This bow has been a work in progress for several years.  Whenever I headed to a gathering I would grab it out of the corner and take it with me.  I'd get a little bit of work done on it at each event.  I don't remember ever having this bow on a tiller tree.  I would draw it back and rely on the eyes of my bow building friends to tell me where I needed to scrape.  I imagine that is how a lot of native bows were tillered.  

The bow is darker osage.  It really held its reflex.  It's 59" from nock to nock.  The stave was only 3/4" thick to begin with so I had to build up the handle with some leather on the belly and back for a more rounded grip.  The skin is albino rat snake.  The skin was white but when I glued it down it turned clear.  I was able to see the air bubbles and glue pockets under it while I was gluing it down.  I like how it turned out.  It reminds me of ghost flames on a custom car.  The overlays are osage scraps because I forgot to pack any horn pieces to the Moontree gathering last year when I flipped the tips on it.  The string is 10 strands of D-97.  I used car rim sealer for the finish on it.  I put 4 coats on it in under 25 minutes.  

 

 


Here is what I used to seal it with.  Thanks for the tip on using rim sealant Benbow!

   

That is f'ing nice! Love the snake skin and the wavy Osage! Very pretty

Thanks Krasus.


I forgot the stats.  I never checked the weight on it with a scale but it feels pretty stiff.  I'm guessing 45-50 lbs at my draw length.

Really nice on all accounts!

Very nice, Clint.

That's really nice Clint

Cool bow Clint. The albino skins will kick as the osage darkens. Well done.

Scrub buster that is a sweet looking bow. Cool story on it's build. Glad the finish worked well for you      I got the idea from KennyM

Nice work on a great looking bow.  Love the way the skins look.
I'll be trying that finish on my next one.  Nice  

I don't think I've ever seen you in long pants Clint.

It doesn't happen very often Pat.  I was working on the front porch of my camper and crawling under it.  Work pants were a little better option than shorts.

I like the lines,,, sweet profile.

That's a beautiful bow!  Thanks for sharing the photos and story.

Very nice.  I really like it.