Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Gordon on January 27, 2008, 10:57:15 pm
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A good friend of mine, Gary, asked if I would make a bow for his son. Gary likes to shoot a longbow and frequently uses a vine maple bow that I made him. His son owns a compound bow and only takes it out a month before the season starts so they don’t shoot together much. Gary thought if he gave his son a longbow that might be a good excuse for them to spend more time together.
I had some lemonwood boards sitting in my garage that another buddy had shared with me a few years ago. Lemonwood was the bow wood de-jour back in the early 20th century so I figured it would probably make a dandy longbow if I backed it with bamboo. The finished bow is 66” ntn, 1 ¼” wide at the fads and tapers to 7/16” at the tips. I built the handle up with osage and the tips are overlayed with a some mystery hardwood flooring material. The bamboo and belly are stained with a tan leather dye. The handle is elk hide dyed with mahogany leather dye. The bow pulls 57# @ 27” and zips an arrow out there really nice. I think Gary’s son will be happy with this one.
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon01.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon02.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon04.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon05.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon06.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon07.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon08.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon09.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy217/gferlitsch/Boo%20Backed%20Lemonwood%201/bblemon10.jpg)
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Nice bow Gordon. its beautiful
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very impressive, everything i have seen from you has been beautiful- Ryan
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Nice bow Gordon. What are the wraps for? just decorative or is it a patch of some sort? How did you like the lemon wood? What does it compare to ?
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Gordon you've done a awesome job as always.I really like the finish and the grip.tradrick
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Its a beauty, like the lemonwood bows of old. The new owner will be proud I'm sure.
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Ryan, one of the wraps is a patch - I had to fix a small chrysal on the edge that developed because I radiused that edge a bit too much. Lemonwood is very easy to work and has no discernable grain. It is quite dense and light in color. I guess you could characterize it as a tropical whitewood of sorts. I cannot really compare it to any other wood I've worked with to-date.
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Gordon, she's beautiful...on my computer the tips look like purpleheart.....Brian
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Mighty nice work Gordon.
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Brian, I'm pretty sure the tip wood is not purple-heart. The wood kind of a mahagony color and more dense than purple-heart. Whatever it is, it makes excellent tips.
Thank you all for the compliments.
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Another beauty Gordon. Your friends son ought to be pleased. 8) Pat
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Very nice bow. And nice pictures of it. I like how you made the grip. What is the wrap material?
Jesse
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Jesse, the handle is wrapped with dyed elk-hide.
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. What is the wrap material?
I was wondering about the patch. What did you use? :)
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Sorry Jesse, I misunderstood your question. The wrapping is dark green and red Brownell serving.
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After reading the question it sounds like I was asking about the handle wrap. :) Thanks for answering. Again great bow. I used your golf tee rest on my last bow. Works great. Jesse
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gordon! - there's always this style and grace in your bows; REALLY like that!!!
your craftmanship is obvious anyway; as usual VERY nice tiller and i really like the way you shape your tips!!
you're an inspiration!
frank
PS: ...AND again beautiful pictures, too! did you take #05 on a frosen pond?? had that motive in the plans, too, but we are the second year without winter, and my area is where people normally come for skying...
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Gordon, superb, PK
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Nice bow Gordon. My dad has an old lemonwood bow with a fibre backing that he bought around 1950. He store it in the attic one winter and when he tried to shoot it the next summer it snapped at the handle. He fixed it but it was never the same
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Gordon, as medicinewheel says a great style and elegance to all your bows as I see them...
That's beautiful. SImple, graceful, beautiful! Nice work! :)
Tips almost look like Jatoba...not a lot of grain in them. What is the fastening of the leather grip, stitched?
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Another beauty as usual, great looking bow Gordon.
Alan
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Wow, Gordon! Your bows are awesome! It's always such a pleasure to see what you've made.
I've only made 1 bow from lemonwood. It turned out very nice. It's a 66" selfbow, with non-bending handle, and SS back. Lemonwood is easy to work... very straight grain. However, it's very hard for me to obtain here. I believe it comes from Cuba.
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Frank,
That pic was taken on a frozen pond - which is a rarity around here. It does make for an interesting background. Here's another:
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/bblemon/bblemon11.jpg)
EA, I used a leather lace for the stitching.
Thank you again for all the compliments.
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Beautifully bow Gordon. You sure do grind down the nodes on your boo. Does it ever make you nervous to take them down that far? Justin
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Another dandy Gordon, well done.
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Whew! I'm glad I'm not entering a bow this month. I wouldn't have a chance! Bows, Bows, and More Bows Coming up 1/31
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Beauty Gordon! I bet its a sweet shooter.
Rich
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Justin, I don't really grind down the nodes. What I do is scrape off the rind with a small pocket knife and then lightly sand the node. So far I've not had any problems doing that.
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Beautifull bow Gordon, I bet its a great shooter too. See ya soon. Greg
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this bow look excellent and the pics too - great work, gordon
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My hat is off to you Gordon , your work is unreal , thanks for sharing , it's always a pleasure ! ;)
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love the pics, that is a very nice bow. thanks again for being on the bowyer panel, I recieved a lot of positive feedback on that.
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Dave, it was an honor to be on the panel and among such a group of distinguished bowyers. Thank you so much for having me.
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Gordon-
Fantastic bow, it really turned out beautiful.
Bryan
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Thank you Bryan. How is your hazelnut bow coming along?
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Beautiful bow Gordon,very nice job.
Pappy
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Very,very nice Gordon....
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very nice. this bow has nothing that I wouldn't like.
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another beauty! I just love your work! awesome talent :D
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You are indeed an artist! Beautiful Bow!
Wells
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I THINK i would call that a big step up from the old lemonwood bows,she's a beauty!
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I had the pleasure of holding that bow last Saturday. It is every bit as impressive in person as the pictures show. Another great bow Gordon. Keenan
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What happened to all the PICs?
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Oh, the server that held those photos bit the dust a couple of years ago. Let me see if I can find the originals and rehost them.
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Ok, the images have been restored.
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Wow Gordon, your bows really are true works of art! You definitely have a style all your own and it's always a pleasure to see your bows!!
Thanks for posting the pictures of them!