HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Overspined]

I know Miller is a perfectionist, and I suspect you are too, Nate. Don't ask me how I know      

Other perfectionists:  Steve at Northern Mist, and I'm guessing Dave Johnson (just got one, wow!).

[Rossco7002]

Pics!

[2treks]

Matt, YOU got it BAD!

[swampthing]

There are those who know and those that think they know.
 For those that know....   how in the @#%& would one get glass up a steep fade on a 12" riser without it popping off in a few years? Belly glass used in Hill Style bows will not fit that tight of a radius with consistent long lasting results. A 14" riser on a glass bow makes much more sense.

[Nate Steen .]

Swamp...been doing it for almost twenty years.  But you cannot build the bow using the same process as everyone else.

When we built are own string follows in the 70s, we ran into that in the dry run.  Perhaps it is wrong, but we glued up the bamboo and back glass, ran that to shape with the band saw and traced the riser and belly and then cut that to size.  My clamping method would not bend the full width glass, but with a little course sanding and narrowing, it worked.  Note, those were the slowest bows per pounds of pull, ever, soft in the hand real accurate, but slow.

[tradlongbow]

Hill Gang-

I'm posting these pics for Jacques,"Howard Hill World Champion 2000."

  Here are a cpouple of pictures, I thought would be of interest to everyone. 1st is a picture of Jerry Hill and myself examining "Howard's" bow he used to kill the elephants in Africa! This is the 115# longbow! The meeting took place in Marshall,Mi. in summer of 1980. Howard had already passed five years earlier, due to to cancer.
     This chance encouter happened as I was warming up at the practice butts with my brothers, Andre, my twin brother Pierre and my youngest brother Paul. We play a game , someone puts an arrow into the target and that arrow becomes the target for the others to shoot without hesitation. This goes on and on.
     While warming up a gentleman, who had been watching runs off! A moment o0r two latwer, he returns with a gentleman. Who promptly introduces himself as "Hy my name is Jerry Hill"while shaking my hand. I return my name Jacques Bonin from Goofstown,NH.
     His next comment was "I see you have mastered the Howard Hill method of shooting" My comment was "Howard Hill, who the hell is Howard Hill"  He comes back at me with"that's funny" I came back with "no,who the hell is Howard Hill' all the while Jerry is still shaking my hand.
     Jerry invited my brothers and myself yo join him and his other quest for a southern barbeque complete with all the southern hospitality! After dinner it was dark enough to show pictures of Howard doing his shooting in the short films and ending with the showing of "tembo". My that my friend was my introduction to "HOWARD HILL" through Jerry Hill.
     Jerry would invite me to the "Worlds Championship for the next 20 years, something was always in the way such as "money"
Now I will save that story for later.
     You will find another picture enclosed. This is a picture of my brother Andre, Jay Massie and myself. Jay took a real shine to Andre, as did "Ted Kramer". If you look closely the bow in Andre's hand is Ted's personal "Buckskinner" loamned to Andre for the weekend by Ted, both Jay and Ted really hit it off with Andre. Now both Andre and Jay were terminally ill, they both passed about the same time!
Andre was 3 days shy of his 25th birthday.   Those days really mean an awful lot ot me. Thanks Darren for bringing these memories to the forefront! Hope you and any readers enjoy the stories. Later,Jacques  

 

 

 

[Basil_K]

wow ....now thats an awesome chance encounter

[Goshawkin]

Jaques,Great story.Sorry about your brother,I lost my sister way too young as well.
Nick

[Ric O'Shay]

WooHoo! Great story and awesome pics.

Danny

[flint kemper]

I rarely post, but feel that it is time. Hill developed a formula for bow building over the years and perfected not only that formula but how to properly temper bamboo, and also a way to tiller a bow in his style exactly the same each and every time. Consistency in this formula resulted in a repeatable bow each time. This formula involved several variables. The bows John Schulz built of his own not when he built in the later years for Howard Hill archery may differ some, but the Schulz bows and even Howard built bows that I have seen fit exactly the formula and tiller that Hill perfected. Hill and Schulz and Miller were and are sticklers for perfect string alignment, tiller and adherence to these formulas point blank and no BS. There are things that Hill, Schulz and David Miller do when building a bow that most guys building do not know or care to do. I can pick up just about any bow being made and look it over for things and go WOW it looks nice but man oh man did they miss the boat on the important things. Hill built bows to shoot, not look pretty, pretty does not get it done. If all bow builders had to build a bow like the Concave/Convex that David builds now they would not be a bow builder very long. Ask anyone who has gone to one of David's bows schools how much just goes into the Split bamboo and then double or triple that time to built the Concave/Convex. Ok off my soapbox for now, but few left living know Howard's formulas and still build exactly to that standard on each bow and no one builds a Concave/Convex except for David Miller. Thanks Flint

[Jacquesbonin]

By the way, that's a Schults "Big Five" I am holding in the picture with the wild boar. I still have that bow! It has the mojo! Thanks,Jacques

[Ben Maher]

great stuff Jacques ......!

[Nate Steen .]

Jacques...another mojo bow heading your way my friend.  

Nate

[Brianlocal3]

Typical, those are beautiful. You are quite the craftsman!!

[Goshawkin]

Eric,Man! Nice work!

[Overspined]

Oh, I got it bad, Chuck!  However, I've sold some too!  I've come up with a formula for what I ended up with at this point, a secret formula!  I'll call you for an update!

Are you done with your Hill style bow yet Chuck?  Let's get a preview!!!

Make sure you have a 45# at GLLI.    

[Ben Maher]

[shick]

tradlongbow, thanks for posting.  Jacques, it took a while for you to 'surface', but glad you're here, my friend.
Shick

[David Mitchell]

Fired a blank there, Ben.  :D