Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: silent sniper on June 24, 2022, 07:55:32 am

Title: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: silent sniper on June 24, 2022, 07:55:32 am
Good day everyone, I would like to present a bow I just finished. I bought this stave in April 2021 and at the time the seller said it had been cut around 8 years prior. I roughed out the bow blank in mid-2021 and spent quite a bit of time getting the stave bent into shape before I could brace it. Once at brace I set it aside until January of this year when I decided to sinew back the bow. I let it cure for nearly 4 months before I worked on it.

The bow took some work getting the tips aligned both before and after making it a takedown. I also ended up cutting off some bad wood in the riser and gluing on a new laminated handle. I had to full a void in the fadeout which was done with a mix of osage dust and glue.

This was one of my first tries working with an osage selfbow blank and my second attempt at sinew backing. It was quite a bit of work but everything went pretty smoothly

The bow is 62” ntn and draws 51# at 28”. It has 3” of rested reflex and holds close to 2” of reflex after a long shooting secession.

It has a fiberglass takedown sleeve which works perfectly and fits very tight. There is no indication it’s a takedown by looking at the bow, everything is flush and hidden under the leather grip.

The bow has buffalo horn tips and timber rattlesnake sheds glued over a thin rawhide backing. A true oil finish was applied before adding the deer leather grip and beaver tail leather shelf plate. The string is a 20 strand X99 string with beaver fur silencers.

Overall it was a great build and a bow I am very proud of. I have wanted to build a sinew backed static recurve and I am happy to say this is a good representation of what I had in mind.

Cheers,
Taylor

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52169052419_a86c895d0a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nu12K2)


(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52169051844_93880e1e34_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nu12K2)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52168813363_64c20acffb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nu12z7)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52167783842_e1f9f53139_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntYNFn)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52169052544_3bf27e4384_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntTwD1)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52167781992_1a5a4364c0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nu12Mb)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52168811941_7f512d8337_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntTw67)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52168813733_aedaf01ff8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntYNfR)

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52167781532_b2742d88ef_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntYNMK) (https://flic.kr/p/2ntTvXb)
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Allyn T on June 24, 2022, 07:59:04 am
Wow that is a super nice bow well done
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Will B on June 24, 2022, 09:17:08 am
Beautiful bow!  Love those tight recurves. Very nice bend!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Pat B on June 24, 2022, 10:04:28 am
Beautiful recurve and I love the hooks. Tiller looks perfect to me.  :OK
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: smoke on June 24, 2022, 10:17:41 am
Yikes! That is a fabulous bit of work!  Nicely done!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: superdav95 on June 24, 2022, 03:34:37 pm
Gorgeous bow. Well done
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: sleek on June 24, 2022, 03:59:17 pm
An outstanding example of good craftsmanship. Excellent job!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: JW_Halverson on June 24, 2022, 04:44:26 pm
There's the cream that floats to the top!!!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: bownarra on June 25, 2022, 01:37:57 am
Well executed :)
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: silent sniper on June 25, 2022, 09:03:43 am
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the nice words!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: bentstick54 on June 25, 2022, 10:18:19 am
Beautiful bow.
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Selfbowman on June 25, 2022, 11:43:49 am
Very nice bow ! Well done. Arvin
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Stixnstones on June 25, 2022, 05:06:59 pm
Yep, that's how ya do it....
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Wyzat on June 26, 2022, 01:57:51 am
Very, very nice work. A  two piece takedown is on my wish list. I assume you obtained the materials for the takedown sleeve from Big Jim and I was wondering if you had any tips for those of us who have never done this type of sleeve? 
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: rps3 on June 26, 2022, 09:59:25 am
Beautiful bow.
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Pappy on June 26, 2022, 07:19:02 pm
Beautiful bow, love everything about it, mighty fine work. :)
 Pappy
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: medicinewheel on June 27, 2022, 04:40:26 am
Very nice bow!
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: silent sniper on June 27, 2022, 11:30:38 pm
Very, very nice work. A  two piece takedown is on my wish list. I assume you obtained the materials for the takedown sleeve from Big Jim and I was wondering if you had any tips for those of us who have never done this type of sleeve?

I actually just used 2” fiberglass mesh and EA-40 epoxy…. Nothing fancy. I’ve learned a few tips that I will pass along.
1. Use 1” wide fiberglass mesh if you can get it. It will wrap the best with the least amount of bulges.
 
2. Calipers are absolutely necessary in order to get correct measurements of the tendon before you chop the bow in half.

3. I like a .90-.100 taper in thickness and a .40-50 taper in width in the tendon on the bottom limb. These measurements are taken from the end of the tendon to the middle where it is cut in half.  The tendon has to be tapered with no high spots whatsoever.

4. Draw as many reference lines through the tendon and riser before you cut the bow in half. These will become very valuable when trying to line it back up. Draw the reference lines both straight through and diagonal on the riser to ensure the bow alignment is good.

5. Make sure the bow is firmly clamped and perfectly aligned in the jig before starting to wrap the mesh on the handle. Spend the time it takes to get it aligned and clamp it well so it doesn’t get bumped and shifted in the process.

My biggest piece of advice is just to give it a try, experience is the best teacher 👍🏻

Cheers,
Taylor
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: simk on June 28, 2022, 03:03:58 am
....as good as it gets  :OK i bet this one showing up with nice numbers through the chrono!
thanks for presenting - I will follow your advice and just give it a try - somewhen then  :)
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: bjrogg on June 28, 2022, 02:00:53 pm
Very nice bow SS.

Bjrogg
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: backtowood B2W on June 28, 2022, 03:06:42 pm
Going to flight travel soon and I would love to have such a bow in the suitcase...will give this a try for sure someday. The snakeskin is beautiful - I'm wondering what reason for the rawhide between skins and sinew - do you think the snakeskin is not enough protection?
Thanks for showing!
B2W
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: bradsmith2010 on June 28, 2022, 04:03:06 pm
beautiful congrats,, (-S
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: silent sniper on June 28, 2022, 11:13:19 pm
I'm wondering what reason for the rawhide between skins and sinew - do you think the snakeskin is not enough protection?
Thanks for showing!
B2W

B2W, the rawhide was just a personal preference of mine, I intended to add the rawhide over the sinew from the very beginning. The snakes were just to dress the bow up a bit.

 I’ve had bamboo failures in the past on my laminated bows and I’ve learned that a rawhide backing makes a wooden bow extremely robust and the odds of a failure on the back of the bow drop tremendously. It’s cheap insurance that’s worth it to me.

My view on it may change with more time/experience, but for now I’m a fan of rawhide.

Cheers 👍🏻
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: PaSteve on June 30, 2022, 06:31:55 pm
Wow! That is a beautiful bow S.S. Great job on the take-down sleeve, also.
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: Wyzat on July 01, 2022, 09:53:05 pm

[/quote]

I actually just used 2” fiberglass mesh and EA-40 epoxy…. Nothing fancy. I’ve learned a few tips that I will pass along.
1. Use 1” wide fiberglass mesh if you can get it. It will wrap the best with the least amount of bulges.
 
2. Calipers are absolutely necessary in order to get correct measurements of the tendon before you chop the bow in half.

3. I like a .90-.100 taper in thickness and a .40-50 taper in width in the tendon on the bottom limb. These measurements are taken from the end of the tendon to the middle where it is cut in half.  The tendon has to be tapered with no high spots whatsoever.

4. Draw as many reference lines through the tendon and riser before you cut the bow in half. These will become very valuable when trying to line it back up. Draw the reference lines both straight through and diagonal on the riser to ensure the bow alignment is good.

5. Make sure the bow is firmly clamped and perfectly aligned in the jig before starting to wrap the mesh on the handle. Spend the time it takes to get it aligned and clamp it well so it doesn’t get bumped and shifted in the process.

My biggest piece of advice is just to give it a try, experience is the best teacher 👍🏻

Cheers,
Taylor
[/quote]

Thank you for that information. Yep, experience, along with a few pointers is a great teacher. Again, wonderful work on that bow.
Title: Re: 2-piece Takedown Sinew backed Osage Recurve 51@ 28
Post by: M2A on July 02, 2022, 08:34:36 am
Great looking bow SS! Cool take down.
Mike