Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: airkah on April 13, 2019, 01:34:47 pm
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I mainly wanted to post just to thank you all for all the help you have unknowingly given me over the years.I've been building bows for about 5 years now, and learning from all of you for about the same amount of time. I think I never created an account because I felt like there was always so much more I could learn from all of you than I could ever contribute. Anytime I've ever run into an issue, I've always been able to find a post on the topic to help me, and whenever I was in need of inspiration, the amazing bowyers here were always able to provide it. So I wanted to say thank you and share my most recent bow.
About the bow:
Its a 54.5'' asymmetrical osage bow, pulling 41 pounds at 27 inches, the top limb is about 2 inches longer than the bottom limb. At the fades it is 1.75'' wide and tapers down to half inch tips. It has a stiff 4 inch handle. I steamed 3 inches of reflex into the tips, and after shooting it in, it has only taken about a half inch of set. I have been pleasantly surprised with how it shoots, it might be my go to shooter for awhile. Thank you for looking.
- Erika
Edit: Just learned about the limited image storage here so I moved all my pictures to be hosted elsewhere and changed out the side profile picture to something I liked better.
(https://i.imgur.com/oCSKesl.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mHRoGMt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vU72I8u.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WkHxwXU.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZLc7pIN.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zWFNRWJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/szCjuqS.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ij57o8I.jpg)
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Nice job! I like that one. :D
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Looks like you learned well Erika. I'm thinking your wrong about having nothing to contribute though. Very nice bow. Looking forward to seeing more in the future. Welcome to PA
Bjrogg
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congrats,, nice bow,, :)
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Nice work on that one!
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Looks well balanced Erika...Welcome to PA
Don
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Sweet! Really nice! And you chose the best of all bow woods to boot. Welcome!
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Welcome to PA Erika. Thanks for deciding to join and post that bow. Very nice work on that one!
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Welcome to PA, Erika. With a bow like that I'd also say you have plenty to offer to the site. Hang around and give the rest of us bozos some help. (--) :OK
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Very well done. And thank you for rounding the back of the handle like that. It’s a peev of mine when it’s left square.
All and all great bow. Should last you a long time and then some.
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Very nice bow. You should definitely post more often.
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Cool bow, the wraps on the handle and above the fades look pretty awesome. Are there any big advantages or disadvantages to an asymmetrical bow?
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Very nice looking bow. Great job on it.
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Great looking bow. I too prefer a longer top limb, but I never would have guessed yours is 2 inches longer. Nice job.
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Welcome to PA, Erika. With a bow like that I'd also say you have plenty to offer to the site. Hang around and give the rest of us bozos some help. (--) :OK
Only if you Bozos give me some help. :)
Cool bow, the wraps on the handle and above the fades look pretty awesome. Are there any big advantages or disadvantages to an asymmetrical bow?
I wouldn't consider myself an expert on asymmetrical bows, but I would say that it gave me a couple challenges that a symmetrical bow would not have. The first being that you are committed to which limb is going to be the top and which will be the bottom when the bow is roughed out. I prefer to be able to just flip the bow and change the top limb I have one limb slightly weaker than the other. I also think my eye is used to looking at symmetrical tillers, so it was a bit of a challenge for me tillering this bow.
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I started with asymmetrical bows many years ago. That's how the books taught it. After a while and after I got to know "primitive" bowyers I learned different styles and methods. That is when I realized my eye perceived better tiller with a symmetrical style bows so that's what I build. Good for you for going out of your box. :OK
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Welcome aboard, Erika! Very nice job on that bow! These folks are very interesting as you may have figured out after watching from the wings for 5 years! Keep up the good work! Some or them even have a sense of humor! >:D (lol)
Hawkdancer
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A fine bow indeed. Keep em coming.
What will your next bow be?
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Welcome to PA!
What a great little bow! That's a seriously impressive amount of set considering the overall length, draw length, and the fact you added recurves to that strain!
I've only completed about 10 bows, but you're right about the wealth of knowledge that these folks have!
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Well done. I bet it shoots great. I'm not a fan of asymmetrical bow but yours looks good
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What will your next bow be?
Nothing too exciting... I have a couple staves right now that are still losing mc, so I think next up is a peruvian walnut board I picked up on a whim a couple weeks ago. I've never tried using the wood before, so it will probably end up a mid 60 inch, 40ish (40-45 is about all I can pull before I struggle to draw it) pound draw weight to feel the wood out.
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I think you did that osage proud. :OK
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Great job on that bow, patina looks really nice. Some asymmetrical bows seem to shoot better, been smoother and better cast.
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Welcome home! That is one sweet lookin bow.... great work.
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I have read that the Japanese Yumi is intentionally asymmetrical (extraordinarily) to greatly reduce hand shock, and make for a smoother shooting bow, cos the shock wave from each limb does not meet at the handle. There may be something in that?
All of my bows are slightly asymmetrical, only by an inch though. I did accidentally make one that was 2" asymmetrical (a molly I layed out wrong then straight to the band saw!). That was a challenge to tiller but it did shoot nice.
I really like those limb wraps. Did you put them there purely for aesthetics, or to cover something? Either way, they look great.
Good job! Keep em coming!
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I really like those limb wraps. Did you put them there purely for aesthetics, or to cover something? Either way, they look great.
The wraps are something I've done a few times, sometimes to support a limb, sometimes not. The first time I did them it was to hide some underlays out by the tips on a bow and I just really liked the look. If its just aestetics I'll keep them pretty close in on the inner third of the limbs, so the extra weight won't slow the arrow speed down so much. On this bow its just aestetics. My family was over looking at some bows about two weeks ago and they responded really well to similar wraps so I decided to do them on this and really liked the look.
It has the added bonus of if I ever forget its asymmetrical, I won't try to shoot it upside down. :)
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I really like the hemp(?) handle wrap. I started doing that trying to hold together a double spliced(belly and core) tri-lam I built that kept coming apart. Hemp is very strong and I like the positive grip it gives in all weather conditions. I saturate it in Massey finish(2ton epoxy thinned with acetone) which seems to make it bullet proof...and I think it makes an attractive, classic grip.
Again, very nice bow, Erika. Well done. :OK 8)
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A surprisingly nice bow, not easy to pull off as well as you did.
My only suggestion would be to pull your elbow straight back when you draw your bow to align the arrow with your frame on release. I realize that a picture taken to emphasize the drawn profile might not be the same as your actual shooting style.
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Great Job! your doin great! I look forward to your next bow!
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Good looking bow and nice tiller!
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That’s a good looking bow. Outstanding tiller job.
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Maybe put it in the Bow of the Month?! Very nice job!
Hawkdancer
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Great job on that bow, patina looks really nice.
Thank you, i meant to include this in the intro post, the finish is just a few coats of tru oil on a 2 year old stave, I didn't do anything special to it.
Something else I meant to include even though I think a lot of you know this just by looking at them, but the tip overlays are purpleheart.
I really like the hemp(?) handle wrap. I started doing that trying to hold together a double spliced(belly and core) tri-lam I built that kept coming apart. Hemp is very strong and I like the positive grip it gives in all weather conditions. I saturate it in Massey finish(2ton epoxy thinned with acetone) which seems to make it bullet proof.
Good eye, it is hemp. I agree it seems to be very durable, i put a bit of tb3 on the wood and then wrap it, seems to soak into the hemp and toughen it up. If any glue comes through the top I try to scrape it off. Once it dries I lightly sand off and extra gunk with really fine sandpaper and put tru oil over the top to give it a cleaner look.
My only suggestion would be to pull your elbow straight back when you draw your bow to align the arrow with your frame on release. I realize that a picture taken to emphasize the drawn profile might not be the same as your actual shooting style.
I've been waiting to hear about the elbow, its pretty close to how I actually align. My form falls off a little bit just from the weight being a little high for me at the moment. (I haven't practiced much the last year and I can feel I lost a little strength). I had a shoulder injury about 15 years ago that never got back to 100%, so I don't have the same range of motion/stability in my right shoulder, that higher angle is a lot more stable for me. But it is something I'm trying to work on and get lower.
Maybe put it in the Bow of the Month?! Very nice job!
Hawkdancer
I might, it would be a huge honor.
Thank you all for the compliments on the tiller, it was the most challenging aspect by far, I had to spend a lot of time staring at pictures until I felt like I got it about as good as I could, so its nice to hear from others with more experience than me think its pretty good.
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Half an inch of set is fantastic. Congratulations on a job well done! 54 inches is about the sweet spot for this design I'd say, any shorter and performance really starts to suffer. Your width is darn near spot on. The only design change I'd make on the next one is to not make the inner third of the limbs taper, but keep them straight. From the photos, that's where your set has taken place.
I'm impressed you got that draw length without using any deflex. If you have a chrono, I'd love to see how fast it shoots. Where abouts are you? Any chance you could make it to any if the gatherings, Mojam, for example?
Your level of craftsmanship is very good. I don't see a blemish on it. I'm curious about your reflex tips, what got you making them like that, rather than a standard recurve? Didn't you notice any problems with limb torque with them like that? In the past I have and decided I wouldn't go with straight tips any more. Curious on your experiences.
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Erika, send stickhead the full draw pic and your PA number and he will enter you in next months BOM. You and your bow deserve to be in.
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The only design change I'd make on the next one is to not make the inner third of the limbs taper, but keep them straight. From the photos, that's where your set has taken place.
I think your right that it wouldn't have taken any if I left it a bit wider there.
I'm impressed you got that draw length without using any deflex. If you have a chrono, I'd love to see how fast it shoots.
No chrono, though I may buy one someday, because I am curious about how fast a few of my bows shoot. It feels like a solid performer, a bit better than I was expecting, but I can't really put any numbers to it.
Your level of craftsmanship is very good. I don't see a blemish on it. I'm curious about your reflex tips, what got you making them like that, rather than a standard recurve? Didn't you notice any problems with limb torque with them like that? In the past I have and decided I wouldn't go with straight tips any more. Curious on your experiences.
They don't always come out without tool marks, I surprised myself a bit with how clean it came out.
I feel like you are probably going to want a more technical answer for why I do what I do than I'll be able to give.
I tend to do a lot of things because I enjoy that process. The tips are just kinda how I do things. I've never bothered to make a caul, I just steam em and bend by hand. I'm not sure why, maybe because it makes every limb unique? Maybe someday I'll get the desire to do like some massive curved 90 degree bends, and I'll definitely need a caul for that. But for now I'm happy doing this.
With this one, the stave had a slight bit of a natural propeller twist. You can notice it in the tips. For whatever reason, taking twist out is like my least favorite thing to do, so I just worked with it. I tillered it ever so slightly thicker on one side so it flattens out as its drawn. So far it hasn't given me any issues. I know there are other (probably superior) ways to get rid of that little twist, but that just seemed less fun. I like the challenge in working with what the wood wants to do naturally. I think if the twist had been a little bit more, I would have had no choice but to heat and clamp it out in order to have the tips like I do.
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Beautiful bow! So glad you decided to post it. :)
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Welcome to PA!
I like your bow!
Keep on posting them!
B2W
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Pffft! Is that all you got after 5 years of lurking and making bows? Just THAT?
Never mind me. I am just sitting over here eating my second six person hot tub sized bowl of sour grapes with an extra large helping of soul-crushing envy. Seventeen years of making bows and I have yet to turn out something that well tillered and decorated. Thanks, Erika. I really appreciate how you moved the bar up just a little further out of my reach!
(Attention all Admins and Moderators: Who keeps letting these incredibly talented new people in? How is the "Olde Guard" supposed to keep up with THIS???)
)-w(
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what great introduction - looking forward for next ones! cheers
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Thank you all so much, the responses have really been amazing and more than I was expecting.
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Thank you all so much, the responses have really been amazing and more than I was expecting.
Now you gotta knock it outa the park every time you post a new bow!
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Methinks the "olde Guard" is being seriously challenged as to excellence of product! By the old ways, none the less! We newbies are chomping at the bit >:D >:D :BB! (lol) (-P. We're still learning how to not screw up! (lol). Be assured that if there is a way to screw up a process, I'll find it!! Way to go, Erika!
Hawkdancer
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Welcome to PA. Very nice looking bow. Really? Only your 5th bow? I wish I had 1/2 as much talent. Keep up the good work.
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Welcome to PA. Very nice looking bow. Really? Only your 5th bow? I wish I had 1/2 as much talent. Keep up the good work.
Oh no I've made more than 5. I wasn't one of those lucky people that starts out making beautiful works of art. I think I broke my first 3 or 4 attempts ans the first survivor is a very ugly 25# red oak board with cracks on the back.
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I don't know how I missed this one but your bow is stellar. I really like the wraps and the side profile. keep posting it is appreciated.
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Airkah I'm betting that ugly red oak board bow was beautiful the first time you shot it. ;)
Bjrogg
PS I know my ugly ash one was
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Sagebrush, thanks. I don't make them at the pace I used to, but I'll hopefullu post a couple more the next few months.
Bjrogg, yes it was! I probably got 200-300 arrows through it before I was too worried about the cracks modlimb breaking on it to draw it again. It was too beautiful for me to let it break. The best thing it did for me was give me the hope I'd eventually make something I'd be able to shoot for years. I think it marked the end of the real steep learning curve for me, after that I started going a bit wider on the red oak boards and started havig some more success. I haven't done a red oak board in awhile, but I really have a fondness for them... they'll let you know if the tillering is off but treat you well if you do it correctly.
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Yup. My ugly ash one took me where it needed to. It's hanging on my presentation pole now. It's really interesting looking back in time once in awhile.
Bjrogg
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Very well done, Erika. Welcome here on board.
Hope we can see more of your work in future.
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I'm intrigued you've been at it this long and hadn't post. You must be a very patient person.
Very nice work on your bow and glad to see you on PA.
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(Attention all Admins and Moderators: Who keeps letting these incredibly talented new people in? How is the "Olde Guard" supposed to keep up with THIS???)
)-w(
Now that these talented young bowyers are present the "Olde Guard" can step back and rest a bit... ;)
Great job on the bow Erika and welcome to the Forum. :OK
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Very nice !!!!!