150# recurve

[JW_Halverson]

I had a few requests for higher poundage bows over the years but nothing over 65#, that is why I started putting double nock grooves on the top limb an a wider one the bottom limb, so I could  could use a simple cord bow stringer to string those bows when they were first strung up at probably 75#+ pounds. At first I left the overlay chunky and filed it down to one groove as I finished the bow. Later I started incorporating the second groove in the finished bow as a way for the owners to easily and safely string their bow with a two loop piece of parachute cord.

A chunky stringing groove that has almost been filed away and one on my later bows;

That's exactly the upper tip overlay that I am doing these days for EXACTLY the same reason. My bows now go out with a bowstringer that has a leather cup for the bottom limb and a leather tab with a little hole to slip over the tip and fall into the uppermost smaller groove. Someone that bought his first bow from me back in 2011 just got a another (his 3rd or 4th, cannot remember) just commented on how much he loves using a bow stringer. The latest bow was 59# @ 27" and he said it was a bear to string the push pull method, but even his 8 yr old daughter could string it with a little effort.

[Marc St Louis]

I had a special jig that I used to brace heavy bows, nothing more than a 2X8 with several 3/4" holes drilled down it's width and a support for the handle.  Even with that it was a nightmare to brace it for the first time.

As far as dimensions go I didn't really keep track of the information but if I remember right it had 1 3/4" wide limbs and the length would have been in the 67" range

The backing was sugar maple and I found that maple is a more reliable backing than hickory and it was quarter sawn, or edge grain.  I had access to high quality sugar maple from land I owned.

I'll try and upload picture to the site, I'll have to crop and reduce their quality to do that.

[superdav95]

Very cool mark.  Those short little recurves look sweet. 

[medicinewheel]

150#... sure... why not...

[Marc St Louis]

The title says 150# but I noticed last night that the folder those pics are in says 135# so I guess it's actually 135# @ 30".  It was still a crazy build, might have been that bow that made me quit