My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...

[Echatham]

well i will see how good i can get the glue joints and use super glue if i can... unibond if i need to fill a gap

[J.F. Miller]

is important to not overclamp things like risers and overlays. they require very little, if any, clamp pressure. I position the horn as fast as I can without gluing myself to the bow and put a piece of painters tape around it to hold it still until it dries. no clamps at all on the overlays. sorta kinda seems like the gel c/a glue fills gaps to a small extent, but I cannot swear to it.

I always drag my spare toothing iron, which has about a 1/16" crown across its width, freehanded on the wood before gluing. only the wood, not the horn. toothing iron indispendable for wood bowyery.

[Echatham]

finally got my horn in yesterday afternoon. got it glued up last night and took the clamps off this morning. used gorilla super glue, and light clamping pressure.  they are on there good. i tried hard to pull one off.




   


oh, and this happened this weekend! unrelated but still important. Thats my 5 yo daughter Nylah, and she just finished her first 3d shoot with dad.  they gave her this old plaque they had.  she was super excited about it and has been carrying it around since. even took it to school.  she shot really good. hit more than half the targets on first try, and from a good 7 to 10 yds with her little hickory bow that she helped me make.            

 

[Zradix]

Cool story about Nylah.

Sounds like she's pretty proud!      

That's GREAT!

That horn is going to look pretty!

[Echatham]

are the pictures showing up all skewed to you guys?  photobucket isn't playing right for me

[Zradix]

There's a smiling girl!

[Zradix]

just the close up looks skewed..the 1st pic in the post

[Roy from Pa]

I guess it's Ok:)

[Zradix]

lol..

[Zradix]

he just knows you're tougher than me.

[John Scifres]

Nice job.  

Have you shot it yet?  I don't see how anyone can resist shooting a bow once it's mostly tillered and ready for finish work.  I am impatient as hell to get to that point.  And I am a patient man.  Plus, it's amazing how shooting a bow really tells the tale of tiller.  It can look completely awesome on the tree and if it shoots like crap, I ain't done.  I don't finish a bow, including adding overlays until it is shot in.  Like hundreds of shots.

You can shoot a bow with a tillering string of B-50.  I went a whole hunting season using one on a bow once.  All my strings for the first 10 years of making bows were an upper loop and a lower timber hitch.

As far as set, you are in great shape.  Anything less than an honest 2" total follow is fine. 1" or less is great.  Don't try to fix it after the fact.

[Echatham]

I have shot it a few times, and it shoots good. not loud, not much handshock at all. but i didn't want to put too much wear on my string by shooting with my nock grooves only cut in to the sides.  I nailed the length of my flemish string first try, that usually doesnt happen for me....so i figured id just get the tips on before i tore my string up. not to mention it has rained about 10" in the last couple of days.

[Echatham]

I already suggested to the guys that next sunday's 3d shoot be self bows only.... so i kinda have to get this done this week.  

[Bowjunkie]

Like John, I shoot them about 200 times before I finish sand, dye, spray finish, apply leather grip etc. But my horn tips are usually installed before I begin tillering.

[Echatham]

had a few minutes when i got home to rough out the tips... now off to dance class.  will have it all ready to start shooting in tonight.

[Zradix]

Looks classy already.

[Echatham]

thanks man. you know i was surprised at how light and easy to work the horn is. thought it would be heavier and tougher. do you guys think there is still to much tip mass?

[Echatham]

just got to do some sanding now.... both tips are pretty much done.

[Razorbak]

looks damn good

[Echatham]

ready to shoot.  got everything pretty cleaned up with 220 grit. still a few tool marks here and there but i will get them.  taped on a floppy rest for now. (I don't shoot off the knuckle since i went to the ER with an inch of feather in my knuckle. once they work their way in you have to dig for em... and i just couldn't cut myself deep enough to get a hold of it)  hopefully its not pouring out again tomorrow. gonna try to put at least a hundred arrows through it, check tiller, finish sanding, check tiller again, shoot a hundred more, check tiller, couple coats of tru oil, leather handle wrap.