Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Badly Bent on July 04, 2015, 11:41:38 am
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Been messing with this piece of character buckthorn a bit at a time over the past month and here's what I ended up with. Simple d-bow from a piece I salvaged from a burn pile a couple years ago. Buckthorn self bow 58" ntn and pulling somewhere in the low to mid 40#'s at my 24" draw. Top limb was pretty straight and clean but the bottom was your more typical twisty, bumpy, knotty and crooked stuff that is common within this wood. Shoots decent but wouldn't be the first one I'd grab off my rack on my way out the door to hunt.
I wanted to keep it simple and primitive looking so just did a earth pigment and beeswax finish on it. I did this even though a native american of old would not have had this invasive species of wood available and if he did he likely would not have wasted his time on such a crooked and wacky stave. ;)
Thanks for taking a look.
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and some more....
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Very nice indeed! 8)!
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great Job on that tricki stick, like it
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Wow nice job on a crazy looking stick.
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Sweet Jesus Man, ya out did yourself again. The full draw on that puppy is thing of true beauty....
the rest of it is absolutely superb sir.....
"old man likey"
rich
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The tiller looks great and that two-tone stain job is really striking on buckthorn. You really turn out some fine bows Greg.
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Man, that turned out great Greg! I really like that one. Great lookjng full draw on a whacky piece of wood.
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Great job on that buckthorn Greg. The tiller looks great.
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Looks good from here greg
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I like the look of that one. Great character, nice job Greg!
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Really like those character bows. Nice work.
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Nice save on that Dogleg Greg, FD, and tiller looks super.. Again keep up the good work. Chuck
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Wow, very impressed. And I was just about to ask if buckthorn was ever used to make a bow. Guess that question is answered!
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Greg, that is niiice! 8)
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I always admire your craftsmanship Greg. Any chance of seeing that one at Elm Hall?
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Very cool Greg. Beautiful bend
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8) Greg knows Buckthorn :) :) ;)
DBar
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Oooooooooo I like it! nice work. Good tiller and I really like what you did with the finish.
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Thanks for the comments guys, I'm glad to be done with that bow. I have some new staves of clean and straight wood in the pile to get at next, hope to get a real shooter or two from these. :)
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Mike I'll bring it up to Elm Hall and you can shoot a round with it, I'll warn you though it seems a little wimpy to me. :)
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Greg, I love seeing character bows and yours doesn't disappoint sir...Looking at all the bumps and wiggles at first and then seeing the spot on bend... :o Nice, really nice... 8)
Don
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That one brought a smile to My Face Greg - as always Your bows are spot on ! Bob
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Another stunner! Great work on that tricky stick, the f/d pic says it all. To get that perfect tiller from a wonky stave is a master's work.
Congrats on another beauty. And again I love your reserved decoration on your bows.
I've got me some buckthorn after a long years search, tried my first one and broke it. Don,t know if our stuff is as good as yours or is it just my bad work .... >:(
I have another drying, I will go slow and carefully next time.
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I still can't believe that buckthorn will make a good bow wood. Unbelievable! Love the looks of that one with the kick in the bottom limb. Can you describe that coloring/dye job you did with earth pigments?
-Jeremy Holden
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Looks great. I will have to do a search on buckthorn, having no idea what it is.
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Thanks Greg. The older I get, the more I like those wimpy bows! ;) I'll make some special arrows to try out of it.
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Wow Greg that thing looks great. Love the bit of snake. Great job man.
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Dang Greg, you found a real nice bow in that piece of wood!
Tracy
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Thanks guys.
Jeremy, on this one I just used powered earth pigment mixed into a small amount of acrylic glazing liquid and blend it in with a foam brush. Raw umber in the lighter area and burnt sienna at the tips. I've also been putting my bows in the hot box overnight to make sure they are good and dry before heating in the beeswax finish. As you have probably noticed the humidity has been high here, this bow picked up over a 1/4 oz. of moisture just sitting on the bench for a day without any finish/sealer on it. It finished at 11.7 oz. but when left inside the shop for a day unfinished it weighed over 12oz. Overnight in the box and the mass weight went back down then I took it out and put the beeswax on it right away while it was still warm.
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Simon, can't wait to see what your buckthorn bow looks like when your done with it, I'm sure it will be much nicer than this one of mine. :) I've made about 12 or 15 from this species and have broken around
6 other buckthorns while trying to get a bow out of them. The breaks were all tension failures from flaws in the wood or in some of the cases poor tillering. It is a fickle wood for sure but makes a good bow.
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That looks pretty sweet man.
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Sweeeet!
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An beautiful badly bent buckthorn bendy bow!
Great work greg!
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Cool bow McGregor. I love buckthorn.
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Looks like a Greg bow to me. Very nice as usual .
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Greg's bow is even better in person! Finish work as always is impeccable. Tiller is spot on, and for me, the bow was snappy and sweet. Thanks for allowing me to shoot your masterpiece Greg!
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Oh yes, that is sooo cool... I do love a snakey bottom too >:D
Del
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Really like that one man! Just enough snake to make it interesting! Nice work on a challenging stave!!
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After seeing the thread about broken bows and not letting others shoot/touch your bows I want to extend my utmost thanks to Greg for trusting me to shoot his bow. I made extra long arrows for his shorter draw bow because I felt they would spine correctly. He was showing a lot of faith in me that I wouldn't draw to the length of the arrows! They flew great by the way. I appreciate Greg's use of pigments and stains so I used 4 different stains on the arrows too! Thanks Greg!!
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Good job Greg!
wish I had a truck load of Buckthorn
fun stuff and not so hard on an old man or his tools