Whoever said you can't make just one bow sure was right. This particular day in the shop was like the day you decided you'd paint the living room and it ended up turning into an addition complete with vaulted ceilings and the elk mount above the fieldstone mantle. Some things just seem to take their own crazy paths.
This bow was no exception. I knew it was going to be mine but I still wanted to practice on a few things nonetheless:
A good tiller, a great feel in the hand, and... my patience. About 32 hours later, my 6th bow as an apprentice to the art and craft, and my first as a married guy, was born. And born angry. NO stack, a draw as silky as lingerie, and the kind of hand shock that makes you ask if this thing has any hand shock.
My second bow from a board stave of common cherry I got for $8 from woodcraft, along with some purpleheart which seems to be my favorite to work with lately, and ebony, my arch nemesis. 60" tip to tip, 46# @ 28", and she weighs in at a sweet 21 ounces strung. 7" brace height and hopefully I'm gonna get her chronoed tomorrow cause man she WHIPS! The guide and alignment pins were a concept for glue-up, but I want to work a couple ideas for those out in future bows too.
If I ever make another one...
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5229.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5236.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5237.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5230.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5238.jpg)
In this next pic, you may be able to see the only tooling mark I couldn't get rid of, so i improvised and used it. It's the arrow shaft in my specs, and the mark is my neglegence on the band saw. If I were to try to sand it out, the bow would've turned into a 30#er (if that) for sure from the hinge I would've created.
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5244.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5256.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5260.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5243.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5242.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5253.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5246.jpg)
Very nice job ! Like the wood combo. Cherry makes very fast bows. My friend Phil has a cherry d/r-longbow and i'm always amazed how fast this thing flings the arraws.
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Andy
One of the best board bows I've seen!
Excellent work
><>
Glenn
that is one sexy 8$ bow... ill giv
e you 20 for it...
i wish
-hov
Very nice. I like the pins you added.
Beautiful craftsmanship! Those grain runouts on your limb may come back to haunt you somewhere down the road.
Wow Nice job. Beautiful bow
Wow- that is a fine looking bow- great job!
QuoteOriginally posted by Eric Krewson:
Beautiful craftsmanship! Those grain runouts on your limb may come back to haunt you somewhere down the road.
You share the same thoughts I did when it was time for glue-up Eric. I was holding my breath EVERY time I tillered cause I was waiting to hear the dreaded "ksssshhhkk". The grain was far different than the bow I made out of the adjacent stave. But she keeps shooting em and I keep loving it. I gotta tell ya there's a lot to be said about rounding corners prior to tillering. I usually only round the back too, cause you're gonna be scraping and sanding the belly anyway, once the tiller looks good I finish rounding all the edges.
But this bow came from scraps like me so we're one in the same. Good eye Mr. K!
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
that is one sexy 8$ bow... ill giv
e you 20 for it...
i wish
-hov
I saw you're getting in the game yourself. Look out bro, this is addicting. I wanted to throw out a dollar figure so people who may be leary about trying to make their own bow can feel like they can without breaking the bank.
And 98% of the knowledge to make that bow came from right here.
Great looking bow bud, you're talented :notworthy:
First thing I seen was the grain that Eric mentioned. Other than that WOW!
You make some fine board bows Fish. Love the grip and tips.
Awsome job bud.
WOW!
Did you do any Pics of the build up?
QuoteOriginally posted by KellyG:
Did you do any Pics of the build up?
Unfortunately not. Was there something you were wondering about? I'd be happy to help how I can.
QuoteOriginally posted by Stiks-n-Strings:
First thing I seen was the grain that Eric mentioned. Other than that WOW!
You make some fine board bows Fish. Love the grip and tips.
Awsome job bud.
I know right? That cherry is something awesome lemme tell ya. I'm just gonna have to shoot the heck out of her till she explodes. Hopefully that's not any time soon. Sure doesn't feel like it will be. It's funny you mention the tips Kris, my wife hated these. I liked em tho.
QuoteOriginally posted by fish n chicks:
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
that is one sexy 8$ bow... ill giv
e you 20 for it...
i wish
-hov
I saw you're getting in the game yourself. Look out bro, this is addicting. I wanted to throw out a dollar figure so people who may be leary about trying to make their own bow can feel like they can without breaking the bank.
And 98% of the knowledge to make that bow came from right here. [/b]
sorry to double quote , but it happens.
fish : im definitely in it for the long haul. i looked into it years ago , but back then all i learned about was stave bows. and a decent stave was around 50$ plus shipping , so thats why i never tried it. im hooked for sure , and i even have some pics up finally.
im using bowery as rehab till my leg heals and i can get back to work...still another two months to go. now that the wife is back to work , i have 40 hours a week all to myself. no kid , no woman , and of course no cash. the woodlot at the end of the road may look a little thin by this time next year , and all my nice fishing spots will be a few river canes short , as soon as i can hobble out to them.
i just cant get over how nice that looks...
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
QuoteOriginally posted by fish n chicks:
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
that is one sexy 8$ bow... ill giv
e you 20 for it...
i wish
-hov
I saw you're getting in the game yourself. Look out bro, this is addicting. I wanted to throw out a dollar figure so people who may be leary about trying to make their own bow can feel like they can without breaking the bank.
And 98% of the knowledge to make that bow came from right here. [/b]
sorry to double quote , but it happens.
fish : im definitely in it for the long haul. i looked into it years ago , but back then all i learned about was stave bows. and a decent stave was around 50$ plus shipping , so thats why i never tried it. im hooked for sure , and i even have some pics up finally.
im using bowery as rehab till my leg heals and i can get back to work...still another two months to go. now that the wife is back to work , i have 40 hours a week all to myself. no kid , no woman , and of course no cash. the woodlot at the end of the road may look a little thin by this time next year , and all my nice fishing spots will be a few river canes short , as soon as i can hobble out to them.
i just cant get over how nice that looks... [/b]
That's pretty much how it started for me bro. I was laid off about 20 months ago now, and the architecture world in the metro Detroit area isn't exactly back yet. Nothing is! lol So finding work is a full time job now. And when i'm not doing that and tending to the honeydo list, i'm finding peace one bow at a time.
Good luck to you, and I hope your leg gets you in the woods soon.
Damded ugly bow. You should send it to me for proper disposal. :bigsmyl:
I love the look of cherry, one of my favorites. When working it did you have any problems with chattering in the wood. I have often had that when using it for other woodworking projects.
With cherry's wavy grainwhat is the best orientation of the board to get one without grain runouts like those. A little scarry but sweet looking.
QuoteOriginally posted by razorback:
Damded ugly bow. You should send it to me for proper disposal. :bigsmyl:
I love the look of cherry, one of my favorites. When working it did you have any problems with chattering in the wood. I have often had that when using it for other woodworking projects.
With cherry's wavy grainwhat is the best orientation of the board to get one without grain runouts like those. A little scarry but sweet looking.
That's ok Razor, I got a fire going that'll eat that bow up right now! I'll make sure she gets disposed of properly.
Here's the thing I learned about cherry in this particular experiment: It's not oak. lol
With that said, here's some more detail. I noticed, when you are working oak, or other woods that have somewhat of an open grain, and you have runoff, you're going to get upset cause that bow WILL peel it's runoffs during tillering, the tiny sections of open grain between the ring you're working and the edge leave the grain no chance of surviving the stresses you're putting on it.
But cherry is far different. VERY uniform in density, regardless of the grain. Take a look and you'll see what I mean. The oak's grain is porous, and the grain also looks hairy, not solid like the cherry's.
The riser shown here is from what has to be the best grained red oak board bow i've made or seen. Perfectly quartersawn with pretty much straight grain end to end. It's a lot heavier than cherry as well.
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bowyer%20Stuff/Purple%20Passion/IMG_4153.jpg)
But if you look at the cherry's grain, and mind you this is just common cherry, you can see the growth rings are very solid and uniform, and the cherry itself is very dense, yet light. Shown below are two bow's risers made from the same 1X8, that I split into 3 staves. The first one was with the heartwood as the back, and the second was with the heartwood on the belly, cause of the grain's orientation. I think you'll see what I mean:
First the board itself, you can see the heartwood and sapwood clearly,
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bowyer%20Stuff/Bow%20V/0618001646a.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bowyer%20Stuff/Bow%20V/0618001646.jpg)
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bowyer%20Stuff/Bow%20V/IMG_4179.jpg)
For this one, I went with the grain's orientation being played against the draw of the bow. This was a tough decision for me cause I was afraid the runoff would come back to bite me, even tho my theory proved somewhat accurate. I got less set on this bow than the one prior. Both had grain runoff at the limb's edges, but neither have checked. yet! lol
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5252.jpg)
See? No voids or air pockets that could lead to problems in the future. Just nice dense wood with solid earlywood lines, and even better looking latewood.
But you asked about chatter, and your answer would be no chatter for me. But then again, I don't scrape, I use a belt sander mounted on it's edge. I did a few scrapes here and there on both of them, but still no chatter. Nice long answer for a short question! :biglaugh:
Gorgeous bow, Fish. That is a great wood combo.
Stan
Man that's a beauty
Great looking bow, but man those run-outs scare me!
It's a beauty but that grain is scary. Jawge
Thanks for the cheers guys. Kinda wish you guys ould shoot it. I think your confidence would surely increase. I managed to get her chronoed. 140 fps was the average. Not a wheelie but with 600 grains and a well placed shot, i'm thinking she'll down something.
those tips are beautiful...do you have any pics after glue but before shaping? im curious how tall the pieces were before shapin.
also how much flex was put into it...
in other words , id love to build something very similar for myself...
-hov
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
those tips are beautiful...do you have any pics after glue but before shaping? im curious how tall the pieces were before shapin.
also how much flex was put into it...
in other words , id love to build something very similar for myself...
-hov
Thanks Hov. Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pics during this build's glue-up. Kinda wish I had now but I can still answer your questions. In the end I still refer to, and recommend any non-pro to check out 4est's toot. I wouldn't be having the great time with these bows that I do without it.
The tips end up being a total height of about 2 3/8" to 2 1/2". depending on the sheet goods you go with. I haven't gotten to the level of being able to chop down, mill and finish my own bows yet, but until I have the resources and can, I keep it simple and fun by going with store bought stock, ranging from 1/8" x 3 x 24 to 3/4" x 3 x whatever, and arrange as desired. The stuff I get looks like this:
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/General/0618001647a.jpg)
You create the curve you like based on the overall height you get when you build up your recurved section. As far as flex goes, what you see is actually the natural "set" that the bow takes from being drawn and strung up so often. It's not necessarily a good thing cause it in turn means you're losing draw weight as well. It eventually gets to where it's gonna stay and you just admire the curves. Hope this helps. Have fun!
Great job bud!
Beautiful! There is nothing else to say.
That is a cool looking bow. Very creative. Knifemaker
So far I must've flung some 300 arrows out of this bow, and it gets harder to put down each time. I have more fun shooting this one than my factory built bows. I just gotta get some arrows spined closer to the bow's weight. Thanks again for the props ya'll. This was definitely my favorite build yet.
Wow what a looker. I have never seen cherry hold together without a backing a some sort. i am truly astonded. I'll say this, cherry will make a smokin bow. I have made some hickory backed and ash backed. the ash backed ones seemed to be the best. Did it take any set?? the ones i have made took almost no set. cherry is really good in compression. all my best cherry has come from woodcraft too. Love the tips, only thing i would change is maybe a linen or silk backing (just for security). Great Job. Cherry is such a heartbreaker, i hope it lasts and lasts for you.
Thanks Sulphur. I am going to try and back a bow soon. I haven't researched it yet, but I know I'd like to do something with gator. Maybe I'm shooting for the moon, but you can't win if you don't play I say. As far as this bow's set, pretty much what all my other bows took. I don't know how to measure it really, I'm figuring to be about 1.5". If I lay it on a table, the riser section doesn't quite touch the table. But the pic should help. BTW I hope it lasts too!
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/jonnoocha/Bow%206/IMG_5283.jpg)