Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: leonwood on February 12, 2019, 08:07:16 am
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About three years ago I had to cut a some trees to make room for a new fence. One of them was a wild growing apple. It did not really look like it had a bow in it so I tossed it in my “maybe some day” stave pile. After a year or so I split it and found out it had almost 180 degree twist so I quickly tossed it on the burn pile. Somehow I never burned it and a few weeks ago I felt like trying something weird so grabbed this stave and chopped a pyramid shape out.
Worked it to floor tiller and clamped it up to heat the twist out. Well... I heated it pretty darn deep but only got half of the twist out. This apple wood did not really want to keep the heated shape!
The stave also had some funky stuff going on the back with a large hollow area and a dogleg on one side. Needed two more heating sessions to get the dogleg out and got lucky with the string going dead center at the handle area. Handle was a bit too thin for my liking and had a bit of a rotten area so I glued on a piece of maple and yew.
Tried to match the irregular back shape to the belly while tillering. Tiller shape looks really funny with the extreme twist, weird bumps and hollows but got it to 28 and called it done.
There was one knot on the side around mid limb which fell out. I drilled that out and epoxied a cutoff piece of apple in.
The cambium has lots of different layers with browns and even bright red colors in it. Left some of it on the bow and added some extra stain to accentuate it.
To match the bright color I added a padauk arrow pass and a handle wrap from an old purse from my wife’s aunt who passed away last year. She used it for years so it has a nice patina and we are sure she would have loved the new purpose!
It ended up drawing 45@27 and despite the prop twist is a surprisingly smooth shooter! Maybe the twist even adds to the smoothness?
No idea if this will last many shots but it sure was fun to make!
Stats:
Wood: Apple
Length: 64" ntn
Draw weight: 45@27
Max width: 1.8 inch
Nocks: ipe
Arrow pass: padauk
String: 8 strand fast flight
// profile
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7891/33177513838_9ce8735c04_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7805/47052795731_116d308fe0_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/46139057255_3abede9af3_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7902/33177397148_e6d1eac3e5_b.jpg)
// braced
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/46138887835_b568488833_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7869/47052505201_56ac6af831_b.jpg)
// details
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7892/33177396988_d00996e119_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7897/33177396978_0cc5e63641_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7886/40087940813_a391c93320_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/46328969914_c0763057a2_b.jpg)
//full draw
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7895/33177397608_0c36dd37fd_b.jpg)
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Woo, just love it.... It so wanted to be a bow :)
Don't burn me! Don't throw me away... I will be a good bow honest... just gimme a chance to show you!
My kinda bow :)
Those "I'll just have a go" bows sometimes turn out the best.
Del
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Very nice,,,congrats
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Very nice, hard to beat a pyramid design, simple and effective.
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What I find to be neat is the way that the limbs being twisted in symmetry actually cancelled each other making for the string to track properly. Beautiful work and great save on a piece most wouldn't take on.
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Yup, that's a keeper :D :D Great job! Full draw????
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I love that pyramid profile and the color of the back of the bow. Excellent job as usual!
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That’s a beauty!
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Wow! Just wow!
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"How'd you like them apples"? I love it.
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I'm a big fan of apple bows and yours is top shelf.
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I guess you can make a silk purse out of a sows ear. That bow is beautiful. Your bowyer skills are top notch.
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Can you guys see the full draw picture?
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Very well done Leon. I can't access the full draw pic though. I tried copying and pasting the url with no luck.
Oh well, I'm sure it looks as good as the rest of the pics. ;)
When I read the title I was half expecting to see something like this... ;D
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Very nice. Sounds like you and that stave have been one for a long while knowing it or not. Arvin
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Thanks for the compliments guys! Somehow these weird staves have an attraction that I can't resist. And the feeling when you shoot them for the first time is way better ;D
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Very well done Leon. I can't access the full draw pic though. I tried copying and pasting the url with no luck.
Oh well, I'm sure it looks as good as the rest of the pics. ;)
When I read the title I was half expecting to see something like this... ;D
;D ;D ;D I think making a pyramid like this is harder than making a bow!
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I wonder if that's how the Egyptians did it.
Nice bow Leonwood. Well done a usual sir. I can see your full draw picture now. It is satisfying to get these corner dwellers turned into bows and especially so when they exceed our expectations.
Bjrogg
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Neat bow - I love these wonky bows with a story to go along. Well done.
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Your bows are allways a pleasure to look at .as usual i really like the wrap you seem too come up with something different al the time.
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Really nice save from the scrap pile!
Yep, sometimes as much as I intend to destroy a piece of wood it still causes me to try to make a bow from it.
Of course I might destroy it then anyways.
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;D ;D ;D I think making a pyramid like this is harder than making a bow!
Maybe for you! Very nice work from a challenging piece that many wouldn't attempt. Inspiring work for sure.
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Ah, now that's a satisfying FD pic. Kinda like taking a bite of a crisp, cold, juicy, delicious, ________. :)
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No surprises here, just another great looking bow. Nice work Leon
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Great Job Leonwood! Wish I could make something like that!
:NN ;D
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Thanks guys! I have a set of apple billets which are a relatively good compared to this bow so I guess I will try a bit of rd with that one, glueing some deflex in the handle and recurving the tips a bit ;D
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love it, and your aunt would be very proud of you
I also like to grab the wonky ones, giving me lessons, and I also like the look
reusing old stuff is a good habit
cheers B2W
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Really nice job. That is one pretty bow. I would never have thought about apple. Just goes to show you what can be done in the hands of a skilled craftsman.