Author Topic: Serviceberry Sapling Bow  (Read 44856 times)

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Offline Gordon

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Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« on: January 03, 2009, 09:16:39 pm »
Here are some pictures of a bow I recently made out of a 1 ¾” diameter service berry sapling. The bow’s length is 59” ntn and it pulls 63# @ 27”. The limbs are 1 3/8” wide from the handle to mid-limb then tapering to ½” at the tips. The handle is 1 ¼ “ wide and flexes slightly when the bow is drawn. I used a heat gun to flip the tips up a bit and the bow holds about 1 ½” of reflex. The handle is deer hide with a Strunk style wrap and the wood is stained with medium brown leather dye. I used Tru-Oil to finish the bow. A sinew patch was applied to the upper limb to reinforce a small knot that started to crack. I’ve drawn the bow 1500 times and put about 200 arrows through it so I think the patch will hold. I used simple self-nocks and no arrow rest so that I could qualify this bow for primitive shoots. I hope you like it.












Gordon

Offline aruge

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2009, 09:26:35 pm »
Beautiful bow.  Al

Offline Jesse

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2009, 09:27:35 pm »
Great bow Gordon. I really like the colr and the tiller looks great. Is it just an illusion or did you file across the back for the string grooves?
"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."
    --Frank A. Clark

Offline Gordon

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2009, 09:33:48 pm »
Quote
Is it just an illusion or did you file across the back for the string grooves?

Oh heavens I would not do that with a self nock! The wood does, however, tend to compress at that point because I use a FF string.
Gordon

Offline tdog

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2009, 09:36:18 pm »
Very cool. I really like the colorful job in dyeing the limbs. Beautiful!

It doesn't matter how or what you shoot, as long as you hit your target.

Mark(Wetumpka,AL)

Offline Keenan

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2009, 10:07:31 pm »
 Now that's a bow :o :o :o  The profile on that is awesome Gordon, and love that you kept it a clean primitive.  So share your thoughts on service berry. I was very supprized by the strength. How dose it shoot.

Offline Pat B

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2009, 10:14:37 pm »
Very nice Gordon. I wonder how our serviceberry compares to the Western variety.    Pat
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Gordon

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2009, 10:23:59 pm »
Keenan,

How are you doing my friend? I hope your recovery is going well.

I found service berry to be a surprisingly strong bow wood. A vine maple bow with similar dimensions would pull about 45 lbs. So the wood is very dense - almost like osage. I don't have a chrono so I don't know how fast it shoots, but I'm very confident it would take down just about any N. American big game if the arrow is put in the right place. The wood is easier to scrape than vine maple because it does not chatter like VM will. I kept the belly flat so I'm not sure how resistant to compression it is. The next one I make I'll radius the belly somewhat and see how it holds up.

Gordon
Gordon

Offline hawkbow

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2009, 11:59:26 pm »
beautifull bow brother, looks like a meat maker for sure.. great job Hawk a/ho
IT IS BETTER TO LOSE WITH HONOR. THAN TO WIN THROUGH DECEPTION...


Mike "Hawk" Huston

Offline koan

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2009, 12:05:38 am »
Gordon..you have done it again! ;)...everyone else wait to post your bows till next month, this one will be hard to beat! :o....Brian
When you complement a lady on her dress.....make sure she is the one wearing it.....

Offline FlintWalker

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2009, 12:36:50 am »
Very beautiful Gordon.  Not just a bow, but a work of art!  Saw Filer
Be thankfull for all you have, because no matter how bad you think it is...it can always be worse.

Offline adb

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2009, 12:42:51 am »
A super bow, as usual!

AKAPK

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2009, 03:52:37 am »
It's like a miracle how a person can work a piece of wood like that, really inspiring, hope I can do that with the maple branches I got Curing. Sure would like to know more about your Arrows those always look good also.  :)Phillip
« Last Edit: January 04, 2009, 03:56:40 am by AKAPK »

Offline DanaM

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2009, 08:03:37 am »
Another beauty Gordon :) I have several pieces of serviceberry drying, problem is they always end up having terminal twist :'(
Oh well I will keep looking.
"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

Manistique, MI

John B.

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Re: Serviceberry Sapling Bow
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2009, 10:25:43 am »
Very, very nice.  You got a lot of bow out of that little sapling.