My 1st Osage Selfbow

nlester · September 20, 2011, 12:37:00 PM

So, through the Gary Davis video and countless hours of lurking on TG, I've made a shootable selfbow out of osage. It's by no means perfect, but I'm proud of it for what its worth. The tiller is slight off, and by accident, the lower limb is stiffer than the upper, which from what I read is good. Couple of questions: I'm not sure on the poundage of the bow, but I'm gonna put it on the scales soon. What is an acceptable poundage that has killing power? I know states have restrictions. I normally shoot a recurve that's close to 60lbs....because of that, its hard for me to guage what lb this selfbow is...that recurve is unbelievably fast, and its like comparing apples and oranges(not fair to the selfbow). Also, I have some slight handshock, not bad, but a little. I haven't finished and narrowed down the tips yet. Will this take care of the handshock, and if it doesn't what do I look for next? Thanks for all this site has done for me. There is a lot of guys, just like me, on here that don't say much, but read everything they can. Thanks

Dogbyte · September 20, 2011, 01:15:00 PM

lets see the tiller at full draw.... you'll get better answers if these guys can see it bend. can you post a pic?

nlester · September 20, 2011, 01:18:00 PM

I don't have any pics, but I'll try and get some.

Dogbyte · September 20, 2011, 01:21:00 PM

just have someone get a pic of you drawing it somewhere outside maybe... sometimes the shadows from the bow make it hard to see, if the pic is taken inside close to a wall. If your outside, there isnt a background wall to cast a shadow on.... the profile can be seen easier, at least i think so.

nlester · September 20, 2011, 01:29:00 PM

I'll try and get that done tonight. Thanks

okie64 · September 20, 2011, 05:00:00 PM

Congrats on your new bow!

The minimum poundage in our state is 40#. I think its 35# in some states. I guess it depends on what you're huntin and how far you plan on shootin as to what should be the minimum poundage. I usually shoot between 50 and 60# for whitetails. I have hunted with 45# bows but I dont think I would be comfortable shootin over 20 yards with that low of poundage.

Narrowing the tips will help with handshock and if that doesnt work the timing on the limbs may be off a little. Not a big deal to fix though.

DVSHUNTER · September 20, 2011, 05:35:00 PM

congratulations on the first bow. It's an awesome feeling isn't it. Pics will help answer your questions too. Narrowing the tips will help with the handshock as will a ff string. Some guys shoot em without overlays, but I don't. You CAN, but I don't. Tip overlays are easy and just an insurance for me.
weight wise- I've killed whitetails with a 45 lb. selfbow and 65lb. recurves and I was happier with the more weight. 45 will do it, but I like more. I feel comfortable with mid fifties PERSONALLY. Shoot legal and what you feel comfortable with.

getstonedprimitivebowhunt · September 20, 2011, 05:40:00 PM

Isn't it wonderful to shoot your own selfbow !

nlester · September 20, 2011, 09:29:00 PM

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/tennjed9/bow009.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/tennjed9/bow008.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/tennjed9/bow010.jpg

Here are some pics at full draw. Yes, it is a heck of a feeling to have a bow you've made and you can shoot. The poundage is a little low compared to what I'm used to, but I shoot it better than my heavier bows that I have.

Stiks-n-Strings · September 20, 2011, 09:58:00 PM

Looks to be a little whip tillered and that may be part of your hand shock along with the tips. Looks great for your first bow.

From the looks of the pics it looks like your limb edges need rounded just a bit to prevent a splinter from lifting.

nlester · September 20, 2011, 10:35:00 PM

I definitely need to get out the sandpaper and put the finishing touches on it. Is there anything I can do about a whip tillered bow? I know the reason why its so whipped is because I had a hinge in one limb because I got a little too crazy with the band saw, which in turn, forced me to reduce the limbs to match...if that makes sense. I hopefully learned a lesson from that. If there is something I can do about it, that would be great.

okie64 · September 21, 2011, 07:23:00 AM

You could scrape on the inner limbs to try and get them moving a bit. If it were me I would scrape or rasp from the fades out to about midlimb. You will lose some poundage doin that though and I'm not sure how much you have to play with.

mwirwicki · September 21, 2011, 07:54:00 AM

NLester: I agree with the rest, it does look like it is bending very well from mid-limb out to the tips. Some of that could be cured by removing wood from mid-limb in towards the handle. The down side to that is that the closer to the handle you remove wood, the faster your poundage drops. It's something that might better have been done earlier in your tillering stages. Not knowing the weight of your bow (Yes, it is a bow!)and judging by the thickness of the limbs, you don't really have a lot of weight to afford losing. Honestly what I would do is accept the bow as is. Sand it, clean it up, put a nice finish, leather grip, sign and date it. You've done an excellent job on your first osage bow and you learned a lot. Now that the bow bug has bitten you, make another one. It will be better than your first one.

Osagetree · September 21, 2011, 08:11:00 AM

Needs to bend more at the fades but a good 1st attempt. Now you are hooked! You know your next bow will be better don't ya?

nlester · September 21, 2011, 08:29:00 AM

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Yes, it was a good learning experience. I'd say I'll be ready to make another one soon.

It really is pretty exciting.

nlester · September 21, 2011, 09:43:00 AM

Question: Does brace height have anything to do with handshock? I wouldn't think it would, but I thought I'd ask. The handshock in my bow, is pretty minimal compared to some bows I've shot.

Stiks-n-Strings · September 21, 2011, 12:26:00 PM

too low a brace height could cause it to feel a litlle shocky I guess. I agree with every one else. I would call it good and start another. I would also stay away from a bandsaw on you next one other than to knock off some meat. I use one very little if any. I know Joe (Osagetree) uses all hand tools.

To me there is something about the romance of building one with all hand tools plus it will really slow you down and make you look at your stave a little better. Once you get the hang of building bows you can have one shooting in a day with nothing but hand tools.

nlester · September 21, 2011, 12:53:00 PM

I'm looking forward to starting my next one. Now I'm in search of a good stave. Stiks n strings, I don't suppose you have any seasoned staves ready to work that you wouldn't mind selling, do you? I'm ready for round two!

Stiks-n-Strings · September 21, 2011, 05:46:00 PM

Lester,

Don't you live up by Montgomery? Send me a PM with your # and a good time to call. I know where some osage is that needs to come down and it's a good possibility I may have some dry stuff. Also got some other wood stashed.

Seems like I remember talking with you about a year ago.

Stiks

nlester · September 21, 2011, 09:40:00 PM

pm sent