Recent Posts

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21
Arrows / Re: arrow spine
« Last post by bassman211 on November 20, 2025, 12:18:28 am »
Cut in window has no effect. Must be me, and thousands of other guys that know the closer to center shot the easier it is to tune a bare shaft of one , and some times 2 spines. Congrads on winning the bow of the month. Nice work.
22
Arrows / Re: Stone point tests.
« Last post by Pat B on November 20, 2025, 12:13:24 am »
Nice. I've only made a few wild rose shafts. I use mostly sourwood or hill cane. I've made a few red osier and viburnum shafts also.
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Bows / Re: Black locusts bow
« Last post by bassman211 on November 19, 2025, 11:10:15 pm »
If you make  a locust  bow from a sapling you don't need to trap the back, and when I did trap the back more than I should have the back broke when I used logs. It can be a bitch to get one just right, but when you do it makes a good bow, and will teach you a thing , or two about tillering.
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Bows / Re: Big knot bow
« Last post by Selfbowman on November 19, 2025, 09:20:21 pm »
A couple more coats  of true oil and a wrap it’s done.
25
Bows / Re: Big knot bow
« Last post by Selfbowman on November 19, 2025, 09:16:27 pm »
It’s going to my leather man Monday. I am going to have him put a nice leather wrap on the handle. You have to know your limitations. 🤠🤠🤠the bow is deserving of a nice wrap.
26
Bows / Re: Osage Selfbow
« Last post by bentstick54 on November 19, 2025, 07:22:25 pm »
Thanks guys.
Sleek, the set immediately after unstringing has about 1” of set, but after sitting for awhile settles in about 1/2”.  I was hoping Arvin would come in on another thread when I was asking for advice on about the last 4” of tillering since this was my 1st attempt at flipped tips. All of the set is in the outer 1/3rds of both limbs evenly. So at least its consistent.
Almost forgot, handle is 4” with 3” fades.
27
Bows / Re: Black locusts bow
« Last post by Jim Davis on November 19, 2025, 07:19:48 pm »
Four inch handle, two inch fades. Six inches at the tips not bending much.
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Bows / Re: Osage Selfbow
« Last post by sleek on November 19, 2025, 03:43:12 pm »
That tiller looks immaculate! With the bow stats you gave, and assuming an 8 inch handle, the bow should have taken slightly less that half an inch in set, which is impressive on its own. How mich set did it take?
29
Bows / Re: Black locusts bow
« Last post by sleek on November 19, 2025, 03:29:57 pm »
When I lived in Maine, BL was the best wood I could easily get.

My first use of it was from a small tree that only allowed a 1-1/2" wide stave. I made a pyramid design bow that was nearly perfect tiller at #35. It had about 3 inches of  reflex. I shot it a lot and it performed well. Then I discovered that the belly had a parade of frets from one tip to the other--the whole belly.

With nothing much to lose, I just kept on shooting it. Eventually, I over drew it and it broke.

For the next few years, I made all my bows with backs narrower than the belly. But my subsequent research found studies that indicated that wood only stretches about 1% before breaking. SO, narrowing the back does not make the tension wood stretch more to accommodate the compression of the belly.

We all know that if we bend any piece of wood far enough, it WILL break. The balance for bowyers is in making the limbs thin enough to not yield (take set) at the amount of bend (draw length) we want. At the right thickness for the bend, the weight will be determined by the limb width.

My best locust bows were pyramid design, a little under 1/2" thick, 2-1/2" wide at the fades, 68" NTN and about #40 at 28".

How long do you make your handles and are your tips stiff? Im trying to calculate how long the actual bending section of the limbs are for your bow.
30
Arrows / Re: Stone point tests.
« Last post by Robert Pougnier on November 19, 2025, 01:58:40 pm »
Those are wild rose shafts
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