Osage Buildalong **UPDATE** Finished Pic on p. 3

[John Scifres]

So here's where we start.  This blank is 63" NTN.  I am making this bow for a friend who let me cut this wood on his father's farm in 2009.  He wants 45-50# at 27".  He is right handed.  I am going to make a rounded belly flatbow very similar to the one Dean Torges prescribes in his book "Hunting the Osage Bow".

A critical lesson I have learned from Dean and others in making bows and practically anything in life is that a good creation is laid upon a good foundation.  Diligently following steps and building excellence on excellence is the best way to achieve the best.  Sure, shortcuts and patches abound and allow us to tailor our creations, and creating, to our lifestyles but don't expect the best if you can't or aren't willing to put the best into it.

I have worked the bow down to a bit more than 1/2" thick with a crown down the center of the belly.  The crown has been knocked down a bit to flatten the belly.  I have floor tillered the stave and am ready for the long string.  The long string is just barely tight right here.

   

I use a tillering setup that consists of a block of wood lagged to a stud in my garage wall with a big white arrow to center the bow on.  The top of the block has a leather pad with a high point at the center to mimic the bow hand somewhat.  I also like to mark the stave at it's fulcrum or the spot where the most pressure from the bow hand will be.  See the black arrow on the handle?  Speaking of the handle, it is left blocky at this point with the belly roughly parallel to the bow's back.

A rope is threaded through a heavy pulley lagged to the stud at about floor level.  A handle is on one end and a hook on the other.  Like this.  The "LL" is for lower limb and the "UL" is upper limb.  I also mark the string at its center using a piece of tape.  All this is designed to best imitate a bow being drawn in the had while being able to watch it bend from a bit of distance.


   

[John Scifres]

Our first goal is to get the limbs bending fairly evenly and about 10" or so.  We also want to identify and fix any stiff or weak spots.  The entire methodology at our hands is to remove wood where the bow does not bend enough.  You can't put it back on so be careful.

At this point, we aren't pulling a whole lot of weight and only to about brace height.  The right (upper) limb is stronger than the left as shown by the rocking that way on our fulcrum.  The limbs are bending throughout their length with no real obvious stiff or weak spots at this pint.  So our goal is to weaken the right limb by rasping the belly pretty much the whole length.  There is a knot just past midlimb that we will avoid for now.  

It is useful to divide the limbs in thirds; inner, middle, and outer.  As long as no hinges or really stiff spots appear, you can work those areas and approximate a nice round tiller at this point.  The bow is aweful heavy yet so I will adjust the weight too.

I start by rasping 20 strokes on the right limb and 10 on the left.  This is pretty agressive and if you are new, use only a scraper from here on out.  Don't dish your rasp or put a lot of pressure on your scraper.  Incremental and predictable amounts of wood removal are the key.  I count my rasp strokes and my scrapes.  Usually 10 at a time unless I have a lot of work to do.

 


Here is the result.  Anotherr critical thing about tilelring is that it takes a while for changes to register.  That means you must exercise the bow each time you make a change.  Do this by pulling the bow about 30 times.  At this stage we are not pulling very far.  We need to repeat the 20 right, 10 left we did above.


 


The difference is getting better nd I pulled it a bit farther.  The right limb is not bending much in the inner third and it has a real stiff spot right at midlimb.  The left is also stiff just past midlimb.  I'll repeat the 20 right, 10 left rasps with a few extra at those stiff spots.
   

Here is the result.  The limbs are more even and there is a bit more bend at those stiff spots.  I pulled it a couple more inches.   I am going to shorten the string just a bit to get maybe 2" of brace height.

 

[broketooth]

this is gonna be good.  

[Pat B]

This is gonna be good, John. Thanks for posting it!

[1oldbowguy]

I am with them, looking good, can't wait for more!

[red hill]

This is good, John. Osage is what I want to work with but I need some more tutoring and learning.
Stan

[Roy from Pa]

Nice John, you guys just amaze me how your can build bows from staves like that. I need to get into that also.

[Pat B]

Roy, its all done with mirrors and good edition! d;^)

[John Scifres]

I always feel a bit better after I can brace it.  I just seem to be able to tell more about what is going on.  The lower limb is clearly weaker than the right.   I'm going to go with 20 rasp strokes on the upper limb.  Keep in mind that we are going for a radiused or rounded belly so distribute the strokes evenly on the rounded belly.  Remember to re-mark the center of the string since it is shorter now.

 

A little better.

 

Pulled to about 15".  Looking better.  The left limb needs some work inner third and the right will get some at midlimb.

   

I got a little more bend in the stiff spots.  I weighed the bow at 39# at 18".  You can assume that you will gain 3# for every inch you pull so, projected to full draw, this bow is probably around 65# if drawn to 27".  But, we never draw a bow past our intended draw weight.  To do so invites uneccessary set and kills the spirit of the wood.  For now, we'll stick to drawing it about 20" until we feel most of the issues are corrected and then we will sneak up on weight.  I am switching from the rasp to the scraper from here on.

 

I gave the right limb a few scrapes at midlimb.  It's rounding out a little but still needs some there and a bit in the outer third.  The left limb is stiff just past the fades and still at midlimb.  10 more scrapes, 30 more pulls and we'll see where we are.


 

[scrub-buster]

I love a good osage build a long.  Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Looking Good John. We all ought to learn something on this.

 Stiks

[Firstarrow]

Great thread!

[John Scifres]

Halftime!  GO COLTS!

That's better on the right especially at midlimb.  The left is now a bit too strong.  I think I am going to go to a bit more brace height.


 

That's pretty good but the left limb is most definitely stronger than the right.  It's now 40# @ 20".  I'm going to give the inner third on the left 20 scrapes.  I'm also going to rasp into the fade a bit to see if I can get a littl e more bend there.  Take it easy near the handle because changes are easy to overdo there.


 

Getting closer but it still needs more.


 

A little better but still needs more.  10 more scrapes, 30 more bends and repeat.


 

[KellyG]

I will have to keep my eye on this I have a long way to go unit I am tillering but I will be there before I know it.
John do you use a gizmo or just eyeing it?
Kelly

[Shaun]

Good stuff John!

[horseapple]

awesome John, be carefull and get that right limb even with the left before u pull it further, heck u know what ur doin.

JD

[Osagetree]

Muzzleloader season is in here in Ohio. But I chose to stay home today to clean up the shop and get busy one some bows I've promised. This thread will help keep me pumped up,, thanks John! Yours seems to be coming right along.

[George Tsoukalas]

Sorry about the Colts, John. Your buildalongs are awesome. Now I can learn something! It's been a long time since you've done one.    Jawge

[ranger 3]

I have a question John, do you have knocks cut in and if not how do you keep the string on?

Thanks

[bigcountry]

Curious john, is your top limb longer?  And how much?  I also am a huge fan of the facet tiller method.  Your old webpage is the reason I started.