"Island Girl"

[Pat B]

This is Island Girl. At last year Classic Josh(GunDoc) gave me this stave. The story goes that he and his daughter found an osage tree on an island near where he lives in Kansas. He cut the tree and split it out into staves. They left the island without the wood and totally forgot about it for 15 years. The river had changed course and made the island inaccessible by land like before. Fifteen years later he was out on he island again and found the staves and recovered them.
 The stave Josh gave me was well checked, and good ones at that but he must have been confident I could find a bow in it and here she is. Her name came to me right off the bat, "Island Girl". While reducing the stave I split off a shorter belly split. After reducing it I realized I had enough wood for a shorty sinew backed bow. I tillered this little stave out to 40#@20 and soon I'll be adding 2 or 3 layers of cow sinew. With this short stave having come from "Island Girl" I thought of the shorty as her little sister and the name "Gidget" popped into my head.
 Here are some pics...
 

 

A while back Pearlie sent me a pair of carp skins. They were relatively short but I knew eventually I'd find the bow for them...and Island Girl  was the recipient...
 

In these pics you will see the checks that remained in the stave. I added super glue to these checks, back and belly(they went through) and every time I reduced the belly a bit I added more super glue where needed. You can see the dark lines on the back(even down under the carp skins) and the belly and at the tip on the other end...
 

 

 

[Pat B]

...and I added lemonwood tip overlays. They should show up nicely as the osage darkens with age...
 

...and now for the money shots. I realize the outer 1/3 of each limb is a bit stiff but with the checks and all the super glue I left them that way. She shoots well with a little thump when released but I'm sure that is the stiff outer limbs.
 

 

 Island Girl is 66"t/t, 52#@26".  This next pic is of Island Girl with her still unfinished little sister Gidget. My plan for Gidget is to be part of a set that will grace the raffle table at the Tenn Classic next spring. Here are the sisters together...
 

[LESKEN2011]

Sweet one, Pat.  

[Dan Landis]

Looks great as always Pat!  Looks like a nice crop of acorns down there this year.

[razorback]

Very nice Pat. You have done wonders with that old wood.

[KellyG]

Pat those are going to be really sweet bows for sure.

If they go frist I bet the auction does very good. I think folks will save thier money for them to come up.

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice, Pat..

[Pat B]

Thank you guys. This was a fun project with the bad checks in the wood. Gotta love super glue!  The wood is super hard and has good growth rings so I figured I had a chance with the checks.
Kelly, the bow I donated to the Tenn. Classic last year, Hickory backed lemonwood ALB, brought $700on the raffle table for Twin Oaks Bowhunters. I want to top that next spring. I'm going to make a quiver(maybe coyote) and set of arrows to go along with Gidget.
 More acorns than I've ever seen here in 25 years, Dan.
Thanks Roy, I'm glad it wasn't "just OK, I guess".

[Mad Max]

nice pat

[Trapper Rob]

That carp skin looks sharp.

[cunruhshoot]

True craftmanship!

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Nicely done Pat!

[Bakh]

Very nice Pat

[takefive]

Great looking bow, Pat.  Love the look of those carp skins.

[Buemaker]

Very nice. Pat, any chance that you was a merchant seaman in your younger days ? Bue--.

[Pat B]

Bue, I did work on an ocean going tug boat back in the early 1970s for one trip. I love the ocean but only in small dosages.    :D  
  Thanks everyone.

[leftyfred]

I like it a lot

[Osagetree]

That's good stuff right there!

[ron w]

Cool stuff.......  

[Echatham]

man that is cool. amazing the stuff can sit out in the weather 15 years and still be what it is.