Thought I would post my "warm-up" efforts. I made a couple of bows, which are replicas of Eastern bows in museums. Both are made from scraps from the ironwood bow I recently made for Turtle.
First bow is a copy of a Bodewadmi bow located at the NMAI. Mine is 51", Ironwood self bow, 44#@25", made with stone tools, stained with boiled tobacco, and the finish is pitch/bees wax/ and grease. My string is single ply raw-hide but differs from the original in that mine does not have the "hair on". I think it is a fair representation of a plain Great Lakes style.
The second bow is also ironwood, 47" sinew backed double curved. The bow is NOT skinned but is painted with oxide pigment in glue, then finished with the usual pitch and grease. Made with steel tools. The bow is painted in the common (Ojibwe) Chippewa manner of solid color with bands at mid limb....I reversed the color palate from a actual portrait picture....
Hope you like them. PS: now on to the serious work.
rich