Robin bamboo build along

[Sam Harper]

I won't bore you with the details of shaping the tips and handles.  I have a video series showing how I do that if you're interested.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY911kAHU1Q&list=PL66EAAA8FA3ED0C0E

My handle shapes have been evolving over the last year, though.  I used to only put a contour right below the arrow shelf.  Now, I've found that if I narrow the back end a little, too, it feels more comfortable.  It enhances the palm swell.  This is my first time making the back contour go all the way around, creating kind of a bulb-shaped handle.

 

Here's a couple of pictures of the tip (before sanding).

 

 

Once I got everything shaped the way I wanted, I sanded everything down to 400 grit.  Then I used some white India Ink and a fountain pen I got at Michaels to write on it.  I used white with the idea that when the Osage begins to darken, the white will be more visible.

 

I used to use a sharpie because it was easy, but it was also fat, bulky, and ugly.  Then I read a thread where Eric Krewson recommended acrylic ink and a fountain pen, so I went and got some at Michaels.  I found it difficult to write with.  I got black for lighter wood and silver for darker wood.  I could not get the silver to work at all, which is why I got this white India Ink.  The black worked, but it was difficult.  I don't know if the problem is with the pen, the ink, or me.  I got a really fine pen because I wanted to be able to write small, but it grabs when I try to write with it, and it's just difficult to write smoothly.

I used to put on a few layers of finish, then the writing, then the last layer. That way, it would be easy to get off if I needed to without removing wood.  But I decided this time that since I struggle so much with writing, I'd try to write on bare wood and see if it was any easier.  It wasn't.  I couldn't get it to write at all at first.  Then I found that if I shook the pen until some white ink dropped out of it, it would write a little.  It was a mess.

I called the bow "Robin" since Robin gave me the bamboo.  Besides, I like that name.

 

Next, I'll put a finish on it.

[bigbob2]

lovely bow Sam, you do great work!

[Sam Harper]

Thanks, bigbog2!

[mwosborn]

Very nice work Sam - thanks for posting.  Love those tips!

[Mad Max]

nice job  sam

[mt1761]

This is my first post on TradGang.   I've really enjoyed lurking and following this build-along.  Beautiful bow, and great presentation of the process, Sam.  Thanks very much.

[Trux Turning]

Great looking bow and build along!

[robin]

Hi Sam, please do give us an update on the performance, speed when using this "hard" boo...

for those who are interested, here are some of the boo i harvested.

Pic of mature boo, i normally scrap off the rind to confirm that it is mature boo before harvest.

 
 

 

all stacked up and ready for air drying
 

 

[Sam Harper]

I don't have a chronometer, Robin, but I'll do some comparing and contrasting with my other bow similar to this one and say what I think.  I have yet to shoot this bow from full draw.  It'll be tomorrow before I put the final coat of finish on it.

[Ice Mike]

Very nice Sam! You have a whole lot of talent my friend...

When I first started, my drive was all about getting a bow that shot really well that I could be proud of. Since I have accomplished that, my drive has decreased a a tad...well, with the accomplishment and the fact that I am moving and trying to adjust to a new place...anyway..

It's people like you that swoop in and save the day..I get on here and read this thread and it gives me inspiration to clear out a spot in the new place and get back to work!!

Thanks for your efforts and for sharing Sam. God Bless.

[Sam Harper]

Don't sell your wood or tools, Mike!  I got burned out on making bows for a few years, then the bug bit me again.  There are so many designs throughout history that there's always something new to try.

[Ice Mike]

No fear of that Sam! My tools aren't going anywhere!

[Sam Harper]

Last night and today, I put a finish on it.  I didn't take any pictures.  I'll just give you a brief explanation of what I did.

I used what used to be called "Thunderbird," but is now called "Kwick Klean Sealer."  According to 3 Rivers Archery, "starts out as a lacquer and dries to a tough polyurethane," which means it dries quickly on any oily wood.

I got some PreVal sprayers, which you can buy with or without jars.  I got a couple with jars so I could mix my stuff.  I put 80% Thunderbird and 20% lacquer thinner in there, then sprayed three coats of the glossy finish, waiting 12 minutes between coats.  Bob Sarrels told me the glossy stuff is harder and more durable than the satin.  

He also told me it takes about six hours for it to convert to a polyurethane, so it's important to put all the coats on within that time.  I let it do its thing over night, and this morning, I put one coat of Satin polyurethane from a spray can.  I got the Minwax fast-drying polyurethane.  I'm not sure if it's still available, but Bob told me I could also use Rustoleum Ultra Cover Matte Clear.  I'm going to get some of that as soon as I run out of the Minwax.

And that's it for the finish.  I'm working on a handle wrap right now.  I'll post pictures later when I'm done.

[horseapple]

Excellent job Sam as mentioned on the other site, I would like to get a few pieces of The bamboo preferably some that hasnt had the rind scraped off. Its definitely not the same stuff as wingnut used to sell, his was alot thinner and the power fibers were tighter.

[Sam Harper]

Thanks, J.D.  I sent you an email.

[Sam Harper]

I've been taking classes at Tandy on leather carving and stamping, so I thought I'd make a fancy schmancy leather handle for this bow.  Plus, it'll cover up the splice on the back of the bamboo.  I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, though.  Should I wet form it to the handle first and then tool it?  No, because it would be really hard to tool it right on the bow, and I'd surely mess it up.  Should I tool it flat, and then wet form it to the bow?  Will it mess up the tooling when I try to wet form it?  What if I tool it, and it changes shape as a result, and no longer fits the bow?  If I put a finish on the tooling side, will I still be able to wet form it by wetting the back, or will it be too stiff?  What to do, what to do?  I googled around and even went to Tandy and thumbed through their books.  I found a discussion forum where this subject came up, and different people did it different ways.  I decided to just go for it.  I had some cheap leather, so it didn't matter if I messed up.

I don't have a floppy tape measure, so I made one out of some masking tape.

 

Then I wrapped it around the thickest part of the handle and got 4-1/2".

 

I measured out some leather 4-1/2" x 4", and used a barge cement thingy to keep everything square.

 

I learned a neat trick on YouTube.  If you put a piece of carpet under your leather, it's much easier to cut because you can put the exacto knife all the way through it.  Conveniently enough, my sister recently tore all the carpet out of her childrens' bedrooms to put in hardwood flooring, and I was able to cut a square out of the carpet they were discarding.  Score!

 

My lines were not perfectly straight, so I straightened them out on the belt sander.

 

Whenever you tool leather, it's like sticking your fist in a ball of dough, and it spreads out.  Tandy has this sticky paper type stuff you can stick your leather on to work it, and it keeps it from spreading out too much.  I've seem people on youtube glue it to granite to keep it spreading out. But this leather I'm working with is on the thick side, so I figured maybe it wouldn't distort, and I didn't worry about it.

I wet the leather with a sponge, then use a ruler and the edge of my shading tool to draw a boarder.  

 

Then I got my basket weave tool out and screwed it up (picture not shown).  I was a little frustrated, but like I said, it was cheap leather, so I cut out another square and started again.  This time, I used my camouflage tool to make a boarder, and it was kind of screwed up, too, but I went with it because I didn't want to start over again.

 

^^That was the 100th picture! (Not counting the non-build-along pictures)

[Sam Harper]

Then I made a small line as a reference for my basket tool.

 

Then I used the basket tool (correctly this time) and made this pattern.

 

Then I used the seeder tool to jazz up the boarder a little more.

 

They have this tool you roll on the leather that makes equally spaced indentations so you can make stitching holes, but I just used a ruler and pen.

 

As soon as I punched the first hole, I knew I had chosen a size too big.  But it wasn't going to start all over because of it.

 

I used my edging tool (can't remember what it's called) and took the corners off the leather.

 

Then I wet the edges and used the handle of the same tool to burnish the edges.

 

Then I put some "antique" on it.  It was supposed to be medium brown, but it sure looks dark to me.

 

[Sam Harper]

I let that dry, then put this sealer on it that smells like Pine Sol.

 

I gave that plenty of time to dry, did some running around, and made a string.  I learned some new tricks from a YouTube video by Rick ******, and made a nice string.  But I decided to be a rebel and not match up the bundles when I made the loops.

 

It came time for wet forming, so I wrapped the bow in plastic wrap, wet the back of the leather really good, and tried to form it around the handle.  Unfortunately, it wasn't big enough, and there was a big gap.

 

I was pretty bummed about that.  I thought it might happened because of the way I measured for the leather, plus the thickness of the leather.  There was no way that outside circumference of that leather was going to be able to stretch as far as the inside circumference.  But I thought tooling might spread it out a little and compensate.

I decided to try thinning it out on the belt sander and see if I could stretch it.  That helped some.  I wrestled with it some more and got it kind of close.  The problem area, though, was where that node on the bamboo was.  Here it is after wet forming.

 

I put that in my solar hot box to dry out for a few hours.

 

[Sam Harper]

My solar hotbox has 393,000 miles on it, and it still runs great!

I really didn't want to start over again, so I found this lacing pattern on YouTube called "double loop lacing" that I thought might cover up that gap.

 

Here is the result.

 

I must've done something wrong because my pattern seemed to be bunched up on one side instead of in the middle.  I think I may have been pulling the stitches too tight.  He says on the video not to pull them too tight.  There didn't seem to be anything I could do to make that bottom stitch look right, but I didn't glue the leather on the bow, so I can change it any time I want if I feel like it.  I don't feel like it right now, though.  Here's the front of it.

 

And here's the finished bow.

 

And  here's the money shot.

 

And that's it for today.  Tomorrow, I'll shoot this bow along with the previous one I made of this style and write up some final reflections on the bamboo that Robin sent me.

[takefive]

Looks great Sam!  Really like the 'curves and the leather tooling is very cool.  Well done