First Bow Build.. Bendy Osage Bow Buildalong

[John Scifres]

Give it just a few scrapes at a time at the ends where I marked it above.  I'd like to see a little more movement there.  You can now start working the tips to narrow them to 1/2" or so at the nock.  You can probably round the handle slightly and maybe even narrow it a bit.  Take a pic of the handle from the side and the top and we'll go from there.

[jeremy1517]

By tips, are you saying narrow the area outside the knocks or from knocks to the tips?  

Both ends are currently 3/4" wide. Should I use a file/rasp and carefully narrow the limbs equally on each side or is there a better tool?


Here are your pics of the handle:

Belly view of the handle
   

Belly closest to my feet/ side view
   

Back View
   

Back side closest to feet/ side view
   

[John Scifres]

You can narrow the last 5" or so of the tips.  I use a rasp.

You can round the handle but I wouldn't narrow it too much.

[jeremy1517]

So does the last 5" need to be 1/2" wide or start at the 5" mark and gradually narrow to end?

For the handle, nothing more than slightly rounding the edges?

I can do that.......

Do you wear a glove on your left hand?

[John Scifres]

Start at the width at 5" and taper it to 1/2: nocks.

I don't wear a glove.  I use a wedge of leather as a rest.  Sometimes I make a floppy arrow rest.

[jeremy1517]

thanks, I'll have to see how you make your arrow rest.  

Should I level out the belly side of the handle or leave it as is?  It's a little uneven but it doesn't bother me.

[jeremy1517]

Alright John, I've scraped the end of the limbs some more. Here are the pics. I figured I need to get the tips where they need to be before I start narrowing them down.

Thoughts?

   

   

[John Scifres]

It looks really good drawn by hand.  I'd start finishing it if it were me.

[jeremy1517]

Thanks Brother John!!  So, the real question is, if it was your bow, what would you do to it? Would you scrape more or finish it?

[jeremy1517]

Alright, I rounded the handle. It's comfortable but I can do more if you think I need to.  I've also tapered down the ends so that they are half an inch on the ends and knock area. Here are pics

   

   

   

[John Scifres]

I'd have to feel it shoot but I would likely try to get a bit more movement at the ends.  Are you at full draw?  It would help if you could mark an arrow with electrical tape at your draw length and then pull it back with to that mark and get a pic.

Stiff sections at the tip help keep string angle down and make for a smoother draw.  But they come at the price of more mass at the tips.  More mass means more thump.  You can mitigate that by making the stiff tips narrow and deep a la the Holmegard or Mollegebat designs. But that is not how this bow was designed.  It is often said that if you make wood twice as thick you will make it 8 times as strong.  But if you make it twice as wide you only make it twice as strong.  In other words, we can make narrow tips strong enough to keep from bending simply by leaving them thicker.

[jeremy1517]

I'm at a full draw.  It feels pretty good to shoot. There is some thump.  I'll try to scrape some more from the tips.

Do you think I need to make the tips narrower?  They re at 1/2" now.

[John Scifres]

No

[jeremy1517]

Hey John, I'll work on the tips a bit. Does the other parts of the limbs look alright?


Also what is the finishing steps?  I'm assuming sanding.  I want a leather grip like you use with the bulked up arrow rest.  So I need some leather.  What do I need for the bow as far as finishes?  Linseed oil, urathane, etc.

Planning on taking a trip to the hardware store today

[John Scifres]

Yes.

Shape the tips some more.  They should be a blunt point.

Scrape the whole thing down to remove tool marks.  Work in a well lit area, preferably outside in the sunshine.  Sight down the bow with different light angles to really help pick up the tool marks.  Use 100, 150, and the 220 grit sandpaper.  And then look it over really good once again.  Burnish with 0000 steel wool.  One simple finish is Minwax spray polyurethane done in light coats 15 minutes apart.  Use 6 coats of gloss and then 2-3 coats of satin.  Let it cure for 3 days.  

I also really like a hand rubbed oil finish, I use teak oil.  It takes a little while longer to truly harden but it is really easy to do and also to touch up.

Then do your handle.  I'll work mine down to the same point you are at and post some pics.  I'll send you some leather.

[jeremy1517]

What do you mean by a blunt point?

[jeremy1517]

Also, what is the process for the Teak Oil finish?

[John Scifres]

Blunt point - as opposed to a block of wood at the end.  Pointed but not sharp.  The goal is to reduce the amount of wood at the tip.  Ideally, we would have the bare minimum for functionality and durability.  In reality we have to leave a margin of error because to take it too far risks screwing up an entire bow for the  sake of a few grams of tip weight.  Read the Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol 1, particularly the Design and Tillering chapter.

Teak oil finish - Flood coat it with oil, let it sit for 10 minutes and then rub it down really well.  Repeat a couple times.  Let it sit for a couple weeks in low relative humidity, like an air conditioned house.  It can be repeated anytime.  Car wax also makes it look really great between reapplication coats.

[jeremy1517]

Thanks, whats the least shiny finish?

[jeremy1517]

Another question. Shaping the tip. Should I leave the "back" side of the bow as is and rasp the belly side at an angle up to it?