Quote from: Pat B on Today at 10:36:51 AMThat will work but seasoning for a year or more is always a better way to go. There is a difference between dry and seasoned. The wood is more stable when seasoned for a year or more. There is no problem reducing the stave to floor tiller stage then letting it season and clamping it to a form with reflex in it will get you to a good place without the stave twisting as it seasons. Like most whitewoods tempering the belly on a reflex form will help keep some of the reflex and stabilize the wood but be sure it is dry before you temper it and keep the back sealed while you do that. There is always a little residual moisture in every stave and the back can check if you don't have it sealed.

I agree completely.

  He is missed by many. A true pillar in the traditional world. Will Geer in "Jeremiah Johnson" was classic. Some people, and the memories, will live in the heart forever.

Probably a bit riskier but I bought several off of Amazon without any issues. All were in great shape. 

That will work but seasoning for a year or more is always a better way to go. There is a difference between dry and seasoned. The wood is more stable when seasoned for a year or more. There is no problem reducing the stave to floor tiller stage then letting it season and clamping it to a form with reflex in it will get you to a good place without the stave twisting as it seasons. Like most whitewoods tempering the belly on a reflex form will help keep some of the reflex and stabilize the wood but be sure it is dry before you temper it and keep the back sealed while you do that. There is always a little residual moisture in every stave and the back can check if you don't have it sealed.

Quote from: Camp Creek on February 12, 2026, 08:18:02 AMWell this whole project sounds even better than I originally thought!  Now, to get power to my shop at the farm so I can begin.  We are going totally off grid, so we have to upgrade the solar set up to handle a bigger AC, mill, saws, etc.  Hopefully, I'll be able to start in earnest late this spring.

Kirkll, I'm certainly open to some horse trading, what did you have in mind?

After swapping a few pm's I can see us doing some horse trading. As far as form building goes, I've had my best luck with both one piece forms and TD limb forms using  1/4" Masonite or MDF board templates that I cut out and shaped by hand, then used them  with a large router and trim bit to actually cut the forms. I use a 2hp router table set up for this rather than free handing.

 I highly recommend using the para lam material over laminating plywood.  You want the 1.75" thick x 12" material, and do NOT plane it down to 1.5" for building with 1.5" lams. These paralams are outstanding for no twist or warping as long as to keep the factory surface undisturbed.  I learned this one the hard way... using this for forms is definitely worth the expense.

The only thing I cannot speak of is how the material holds up over time going in and out of a hot box. I use heat strips and don't use my hot box much anymore except occasionally laying up footed risers and lowering MC levels.

.02 cents worth.

I got mine from stickbowsupplies.com and I'm very happy with it. 

Quote from: Watsonjay on February 27, 2026, 11:43:56 PMSo, did you chisel the dust off the chrono then???? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Naw... I didn't mess with the chrono, but I noticed the feathers were kind of singed after shooting a bit.  years ago when I was prototyping a lot, I found the highest performance limbs were always between 53-65# and in most  cases there were differences in 28-30" draw length too.

But.... She was pretty hot for that 40# draw weight, and I'm still waiting to get a review from the customer.   Btw.... After finish sanding with 220 prior to clear coating I did get the full 18# reduction. That's definitely a record.    Kirk

He sent this picture to our text group every year

I'm pretty sure someone else mentioned it but a dedicated bowfishing bow is the best idea in my opinion. Plenty of options out there. Used to have an older PSE or Hoyt trad bow that was just for bowfishing, had all the riser inserts and what not for attaching reels and such. Had a plunger insert where I put a round brass arrow rest. Have used other setups and the strap on stuff will also work but will mar the finish on the bow in my experience.

Definitely go with an arrow that has some sort of safety slide. I used heavy fiberglass shafts, even had a swagger for putting heads on. Most ant commercially available bowfishing head will work but certain heads work better on different fish. On gar the heads with a trocar style point seemed to be best.

I've got an old 58" Ben Pearson bow i set up my fishing rig on.. It collects more dust than gets used any more. its kind of a shop decoration now. But ... i used to go carp fishing in my canoe now and then in late May when they were spawning and sunning themselves. it was a blast.