'. I think I know what the full draw will look like. Perfect even bends in both limbs ::) But I still can't wait to see it. Good job Pearly.
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That bow certainly did come out nice, great job!
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Thanks for ALL the comments and thanks to those super secret readers that followed along silently........you know who you are ;). Its been fun and thanks PA for letting me use this site to post my hardheaded opinions on and post pics.
Yeah, yeah, blah blah, we all love you too. Can I get you a towel for yer tears?
The only reason you ain't been banned is the high quality bow porn you post. You would do well to remember that. Keep posting bows and build-alongs like this if you what's good for you. >:D
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Pearly that's a real beauty!!
Cipriano
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Ooooooo.
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8)
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Great little bow! Thanks for sharing!
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Beautiful. Thanks for taking time to post this build along. I have learned a lot from it. That is a fine looking recurve!
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absolute cracking bow. well done.
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One word - SWEET
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Looks like a sweet shooter, come on enough with the cliff hanger, where is the fd!
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Yes Sir!
Beauty of a Bow P.D.!
Thanks again for this Build Along!
-gus
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Turned out really nice. Kept a great unstrung profile, I bet it spits fire.
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Yup, that's a winner! Thanks for all the work you put in, especially the buildalong parts! Very helpful :)
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Thank you, Drums, for all your extra effort to share this. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from these build alongs. Its great to see your tools and techniques and to gain a better understanding of proceedures I haven't tried yet.
Very grateful.
John
Boise
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That is one heck of a bow thanks for taking the time to to do this build along for us.
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Here are a few pics of the proud new owner. The pics are much better in the daylight and sunshine. Again, thanks all for the kind words. It means something coming from your peers.
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A nice bow to enjoy for along time. Well Done!!
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Excellent.. It doesn't get any better that that...
Jon
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you done good PD, sweet curves, Bub
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Beautifull bow, PD. Curves and sleek, that's what I like. ;D
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Followed along silently, well guilty as charged. Thanks for the build along. That bow turned out great and it was quite a relief to see it take you more than ten minutes to build it! ;) I was starting to get a complex. Great work, Josh
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Tell him to stop canting the bow so i can better judge the tiller ;) i know its good tho from the braced photo,and i know you better than that to have a bow out of whack ;)
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Its in whack...trust me pal!
I forgot to mention its 14.87 oz with a string on it.
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You mean "thwack"..lol.. at that mass and with that profile i know she rips :)
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Great looking profile Pearlie. Nice bow!
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Enjoyed watching the buildalong of a fine looking bow.
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alright we got the full draw pics. great job on it. tips and tiller curves look great. looks like a sleek shooter!
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it still amazes me on how fast you build bows. i like this bow. i enjoyed the build from start to finish
thanks for taking the time to post all the pics . rv
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Thanks again guys. Come up this way Rudy. I will show you ALL my tricks! Dont forget to bring that bow, I want to shoot it again.
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Great looking bow PD 8). Thanks for the buildalong, your work is inspirational.
Cheers.......... Rod
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Ok I know I'm jumping in here a little late but when you flipped your tips they are so thick because its a static recurve right?
So if you continued the taper all the way to the tips then flipped them would you get a working recurve?
Also performance wise what is the diffrence between the two I know the diffrence definition wise but how do they shoot??
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A static recurve has very little taper in thickness. Maybe a 1/16" at best on most of mine. I recurved them when they where thick so I could remove any possible cracks. The recurves where thinned down later in the build. I cant explain how thick or thin they need to be. You will just know when they are too fat and you will obviously know when they are too thin.
Static recurves have higher early string tension and smooth right out after you roll them over. Working recurves, or flipped tips as we call them add some early tension, but still draw allot like a flatbow. Performance wise? You got me. The static feels faster because of the draw it gives you. Im sure statics are faster, but I have no way to porve it.
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Thank you so much best explanation I have had so far
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Man, great job! :o Excellent build along 8) Now that you finished that little beauty, you can start making "heat gun stands"! ::) ;)
Wayne
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Your very welcome darwin. Thats why I did the build along!
Wayne those heat gun stands are trademark protected, dont be getting in trouble!
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I was fortunate enought to meet P.D. yesterday at Marshall and watch him help out a friend of mine clean up a bow that he made. I was wondering around like a lost sheep in a cow pasture, Gary Davis, Matt Wirwicki and Pearl Drums all under one shelter and working on bows.
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Ttt
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Up top for Squirrelnutz
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Pearly that turned out really nice. Love the curves.
Cipriano
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I love my band saw too... Then I discovered it's first cousin, the 10" table saw. I found it to be a lot more stable and easier to lay out the rough bow. The blade does not wander like the band saw and I am not frustrated at having to change blades when I want to use it.
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You have to follow the grain and table saws don't care about grain.
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You have to follow the grain and table saws don't care about grain.
+1 they are however great for laminations ;D
thank's for making this PD it's really a great buildalong. (i know im going to regret making this post as everytime someone makes a post or comment it will keep reminding me of a bow i will never have :-[ ) but it's worth it and he sure did get a good bow there. im going to go make some shavings now.
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Its not a difficult build squirrelnutz. Take your time. If can make steam you can recurve tips easily.
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Its not a difficult build squirrelnutz. Take your time. If can make steam you can recurve tips easily.
hahaha, squirrrelnuts :laugh: :laugh: ill give it a go if i get some hackberry or similar ;D
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A piece of yew would be much better than hackberry.
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Up top for Squirrelnutz
? you mean me or 'slayer?
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Guess?
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Up top for Squirrelnutz
? you mean me or 'slayer?
It could apply to both of us. :P
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It could, except your the only one out of the two of you that is nutz.
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It could, except your the only one out of the two of you that is nutz.
Thats NUT funny. :laugh:
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figured i'd bump this a lot of interest lately in bows with hooks
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Looks fantastic. Nice build!
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GREAT read. And soooo much light cast onto subjects that, for me, were previously shadow techniques.
Thanks much!!
Michael
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I must have missed it. What are the final dimensions? Also what is the radius of the recurring caul?
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Here you go gut
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:) Very helpful, Pearl Drums. It helped me learn how to prevent some past mistakes and will help me try some new things. Thanks for all the work you did to share with us. I am very grateful.
Perry
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Well done PD
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Want to keep this great build up
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Very nice build-a-long Chris and super looking bow.Wish I would of noticed this earlier.
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Awesome build-along! Thanks for putting in the extra effort of taking pics, editing, etc in order to share the build with us. It's always good to get even a small glimpse into how the more experienced bowyers work their craft. It's especially good for getting ideas for future projects!
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Moving this up it's a great build a long
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Well done Pearl.
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Thanks bubby I never saw this before. That's my kinda bow pearl. Like the Reflex and recurves for my short power stroke. Kinda neat seeing this blast from the past. And it still has pictures. These build alongs are worth keeping. They are a lot of extra work to do as well as this one. It's hard to get all the pictures, editing and descriptions done.
Bjrogg
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maybe we put this in the archives? its really good!
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Did you take the back down to one single ring?
I am trying a hackberry now, and having trouble getting a single ring.
In some parts the ring is thick and others super thin, easy to violate.
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Yes sir. The key to chasing rings on wood not suitable for chasing rings is a razor sharp draw knife, good control and very, very good white lighting. You cant feel and can barely see what you're doing. Go slow and stop for a break if you get frustrated.
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Thank you for the reply, this is a super great build along.
I am enjoying reading and the pics. I am following your process closely for my hackberry.
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Moving this one back to the top