Elm-sturgeon static recurve selfbow

[elkors]

Hi,

recently finished something that is worth sharing - an elm static recurve selfbow with sturgeon backing. It is 17kg@27", 150 cm long. Had a kink near the handle, so tillering was a challenge.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pheonixarcher]

Wow! That's a nice one. Very unique. The recurves look great, and that sturgeon backing is awesome. Just a great bow all the way around. But the bowyer's bench (unofficial) rules state that a full draw picture must accompany any and all completed bow threads.  

[elkors]

Thanks,  it is gratifying to hear this from someone who speaks bow.

Will abide by the rule going forward.

Below is the best I could retrieve from my build pictures. It is not full draw but close to it.
 
Tillering is still a challenge for me every time. This stave had a kink and a propeller twist.

[Buemaker]

Cool. Is that the Latvian black Elm      Bue--.

[elkors]

Our woods are all white  
I stained it black bring out the sturgeon skin details.

[LittleBen]

Well .. That's a heck of a way to introduce yourself to the Bowyer's Bench!

Nice work. Looks like tillering was tricky with the bumps and twists of the original stave.

Really nice work.

Personally I like to see at least one unstrung, one strung, and one drawn picture, that way we can see exactly how the bow is bending. Real nice work though. Top notch.

[scrub-buster]

Nice looking bow.  I like the skins

[elkors]

Thanks, LittleBen.  

It was tricky, indeed. Luckily I have the second part of the same stave to test my skill again.

Will look for an unstrung picture. Cannot make new ones as I have given the bow away as a present already.

[Pat B]

Very nice bow. I was pleasantly surprised how well elm worked. I built a 60", elm static recurve and turned out very nice. Elm takes belly tempering very well and really adds to a bows performance, if you didn't already know.
 The sturgeon skins are very cool and quite primal looking.

[elkors]

I like elm very much. Works best for me from locally available woods.

I did heat treat the belly (inspired by TBB) but tillered a bit afterwards, so could have scraped some parts off. Will try to do properly with my next elm bow.

[Mad Max]

It don't get no better  
Nice job

[wood carver 2]

Very nice!      
Dave.

[White hair]

Where do you get sturgeon skins ?
Beautiful bow, love the black.

[bigbob2]

as mentioned above very nice attractive bow!  

[elkors]

White hair - I bought a sturgeon, skinned it, cooked the rest (not my favorite fish).
Sturgeon is one of the easiest to skin (I have tried salmon and carp, the latter took me 2h) and the skin  is tough compared to other fish and has no scales to remove.
Then throw it in the freezer and keep it there until ready to glue on a bow.