The Joys of Wooden Bow Making

[ChristopherO]

Well, they can be there but sometimes the lessons of hard knocks tries to cloud the light.

The following is a bow I put together this past July/August after picking my eldest son up from Marine Corps Boot Camp.  He would be on leave for 10 days and, though, we wouldn't see him much I planned on putting him a bow together to commemorate the occassion.
Every morning I would get up earlier to hit the shop and remove some wood.  I took it very carefully the whole way and must say I was pleased with the outcome just after finishing.
 

I backed the hickory board bow with Marine digital camo from a scarf I picked up at the Corps Store in Beaufort, SC the day before his graduation.  A little planning ahead this time.
Then I found cloth at Wally World with the Marine Corp Emblem to decorate the belly with.
 

Here's a shot of the belly:
 
You may be able to notice it has been heat treated.  The top limb turned out ok but I added extra heat to the bottom limb inadvertently.  Unclamping it from the caul, though, everything looked just fine and dandy.  Even though it didn't pick up any weight but stayed at 57#@28" the set was displaced be a perfectly straight limbed bow once shot in.  Limbs are 1 15/16" wide and about 62" ntn.

 
I finished out the handle for the added touch.

This bow was exercized on the tillering tree many times during tillering and after.  Everything checked out A-OK, too.  But then I noticed the bottom limb was showing signs of chrysals near the fadeouts of the handle and the fadeout near the thin but thickened tips after shooting it for a while. Drats!  
I don't know how Marc St. Louis does it by heating his limbs until they become charcole.  My experience on Hickory and Osage is a slight discoloring is better than burn't brown.  He must be a genius.  Well, we all know he is.

From the full draw pick shows the give away at the juncion of the limb and the thickened tip area.  
 

If I get around to it I may try to patch that spot.  But anyway, he has a pretty wall hanger now.  I am so tired of making wall hangers!!!!
Sharing this to give you the downs as well as the ups of the bowery craft.
  :rolleyes:

[Pat B]

Nice bow and a great tribute for your son. Congrats to him!  
  I have heat treated both osage and hickory to a chocolate brown with good results. One secret is to allow it enough time to re-hydrate before stressing it. I sometimes give a bow a week or more before I remove it from the caul.
  Don't you just love Beaufort SC in the summer. I lived just across Port Royal Sound for 12 years and could hear the Parris Island gun range when the wind was just right.

[Dano]

Being a former Marine, I love the gesture. I hate it that it's a wall hanger tho.

Semper Fi Chris!!