So i saw a horsebow on a post here awhile ago, and figured id try my hand at finishing one. Theres alot of options, and alot of stuff you can personalize when finishing them. Anyway, heres a few pics of my mock up of the handle/riser before I commit to a finish. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0315.jpg) (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0316.jpg) (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0317.jpg) its black leather with brown/black strips laced around the top and bottom and down the middle of the front. It feels pretty good in the hand, and so far i like the design.might change it to white lacing instead, but i wont know for sure until i commit to how im wrapping the siyahs. Kudos to 4est for the rest/strike plate idea. I toyed around with a few others but this seems like itll work pretty well
Very nice!
so on to yet another part of the bow, the siyahs. alot of creative freedom here, ive seen alot of people use hemp, and even some use leather.For this bow i pretty much decided on keeping the natural wood showing through the fiberglass on the back and belly, so i wanted something that was a little plain. my inner perfectionist never lets me do anything without first doing a mock up, so i got the idea to use some artificial sinew i had. I made the bowstring for my longbow outta the stuff, so i know it ages really well under alot of use. anyway heres a few pics. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0319.jpg) (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0320.jpg) any thoughts on how it looks?
it looks great! tell me, how do you attach the artificial sinew? what kind of adhesive?
actually i havent, i planned on just wrapping a few layers on it. its artificial sinew waxed stuff so i dont think i could glue it if i tried. im liking it though the more i think about it cus itll help keep the overall mass of the limbtips down.
theres a few diferent types of the artificial sinew on the market that i know of, this stuff is made by tandy. i asked tandy awhile back what the breaking strength of it was cus i made a bowstring from it and the guy i talked to said probably around 25 lbs. or so. anyway this stuff is more natural buckskin color than the stuff thats really stretchy.
Try silk. It's period, strong and will look good.
this stuff just comes on a spool, its kinda like dental floss i guess. anyway i just wrap it on then pull the end through using the starting end. kinda like you do when serving a bowstring.
i had considered using colored cordage to wrap them but wanted to do something a lil diferent with this bow.
if ya like that, try this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t_31Bxn7vQ&NR=1
the guy has a whole lot of uploads...they are all in korean, can't understand a word...but if you watch him carefully you can make out what he's doing.
QuoteOriginally posted by walkabout:
actually i havent, i planned on just wrapping a few layers on it. its artificial sinew waxed stuff so i dont think i could glue it if i tried. im liking it though the more i think about it cus itll help keep the overall mass of the limbtips down.
I used the same stuff and any of the TB glue will hold it in place.
yea those traditional composites are definitly an artform. very labor intensive, and great overall end product. ill have to try that guido, cus im seriously leaning toward using the sinew stuff. i like how it compliments the wood grain of the limbs, and that stuff looks great after its seen a bit of use. reminds me of when i was growing up with my grandpa back home trapping and seeing all his pelts on stretchers.lol its one of those colors you dont see very often.
speaking of pelts i wouldnt mind having a fox tail to make some string silencers out of for this bow. would go nice with the rest of the colors.
gives me incentive to start scouting hunting spots for next year:D can never have enough materials, and a fox hide quiver would be pretty nice.
Looking great man. Keep the pics coming I wanna see how this turns out.
kris
so after taking time to put final coats of finish on the siyahs, i got to work adding more permanent touches. since Im laying out the handle/riser with black leather, i thought id add an accent strip at the base of the siyahs. its the same black leather as the handle and i laced it with three strands of artificial sinew. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0328.jpg) so far i think it looks pretty good, kinda captures a lil of the traditional styling and still keeps to a somewhat minimalist design. heres a pic down the front profile. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0331.jpg) This is a pic of the string i made for my longbow, just to illustrate some of the color that the artificial sinew gets. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0327.jpg) anyway next ill be adding the wrapping to the other siyah and then the matching accent piece. this all takes me awhile cus i add stuff, then leave it for a few hrs and admire from afar to see if im really content with it. more after the next step.
Looking great...did you thin the width of the siyahs at all? I really like the look of them.
Looks good. Remember that artificial sinew stretches a LOT, and I've found it never really settles in unless it's too thick to be anywhere near efficient.
Have you shot it yet?
only thing i really did to the siyahs was to round the square edges off the front.im really happy with the whole thing so far, even though i havent gotten to shoot it. the siyahs made me nervous, even though i braced it and drew it before doing anything. as far as the sinew,ive used it quite a bit for diferent things here and there. my string made of it is 14 strand, i went by the norm for b50 just to be safe. it hasnt really stretched yet on my longbow, its been the same every time ive braced it. cant remember if it was that string or something else, but i remember pre stretching somethin.lol
another trick i use with the sinew is to heat it just a bit so it pulls tight.snow has kept me inside for a week or so lately, but since i got the siyahs done im gonna bring my target into the garage and fling some arrows, im anxious to see how it shoots.
got to shoot the horsebow for the first time today, drug my target into the garage and let loose. Shoots fast and hits pretty hard. no real handshock at all. actually shoots a lil better than my longbow for my style of shooting. still putting the finishing touches on but ill post more pics as soon as i get done, currently have another project going too so im going back and forth between the two.
with the sinew ya can heat the ends and it wont come undone on ya cool or what. nice looking bow walkabout :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by walkabout:
the siyahs made me nervous, even though i braced it and drew it before doing anything.
That was one thing that scared the heck outta me when i first started building these type of bows. I have seen a 50# throw a tip THROUGH a tin wall of a shed and go about 30 feet. I personally had a 60# blow both tips off at full draw cutting the top of my left hand. One of the tips landed about 100 feet away the other we never found. If the tips are not pinned (if you got the bow from atilla they are pinned) pin them AND wrap them!!! Some cheap insurance in doing that.
the bow looks great!!!! good job!!
wrapping definitly made me feel better about it, stepdad took a look at em and said "how is it that those dont break off." lol. when i first started this bow i wanted to put a snakeskin backing on it but at the moment snakeskins are too pricey for my liking, ill wait till summer rolls around and have my friend in new mexico round some up for me.
one thing i do plan on doing is making fox tail silencers for the flemish twist string im ordering from seigeworks, and makin a fox pelt quiver to match. Growing up with my grandpa hunting and trapping fox has given me a good appreciation for them.
ahh was that you that emailed yesterday??? had sent an email back and told sara she might be getting a call for one. Very cool!
yea that was me,lol. id rather have a flemish twist than an endless loop, gives a bow a nice touch, plus its easier to add silencers.
i normally like being self sufficient, but i havent bought any B50 yet.plus my carpal tunnel gets the better of me when i gotta twist long pieces.
What are you using to pin the siyah's to the limbs?
My Attila horsebow does not have the siyahs "pinned" to the limb, and I have shot it a lot, and no problems.
R.W.
(This was a "kit" bow, that I put together)
i got this one from attilas and it has a screw and a wooden pin in the siyahs.
i figured - he does excellant work.. very nice guy to chat with!!
Got your call yesterday and now i can not find my phone, i think it is buried under sawdust and on silent lol.....
I'll give you a ring this evening and get ya set up with a string for that beauty! :)
yea, Attila's great about getting back to ya about questions,everything ive emailed him about has been answered within the same day. Been trying to get more done with this bow, but waiting on a few other things before i put final touches. just ordered my fox hide for my quiver yesterday,still trying to decide where im going to bite the bullet on leather.lol. plus i got a shooting glove ive been working on too. should have a nice set when im done. anyhoo more pics as soon as i can.
just thought id stop by and give some update to this post. ive been a lil busy lately with homelife and my american indian lit class, but i got some materials coming for this bow, actually might end up a lil diferent than i even thought. working on my quiver when i can,new meds had me sick for a day so ill update when i can.
wanted to update this post since its been awhile. i finished this bow and got some pics, it turned out better than id hoped and shoots just as good (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0359.jpg) i ended up putting some skins on the back, and redoing the handle with some buffalo hide i recently got for my quiver project (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0360.jpg) finish coated the skins in coats of tung oil, sanding and steel wool in between coats. it ended up smooth as glass i ended up wrappin the siyahs with hemp after all, one of the wraps of the art sinew slipped down over the bend a lil bit so i figured id do it with something i knew i could glue in place well. the hemp is bordered by wraps of thread that are saturated with CA and then sanded (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0362.jpg) (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0361.jpg) only thing i still need to do is add some fur string silencers and itll be completely done. took me awhile cus i had 4 things to work on at once, but lately ive been pushing to get done so i can build my lil sisters bow before i make the trip back home for easter. anyway thanks to everyone who followed the post and gave input.