Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Kidder on February 23, 2022, 10:41:19 pm
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Welcome to the 2022 Primitive Archer Bow Trade! The purpose of the trade is to share our skills with our community here and make the BEST bow you have ever made for your recipient, and to have a lot of fun along the way! It really should hurt a little to send out your bow. This trade is about the bow you build, not the bow you receive. If you do not share this philosophy, then please do not sign up. If you do share this then, let's get building! The rules for the trade are listed below.
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Please read this entire post before signing up so you know what you are getting into. Here is how to sign up:
1. Send me a PM with the following information:
Full Name
Full Address
Email Address
Telephone number
Which Country(ies) you will ship to
ALSO PLEASE INCLUDE A LINK TO A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETED BOW YOU HAVE POSTED HERE - IT WILL MAKE MY LIFE EASIER!
2. Reply to this post with, I'm in and include bow specs preferred
Example: LH or RH
Draw Weight 45-55 pounds
Draw length 27 to 29 inches
Here are the rules:
A. In order to sign up, you must have posted at least one successful bow on this site. Please don't be offended if I ask for verification.
B. All participants in this trade need to participate in the thread and post pictures of their progress, Start out by posting a picture of the stave, staves, board, billets, etc. that you plan to use for the build. then continue to post progress of your build. If a participant does not post the progress of their build then it is up to my discretion to remove them from the trade (I only do this after several failed attempts to communicate with you several different ways!)
C. No bows should be shipped to someone that is not making progress on their bow. If you are done with your bow and ready to ship, please be in touch with me to help decide if you should ship or not.
D. Any participant that chooses can also build a second bow to be used as a reserve. The reserve bows will be used to ensure that ALL participating members get a bow. Please let me know if you plan to build a reserve bow so if it is needed I know who to contact.
E. Deadline for signing up will be the end of the day, March 11th.
F. Shipping deadline will be Wednesday, October 15th 2022.
G. Have fun.
H. Communicate with me. I understand things happen that can keep you from building a bow. If this happens, the sooner you can let me know, the better. I can then reshuffle the trade and everything can work out.
I. As an incentive for your hard work, if you finish your bow on time and meet the shipping deadline your name will go in the hat for a drawing. I haven't decided what it will be yet, but it'll be exciting - maybe a book, or a hand tool, or arrow shafts, or a jar of honey from my bees...we'll just have to wait and see! Last year Selfbowman graciously agreed to build a bow for the incentive raffle and it
turned out beautifully! If anyone would like to build an incentive bow please let me know!
I’m going to participate and here are my stats
RH
26” draw
45-65 lbs
Let's make this a great trade!
Thank you.
Brendan
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Here is the rolling list of who has indicated they are in and I have received the info needed to proceed. If you don’t see your name I have either not gotten to adding it or I am missing something so check your inbox
Kidder
Ssrythm
Superdav95
Mo_coon-catcher
Mafort
Flntknp17
Jakesnyder
Swampman
Stuckinthemud
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I’m in. The bow I’ll make will be an Osage similar to the two I’ve posted on here, but I’ll try to make it a self bow or rawhide backed in case it’s going to a more humid environment.
Stats for the bow someone will make for me:
Right Handed
55-63 lbs @ 28”
Kidder, you may want to sticky this thread!
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im on the fence right now! i got some nice staves and i finally feel confident enough to make a decent bow! I think ill wait a little bit to sign up but im excited to see the bows people make!
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I’m in as well. I’ll send you a pm too with details. Should be fun!
Rh
50-60lbs
29” draw
I’ll likely do a stiff tipped recurve or static out of hhb or hickory that have been seasoned in the shop. If time permits I may sinew back it and or raw hide back.
Cheers
Dave
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Well, since no one has volunteered to build an “on time” bow I have opted to donate to the cause. The prize this year will be a dozen surewood premium Douglas fir shafts. Unfinished and cut to 32” spined at 50/55#. In my opinion these are the best all wood shafts on the market. To be in the drawing all you have to do is sign up and complete your bow, being ready to ship by the deadline.
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I’ve been on the fence on whether I’ll have the time but this trade needs more people. So sign me up.
Right hand
50-70# draw weight
26-28” draw length
I’m not sure what I’ll make yet.
Kyle
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Right hand
50-100lbs. (Surprise me)
26”-28” draw length
Thinking I’ll use vine wood pyramid bow or yew wood flat bow. Maybe do something sinew backed
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I'll join the trade again this year....
RH
Draw Weight: Not picky.....anything 35-65
Draw length: 27 to 28 inches
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I'm in!!!
LH 50-60lbs 24"-26" draw
I've strategically placed staves in different buildings so I don't have a repeat of last year.
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I am in.
RH 40-70 pounds with 26-28 inch draw.
This should be fun!
Mike
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Last second, but if there's any way then count me in,
L/H (or ambidextrous)
35-40 pounds at 24 or 25 inch
Andrew
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Alright all building assignments have been made and sent either via PM or text message. If you didn’t receive an assignment please let me know. Let’s make this a great build! Remember to post progress pictures - the more the merrier. A lot of the fun of this trade is the group build along nature. It also really helps me ensure everyone is moving forward. So let’s get building!
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So I will be doing 2 bows this year - an A and a B. The first will be bamboo backed yellow heart flatbow. This bow will be 1 1/4 - 1 3/8 wide asymmetrical. The second will be a yew American flat bow that will just have to tell me what it wants to be. It’s got 45 degrees of propeller twist so that will be a challenge. I have no experience with yellow heart and minimal experience with yew, so it’ll be a challenge. I’ll send the best to my recipient. And if those fail my fall back will be boo backed Osage, but that is kind of boring.
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Looking forwards to watching this transpire! After a few more under my belt I might join in. Great idea whoever thought of it...
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I roughed out an iron wood stave this morning. It is a real nice piece of wood so hopefully I can do it justice.
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I'm going to be working on a BBO with Padauk and bocote accents. I glued up the handle parts, made the powerlam, flattened the boo, and glued up the Perry reflex. The bow is now out of the glue-up an ready for initial tillering.....hopefully it goes well. This piece of osage has a history of making great bows so hopefully I can do my part and not let it down.
Matt
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....glued up
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Handle before boo and powerlam....I love bocote
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Man that’s gonna be nice Matt! can’t wait
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I roughed out an iron wood stave this morning. It is a real nice piece of wood so hopefully I can do it justice.
That is very nice and straight for iron wood! How big was the tree you took this stave from???
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I roughed out an iron wood stave this morning. It is a real nice piece of wood so hopefully I can do it justice.
That is very nice and straight for iron wood! How big was the tree you took this stave from???
If I recall that stave came from about and 8 inch tree that grew in a valley below a bunch of taller trees. I made one other bow from this tree that turned out pretty nicely. Hopefully this one will turn out too. I do recall cursing a bit while splitting that tree into staves.
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That’s a good size for iron wood. At least for around my neck of the woods. Most of the trees I find are smaller diameter and a chore to find straight (ish) grain
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Working this squirrelly vine maple stave into shape.
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Selected a nice clean seasoned hickory stave and roughed it out. So far so good! It’s 64” ttt.
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Going to do flipped tips backed with Buffalo horn on this bow which will look sweet. Got more drawknife work done today on this bow. Keeping thicker tip sections last 8” or so at single growth ring for when I steam bend those tips. Nice clean dry piece of wood. Should be nice.
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Now THAT is a beautiful piece of hickory! I really enjoy working with hickory, but I haven't ever had a non-lumber stave that nice and clean and straight. Should be really nice.
Matt
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Now THAT is a beautiful piece of hickory! I really enjoy working with hickory, but I haven't ever had a non-lumber stave that nice and clean and straight. Should be really nice.
Matt
Thanks Matt. I harvested this last spring and bark just peeled rite off. Did t have to fight with it at all. This stave came from larger tree that was fairly straight. Shagbark hickory works very well for bows.
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Some updates on this build. Boiled and curved the tips and clamped down to let dry for a
Few days.
Cheers
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I’ll have to make a trip to pickup my materials, but I’m thinking about doing a trilam. Bamboo, cherry core, and persimmon belly. I’ve been curious of that combo for a while. I’m not sure whether flip tipped bendy handle, or more of a hill style flat bow with glued in reflex. Once materials are in hand (or get a response on here from my recipient) I’ll decide. I’m leaning towards the bendy handle.
Kyle
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Made some progress on this piece of hickory this morning. Did the heat treatment early in am and removed it from the form once cooled down about an hour. Pictured is my little heat treat jig for my heat gun. It’s getting a little charred from use. Will let it acclimate and rehydrate a bit before going any further with it. It held a real nice reflex baked in. I left the end of the tips a little long so I’ll trim those off later. Progress!
Cheers.
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Superdav95 you’re cracking right along - that’s going to be an awesome bow! Mo_coon-catcher (and everyone else) recipients don’t know who is building for them. Just an fyi but I did have some questions about that.
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Superdav95 you’re cracking right along - that’s going to be an awesome bow! Mo_coon-catcher (and everyone else) recipients don’t know who is building for them. Just an fyi but I did have some questions about that.
Thanks kidder! It was a particularly nice piece of hickory so I need to do it justice. So far so good. At least this way I may have time do another if I have an unexpected failure.
Cheers
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So i cut this sugar maple down several weeks ago. Im going for an inuit sinew cable backed bow (similar to the one just found not long ago) I think itll do good where it will be going. I know some might be saying "several weeks old" but ive quick dryed sugar maple quite a few times with great success. And none or very little set. But at the end of the day im not going to send out a piece of junk so if im not confident in it i have some seasoned osage id use.
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Jake. That should be a cool looking bow! I’ve yet to do one of those. Will be anticipating this build.
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Got my glue up taken care of this evening. I’ll probably let it sit in the form for a couple days before I take it off. Ive let them sit anywhere from 24 hours to a couple weeks and haven’t noticed any difference in held reflex, which makes sense given that it is entirely a function of glued in reflex. Bamboo backed yellow heart with an ornamental cherry riser and power lam. The cherry was a tree I took down in my yard and had saved for smoking and ended up instead making things from it, such as this or spoons. It has the most amazing smell when worked - like nothing ive ever smelled before. Aside from the fact that I’ve never used yellow heart, my only concern is a tiny belly knot. Almost more of a swirl than a knot, but I’ll do my best to leave it ever so slightly stiff in that spot and keep my fingers crossed.
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Nice bow superdave . Looks great.
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I decided to work on a few other options so if one fails I have other options. I just chased a ring on this 70 inch black locust stave. I will work on roughing it out later today.
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Swamp man. Looking good so far. I’d love to get some black locust to make a bow. We don’t seem to have a lot of it around me here. Best of luck with your build!
Cheers
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I’ll upload progress pics when I can. Was in a car wreck on Sunday and pretty banged up.
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I’ll upload progress pics when I can. Was in a car wreck on Sunday and pretty banged up.
That’s sucks man. Hope you recover soon.
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Made some more progress on this bow…. Shot it a bunch after tillering it and it shoots sweet. Very smooth shooter. I still may do a backing on it. I’m not 100% sure yet maybe hide back or something. It’s dimensions are 65 1/2” ttt and 64” ntn and weighs 528.80gr. Added the overlays which dressed it up a little. I had some scrap pieces of Buffalo horn and blood wood pieces left over from a knife build last year that I used. Turned out pretty nice I think. The handle will be a leather wrap when done with deciding on stain or finish I’m gonna use. The bow held around 4 1/2” reflex after shooting today. After about 30 mins it creeps back to about 5 1/2” reflex. I’ll do another shooting session tomorrow when warmer out and see what I’m left with then. Suspect I’ll end up with about 3-4” of reflex when it settles in to its permanent shape and set. Not too bad. The top recurve tips out to the side slightly when braced but is perfectly straight when unstrung. That’s wood I guess. Still shoots very well and won’t mess with it. Even though my ocd wants me to. Without giving too much away at this point that’s all for now. More to to come. enjoy the pics.
Cheers
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Dang Superdav95 you are cracking along! That is a beauty too! You definitely win the award for most progress! The rest of us slackers need to take note.
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Dang Superdav95 you are cracking along! That is a beauty too! You definitely win the award for most progress! The rest of us slackers need to take note.
Thanks kidder. There’s still lots of time.
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Made this bow to be within a very specific poundage range. I ended up a pound or two just short of my target draw weight after shooting in. Bow still shoots very well and holds some reflex. I added a 4 layer hog gut backing to see if it would push it to my target draw but after all said and done it lost a couple pounds. Unfortunately this will not do so I’m left with a decision to start another bow and set this one aside to finish up later. My other option is to shorten this bow an inch on each side and see if it’s with in my specs needed. So close but close only counts in horseshoes. Oh well it was a fun build either way. If I shorten it it will loose some of the recurve feature and be more like a flipped tip style. I may go for it and see. I’ll post updates soon.
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Took an inch off each end and made my draw weight. Here’s a few pics of how it looks now at 62 1/2”ntn. Doesn’t look much different actually. Shoots about the same just a smidge shorter.
Cheers.
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That’s awesome - very nice bow Superdav95! You win the award for the fastest bow in the history of the trade (and not just some quick hack job either, that thing is a beauty). You have your bow almost done before a bunch of members have posted their stave pictures! I guess the rest of us need to get going!
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That’s awesome - very nice bow Superdav95! You win the award for the fastest bow in the history of the trade (and not just some quick hack job either, that thing is a beauty). You have your bow almost done before a bunch of members have posted their stave pictures! I guess the rest of us need to get going!
Haha. Thanks kidder. I figured I’d get a good start and just kept going with it. Lol. Thanks again.
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Making some progress today. Got her braced and my grip shaped up. Haven’t decided if I’ll leave her bare or give her a leather grip. Looks like the belly knot I was concerned of will likely be gone once I’m done finishing, so that’s a pleasant surprise.
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That’s lookin very good. Lookin forward to seeing more….
Cheers
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Lookin’ good, Dave!
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Not to be outdone by Superdav95’s progress I got at it. Got it tillered to 50lbs at 27.5 inches. I left the bottom limb slightly stiff in the mid as there was it had the remnants of a knot there. I may still open that up a bit. Shot it in this morning - shoots very soft and quiet. So far it’s got a little string follow it picked up immediately after unstringing and we will have to see where it sit in an hour or so. Shot it through the chrono at 155-158 fps at around 27 inches with my hunting arrows (right around 10 gpp). I’m will say that yellow heart is very interesting wood. I read a number of articles and posts about it going into it and heard everything from it being very stiff and elastic and dense to light, soft, but still elastic. The piece I have is definitely lighter and softer - probably a lot like yew for weight and hardness. Sands extremely easily much like ERC. Almost feels like shooting a rubber band. Overall seems to be an ok wood. For my second bow build I had a change of plans. Going with a boo yew instead of a yew self bow. Got it glued up and ready to come off the form today.
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Haha. Nicely done. You got after it for sure! Looks great btw. I’m gonna do up a bamboo bow next myself as a option for the trade also. I may just build it and see what guys think and decide then which to give in the trade.
Cheers
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I realized yesterday that I had to get back to building bows to complete my trade bow! I took a break of a couple months from making bows to concentrate on finishing a from-scratch fiddle that I have been working on for a little over a year. Finished the fiddle Saturday, cleaned the workshop, put away the luthier tools, and got out the bamboo-osage blank I glued up recently. Should be a nice looking bow. I used the cut-offs from the bocote riser to make the tip overlays and got the bow to floor tiller. Will put it on the tillering tree this week and hopefully shoot it before the end of the week.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(2).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/IMG_8563.HEIC)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/IMG_8566.HEIC)
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That fiddle looks amazing
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Lookin great so far flintknp Looking forward to more updates. The fiddle looks great too.
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I finally got started and made a little progress tonight. I’m going for a bamboo, black cherry, persimmon trilam. Using my handsaw I got a couple cherry lams ripped from a stave and a persimmon lam ripped. Then I split the remaining chunk of persimmon into approx 1.5”X1.25” for a pair of English longbows. The cherry is front profiles and I started on the profile of the persimmon before I had a small crack at a tip splinter off, so I super glued it back. Once profiles I’ll work on think my and tapering the core and belly pieces before moving onto the bamboo.
Kyle
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Gonna be an interesting build man. Can’t wait to see progress pics. Keep ‘em common.
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Looking for an update from people. A few haven’t posted their initial stave yet (you know who you are!). I’m putting the final finishing touches on option “a” (bamboo backed yellow heart) and am shooting in and sanding option “b” (bamboo backed yew). Neither is perfect but both are shooting acceptably.
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Yeah , I know who I am, I have a nice but narrow yew stave and a couple of very nice apple lengths, all of which will do draw weight and draw length. I also have a really nice wych elm stave but it’s 49” long so won’t make draw length. I might still make a bow from it as I fell a little bit in love with the elm shorty linked in his Dano thread by Marc St Louis
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Very nice work Superdave
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I’ve shot in what is now my primary trade bow. It’s lost it’s reflex and settle straight at a fully relaxed state. But shot it through the chrono. Get upwards of 175 with my heavy hunting arrows at the intended draw of 55 at 27.5. So that’ll work.
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Nice numbers. That will work.
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Very nice work Superdave
Thankyou sir
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I worked a bit on my trade bow Friday when it was sunny, and today....when it was snowing. I got a string on it and the initial tiller wasn't too bad, but I had to play with it for a couple hours to get it to settle down. I am pretty happy with the tiller now anf very pleased with how it shoots (note: the full draw pic was taken before I played with the tiller). I got a shelf cut in, the grip roughed out, and about 50 shots in today. Has not lost any reflex at all yet, so I suspect it won't.
This particular piece of osage is just fantastic. This is my third bow from this piece and it's the best osage I have worked. It is extremely light weight and yet springy and rings like porcelain if you tap it. I wish I had a truckload of it!
Matt
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(4).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(5).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(3).jpg)
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Looks awesome. Very nice bow.
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Here are some pics of a couple of bows I have roughed out and a stave I have chased a ring on. I'm going to be building at least three bows this summer. One will be for a friend, and I will pick the best of the other three for this bow trade. I will be doing most of the work in random bunches of time, as I tend to work better when I have the time to get on it and keep working. I'll post pics when I can, but I will turn out the best bow I can. Thanks.
(https://i.imgur.com/0UPfvZd.jpg);(https://i.imgur.com/r2mDlU0.jpg);(https://i.imgur.com/bHeTquv.jpg);(https://i.imgur.com/Qotj8Eg.jpg);(https://i.imgur.com/tWLL4rR.jpg)
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Lookin good so far!
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Finally got the back of my bow stained and coated with 2 coats of true oil. It’s a transition of dark at handle to red and orange to yellow out towards the tips. Sort of my take on a sunburst but darker. Hope you like. Going to add few more coats then finish up the belly with true oil and leather for handle.
Cheers.
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I love the way you graduated the colours, is that staining done with brush or air-brush?
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I love the way you graduated the colours, is that staining done with brush or air-brush?
Thankyou for the kind words stuckinthemud. No it’s leather dye. The alcohol based stuff. I usually use it for my leather work for knives but heard of guys using it for bows too so I figured I’d try it. Works like a charm. I apply it with a small section of clean rag. I put down base Color yellow first over entire back surface then move to the red about half way up each limb from the handle then use black over the red and just blend it all in with dry rag to blend colours a bit. I let each Color dry for about 10mins between each Color. I’ve had good results with this method. Not sure if it’s proper way to do this finish but I find it works.
Cheers
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Few more pic after several coats of tru oil.
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That looks amazing superdav!!!! Amazing job!
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Very kind. Thankyou
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Few more pic after several coats of tru oil.
Dave, how long does your tru-oil take to dry? I have used it on a few bows, but it takes FOREVER (months) to dry and sometimes I wonder if it ever actually gets truly dry and loses its tackiness. I have heard people in drier climates have better luck with it. Thoughts?
The bow is beautiful BTW and I also love using leather dyes for the bow backs.
Matt
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Those guys are looking awesome guys!! I’m getting excited to see which one will make it into my hands.
Flntknp17, I use a lot of truoil and it generally dries for me in about 6 hours. I put in on pretty thin. I’ll put a bit in my finger, spread it as far as it’ll go and rub it in for a few seconds to make sure it’s good and thin and warms a little
I’ll be getting back to working on my bow soon. Between grappling tournaments, family stuff, and work I havnt had much time for building lately. I’ll be demonstrating self bow building at a renfair the next couple weekends so I can probably make good progress and a backup bow. Probably getting it done. But will focus on the trilam for the main bow.
Kyle
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Where is the fair at?
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Those guys are looking awesome guys!! I’m getting excited to see which one will make it into my hands.
Flntknp17, I use a lot of truoil and it generally dries for me in about 6 hours. I put in on pretty thin. I’ll put a bit in my finger, spread it as far as it’ll go and rub it in for a few seconds to make sure it’s good and thin and warms a little
I’ll be getting back to working on my bow soon. Between grappling tournaments, family stuff, and work I havnt had much time for building lately. I’ll be demonstrating self bow building at a renfair the next couple weekends so I can probably make good progress and a backup bow. Probably getting it done. But will focus on the trilam for the main bow.
Kyle
I’ll be doing the same at a fair in Indiana.
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I worked on finalizing tiller and sanding/smoothing and scraping the bamboo on my BBO for the trade. I have shot the bow about 200 times now and left it strung for 8 hours to "soak". It sprung back to the original shape and hasn't lost any of its original 2.5" reflex so I think it probably won't take any set.
Matt
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(9).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(10).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(11).jpg)
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Few more pic after several coats of tru oil.
Dave, how long does your tru-oil take to dry? I have used it on a few bows, but it takes FOREVER (months) to dry and sometimes I wonder if it ever actually gets truly dry and loses its tackiness. I have heard people in drier climates have better luck with it. Thoughts?
The bow is beautiful BTW and I also love using leather dyes for the bow backs.
Matt
Thanks Matt. Much appreciated compliment. I do several very thin layers like has already been said too. About 7-8. I also use my finger to spread it on likes others do. Now I do something a little different after all my layers are on and it had had a week to dry. I use toothpaste. Yup. Toothpaste and do small circular rubbing over the entire surface of the back. This gives it a depth to the finish. I got this idea from whelyn except he uses a bonami powdered cleaner and mixes it with little water to a paste to rub with. I couldn’t find any so I used toothpaste and it works like a charm. The finish is noticeably better imho. As for not drying. I’m in a humid climate and I don’t have issues with drying so long as my layers are thin and dry to the touch between layers then a week after all layers. 8 layers my seem like a lot but it’s worth it all said and done with final result. Your true oil may be getting thick and drying out possibly too. I had to throw half a bottle out because of this. This may account for long drying times if the cap is left off for a length of time. Another tip I picked up from whelyn … I put a pin hole at the top of the foil seal under the cap and tip the bottle slightly onto my finger for a drop to minimize air drying the rest of the bottle while applying a layer to the bow. Hope this helps ya.
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I worked on finalizing tiller and sanding/smoothing and scraping the bamboo on my BBO for the trade. I have shot the bow about 200 times now and left it strung for 8 hours to "soak". It sprung back to the original shape and hasn't lost any of its original 2.5" reflex so I think it probably won't take any set.
Matt
Love the look of this bow! Love the contrasting layers in the handle. Nicely done.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(9).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(10).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(11).jpg)
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Quick build update on my bow. Did a little more detail work on the handle and arrows pass. I decided to do something I’ve never done on a bow and make an ambidextrous shooter. Twice the work but hope it will be appreciated by recipient. I was on the fence about it and was gonna just do a standard rh bow with a hair pass glue up but wasn’t turned on by it I took it up a notch and decided to use the same blood wood scrap pieces from the tip overlays and had just enough to inset a pass on both right and left side. I then used a small glue on arrow rest on each side made from scrap pieces of Buffalo horn to tie in with the horn laminate overlays on the tips. I’m pretty satisfied with result. I then dressed it up with a black leather handle wrap to finish it off. The original string I made for this bow is not going to work Color wise so I’ll make a new red and black b55 string and call it done. Here’s a few pics
Cheers
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That bow is just fantastic looking and I do appreciate the info on the tru-oil. I'm sure whoever gets the bow will cherish it!..
Matt
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Some nice bows being built guys.
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Allen T - Its near Kimgdom City, MO.
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That's about an hour from here, maybe I can talk the wife into driving down
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Finished up this bow today with new string red and black. Looks lot better then the original. Shoots very smooth with 350 or 400 spine arrows. Shot it a bunch today and it retained its 4.5” reflex after resting for about 20mins. 4” immediately after shooting. Pretty happy with that. Just a pound over target draw weight at the requested draw length. I put some tape on the arrow pass while shooting today to prevent marking it up. I’ll leave that up to the new owner. I built this bow with a positive tiller of about just under 1/4” on the top limb. Can sort of tell in the pics but tiller went well and as planned for the most part. This was a nice hunk of wood to start with. I’ll ship this bow out soon I think. Hopefully it meets the recipients expectations.
Here’s a quick video of me shooting this bow
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oSZpHkkBHduwVTL57
Cheers
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Nailed it Superdav95! And a reminder to all - hold off on shipping until given the green light.
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This bow by Superdave might be the most beautiful trade bow I have seen. What a superb achievement!
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Wow. Thanks kidder. Very nice compliment.
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We’ll done on both of those bows fellas. Super cool.
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So I’ve got both my bows finished. The first done was a yellow heart boo at 50# at 27.5”. The second was a boo yew at 55# at 27.5”. Both bows measured 64” tip to tip. The yellow heart has a power lam, glued on handle, and tips of an ornamental cherry I took out of my yard. The yew has no power lam, tips are Buffalo horn, strike plate inlay is mammoth. I scooped the fades, which I think looks pretty cool. Overall both bows are great shooters. Neither is perfect. Each taught me some lessons. The unstrung profile pictures are immediately after unstringing. The yellow heart maintains a slight bit of reflex as does the yew, but the yew took some uneven set in the upper limb due to having too much positive tiller early on (lesson learned). Haven’t decided which I’ll send but I’m leaning towards the yew. Happy to hear any suggestions and constructive criticisms.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043768289_684eb9cc17_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVV8P)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVV8P) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043573763_84151c283e_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUViV)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUViV) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52042475297_e6c0fa412b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPhLR)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPhLR) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043572973_bfbfcd77f7_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUV5i)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUV5i) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52042474307_59647319ed_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPhtM)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPhtM) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043766724_13aeb7fc28_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVUEQ)2022 primitive archer trade bow (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVUEQ) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043528076_264e161d40_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUFJd)Boo yellow heart (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUFJd) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043776364_5648c89974_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVXx3)Boo yellow heart (https://flic.kr/p/2nhVXx3) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52042482987_08aae94a5d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPk4r)Boo yellow heart (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPk4r) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52043580873_3f8b282055_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUXqv)Boo yellow heart (https://flic.kr/p/2nhUXqv) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52042482912_1aab7cf331_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPk39)Boo yellow heart (https://flic.kr/p/2nhPk39) by B Kidd (https://www.flickr.com/photos/192182575@N03/), on Flickr
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Both look great, I love the tiller on the Yew bow especially! You should put both of these in BOM.
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Both bows are amazing! My vote goes to the yew bow of the two. I’d take either one of these bows. Nice work. Love the scooping detail and mammoth inlay!
Dave.
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Very nice kidder, I like the scoop
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Very nice bows! what did you finish them with?
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Very nice bows! what did you finish them with?
Thanks guys. I finish my bows with usually 3 coats of tung oil finish, followed by 3 coats of tru oil, and then wet sand it and finally I buff it with olive oil and pumice.
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Those both look great! I vote the boo backed yew as well.
I got the lams for mine ground and tapered on the belt sander and the persimmon belly heat treated today and got them glued up with smooth on. I’ll let it sit a couple days before I pop it off and see how the glue lines turned out.
Kyle
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We finally had warm enough weather to apply the finish to my trade bow. It finished 49#@27" and is probably the best bow I have built to date.....and that has always been the goal of the bow trade. I will make a new string for it and then I'll be ready to ship.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(18).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(16).jpg)
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Wow! Looking good!
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That’s a stunner! I’m really impressed with the work on the trade so far! Still a couple people that need to turn it on, but coming along nicely guys.
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You knocked it out of the park flntnp17! Looks awesome.
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Finished and string made and ready to ship. I shot another 50-60 arrows last night to make sure all was well before calling it complete. The bow pops back to its full reflex immediately upon unstringing so I'm happy with how the dynamic parts of it turned out. This one seems to be about the right length for a powerlam (I've been experimenting with different lengths for a while). I'll wait for instructions on when to ship.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(23).jpg)
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Very nice indeed.
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Well done super Dave it’s a beauty !!
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I made a bit more progress on my trade bow. I didn’t nab many pictures though. It’s been braced and pulled to about 21”. It’s still holding most of its reflex. I’ve started working on the nocks. I got some deer antler glued down but still need to shape them out. It shouldn’t take much longer the Next day I have to work on it, to get it shooting.
Kyle
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Lookin good. Lookin forward to more!
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Got my bow roughed out. Going with a simple inuit design. Attached is a pic of it and the style I'm going for.
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Looks cool. Are those siyahs at the ends?
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Honestly I'm not sure. I'm going to try bending it using a thin metal strap on the outside to avoid splintering.
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I got mine the trilam all tillered out last night. It turned out a bit lower draw weight than I expected for the thickness but it shoots well. And the combination of materials looks good with finish on. So far just a healthy slathering on linseed oil before I start on the truoil.
Kyle
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Gotta show the tips
Kyle
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Cool stuff, guys. Kyle, love that top nock. Looks like it would make a decent boar spear in a pinch! ;D
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Lookin good
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I put my trade bow in the mail yesterday....praying for a safe journey!
Matt
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I received my trade bow from Kidder.....and it is fantastic! Definitely the physically lightest bow I have shot (never had a yew bow before) and it's so quiet that it won't need string silencers. I wouldn't change anything if I could. Shot around 300 arrows with it now and hoping to hunt with it come October.
Thanks for organizing the bow trade this year!
Matt
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(27).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/FullSizeRender(26).jpg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b36/flntknp17/IMG_9410.HEIC)
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Glad you like it Matt!
Your bow arrived safe and sound as well! Unboxing the bow was like Christmas when I was 7, and to my total surprise it included a bow sock and a knapped knife! Totally blown away by it all. Matt is obviously an all things primitive expert and the knife will be displayed with honor in my office. As for the bow…I’ve never seen a bow maintain 2 inches of reflex through it all - mine sure don’t - I’m lucky if I can keep half an inch. Purely a masterpiece. Shoots fantastic and will be going afield with me come fall.
With the trade, my build included, I learned a valuable lesson. Final tiller isn’t all that matters, how you get to final tiller is equally important. Proof is in the relaxed profiles of our two bows. Sensei’s bow is perfection. Thanks.
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So cool. Very nice fellas.
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Glad to know it made the trip safely! I probably don’t have the most orthodox way of arriving at final tiller, but it’s worked for me for a long time so I keep at it and keep learning 😄.
Matt
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Well guys looking for an update from a few people. Kidder and Flntknp17 trade is complete. Superdav95 Appears to be complete, waiting for shipping approval. Mo_coon-catcher and Jakesnyder seem to be making good progress. Ssrythm had his bow roughed out about a month ago.
Swampman has been lost in the swamp since March. Stuckinthemud better get the winch out and pull himself out of the mud…
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So in bending the curves i lifted a splinter that went pretty deep. I'm not going to be sending out a bow that is less than the best I can do so... I'm going with a sinew back osage bow. The bow is about 55in long and will have just a thin layer of sinew on it
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Well I found my way out of the swamp. I had a couple of injuries that sidelined me for a bit. A shoulder issue that I have Bern dealing with for 3 years got worse and then I cut myself on my left hand. It was deep and I had stitches. When I got the stitches out it split back open right away. It finally healed up enough so I could get in my shop tonight.
I scraped on the black locust stave until I got just a bit of movement but I have a lot more scraping to go yet. I will get a picture up once I get it bending more.
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Lookin good jake. Should be a sweet little bow.
Swamp man. Glad to hear your back in the shop. Stay healthy.
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Hi everyone, sorry I've had to drop off the forum for a while, got a ton of stuff going on at the mo. Got a week off work coming up so should be able to post some progress before too long.
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finally able to get back to work on bows without my back feeling like its going to collapse. so hopefully tomorrow and friday i will be getting my vine maple bow done for my recipient. im definitely hoping he will like it. Thank you for stickin around with me about this. its been pretty rough.
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So I got my bow sinew backed. I did 2 thin layers. Will post a picture in the next couple days.
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I worked on the black locust stave a bit last night. On floor tiller I have a bit of movement now. This will be a fun one to tame. There is a lot of natural reflex. There is 4 inches of reflex in one limb and 7 1/2 inches in the other. I will have to remove some reflex from the one limb to get them evened up.
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Looking good
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I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to do for the handle, so nice and simple veggy tan stitched on wet so it’ll shrink dry to the bow and shouldn’t budge at all. I always like how a handle wrap seems to finish out a bow. I’ll make a string and get it out soon. Oh and I finally got around to picking up a can of satin lacquer to give a quick shot of to knock out the sheen.
Kyle
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Lookin good
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Here's the sinew job! It's already starting to pull into reflex!
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Lovely work, stunning bows . I am a long way behind you! I have finished rebuilding the wall blown down in the storms we had in early Spring so I have finally been able to get some time in the ‘shop. My bow is roughed out oversize at 2” wide and 35mm thick at the fades but next up is to reduce sapwood by about 4mm. At the moment the tips only move 1 inch if I press all my weight down, so plenty of room for manoeuvre. Will post more once the sapwood is cleaned up
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Well, Love Island is back on the box and that means my womenfolk are actually sending me to the workshop!! My yew bow is down to 30mm in the centre and 20mm tips. If I lean really hard on the centre then it’ll bend about an inch. Time to carve some temporary nocks and get it on a long string
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Nice. I love an excuse to be sent to the shop! Love to see some pics
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I made a little progress on the black locust bow this past weekend. I evened the limbs up so hopefully the reflex will be more manageable. After I did that I had to do some steaming to line the tips up. I still have some adjustments to make as things aren't lined up to my liking yet.
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Cool set up. Looking good so far.
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I also got my iron wood stave floor tillerred over the weekend. That stave is one that is very straight so it shouldn't need any heat or steam corrections if I do my job. I didn't take any pictures of that one yet.
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Just wanted to touch base…I’ve been working a pile out of my home state, remodeling my house, and will be visiting my folks across the country for two weeks starting Monday. I applied for a pile of tags hoping to draw one or two, and I hit in every single one of them, so my time is now limited much more than I ever thought it would be. So…I’m taking the bow I was building for my buddy in SC and I’m going to get it dialed in to my recipient’s specs and make it my trade bow. Tillering is basically finished and it’s shooting…shooting well, but it was for a 6’4” dood with a 30+” draw, and it is way longer than I want it for the trade. My bud will just have to wait to get his bow next spring. Anyhoo…I haven’t forgotten y’all. I’ll get back to working on the bow when I return to Wyoming toward the end of the month. I should have some pics up sometime in early to mid August. Rock On!
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Summer break starts in 2 weeks and my new Shinto just dropped on my porch. Looking forward to making some decent progress.
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I took the trade bow down to Mojam to show off a little before I ship it. I shit it a bit while there and man was it quiet and smooth. I’m more excited to ship it now and see what they think. I’ll get it shipped to my guy soon. I’m out of town for work the next few days, so probably Monday or Tuesday I’ll get it out.
Kyle
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Great work guys! Can I get an update on who is ready to ship - I know I’m done as is flntknp17, mocooncatcher, and Superdav95. Is anyone else ready? Hold off until given the green light as well guys.
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I am not ready to ship. My shoulder issue kept me sidelined a while longer but after a bunch of physical therapy my shoulder is probably back to 85%.
I have been having troubles getting my black locust stave tips to line up. I set that aside and am working on my plan b which is iron wood. Tillering is coming along uneventful so far. I still plan to tackle that black locust but will get the iron finished first.
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Hey guys long time no see. I have been MIA. I’m ok just between trying to pay medical bills from the car wreck and then catching covid and then taking care of my niece who caught it I’ve had my hands full. I’ve got my vine maple pyramid bow all shaped and the limb profile is shaped. Hoping to tiller it Sunday and do final sanding on Monday gotta get through the 6 inches of natural reflex it has coming straight off the handle area. After Monday I plan on getting it decorated and the leather wrap put on the handle and then hopefully it will pass muster with all of your awesome creations. Again I’m really sorry I haven’t been as active. Had covid a few times before this last bout but this was different.
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Take it a day at a time brother. Glad to hear your getting back in the shop. Hope you stay well. Cheers.
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Been able to spend some time in the shop. Done some heat shaping but it’s still twisting hard on the tree. Will do some more heat treating once it’s at brace height. Got the tips moving a few inches, still got some stiff areas to work on a little bit. Still a long way over weight, still not bending enough to burst off the bark but it’s getting there.
(https://stuckinthemudsite.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/image0.jpg)
Currently the stave has a couple of inches of reflex, tips are now drawing to 3"
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OK, so, now pulling to about 16" on my stretchy long-string, actually works out at about 4.5 inches of tip movement, so at low brace. Struggling a little to see where to scrape next. Think to take a really tiny bit off the inner third and a little more off the tips. Would welcome some thoughts !
(https://stuckinthemudsite.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/bpw-e1660053970325.jpg)
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Lookin good so far. It’s hard to say. I would agree with you. It’s got nice early bend now so I might just do matching complete scrapes on both limbs on inner and mid limb then see where your at then.
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Heat aligned the tips this morning, string tracks through the centre of the handle now, also took out most of the heli twist, bow pulls straight now, no more twisting on the tiller stick
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I got my bow to brace height. I'm going to shoot it in some and do the finishing touches and it'll be done. I love how it shoots. I'll get some pics up here soon of the finished product.
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Ok. Well , with this bow trade endeavor, I've learned a ton about my bow-building process and the joy I derive from it...which is why I do it in the first place. So, I've learned that having the pressure of building a bow for someone on a schedule diminishes the joy and adds stress, and I probably won't do this again for quite a while. I have build several bows and given them away as surprise gifts, and that was great. I've built a couple of bows for my kids and for myself, and all of those bows have turned out really nice, and all of those bows have been good shooters that I've been happy with. Some bows have ended up better than others, but I've been happy with all of them. So....
I ended up settling into two staves that I was going to turn into two bows...one for this trade and one for a buddy I grew up with. The one for the trade turned into an absolute beast as far as getting the tips aligned. I've never had such trouble with a build, but I finally got it in shape and braced. Unfortunately, the heating and manipulation must have weakened the wood, and not far into the tillering process, it popped a splinter. I am going to eventually glue that splinter down, back with rawhide, and try to salvage something from it, but for now, it wasn't worth investing my time trying to make it work for the trade...especially when it shouldn't have popped a splinter making me think I hurt the overall integrity of the wood.
The other bow I was making for my 6'4" friend....well, I made that bow 67" long and made the limbs wider than I usually do to try to prevent set with his long draw. I decided to re-do this bow for the trade. I was going to cut it down some, but I was already approaching final tiller with recurved tips, and I don't think I can shorten the bow significantly and re-establish the recurves I want and have those recurves actually hold...so I decided to keep the length and just make it the best bow it can be....it'll just be a longer bow that will last longer and shoot with great stability...right?!?
So, the bow has some twistyness, and a little snakiness, and I've had the worst time tillering. I've worked my ass off on it, looked at it till I feel like my eyes are going to start bleeding, and done my best to get it right....BUT I'M NOT HAPPY WITH IT!
I can only speak to hand-shock based on and comparing to what I've created in the past. The bow has more shock than my other bows, but I don't think its terrible. Now someone else may think its awful or maybe that it's great...IDK, but again, I'm not happy that it has more than my other bows.
It has taken more Set than I want. I'm not horribly worried about that, as the tips are still a couple of inches in front of the handle, and according to TBB, a little set with recurves should result in a bow that is easier to shoot accurately. Regardless, I'm sure the set is due to the difficulty I had and my inability to tiller the bow perfectly.
So, the bottom line is this...I'm going to make this bow as beautiful as I can make it. I can stack arrows tight at 20 yards, as it does shoot very accurately (at least it shoots very accurately for me). It is not a speed demon, as it is having to move a lot of limb with the 67" length which is also causing more hand shock than I am happy with. That said, it will absolutely kill the snot out of big game if it is hunted with, but it is not what I wanted to be sending MO Coon Catcher as a bow indicative of what I know I can produce.
MO...I'm going to finish this bow up to the best of my ability, and if you get it and like it, great. If you get it and don't like it, I apologize now, and I want you to know that you are at the top of my list, and you will be receiving the next bow that I make that turns out great.
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Got my bow finished up. All it needs is a buckskin grip. It comes in at 60lbs at 24in. 58in tip to tip. Reflexed tips and 2 good layers of sinew. Also I'll put a full draw pic up soon as the wife gets time.
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Sorry about the blury pics
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My wife watched me shoot an apple sized group with arrows that are not yet tuned/matched to the bow and told me I was being hypercritical because this was the first bow I’ve made for someone that was actually expecting a bow. Maybe it’s better than I’m thinking it is. I’m out of town for next two weeks, but I’ll have it finished and will post pics by the end of September .
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Looks like it would be fun to shoot jakesnyder!
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Looks great!!!
I’ve been on vacation for a fortnight but will be cracking on with things now. Time to twist up a string and chase the draw weight/length. Should be done in good time, will post photos soon.
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Here's full draw. I don't think it's quite strait on. But it'll work
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Good work guys. We are getting close to the finish line. I’d like an update from everyone. I show The following people done:
Kidder
flntknp17
mocooncatcher
Superdav95
Jake Snyder
Is anyone else ready? As far as I can tell we are waiting on Stuckinthemud, Ssrythm, Swampman, and Mafort. Can I get an update from each of you guys? Those finished Hold off shipping until given the green light. Thanks and keep at it!
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Hello, everyone, I had to sit out this year's trade for lack of time, but I have been following along.
Last year I attempted a few bows for the trade, and ended up sending a hickory board D bow with a diamondback pattern.
Due to a chain of mishaps, the bow I was to have received was burned in a shop fire, and the backup was stolen. After another backup plan didn't materialize (in hindsight I stretched that out way to long), Kidder was kind enough to send me the Bamboo/Yellow heart bow he built as a backup for this year's trade.
It's as light as a feather, with a good strong, smooth draw. The craftsmanship and tiller are first rate.
A huge thank you to Kidder for organizing the trades these past two years, and for ensuring that everyone received a bow in the end!
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I haven't posted anything for quite a while. My shoulder problem flared up again and ended up getting a tear repair. That has kept me sidelined most of the summer. I am making good progress on my iron wood bow. I have an even tiller and have about 4 inches to get to the target draw length. It is also looking like I will be in good shape to hit the target weight. This build started as a 67 inch stave but I split a tip on it so it is now a 62 1/2 build. I think it will work out better at that length. I almost set it aside when this happened but after looking it over I decided to move forward with it.
I do have a black locust bow finished but it is a little under weight so I don't want to send that to my recipient.
Hopefully I will get a picture posted soon.
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Had to switch to hackberry as my vine maple bow warped and I’ve been fighting to straighten it. So I’m going for a nice hackberry mollegabet/recurve type bow. Should be done extremely soon
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Chasing draw length, I’m at draw weight at 14”, but got another 14” to go before I’m at draw length. Going carefully as I don’t want to mess this up
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Ok. I got my skins on and thread wraps done yesterday, and I just put the first layer of finish on this morning. I finished shooting the bow in and figuring out the arrow tune with a carbon arrow at the end of last week. I don’t know how this usually works, but I’m going to send a couple of carbon arrows tuned to the bow, a couple of sure wood shaft Douglas for arrows, and hopefully a well tuned, truly primitive cane arrow. I took the liberty of doing a stone inlay of an animal tailored to my recipient’s screen name…I hope I didn’t assume the “wrong idea” from his screen name. Regardless, I think it came out looking like a dang cartoonish thing…my wife and kids say it looks great; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we all agree that it at minimum looks like the animal I was actually aiming for, so there’s that!
I really wanted to produce my best bow yet, and that did not happen…I guess this year was my sophomore slump. That said, for all the aspects that did not meet my expectations, the bow is an “easy” shooter (easy, smooth drawing bow), and I’m very accurate and consistent shooting it from 25 yards in, it will definitely feed the family if needed, and it should be ridiculously durable. If my guy ends up thinking “I got robbed!” it will certainly make a great conversation piece at minimum.
I’ve already determined that I’m going to send him the next great bow I make…which hopefully will be the one I originally started for him. It had a ton of reflex (too much), and I had to do a great deal of dry heat manipulation to get it aligned. Unfortunately, it popped a splinter. When I have the time this winter, I am going to glue the splinter (not bad), sinew back the bow, and make it a deflex/reflex that should be an absolute screamer.
I’ll post pics sometime around the 10th or 11th once I get the finish on and everything Buttoned up.
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Well, it’s good news and bad news, got a few sessions on the bow this week, got a nice bend, gizmo showing even curves, drawing to 16” with no set, but draw weight has gone up not down, it’s pulling 80 at 16”!!! Really worried I’m not going to make the deadline
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FD pics. Will post other pics when the finish is done.
(http://i.imgur.com/wf4DVLL.jpg) (https://imgur.com/wf4DVLL);(http://i.imgur.com/qDttxcy.jpg) (https://imgur.com/qDttxcy)
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That’s looks sweet! Well done sir.
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Well I ended up using all the time available in this trade but I will have my trade bow finished up tomorrow. I had a lot of troubles with my iron wood bow and finally abandoned it. I went back to my black locust build and made a few tweaks and it came in right at the weight I needed. I was even able to shoot it in as my shoulder is finally getting back into shape.
All I have left is the leather handle wrap. I have the leather cut and will get that on it tomorrow. I wrote on it tonight so it will be ready to go tomorrow.
It is another sap wood black locust build. It is a sister stave to the bow I built for the trade last year.
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Ok...last post before I post that I have mailed the bow. I've done all I can do with this one. I had arrows tuned before sanding and finishing and putting on the shelf silencers...after I did all that, the wind decided to pick up and blow 30 and not freaking stop. Hopefully I can catch some wind free moments in the wee hours tomorrow am to zero in on the bare shaft arrow tune. If I can, I'll build a couple of arrows for this and mail it Saturday am; if not, I will just pack this up and mail tomorrow with the arrows that were tuned prior to me sanding and finishing. I'll post up when I mail it, and thanks to Kidder and all for the patience.
Bow is 66.5" tip to tip with mild to moderate static recurves. It has taken a degree of set that has just really ticked me off, as this was super wide ringed, low % early wood osage that I built overly long and wide. I was hoping these qualities would overcome my lack of tillering expertise, but no...it took a fair amount of set. That said, it rebounds fairly well after being unstrung and resting for a few hours and the tips are still ~2.25" in front of the bow back at the shelf...so I'll say this is a naturally occurring deflex-reflex design that I was subconsciously aiming to make the whole time... ;D. Being as long and wide as it is, it has some hand shock, but not terrible. Regardless, the set bothers me, but I hope the recipient finds that it makes the bow easy and accurate to shoot.
I put some self stick velcro on the shelf and strike plate area for noise reduction and protection, because I did not want to install something that might negatively affect how it shoots and something that would be difficult for the recipient to redo. This can easily be removed and replaced with something more primitive and beautiful and natural, but it is super quiet and forgiving...anyhoo, I know it ain't pretty, but it is easy to change and works really well for hunting.
This is a self bow. I skinned it for camo for hunting purposes with two bull snake skins (ROADKILL...I won't kill a bull snake for anything, but I'll pick up every one of the hundreds I see dead on the road each year if they aren't too damaged). Thread job where the skins played out was looking sweet with the gold and black colors of the major college of the state that my recipient resides in...until I hit it with CA. The gold turned brown...which sucked...but at least it matched the snake skins.
Finish is buffed wax over 10 coats of TruOil. String is 14 strand D97 with Wool Yarn String Poofs.
Bow finished at 59# @28".
I'm probably only pulling it 27" when I've been shooting it in. I pulled it back a little extra today while running arrows through the crony. I doubt I was pulling more than 28", but I could have been. Regardless, It shot a 29.5" 555 grain 70-75 surewood shaft Doug fir arrow 177 then 176, so it'll kill a critter.
I'll post a couple of pics now, but will wait until my guy gets it before posting up the full bevy of pics.
(http://i.imgur.com/nqor95H.jpg) (https://imgur.com/nqor95H);(http://i.imgur.com/O6DSZ1T.jpg) (https://imgur.com/O6DSZ1T);(http://i.imgur.com/X09Rqdo.jpg) (https://imgur.com/X09Rqdo)
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I'm officially sick to my stomach. Mo and Kidder, please watch this video. I'll post a second video of me doing the final bare shaft tuning and speed check a bit after I post this first video. The video is an explanation of my sickness and is for any/all of the bow trade participants this year. I wanted to just do a video since I was already slo-mo videoing the shooting session, and I figured if I started to type an explanation, I'd just end up writing a novel as I got more and more pissed as I typed. So here it is, sorry folks.
https://youtu.be/vkruDSBoRS8
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Last post for this thread this year. I figured I'd go ahead and put a clip of the end of the shooting session this am. This was originally a slo mo video, so forgive the hand signals I use to communicate with myself when watching the vids for tuning purposes. It's a bit goofy. Anyhoo, three groups were shot, and you can hear the bow begin and continue to fail on the last group. Watch if you want to see what you never want to experience live. Arrgh!
https://youtu.be/THVS-MsQZEg
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Man that is disappointing. That tick sound is the worst. That was a lot of work to have it do that. I feel your pain.
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Devastated
(https://stuckinthemudsite.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/img_0290.jpg)
Exploded on the tillering stick.
No tick, even bend, gizmo happy, not been over-bent, no set (well, lost 3mm of natural reflex), no warning, huge bang, dog ran for cover, me totally devastated
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Well sounds like I will have to reshuffle a little. I’m out on an elk hunt for the week. Everyone hold tight on shipping til I can figure it out.
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Hi Guys. Without any backup bows and because we had a few last minute failures I’m having to move a couple things around. I will PM a few of you with a new recipient. I believe it should work. If you cannot make it work let me know (look at their stats). Again, let’s hold off shipping until we know for sure. Thanks.
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Ok sounds good I’ll look it the stats of my recipient and let you know kidder
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Alright I’ve moved a couple things around and I think we are all good. Pretty much everyone is on track. Most are done and a couple are close but due to some last minute changes I’ve had to ask of people they aren’t quite finished. I appreciate everyone’s patience and flexibility. That said, I’m comfortable saying EVERYONE THAT IS READY CAN SHIP. Once you do please post that you’ve shipped. Once you’ve received please post and show us all your bow. If you need shipping addresses let me know.
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Devastated
(https://stuckinthemudsite.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/img_0290.jpg)
Exploded on the tillering stick.
No tick, even bend, gizmo happy, not been over-bent, no set (well, lost 3mm of natural reflex), no warning, huge bang, dog ran for cover, me totally devastated
That sucks man. I’ve had bows do this to me as well. Don’t let it get ya down brother. Cheers.
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Got my bow off in mail today. Hope recipient enjoys it!
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Great work Dave. Everyone else can ship as well please!
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I’m hoping to ship out Monday. Work has had me traveling this week. But the bow is packaged up and ready to go.
Kyle
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I'll ship mine out Monday as well!
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Here’s a deer i harvested yesterday with a bow identical to the one I shipped out to my recipient. Thought it would be nice vote of confidence for the bow that it can take big game. This 10 pointer surprised me actually I thought my hunt was done. At last light he come sauntering through and I let him have it. I knew I lunged him good as I hit him I could here the weezing of the wound as he ran off. Got complete pass through. I let him sit for a couple hours for good measure then tracked him. Pretty stoked about this deer. Great hunt after many many hours in the stand and stalk hunting.
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Congrats Dave. Great accomplishment on a beautiful buck. Confidence booster for sure.
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Awesome Dave, congrats on a really nice trophy. And I’d have to say a perfect shot too.
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Thanks guys. Great day for sure. My best deer with primitive bow. He didn’t go far that’s for sure.
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Awesome kill! Sure beats my kill this year, a little button buck with my extreme asymmetric bow.
I got my bow shipped out Tuesday. Works been having me on the road a lot these last few weeks, but I managed to get it out.
Kyle
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Thanks Kyle. It’s meat in the freezer. I got word today that your bow is at the delivery office location and you should get it next day or so.
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And an easy hide to tan being so small.
It actually made it in today and it looks and feels great! I havnt had a chance to shoot it yet due to getting a call from my boss to head down for an inspection in the morning. The inspection is 8 hours one way from the office. So I’ll be able to shoot it this weekend. I was able to brace it up and give it some test pulls, it feels good and very snappy! I’ll give you my full thoughts once I get a chance to play with it this weekend.
Kyle
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Ok good I’m glad it made it there safely.
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Nice buck Dave, and you are quite the bow maker. Good shot placement. Congrads.
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My bad Dave. You did post it. Old age brain fart. Sorry.
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Nice job Dave! That’s a great buck with an even better bow! So here’s a status update
Kidder: trade complete
Ssrythm: bow failure, trade reshuffled to remove
Superdav95: shipped
Mo_coon-catcher: shipped
Mafort: please advise!!!!
Flntknp17: trade complete
Jakesnyder: shipped
Swampman: please advise!!!
Stuckinthemud: bow failure, trade reshuffled to remove
Mafort, jakesnyder, and swampman please advise as to status. Thanks for all your hard work everyone!
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My bow was shipped out atleast a week ago. Haven't herd anything about if he got it yet. I just got my trade bow today. I love it. I'll be posting pics when it warms up a little. It's a whopping 18 degrees out now
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My bow was shipped out atleast a week ago. Haven't herd anything about if he got it yet. I just got my trade bow today. I love it. I'll be posting pics when it warms up a little. It's a whopping 18 degrees out now
Excellent! Excited to see what came. It sure beats the -15 f it was in Montana a week ago when I was there hunting! Still cold though…
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i just got back home from an out of state contract. i have something made and should be out soon.
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I just got home from a month and a half of hunting trips and work on the road. When I got home I had a great sinew backed bow from Jake. Thank you Jake. I haven't shot the bow yet but I will soon. That is a very sweet looking bow and I can't wait to get out with it.
I am packaging my trade bow offering up today and will be at the post office this morning.
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My bow has shipped. It should be to it's destination early next week.
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Moon to catch if time is of the essence fire harden hickory bow.
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Has everyone received their trade bow from their recipient? Anyone left to ship?
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My recipient has received his bow. I have not received mine yet.
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im sorry i still need time to ship. i have received my bow from my person. i apologize im dealing with the flu in my house at this point in time.
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I intends to post up pictures of mine soon. But I havnt have much of a chance to shoot it and play with the camera.
Kyle
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Awesome kill! Sure beats my kill this year, a little button buck with my extreme asymmetric bow.
I got my bow shipped out Tuesday. Works been having me on the road a lot these last few weeks, but I managed to get it out.
Kyle
Did you get a tracking number when you shipped? Also did you ship as a gift or put a value on shipping info? The reason I ask is that ups and fed ex like to charge ridiculous amounts for duty and brokerage fees here in Canada. Let me know. Thanks
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Awesome kill! Sure beats my kill this year, a little button buck with my extreme asymmetric bow.
I got my bow shipped out Tuesday. Works been having me on the road a lot these last few weeks, but I managed to get it out.
Kyle
Did you get a tracking number when you shipped? Also did you ship as a gift or put a value on shipping info? The reason I ask is that ups and fed ex like to charge ridiculous amounts for duty and brokerage fees here in Canada. Let me know. Thanks
Sorry Kyle my mistake. I’m to receive from someone else. Disregard.
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Got my bow couple days ago. Hadn’t time to shoot it yet. Busy with Christmas family stuff. Looks like it has a nice profile. Thanks Mafort.
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Reviving an old thread but now it’s time for the reward. Did the on-time drawing for the set of Sure-wood shafts and the winner is…….
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SuperDav! Congratulations Dave! I’ll try to get them shipped out this week (my wife is tired of them sitting in the kitchen). Please hit me with your address so I can verify it hasn’t changed (although I’d love if you moved south across the border for shipping!)
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Awesome. I love winning stuff. Especially surewood arrows stuff! I’ll send you my address in in a message. Thanks again.