NEW PICTURES OF COMPLETED BOW ADDED BELOW IN A FOLLOWING POST:
Having seen many excellent bows on this forum I thought I would let you know what I've been working on.
This bow has been a first of sorts for me. One, it is my first "STAVE" bow. I cut these logs the weekend after Thanksgiving 2007. All my other projects have been board bows or wood laminates. This is the first bow that I've chased a ring on, too. And, it is the first time I've used Osage other than in making slats for BBO bows.
Another first is that because it was a stave it was all one piece, including riser, and for a short time was a selfbow. After tillering it I had to shoot it in ala natural to know that I could accomplish such a feat.
The set taken in the limbs is appearent in this picture. The stave originally had it's own reflex and the handle backset by the shape of the tree. Interestingly, in a thin, flat bellied bow as this a single ring was followed for the compression side as well as for the tension. The spects at this point is 60" ntn, 4" recurves, limbs about 1 1/2" at fades to 3/8" at nock point.
Actually, it is not a cut in shelf but a cut out shelf. Having extra wood to work with while bandsawing it was a simple matter of not cutting that wedge of wood off to create a workable hunting assessory that I am comfortable using in the field. If you look closely the fade isn't violated and if the shelf were removed then it would be a standard shoot off the knuckle handle.
Yes, a double shelf design is a quirky site. My motivation was that the TBB's had mentioned that one limb may shoot better than another so I had to cover my bases as it finds it's correct placement in my hand.
Recurving Osage presented challanges I wasn't accustom to. Steam didn't seem to faze it like hickory. I ended up chasing a belly ring and dry heating it as suggested by Pat B. Still, it splintered at the bend. Good thing this wood doesn't have to be thick to hold a static curve! Sandpaper took out most of the violated area while superglue and sawdust filled it in. There was quite a bit of time working with the heatgun overall to make this stave work out. Lining the tips up is a real chore.
Whitetail antler tip provided the overlays.
It is braced at 6 3/8" in this picture. I am not sure what a good wood recurve should be braced at but this felt right and that is where I stopped.
The upper limb just past the fade measures 7 1/4" from belly to string while the lower limb's measurement is 7 1/8" for the same area. From what I've learned that should be about right for the tiller; bottom limb a bit stiffer than the top limb. Please correct me if I am wrong.
My "Glory Shot". 1st unbacked osage recurve selfbow and it isn't broken!
It draws at 40# here. about 10 -15# less than I really want but I am delighted how it throws an arrow. Rounding the limb edges really made a difference in weight drop on this bow.
I had in mind before ever cutting it out that I should, would back it with sinew when finished. It will lift the draw weight up and give me piece of mind to boot. Yes, yes, I know that Jim Hamm expounded on the virtues of sinewing before tillering in the Sinew chapter of the TTB but being such a novice I left that for the more initiated. Wanting to induce some reflex into the limbs that had already taken a set I thought about heat treating but according to my friend's MC meter this wood was already low and maybe more heat would dry it too much. Instead I took a narrow strip of rawhide from deer I shot last year to help me out.
Letting a small portion be glued to the back of the handle and clamping in reflex before sinewing. This strip will be covered with the sinew and trimmed once dry. This may be a common practice that you all know but incase not I thought I would share this idea. The frame used to hold the bow in place is my laminate bow jig. Now I am confined to board and self bows until the glue sets up. That's ok, my wife is getting impatient with my obsession. I think it is time to take her out to dinner. This has been a long process, with much inspiration from those who display their work on this board and elsewhere, especially the recurving chapter in the Traditional Bower's Bible.
This is the end result of Sunday night's work.
I am thinking about naming it "Great Expectations" as I hope to have many arrows launched through it and kill deer if possible.
I will keep you posted on the final result in due time.
Thanks for looking,
Christopher.
Topic: Osage Static Recurve Progress/ Finished Project! (Read 902 times)
