Author Topic: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory  (Read 4375 times)

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Offline M2A

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54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« on: March 06, 2020, 06:45:49 pm »
Worked on one for myself this winter. Been at this "hobby" maybe 5 years now, with seldom a day off. Was much smarter and knew soo much more before I ever put a draw knife to a stave. Took 2 years before I got anything over 30 lbs if it lasted long enough to get a shot from it. Still amazes me now when I get one shooting. The hickory I cut so far has been poor, I bought this stave. Very nice straight, clear stuff, with just a little prop twist that I could never get all the way out. I do like the many styles that people make here but for me there is nothing better than shooting a scalloped bow. Finding a good enough piece of wood to make one is the hard part. Another aspect I enjoy is using all natural materials for stains and paints, so this bow is all dressed up with stuff I was able to make or find. Never thought I'd be grinding rock to mix with egg yolk to make paint but here I am. Colors used on this bow include walnut hulls, bloodroot, copper verdigris, and ground rock. Handle is pretty straight forward when you see the pics, just wish I had a better source for raw hide than dog bones but it don't get much easier or cheaper than that. Took 3 weeks of  tinkering  here and there to get it shooting "just right". Really sweet shooting this bow. Finish is fat/wax from pine hollow.  Think that's everything I got.

Enough rambling, enjoy the pics, here's the stats:
62" ntn
54lbs@27"
1 3/8 wide at the handle
3/4" at nocks

IMG_3413 (2) by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3415 (2) by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3436 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3439 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3434 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3432 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3448 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3449 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3426 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3424 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3445 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3446 (2) by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_3447 (2) by Mike Allridge, on Flickr             

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2020, 07:02:55 pm »
For sure that is a nice looking bow
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

Marc@Ironwoodbowyer.com

Offline bjrogg

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2020, 07:22:42 pm »
That’s a dandy Mike. You did good.
Bjrogg
A hot cup of coffee and a beautiful sunrise

Offline jeffp51

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2020, 07:39:48 pm »
that is really nice.  I like how straight the unbraced picture is, and the tips are awesome too

Offline BowEd

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2020, 07:48:18 pm »
Good special effort into that bow.Like the full draw and resting profile.
BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline PaSteve

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2020, 08:12:01 pm »
Great job. That came out really nice.
"It seems so much more obvious with bows than with other matters, that we are the guardians of the prize we seek." Dean Torges

Offline burchett.donald

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2020, 08:25:38 pm »
Mike,
          That one blows me away man...All natural products, wow! Love to see the real deal like this on PA...Your bend and balance?  "Immaculate" is the word...Scalloped bendy is my favorite design also...You hit a home run with the bases loaded! Thanks for sharing this...Great pics also!
                                                              Don
Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

Offline Swampman

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2020, 08:34:42 pm »
That bow is beautiful Mike.  You are the scallop master!  I bet that one is a sweet shooter.  The bend is perfect. 

Offline WhistlingBadger

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2020, 09:59:36 pm »
Nice looking bow!  Tell me about the scallops:  Functional, or just pretty looking? How do they affect the building process and performance?
Thomas
Lander, Wyoming
"The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.
Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for."
~Louis L'Amour

Offline Jakesnyder

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2020, 05:28:45 am »
Did you get the bow to floor tiller then cut in the scallops? I know that's how halfeye did it. (Another scalloped master) I know from personal experience it is hard to scrape with a draw knife after they are cut in. Just think of the native americans who took the time to carve them out with stone!
Awesome looking bow!!

Offline Hrothgar

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2020, 07:13:14 am »
Good looking bow! Tiller is perfect from here.
" To be, or not to be"...decisions, decisions, decisions.

Offline M2A

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2020, 07:41:17 am »
Thank you Marc, Bj, Jeff, Ed, Steve and Hrothgar.
 
Thanks Don! I have, even as a kid, had an interest in making use of what I could find as far as natural resources. I think that natural thought process fits right in with primitive archery. So I been trying to combine it all together as best I can. I have picked up a lot good information here on PA about things I didn't know.

Thanks Mike, the one you got just kinda worked out easy, I had to work on this one a bit more. 1st time at F/D it had more of a "thump in the hand" then I was going to tolerate. Took me some time of scraping, shooting, scraping....removing a small amount of mass at the tips made all the difference. Real happy with it now. Better to be lucky than good sometimes :)

Thanks WB and Jake. I'm sure there are others with a deeper understanding then myself, but will go from my own experience and thoughts here. The scallops are more for show than functional. Its important to keep the back and belly of the excess in the neutral plane or non working part of the limb. Nothing exaggerated but just enough. That's easy for the back if you have a slight crown in the rings. Stave selection is so important, one knot or wave to the grain in the wrong place will mess you up as well, that is where I have seen people fail at this design. I suppose some would say they just add un-needed weight. For that reason I keep them shallow, it dose not take much wood removal to see the appearance of the scallop. I tiller out to about 16 inches before I do any side carving, if not farther. I figure adding the scallops will gain me 3-5 inches at the same weight in draw. that leaves ~4-6" of draw to hit my mark. I use a pencil, block of wood and sandpaper to keep the belly even after this point. Just a scraper alone will make washboard pattern on the belly. IMHO scallops on both sides is an easier design than single sided. When I cut them in on this bow, the working part of the limb was thicker on that side because of a slight crown in the rings that led to some twist. I had to readjust for even thickness at that point, something I didn't consider before then. that all said...as far as performance, bottom line- I think they hit hard and shoot well. Yes Jake I have though of some guy with a sharp piece of chert and a block of hand flattened sandstone working on one of them....I like my steel tools:)
Hope that answered things. That was  a lot of typing at one time and should proof read but maybe later :)
Thanks, Mike       

Offline Will B

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2020, 06:18:55 pm »
That is a really nice bow!  I love everything about it. Great bend and the scallops give it some real character. Thanks for sharing.

Offline WhistlingBadger

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2020, 08:18:40 pm »
Thanks for the explanation, Mike.  It's a beauty. 
Thomas
Thomas
Lander, Wyoming
"The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.
Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for."
~Louis L'Amour

Offline NorthHeart

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Re: 54 lb @ 27" Hickory
« Reply #14 on: April 01, 2020, 11:09:52 am »
This bow is awesome, great bow and nice artistic touches!