Red Cedar Flatbow ... first character bow

[LittleBen]

Hey everyone! I just finished my first real character bow and even my first bow from a stave. This is from a nice ERC that I cut about 6 months ago to make a walking stick for my father. Had it seasoning since than and finally got the bug to start a bow. Cut the remaining piece of the tree into two 7ft lengths (3.5" diameter and 5" diameter, and split the thicker length into 2 staves, one very knotty and one very clean. I started on the knotty one because I couldn't resist trying.

I've been looking at many people's osage and yew character bows with bullt holes and such and I've been dreaming of one made of the very beautifully grained Eastern Red Cedar. Yew is expensive and not available here in NY and I trip over hundreds of red cedars just trying to get to my blind to hunt. The choice was simple.

The bow measures just over 62" tip-to-tip, and I estimate that it draws about 45#-48# @ 26". Limbs are roughly 2" wide for most of their length(2/3 maybe) and tapering to about 1/2" at tips. Tip overlays are also red cedar set at a sweptback angle to display the grain and color of the wood from the front. Semi-rigid handle, you can feel it bend when you draw but it appears rigid to the eye.

Finished with 2 coats (so far) of satin gloss tung oil for a hunting approved but good looking finish. I like to use this on all my bows. I will probably add 5-10 more coats before I'm satisfied fully.

Please enjoy the photos and let me know what you think! Thanks!

[coaster500]

Pics, pics?????

I'd love to see your bow!!

[LittleBen]

[LittleBen]

My bad coaster, I got distracted. My roomies were making shrimp rolls for lunch!!

[coaster500]

Hey shrimp rolls can't blame a guy for that  

Wow!!!!  

I love your bow, great tiller and that red wood in the a-la-natural looks great  

Hows it shoot?

[Pat B]

ERC sure is pretty wood and smells great when you work it.
She looks very nice. How about a full draw pic and an unbraced pic showing the side profile?
 Eastern Red Cedar is a true Juniper(J. virginiana).

[wood carver 2]

That is a beauty! I might just try ERC for my first self bow.    
Dave

[Shaun]

Very nice work! You did good to get 26" draw from an unbacked 62" cedar piece. Please more photos like Pat said and is the back the under bark cambium layer or did you thin the sapwood?

[dmikeyj]

Nice bow.  
One more request for more pics. I have some ERC staves curing, and most are pretty filled with pins, like yours.  I am also interested in the sapwood removal amount, if any.

On a side note, I wouldn't mind some limb dimensions to help give me a reference on my attempts.  (Don't mean to hijack the thread)

Mike

[red hill]

Great lookin' bow! Bet it weighs next to nothing.  

[Crooked Stic]

I like that one.

[briarjumper12]

I really like that.  I friend of mine cuts a lot of cedar on his place.  Looks like ERC is in my future too.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Nice looking bow! Now we need a full draw pic.

[ron w]

Well that's kind'a neat!  

[LittleBen]

[LittleBen]

Full draw coming soon once I get a minute.

[LittleBen]

Coaster: shoots well but admittedly with a bit more hand shock than I'd like. I think that has to do with the knot toward the limb tip.

Red hill: weight is a little low but not by much. Limbs are much thicker than hardwood would be. Prolly low for tbb4 mass principle. Taken 1.5" bottom and 1.75" set top. I expect nearly 2" on each after further shooting in.

[Keenan]

That is very impressive. ERC often needs backed but you pulled it off very well. Great tiller

[LittleBen]

Thanks! I've been busy making a bow for a friend which I have to deliver with tuned arrow set next weekend. Haven't had a chance to take a full draw pic but I'll get it done soon.
Thanks for all the positive replies. It was an aweosome project and learning experience. The only real trick was persistance and a little bit of balls bc it creaked a few times during tillering when I thought it's explode. Took off a little more wood each ttime and here it is.

Thanks again.

[LittleBen]

I obviously spoke too soon on sayin this bow was complete, or safe. Lifted a splinter on the back which looks like it may become fatal. Hoping to resurrect the bow through injection of TB3 into the crack while the bow is strung, then unstring and clamp it down.

Anyone with experience on this?