Post by: ChrisS on September 10, 2006, 07:57:00 PM
Advice, critiques, and bets on how far I get before she blows are all welcome! :D
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/index.html
Chris
Post by: the Ferret on September 10, 2006, 08:27:00 PM
Post by: Osagetree on September 10, 2006, 08:28:00 PM
I say you go all the way and it's a real shooter!
Post by: Wallcrawler on September 10, 2006, 10:12:00 PM
Post by: TexMex on September 11, 2006, 08:50:00 AM
Post by: Deadsmple on September 11, 2006, 09:59:00 AM
Post by: tom sawyer on September 11, 2006, 11:37:00 AM
Your 6" tips do look long, what would you make them now that you see them? 4"? And is that 6" counting all the wood in the bend or is it to the middle of the bend?
Your under-backing lam sounds like a good idea. Will it be full length or tapered to a knife point at midlimb?
I agree with your prep of the hickory backing, I think it is far safer to taper only the glue side. Especially since you cut it down so much. I do wonder whether you needed to thin it that much, I'm not one who thinks a backing can necessarily overpower a belly in the thickness range we are dealing with. I'm finishing a hickory-backed bulletwood bow and it is nearly half hickory in the outer third of the limbs where there is significant reflex, it has held up quite nicely. Mulberry is pretty light though, guess you were playing it safe.
Keep up the good work.
Post by: ChrisS on September 11, 2006, 05:04:00 PM
Oh, and before I forget again. Here's the one that inspired me to give this a try. My design borrows heavily off his, though with less premiere materials ;)
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=40;t=000028
Lennie - Not exactly sure on the new length. The 6" was from the start of the bend to the tip. I didn't expect it to look so long, but I've never bent wood around a radius that small before.
The bend only took up 2" on the back face and the remaining 4" are straight out. I may go as low as 2" from where the bend straightens, but I'll have to take another look after it's glued and bending a little.
I did the hickory bend the same way. Steamed them for all of 10 minutes. When I unclamped they were only 45 degrees or so, whereas the mulberry kept a good 70 degrees before the dry heat. After the dry heat, however, the hickory was identical to the mulberry bend at around 80 degrees.
I'm going to try a 17" middle lam. I don't know how much it will stiffen the limb up past the fades. JD went with 2-1/2 inch past each fade so I'll try the same and see what happens.
Yea, I'm playin it safe with the hickory. My selfbows out of this mulberry all took on set pretty easy. It's not the best compression wood, but it's so lightweight. I may have better luck with this since it is quarter sawn from the inside rings which were 1/4" thick. My selfbows were from the rings just inside the sap layer and the rings are very tight there.
I had better get in the basement and back to work :)
Chris
Post by: ChrisS on September 11, 2006, 11:51:00 PM
Post by: tom sawyer on September 12, 2006, 09:59:00 AM
As for glueup, make sure you have evenly distributed pressure with your clamps. I use small blocks of wood that extend across the entire limb.
I persoanlly think 1-1/2" deflex is a bit much, but taht is just me. If I have 1" I'm happy. I use a "2x4 block" method. I put the tips up on 2x4 blocks standing on their long side (3.5"), so that they hand off just a bit and thi8s give closer to 4" reflex. Then I clamp the handle to a 2x4 block on its short side (1.5"), then clamp the limbs down a little farther than that on either side, about 1/3 the way out. This gives me that 1" or a little less of deflex. I figure the bow will set a bit near the handle and that will accentuate the deflex anyway.
With this approach I've been getting consistent resluts of 1" of net reflex, that means I'm only losing 1.5" in tillering. More a tetament to the design and backing, than my skill.
One other tip, you are likely to have a lot of squeezeout, so put down some plastic wrap to catch the stuff or you'll have a mess on your hands.
Post by: tom sawyer on September 12, 2006, 10:00:00 AM
Oops should've looked at your progress report first, disregard that earlier advice. And anyway, I wasn't thinking about your tips sticking up that far.
The power lam looks excellent, I'm going to give that a try myself. I've been putting them on the belly side and they work decent there too, on the backing side it'll give you more natural deflex I suspect.
Post by: ChrisS on September 13, 2006, 09:08:00 PM
I updated pics for tonight. Looks like it turned out ok, pending judgement of the glueline. I have the feeling it is a bit thick.
edit: oops, I forgot to change the server copy. *now* it's updated ;)
Post by: tom sawyer on September 14, 2006, 09:58:00 AM
Your wood prep looks right, and your glue lines look fine. Those glues are good to something like 1/16". Being off a bit on the backing is shouldn't cause any harm since you left it wide.
I use plastic clamps myself, about the same number as you. You can get away with fewer if you use blocks to distribute the pressure. And your tip clamps left something to be desired, you'd have been better off cutting a piece to press the curve uniformly, or use a metal strip and clamp it all along. But it won't be bending and I bet you'll be lopping some of that off anyway. Don't mean to be too critical, you are doing a fine job overall.
I shudder to imagine what the tillering of that beast will be like! Looking forward to YOU doing it and reporting with more good pics.
Post by: tom sawyer on September 14, 2006, 10:01:00 AM
I almost think I'd have put a little more sweeping reflex in the mid-limbs, but that might just make it even more difficult to tiller.
Post by: AkDan on September 14, 2006, 01:08:00 PM
'
Nice kayak too!! Is that one of the
guillemont (sp)?
Post by: ChrisS on September 14, 2006, 06:55:00 PM
1/16 of an inch?? Wow.. here I was worried about mine being too thick. It turned out more or less uniform too.. a little variance here and there.
I would have liked a bit more reflex in there... it kept the deflex and then went flat for some reason. I tend to bite off more than I can chew with my projects, so I'm going to take it one step at a time and decide where to go only when I have to hehe. For now I'm going to get to the final profile and start getting it to bend. For the shape, I guess I'm just going to concentrate on getting it to look like a regular longbow shape and imagine the string as if it were on the static bend instead of the tip. I'd imagine there is a greater stress just before the curves, so I'll leave it thicker until last. I'm just guessing at this point.
Thanks AkDan. So you found a few of my construction pics eh? I suppose you know what my house looks like too now. ;) Yea, it's a guillemu.. gill... yea, one of those. I started and then my dad joined in to make one for himself. We built em side by side back at his place. Those pics were right after fiberglassing.
Post by: ChrisS on September 18, 2006, 08:31:00 PM
Link to third page:
buildalong page 3 (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/index3.html)
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on September 18, 2006, 09:27:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on September 23, 2006, 09:53:00 PM
I fixed the twist and started trying to even out the limbs. I'm going to work the flat spot on the right again tomorrow. I think after that they will be a decent match. *crosses fingers*
Here's a couple of closeups for where I left off. Are there any problems spots that I don't see? Any advice is greatly appreciated. It appears to be moving along ok so far, but I don't have any confidence in myself haha.
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d14_01_sm.jpg)
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d14_02_sm.jpg)
Post by: Shakes.602 on September 23, 2006, 10:18:00 PM
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on September 23, 2006, 10:23:00 PM
Post by: Dano on September 24, 2006, 10:41:00 AM
Post by: ChrisS on September 25, 2006, 08:58:00 PM
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d16_01_sm.jpg)
What do you think, is the first 1/2 too excessive? If the string doesn't leave the curves, does that make this a longbow with heavy tips?
!["[laffsmyl]"]("graemlins/laffsmyl.gif" "\"\"")
Seriously, the string does leave curves at 26", it just isn't much.It's *really* light... light enough to not want to say it out loud. I was really careful with scraping to leave a perfectly flat surface on the belly and a nice transition into the fades... so it's getting more belly after I bullet proof the back. I don't know if hickory can take that abuse at hunting weight so I'm going to play it safe ;)
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on September 25, 2006, 10:23:00 PM
Post by: sticshooter on September 26, 2006, 05:59:00 AM
Post by: Brian Halbleib on September 26, 2006, 10:57:00 AM
-Brian
www.bowyersjournal.com (http://www.bowyersjournal.com)
Post by: tom sawyer on September 26, 2006, 01:32:00 PM
What poundage are you at now? And what is the side profile when just unstrung?
I think you can see where a lower angle on your statics would have helped. I'd be interested in seeing numbers for a F/D curve if you can get to it. Surely that bow would have a super-smooth draw.
And am I nuts or is your tiller tree, an actual tree?
Post by: ChrisS on September 28, 2006, 12:39:00 AM
Luke, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't in the back of my mind hehe. I'll have plenty of time to decide waiting for sinew to dry.
It's at *cough* 28#. Probably 30# at 28". I actually draw 29" too, sticshooter. I just didn't want to take it all the way back.
Sorry I didn't take any shots of the profile after unstrung. The bottom point of deflex is 1-1/2 inches from the bottom of the belly slat in the handle. It was originally 1 inch. The 1/2 inch of reflex is gone and past midlimb is flat out to the curve base. Still, the tips were higher than the back of the handle hehe.
That night I laid down a course of sinew. I knew that I'd be swamped with one programming project due tonight (reason I've been absent) and another due first week of Oct. I wanted to get the bow drying since I won't have time to touch it again for another week or two.
An F/D curve would have been nice to make, but I didn't think about it. It would have been cool to see the differences (if any) when the sinew is applied and again after the belly is put on. Ah well. It felt good pulling back.. the up front weight at 6" of pull disappeared with the reflex unfortunately. Still plenty up front after the first 6" though.
And yea, it's a tree ;) When I moved in here I didn't have anything to build with, so I use a lot of scrap and junk from the back yard and saved the decent stock for when I need it. I can't wait to graduate and actually start making money instead of constantly forking it out
I'll be back and working on it in a while. Going to give it another course after the next school project is finished. Then comes the hardest part, waiting.
Chris
Post by: tom sawyer on September 28, 2006, 03:39:00 PM
And always keep that tiller tree. Its one of a kind, at least until I make mine. hehe
Post by: ChrisS on October 13, 2006, 04:19:00 PM
Sinewing went well. Pulled in a considerable amount of reflex too. I didn't prestress the limbs at all. Going to work on tip alignment this weekend, and possibly evening up the limbs if needed. I hope the ends of the sinew doesn't lift. I don't want to wrap them yet, as I'll be cleaning up the sides and belly.
Hey Tom, you have to have a story to go with the tree though ;) Mine ended up in the back yard, but it didn't start there. Before I made my first bow, I was looking for local materials. I was out one night in January (cold and snowing) walking the dogs and found that tree down about 1/2 mile down the trail. I thought it was birch and said "Score!". Dragged the thing all the way back to the car and went home. I just went to bed because I was sore and dead tired. Got up the next morning... looked at it... slapped myself on the forehead and cursed. Aspen. I guess it looked like birch in the dark, I don't know. Anyway, I wound up trying to split it anyway, and that's why it has that big slab missing in the pics. I dumped it in the yard. At least it proved useful for something ;)
Post by: ChrisS on October 15, 2006, 07:19:00 PM
One of the big problems is that the handle will rotate around the post it is sitting on. I'll never do it this way again in the future. I'll use a flat pedistal and leave the handle flat until tillering is done. It makes it really hard to tell if one limb is stronger than the other.
Braced:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d20_01sm.jpg)
< Higher resolution version (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d20_01.jpg) >
At 22 inches:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d20_02sm.jpg)
< Higher resolution version (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d20_02.jpg) >
Thanks for any help!
Chris
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on October 15, 2006, 07:29:00 PM
Post by: Dano on October 15, 2006, 07:39:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on October 15, 2006, 08:00:00 PM
I should just call it a day and pick it back up tomorrow.
Post by: ChrisS on October 16, 2006, 08:48:00 PM
Link to page 4: page 4 (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/index4.html)
I worked the 1/3 on the right but I still didn't get it down enough. I'm worried about taking too much.. this thing is getting really thin and it doesn't take much to make a difference now. Near the curves there is only 1/4" of wood hehe. Off the fades there is 3/8".
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d21_02sm.jpg)
It is drawing 36# now and I drew up a F/D curve for ya Lennie. It's pretty boring, a straight line basically. The only stacking is an extra pound of draw from 26 to 28 inches. I think that's pretty darn good for a bow that is (from base of curve to base of curve) 53" long with a 12" rigid handle :D
Top tip is pulling perfect. Bottom is still pulling off to one side, but I think I can straighten it up when I thin the tips. I believe that should be the next step. What do you think I should do with the tips? I'm thinking of putting the string nocks as far down as possible. I can't imagine longer statics would do anything except add weight and instability, especially when the string doesn't lift off.
Chris
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on October 16, 2006, 09:01:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on October 16, 2006, 09:16:00 PM
!["[tunglaff]"]("graemlins/tunglaff.gif" "\"\"")
I will be putting more belly on it. I kept the belly flat all through tillering and it goes smoothly right into the fades. Hopefully I can pick some weight back up. If I can flatten out some horn I'll go for it, otherwise I'm not sure. Lamination of bulletwood or osage?
Post by: ChrisS on October 20, 2006, 04:37:00 PM
Hmm.. a wood lam would probably be easier, but I just can't deny the coolness factor of horn ;)
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on October 20, 2006, 04:51:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 10, 2006, 08:24:00 PM
I do appreciate the input ROH, though I did decide to go all out ;) Osage would have costed me as much as a horn off ebay. I don't mind doing the labor on it.
I'm to the point of flattening. I'm just going by John Sturtevant's tutorial. I really doubt I'm going to be able to flatten it past half way though. It's pretty thick.
Post by: ChrisS on November 11, 2006, 09:06:00 PM
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d23_02.jpg)
I have a question. Does anybody know if urac works with horn?
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 11, 2006, 11:37:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 14, 2006, 09:59:00 PM
Page 5 (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/index5.html)
edit: Oh and I forgot to say that urac will work with horn. I emailed wingnut and he said it's as good as anything else out there.
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on November 14, 2006, 10:10:00 PM
Nice work!!
Post by: ChrisS on November 17, 2006, 01:53:00 PM
I upgraded my tiller tree (again). I got tired of trying to guess if the limbs were equal or if they were rotating around the small pivot. I put a platform up and squared it against the wall.
Up until now I've been using a long string because it reads 50# at brace height and it's been very difficult to string. The string would slowly stretch out from a 6" brace to flat against the belly hehe. I had to make a new shorter string for it.
Which leads me to the first bracing... I'm pissed. Anybody who is reading, tell me if you've ever seen this before, because it came as a complete surprise to me.
Long string:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d25_01sm.jpg)
braced:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d25_02sm.jpg)
Arg! I'm going to lose a lot of weight getting the limbs even again. I hope I don't blow my target weight.
I guess I relearned that lesson of putting a short string on it as soon as possible.
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 17, 2006, 02:37:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 17, 2006, 02:50:00 PM
... just to add to the madness, here is what it looks like when pulled:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d25_03sm.jpg)
Now the right side is weak! :knothead:
So the right is an inch stiff when braced, and an inch weak when pulled. I'm going to have to make lunch and ponder this for a while.
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 17, 2006, 03:15:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 17, 2006, 09:08:00 PM
Does this look better Lewis? I've been trying to work the limbs even again, but it's slow going. I'm at 50# with 26" of draw. I don't have much more to work with. I'd like to stop at 50# at 27" to account for finish sanding.
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d26_03sm.jpg)
Ignore the vertical lines for now... the bow isn't exactly centered on the platform in this pic.
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 17, 2006, 11:14:00 PM
If anything I would say that the last third on the left limb is still alittle stiff. But I would be very careful at this point since you are so close to your weight already. If you go really slow it should even the limbs up a little more.
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on November 18, 2006, 12:14:00 AM
Post by: ChrisS on November 20, 2006, 08:38:00 PM
The lines on the wall are right, the left is stiff. I wanted to get the tips taken care of before finishing up the tiller. I glued up some underlays and thinned the tips to 5/8". I think they turned out nice :)
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d27_02.jpg)
Just have to put tip overlays, shape the handle, and finish tiller and I can take 'er to the range! Yay!
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 20, 2006, 08:41:00 PM
Post by: AZStickman on November 21, 2006, 10:31:00 AM
Post by: ChrisS on November 21, 2006, 07:26:00 PM
My problem has been spread over multiple posts... so it's probably a bit hard to follow, sorry about that. Here's the situation all in one place:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d28_unbraced.jpg)
This was actually the last pic I took. The profile is just after being unstrung from the exercising for the pics below.
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d28_braced.jpg)
Here it is braced. I exercised the limbs back to 22" of draw 30 times and then a few times all the way to 26". 4" off the fades the upper (right) limb is 4-13/16 from the string and the lower (left) is 4-15/16. So 1/8 negative tiller on the top according to braced profile. I measured the bow while not on the tree... the platform messes with the string.
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d28_pulled.jpg)
And pulled to 26". Now the top limb is 1" weak.
Something keeps bugging me about the full draw pics. It *looks* like the right limb is coming off the riser at a steeper downward angle, but I've done all kinds of line drawing and measuring in photoshop and it indicates only a 0.5 degree difference in limb angles at full draw. The reason for the 0.5 is that the upper fade is bending slightly.. I can feel it if I grab the fade while pulling back with the other hand.
What would you do? So far I've been ignoring the braced profile and working on the drawn profile.
Post by: ChrisS on November 21, 2006, 07:28:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by ReviveOurHomes:Just not too close, or you'll see all my mistakes! Luckly urac blends in really well with black walnut ;)
Looks awesome I cant wait to see what it looks like when its all finished. You need to include lots of close up pics so we can admire all the hard work you have put into this one!!
I wish I had used a denser wood for the riser though. The upper fade bends and I think the limbs weight more than the handle does haha.
Post by: AZStickman on November 21, 2006, 08:24:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 21, 2006, 08:39:00 PM
Post by: Dano on November 21, 2006, 09:01:00 PM
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 21, 2006, 09:29:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 21, 2006, 11:59:00 PM
I finally got the bottom limb pulling straight... gave it one last weight check, 55# at 28, then CRACK!
Sinew pulled loose at the base of the curve. I guess it preferred not pulling straight lol. Bad part is that it started pulling the hickory apart with it. Looks like I won't be shooting it tomorrow :(
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d28_delam.jpg)
Do you think hide glue will hold the hickory back together too if I glue it back down?
Post by: AZStickman on November 22, 2006, 07:40:00 AM
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 22, 2006, 09:07:00 AM
I have had this happen before right at the end and I know how you probably feel right now, im sorry bro. If it doesnt work just jump on a new one. Its hard to get another started right after that happens but after a couple of hours into the new one you will forget all about it.
And this one will have taught you a good bit and the next one wont have the same problems. Thats bow building. Learn as you go. It still stinks though that was one sweet looking bow!
Post by: ChrisS on November 22, 2006, 10:41:00 AM
The crack is only 2" from the base of the curve, so it should be static there... I'm not sure why it cracked in the first place. The hide glue bond tore a bunch of hickory fibers with it.. so I may have to clean that up before gluing it back down. I've never done sinew before, let alone repair it.
I could wrap it too if you think it'd help. I have a few leg tendons left. It wouldn't be as pretty but I'd rather shoot an ugly bow that hang a pretty one on the wall! ;)
What crack do you mean Terry? There is the obvious one that follows the sinew layer. The separation follows the surface for 1-1/2" and then dives into the hickory. There is a little tick on the left edge of the photo.. that was from the steam bending. It got filled with urac when I glued the hickory on and hasn't caused any problems. Anything else ya see is dog fur hehe.
I'm not feeling too bad about it. Honestly I expected it to blow a lot sooner. At least there is a possibility of repair. The crack stopped there and didn't go any further even when I pulled the limbs back to unstring it.
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 22, 2006, 01:03:00 PM
Post by: AZStickman on November 22, 2006, 01:06:00 PM
PS....After you glue that area up I'd also wrap it with sinew for extra measure
Post by: John Scifres on November 22, 2006, 02:08:00 PM
Post by: Dano on November 22, 2006, 03:10:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 22, 2006, 08:25:00 PM
I'll play it safe and wrap them both like you suggest. I'm headed to my grandma's for Thanksgiving for a few days. I'll pound out some sinew and glue it up over there.
I haven't seen any repair wraps close up before, how long do you guys make it? Should I wrap all the way from the front of the crack to the curve?
edit: Oh, and Terry, if you mean the vertical one, that's dog hair. Anything else is a blemish.. I checked the limb over and the rest looks fine.
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 22, 2006, 08:56:00 PM
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on November 26, 2006, 06:19:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on November 29, 2006, 01:04:00 AM
That and I'm all booked up with school at the moment. 3 classes all have "final" projects around the 15th of Dec... I'm going to have to make resonable progress on them before working on anything else with my spare time :(
I'm going to try to glue and wrap ASAP though, it kills me that it could be drying while I'm stuck doing all this work.
Post by: ChrisS on December 08, 2006, 02:36:00 AM
I won't be able to work on it again for at least a week. Final projects and exams are killing me. Been working 12 hours at a time in front of the computer... with the rest of the time on campus. At least it'll give the wrap time to set up. How long should I wait before stressing it out again?
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d30_02.jpg)
I did manage to finish one of my other small projects though. I got bored during lecture and started a little draw/force curve plotting program last week. It's just about done, I'll post it up tomorrow for anybody that wants to take a look.
Thanks again all for following along. I can't wait to put the school crap down and pick up the bow :)
Post by: AZStickman on December 08, 2006, 01:55:00 PM
Post by: TimBow2 on December 09, 2006, 11:13:00 AM
Post by: ChrisS on January 05, 2007, 05:23:00 PM
I put it up on the tree and let it sit braced for a while, then took it back to 28. Everything looks good, no creaking or crackling. Is is possible to overdry sinew? It was crackling all the time before and now that it has been sitting in open air, it has stopped.
I'm going to round out the handle a bit and take 'er to the range and see if she blows :D
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d31_02.jpg)
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on January 05, 2007, 05:53:00 PM
Post by: Luke Vander Vennen on January 05, 2007, 06:22:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on January 05, 2007, 06:26:00 PM
I just noticed that I forgot to put string grooves in the recurves. I'll have to do that real quick and I'll report back after trying to shoot a few :) Wish me luck!
Post by: ChrisS on January 05, 2007, 09:50:00 PM
First I shot my heavy hickories until I was satisfied that I could go lighter. The timing is just about right, it's hard to concentrate on feeling it when the arrow impact is so close. There is some vibration, but otherwise I can almost fire it with a completely open hand :)
Here's how it looks:
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d31_03.jpg)
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d31_04.jpg)
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on January 05, 2007, 11:01:00 PM
Post by: ChrisS on January 07, 2007, 04:28:00 PM
Now I have a few cosmetic decisions to make. I haven't made it this far with my past bows, they were either a pain to shoot or they blew up. I'm thinking of snake skin over the sinew, unless anybody else has a unique suggestion (I love unique ;) ). I don't know what species to go with, the limb is only 1-1/4 at the widest and the base of the curves is 5/8. It's 28" from handle center to upper curve and 27" from handle center to lower curve.
Is it possible to put leather on a handle shape like this, or will it end up sliding around too much?
I'm going to put the rest right under my hand, as if I were shooting across my finger. I started getting some hand shock if I moved the arrow up. I'm kinda tempted to weaken one of the limbs and see if I can't get rid of handshock completely. I can't remember which limb needs weakening to move the sweet spot up, but I remember reading a thread somewhere about it.
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdsnyder/buildalong/images/posting/d32_01.jpg)
Post by: Lewis Brookshire III on January 07, 2007, 04:54:00 PM
As far as grip, yes you can put a leather grip on that bow easily. You will have to get the leather to stretch but it will work.
What are you going to make the rest out of?
Sweet looking bow by the way!
Post by: ChrisS on January 07, 2007, 05:55:00 PM
No snakes up here hehe. I was looking at what pinehollow has. If I buy a snake skin I'm definately going to be making el cheapo cane arrows. I wonder if there are any native fish species up here that look cool. I'll post in the classifieds for fish or snake and see if there are any to buy/trade.
Post by: Dano on January 07, 2007, 06:32:00 PM