hbo w/horn tip overlays

[timbermoose]

so a friend wants to commission me to build him twin hickory backed osage longbows with horn tip overlays. he will cover ALL materials. i looked at what 3rivers has to offer and it looks like i could get everything i need from them. but, never worked osage, nor have i worked with wood backed bows. would what 3rivers has be a good choice? any advice you could give? he wants one for him and one for his brother, 55@28 and 60@28 both around 68". they both draw to 29.5" like me. oh, and he wants me to inlay the rest/pass into the riser as one piece, made of horn. what are your ideas?

[John Scifres]

Make a few bows before you start making them for others.

[LittleBen]

I agree with John. A wood bow is sort of like a living thing. It will change a bit over time and not all bows that make it past 50 shots make it to 500. It'll take time to get to the point you can be confident making bows with other people's money.

[red hill]

To answer your original question, yes. What three rivers offers will work well.

I have to agree with John and Ben. How many bows have you made? Do you feel comfortable making bows for other people?

I've made backed osage bows for other people, after I'd made a few for myself. And I make them aware that wooden bows are apt to break at some point.

[timbermoose]

record; 113 board bows(that lived), hickory, red oak, and maple.
62 selfbows(that lived) hickory, elm, low elevation yew, and 1 locust.

just never worked with osage or any backed bows other that linen, paper, clothe.

every bow i make, for myself or friends, i shoot in 200-400 shots.

i have only sold 2 of the bows because a friend insisted. these 2 bows i am only making them for a friend, they are covering the materials and a couple new scrapers. not into the whole make a business crap.

i turned down his idea of r/d on them cause i haven't worked wood backed bows and don't want to "pop the cherry" on a couple bows for a friend.

the horn tips i haven't worked either but have put on a few antler, hardwood, and phenolic tip overlays. the only thing i am really intimidated about is the inlay for the pass/rest they want in them. would look awesome, but never done inlays nor have i carved horn to make a pass/rest combo.

[red hill]

The inlay would scare the crap out of me!

With that many bows under your belt you won't have any trouble.  

Self bows are more difficult than backed bows to me. The materials from 3rivers are of good quality. Pine hollow also provides great stuff.

Good luck!

[John Scifres]

Oh, didn't catch that from the tone of the post.

Composite bows are more about prep of the materials before glueup.  Done well, they almost tiller themselves.  Are you going to glue in any reflex?  If so, it really helps to taper the backing and the core.  A belt sander works well for that.

Horn tip overlays aren't much different than other materials.  Just make sure you have solid material, not the porous interior parts of the horn.

For the arrow pass, just flatten a portion of the handle and glue on the horn.  Then shape like normal.  Unless you are really good at joinery, inlaying can be really tough.

[timbermoose]

john, wasn't planning to glue in any reflex as i've never done it. though i'm thinking bout getting some extra hickory backing and trying it out on a few test bows before working on the hbo's. might could like it.

yeah the horn inlays are.....nerve racking. he's hoping i can basically shape out a plate with a 1/4" shelf on it, then inlet the riser and glue it in, sand it smooth and finish, no handle wrap.

i've used titebond 3 on all my overlays and only had one come off, but that was a fairly porous mule deer antler. should work as well for the horn?

[John Scifres]

I'd still taper the backing, either before or after glueup.

Good luck with the inlay.  Take pics and post them as you go.

I've just used epoxy or gel superglue for overlays.

[LittleBen]

Timbermoose, my apologies, as John said I didn't realize your experience level.

On the topic of gluing in reflex ... it's not really very difficult ... sicne Osage is pretty strong, I'd consider putting at least an inch or two of reflex, just to end up with a straight profile bow ... maybe a tad of reflex, but string follow bows are nice too.

I've used horn for tip overlays a number of times and really like it. It's very hard, but seems to file and sand fairly easily. It also doesn't seem very heavy for how hard it is. I use superglue ... works like a charm ... just like any other overlays. I think once yu try the horn tips you'll be hooked.

No advice on the inlaying here ...