Cary and Tim bows buildalong

[Frenchymanny]

I met Cary a few weeks ago and it was the start of a real friendship.
Cary is an avid hunter, expert shooter, so I proposed to make him an osage selfbow.

Tim proposed to trade custom back quiver and arm guard at the same time (I saw his wonderful leatherwork in person and it is stunning!    ) so I hunted for wood first:)

[Frenchymanny]

Osage does not grow in Quebec, so I ordered Osage from Illinois and Kansas.

Of the 4 staves I received 2 qualified to make good hunting bows  in the high 50# at 26"

Cary wants a pure longbow, this over 65" stave with natural reflex and wonderfull growth ring will hopefully produce such a bow
 

[Frenchymanny]

Tim is game for a reflex deflex flatbow in the style of my personal bow that I finished recently, so here is his stave:

 

I will steam and  induce 2"+ reflex for the tips.
This stave is 65" long too

[Frenchymanny]

After work this week I cleaned the staves a bit to be ensure that theywere free of cracks, bugs, ugly knots

 

[B.O.D.]

I'll be watching this one Manny....LOL
               

A Torges-style solid osage bow??? mmmm..it don't get much better!

I wish you all the luck of the wood-spirits on these bows. Best of all, you'll possibly have the chance to see me shoot a deer this fall with it when you come and hunt with me.

BD

[Frenchymanny]

And now the looooooongest part: Chasing a ring, here on tim's stave:

 

This is the part I like least, but is the most important for the future bow(imho)

[B.O.D.]

Manny...bet your wife is happy to see you head outside now...

Carp-a-palooza III is coming up quick..have you got your gear ordered yet?

BD

[Frenchymanny]

I shellacked the stave when I was done for the day  chasing the ring, marking where I stopped with a pencil line  

Wood is still green which is excellent to steam bend

I will work always at the same stage on these bows  
Next turn is Cary's  

It will take time but all progress will be shown here

[Frenchymanny]

Hi BD,

Yes my wife is relieved to see me working outside, especially with 2 bows in the making!

I am aiming for a Torge's style bow by the book     for you my friend, and a reflex deflex like mine  for Tim    

Could you imagine if hunting together we killed deers with selbows you and me?    

[tim roberts]

Dang, Cary let someone else in this!

Frenchy, it is looking good!  Waiting for hunting season makes the summer longer than it ought to be, but now waiting for a bow and hunting season, well I can feel the long dog days of August being streched out and it is only June!  I have set a goal to get a slick top whitetail with this bow come November!  
Thank you for the opportunity to watch the build a long!

>>>Tim------->

[B.O.D.]

you and me AND Tim...    you know you got an invite oh-master-of-the-leatherwork...long-standing and always open.

BD

[Frenchymanny]

Because I am working on both bows at the same time, I chased the ring on Cary's:

 

[Frenchymanny]

You can see the demarcation line where the scraper is. More than 60% done for the back of that bow on Sunday, that's a lot for me     Almost 5 hours straight while my lovely wife was gardening  

[Frenchymanny]

Here is where I stopped

 

[Frenchymanny]

All this bow building gave me the urge to work on a back up bow  
I will use this character stave:

 

But it will go on the back burner when I will complete Cary's and Tim's

[B.O.D.]

         Manny, you da man!!! Dean would be slapping you on the back for this effort...
BD

[W.Tim]

love that Yellow wood    , this looks like 2 bows in the making  

[R.W.]

Manny,

Being a rank novice, I have a question. Hope this is not out of line.

When "chasing the ring" do you use only the scraper shown in your pictures?   :confused:  

Thanks,
R.W.

[George Tsoukalas]

Lookin' good, Manny. Jawge

[Frenchymanny]

Thank you Jawge      

R.W., for ring chasing I use a full set of scrapers, especially one that is rounded.

I bought them as a set for $11. Add a draw knife and a 4 in 1 hobby rasp and you're all set      
I do not use power tool for my bows.

Hope that helps,
F-Manny