Anybody done this?? If so how hard was it?
Here is my problem I dont have many wood working tools. I dont want to invest the money if I cant get it done. I dont have a tiller, and im pretty sure i need one.
Just want to know how hard it is for your avearge joe, and what kind of tools am I going to need to the job.
If anyone has done this I sure wouldnt mind seeing the finish product.
Thanks in advance
Sammy
I just ordered a dryad finished. Call me lazy. Doesn't the tiller string, instructions ect. come with the blank? I believe they do. Could be wrong though. As for how hard, I would say if you have patience it should be no problem.
Sammy,
I can tell you from personal experience that Mike Westvang is a classy guy to work with. You will get a very nice blank from him and very good instruction. You do NOT need a shop full of tools to finish a blank from Mike. In fact, you will actually need very little. You could do it with a 4-in-1 rasp, a scraper and some sandpaper. Not more than $20 total.
If you take your time and listen to Mike's instructions, you will have an excellent bow when you are done.
Stan
You get the Glued up, Rough Formed, Bow Blank and a DVD on How To Finish the Bow. Go to their Website and it will tell you all about it.
Knowing Wing and his passion fer helping folks in Trad Archery. Can't imagine he would make it to difficult.
Besides sometimes we need to step across the line, take a step up from "AVERAGE JOE" :bigsmyl:
I've done one.......Bamboo backed Osage with cocobola riser and tip overlays.
It was my first ever attempt,and I'm definately just an average guy.Wasn't that hard at all,and once you start you just can't wait to get it done.Hardest part for me was the tillering,and I ended up finishing underweight a bit due to trying to catch up limb to limb alot.My best piece of advice about tillering...........DEFINATELY GO VERY SLOWLY,LITTLE BY LITTLE AND CHECK VERY OFTEN.
All in all it was very fun,very addictive,and quite a learning experience.......and I have a decent bow that is a hoot to shoot.
mike has those things engineered to where you should nt have to take too much wood off. Varmint is dead on with the tools needed. Just take your time, (EXERCISE the wood!) and youll have a really nice shooting bow. The new ones have even better performance than the old ones. I just finished one up that shoots fantastic, It is very fast and just about doesnt require string silencers. IMHO, they are great hunting bows.
give it a try and have fun with it.
It is best to rig up some kind of tiller tree. I bought a pully and and I bolt(about 5 bucks tops). Screw the I bolt into a stud down low in your wall, mount the pully to it and run a rope through it. Screw a 2x4 block to the wall directly above it at about eye level. Once you get the dvd from Mike, you'll see what I'm talking about. If you are getting a bulletwood blank, It is expecially important to excersize the limbs as you tiller your bow.
You'll also need your bathroom scale to check your draw weight. I use a wood closet rod with a string groove cut into the top of it, and mark 1 inch increments down the rod to 28". Simply lay the string in the groove and pull down on the bow till you hit your target weight and check how many inches it took to reach that weight. Always check to see where your target weight is at a given draw. Don't pull your bow farther than your target weight and you won't come in too light.
I have built 4 of the Dryad Blanks(my favorite being a yew) and they are as easy as folks say. Just follow the dvd's instructions,take your time and you'll be just fine. Hope I was of some help....Terry
well sammt im on my third one and all i use is a 4in 1 and a scraper if you watch the dvd you will have no problems plus as close as you live i bet you can talk mike into a little starter course
I agree with varmint and brent. I have a bbo with cocobolo handle / tips, too, and it has turned out pretty good. I, too, came in a little underweight. (Wanted 50-55, and came in around 45), But I took this bow into the woods today stumping, and it shoots great. Faster than my other bows, quiet, and amazingly, seems to hit right where I'm looking. Nice bows - look nice, shoot nice, and aren't that hard to build. The DVD is good - follow it and you won't go wrong.
BillJ
my bro and i have been working on ours on the weekends for an hour or 2 when we can...college doesnt all us to work on them that much. But school is out on Thrusday. Mine is almost done, and my bro's aint far behind. We are lucky in the fact that our father is a cabinet maker, so we have alot of wood working practice. We got a bit fancy with all of our tools, but from what i see it is not necessary. Our bows are the hedge with coco handles and tips. Currently mine is 62.5# at 20" i have 6" more to go and hope for close to 65#.
They are fun to do, and the directions are easy to follow, and Mike is a great to deal with. He has replied to my questions in a timely manner. So if ya have any qustions, or need to just clear things up...give him a hollar.
Pintail
Hey!!! I just saw this thread. Dang with you living in Flower Mound we can schedule you to come down on a Saturday or something and get some hands on instruction.
They are real easy to finish out and take most folks 8-10 hours.
If you have any questions give me a call.
Mike
Anyone got any pics of the bows they have finished? Thinking about doing one myself. Guss
I have one laying around here but have not picked it up yet. A good blank with good glue joints.I will get to it one day when the mood strikes. :)
If this works,here's a few pics of mine.Now remember it's the first time I've done this,so take it easy on me........
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/varmint255/SANY0003.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/varmint255/SANY0005-1.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/varmint255/SANY0007-1.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/varmint255/SANY0006-1.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/varmint255/SANY0010.jpg)
Mike,
very nice!! I wish my first bow looked that good. Go to show how easy it is to finish out the blank and make a bow that you will be proud of for years to come.
Thanks for posting your pics.
Mike
BTW nice group!!
Mike,
very nice!! I wish my first bow looked that good. Go to show how easy it is to finish out the blank and make a bow that you will be proud of for years to come.
Thanks for posting your pics.
Mike
BTW nice group!!
here are a few of the bow I just finished up after the hunt in Texas.... yew/cocobolo, 66" and about 55-60# at 30".
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/cadyak/bow-1.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/cadyak/20.jpg)
Nice job guys! I'm just starting on mine and I'll be real happy if it comes out near as nice as either of yours.
After seeing these bows I'm undecided what to do on the riser. I was planning to add a leather grip with a (Ferret) floppy rest but I like the looks of Brent's rest too.
Brent,is that a custom feature you just added or is it an option included with the blank?
They look nice. :clapper: I think I will start on mine today now that I have seen a couple to get me in the mood. :) I got to run find a rasp and scraper thing-a-ma-jig first or I will have this sucker on a grinder and be done with it in an hour. ;)
Dave,
the rest is built-up of layers of tooling leather and THIN superglue. makes a very hard material with a feel like phenolic. It rasps like wood and is easy to shape. Post some pics when you get going and these tiller experts can talk you through if you have any problems.
Brent's rest is the same as mine,although his came out better I think.Very easy to do,there's a build-along here on Tradgang.Mine is mostly covered by the grip.
Now Brent don't be showing the guys the profile of the new hunter as a blank. Those were special only for the "Bowyer's Hunt" guys. We'll so something special next year on the hunt too.
Mike
WHOOPS.
I love my other one too!
:knothead:
just shaped a little differently. great performer also. Just get mike to tell you about the elk he took with one.
Well I got a rasp and cut those facets in there.Still pretty darn stiff. :) Could not find a scraper however anywhere close by.I will have to take a drive to get one of those I guess.Rasping sure is slower than my grinder. ;)
Thnaks for the arrow rest info. I took a look at the build along, it was very well done but Dave never said how he keeps from glueing his fingers to the leather? What's the secret?
James: one half from a pair of scissors works pretty well as a scraper. either way, go slow and let the scraper do the work. pushing down too hard will cause ripples and waves in your wood.
Dave, I use plastic gloves or sometimes just a little sandwich bag aver my hand.
Tique,
Only way I've found is to be very,very careful.I pre-cut each piece before any super glue was used to make sure it would turn out pretty close to the shape I wanted when the glueing was done so there wouldn't be a ton of sanding to do.
brent d, That is a nice looking bow.I always wanted to try one of the blanks,after looking at your pics I think I will start saving my money for one.Leon
Varmit,
We precut ours in 1" squares and glue to the bow with thick CA glue. Then do the rough shaping. After that we just follow Dave Bullas tutorial.
Mike
Thanks Leon. I opted for the yew on this one and I really like the way it shoots. I did one not long ago with osage belly... the original hunter style and even though I missed the weight I was looking for, I continue to be really impressed with the way the bow hurls a heavy 650 grain arrow. (That is a lot of working limb)
I forgot that Mike and Jason had put something special together for those of us on the Dryad Bows/7th Age Bowhunting hunt. I hope they know how much we appreciate that.
The only problem with doing a blank from Wingnut &
Son is that after seeing how tight those glue-ups are I cant bring myself to glue anything.
Here is a link where I sought very good help while I was tillering a Dryad Bow Blank. I don't have my camera "wife has it at the moment" or I would put pictures of finished bow up. She will be home tomorrow will try then. Remember this was my 1st try and I am happy with it even though I am sure people can find many faults with finished product.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=043925
The project was not all that difficult and I had never attempted anything like this before. The tools were not expensive and I made my on tillering tree very cheaply. Had a great time doing it and I plan on doing others.
Well I have got to the point of putting a short string on this one.I am about 3hrs into it now.It looks like a bow a bit now.I narrowed it down a little because I could not stand limbs that fat. :) I got to rig up a tillering tree of sorts before I can go much farther.Looking in the mirror won't go but so far when you have a little morror. ;)
Got the facets done and the handle shaped. As soon as I get a round file or rasp I'll do the nocks and then on to the dreaded TREE. Moving along slow, trying not to mess it up too bad.
Well mine is all finished up. :mad: The tiller was almost perfect and I was at 40 at 21".I had worked it a lot and pulled it back after scraping a little and BAM it was all over!The bamboo went right between two nodes.It reminded me why I usually build glass bows. :D
QuoteOriginally posted by James Wrenn:
Well mine is all finished up. :mad: The tiller was almost perfect and I was at 40 at 21".I had worked it a lot and pulled it back after scraping a little and BAM it was all over!The bamboo went right between two nodes.It reminded me why I usually build glass bows. :D
This is what I am scared of :scared:
Dang James that sucks. Pack it up and send it to me. My only concern is that you decided to redesign the bow and narrow the limbs.
"I narrowed it down a little because I could not stand limbs that fat."
Of course if it was the wood or bamboo that caused the failure I'll replace it no charge.
Thanks,
mike
Thanks Mike but there is no need for that.Wood is a natural product and everything you sent me looked good.You can't control what happens when it leaves your hands.Sometimes things just happen.
This is the first time I have had anything with bamboo break and it was bending so smooth it really was a shocker.We know when you start running into problems things can go south but when everything is falling in place so nice and one goes it sucks. :bigsmyl:
I have plenty of stuff here to glue up another one when the wounds all heal.Thank you for the offer just the same but there was nothing done wrong on your end and I would never give the impression it was otherwise.
Dang!!Sorry to hear that......
I would have been heartbroken if mine had done that.It gets you all wrapped up in it.Definately plan on doing another,got a good while before my Osage that I brought back from Illinois is done drying.....then I'll try one from start to finish.
Sorry to hear that, James. I know it had to be a disappointment. As I have come to expect, both you and Wingnut (Mike) handled it as the true genmtlemen you both are. Bless your hearts.
Glad you didn't get smacked in the headbone or anything, in the process.
Yep sometimes no matter how careful you are in selecting materials a hidden flaw shows itself during the tillering process. Doesn't happen to often though. We sold almost 200 blanks last year and only had five warrentee replacements. Like I said James, "I'll replace it no charge". It is already on the build list and will be completed right after Memorial Day. Hope you don't mind waiting that long we've had a bunch of orders come in.
Besides it will let you nerves settle a bit. LOL
Mike
Sorry to hear that James; glad you weren't hurt.
Mike,
Very well done!
F-Manny
LOL - I know my nerves would have to settle - and then build back up to a steady level again.
Amen to THAT Bernie!! I would be just a Little Ball Of Nerves when the BANG happened!! Just Means that it can Happen to Anybody, and enforces the "Observe As You Build" Rule! Well Done Mike, and Good for You James to Take it All in Stride!!
Mike is aces! When my archery class bought blanks from him, one of them blew. I don't know if it was a "hidden defect" in the wood, or just the results of a 13 year-old tillering his first bow.
Mike not only replaced it, he rough tillered the bow as well and my student ended up with a very nice bow that I am pleased to say he is still shooting to this day as a 16 year-old.
Stan
Hey Mike my Dryad blank blew too! You know, the one with the horn belly? Scared the poop outta me. Could you make my replacement soon? :bigsmyl:
Yeah I think this one had horn on it too Micky. :bigsmyl: I got a backup or 3 laying around however so don't be too relieved yet. ;)
Mickey,
Hmmmm! you never got a blank or a horn for that matter. I'll remember this in January and I do the cooking. LOL
Mike
UH OH :eek: busted! :knothead:
The..guess I'd better pack some peanut butter and jelly-Ferret
Yep you might want to watch the spice box when we put together your meals. Them Habenaro peppers add a little pop to the potatos.
LOL
Mike
Micky, I remember Mike mentioning an old recepie his dad taught him. Some thing he called "one bend stew". Not sure what that means but there were a lot of snickers around the table. :rolleyes:
Cheers. :bigsmyl:
Derek
Think I'll be brown bagging it ;)
I mean it's not that I don't trust Wingnut or anything :rolleyes:
Oh Mickey,
You know that I'll take care of ya. :rolleyes:
Your my little buddy!!
For those of you that have never had the pleasure of Mickey in hunting camp. He is culinary impaired and only eats a few things and those are S&P only. His will be the dinner prepped on the back burner all by itself while the rest of us have Jambalaya or something good like that.
LOL
Mike