Here's a bow I finished just in time for Christmas. Paper backed red oak, 54" ntn, 30#@22", dry heat tempered r/d, bulbous leather wrapped handle with floppy rest. 'Sposed to look a bit vintage. The first picture is a little cock-eyed. The profile is actually uniform. Also, no chance to get full-draw pics yet. My camera battery died, and mine is runnin' a little low, too!
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3198.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3232.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3229.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3214.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3213.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3205.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/HPIM3204.jpg)
looks great!! tis the season for kids bows i guess! what is it finished with?
Great looking bow,they should love that.
Pappy
Russell: It's finished with two coats of alkaline stain, two coats of Minwax's Wood Hardener, then two coats of satin lacquer, then two coats of Birchwood-Casey's Gunstock Wax.
I've been using the wood hardener a lot lately as a test, and I really like it. According to the label, It seals, fills, and protects against moisture. I would agree with all three! It's almost identical the thin CA glue in its application, finish, and performance, except that it's cheaper and easier to apply.
Had to get up early to glue up a bow for a benefit silent auction we're holding at school, so I snapped a quick video of the bow at full draw.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/th_Movie7-1.jpg) (http://s984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kids%20Bows/?action=view¤t=Movie7-1.flv)
Tiller looks great.
Pappy
One word awesome!!
Nice.
I'm getting ready to try making a kids bow for my daughter, probably a bit lighter draw than that. Shooting for 20-25# at 20". I was thinking of a 50" length 2.5" at the fades with an 8" riser/handle area, tapered down to 3/8" at the tips. Not sure where to start on thickness of the limbs though.
Did you do the glue on recurves on this one? How long did you make them?
SSGN Doc: No, I didn't glue on the recurves. I attached the bow to a r/d form and then used dry heat. There's a pic below. It you'd like details on how to do it, let me know. It's really easy and can increase the performance of red oak board bows quite a bit.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Heat%20Treating%20Bows/HPIM3089.jpg)
Awesome job. Especially on the tips. I do mine the same way minus the extra stringing grove. Nice job cutting the double string grove. The only thing I would do differently is to start the fadeout directly after the top and bottom of the handle instead of after the flares. Your current design gets thicker in both width and depth going from the ends of the handle to the end of the flares. This means that the ends of the handle is a weak spot. If you fade and flare starting at the ends of the handle then it takes away the weak spot and gives you a smoother fadeout.
There will be some lucky kid out there. Great job.
4est I am halfway through my first pyramid bow all because of your postings, starting with a bow and his bow (cute little happy face). Thanks so much for the postings not stopping. I started my pyramid yesterday, and as I said I am halfway through it. I built a tillering tree too.I wish I would have stumbled onto all this sooner. In this last post of yours above you have a bow form and the heat treating thing on tips, I have to know more is there any way you could enlighten us all on the form and heat process?
Excellent little bow. There is gonna be one happy kid and a neighborhood full of paranoid squirrels shortly after Christmas.
:clapper: :clapper: That's one fine lookin' bow. I'm wantng to make one for my granddaughter. One like that looks perfect. Good job.