What did you do today, 2015....

[canopyboy]

Roy, I'm hoping to have a reason to head farther west next month. I'll be sure to stop when the time comes. Would love to break some of your arrows too. Plus, I need to check on how big the pup has gotten.

[Roy from Pa]

Sounds like a plan, Dave.
Pup is now 65 pounds and 9 months old today..      
And she loves to retrieve sticks thrown out into the pond..

   

Click picture below for video..

   

[Robertfishes]

Made some Santos Rosewood Wedges and picked out some clear glass for a set of ILF limbs I need to build. Using Bamboo tapers with Santos rosewood veneers. I have some black and white ebony veneers that will go in a set of hunting weight limbs if I can find the time before hunting season starts Sept 19th. I may be forced to hunt with some ugly olive ash burl limbs I made back in April..

[bamboo]

 
 
 
third from the form --just sanding sealer on it
waterfall bubinga/osage--red elm/green glass--g-10/green glass tips

[Robertfishes]

Got 2 limbs glued up, started grinding squeezed out smooth on off of limb edges with my grizzly 6x80... Sander wouldn't shut off, unplunged it, cleaned switch..still wouldn't shut off. Ordered 2 new switch's and a graphite pad from Grizzly. I sold my 6x48" sander a few months sgo but I still have my little Rigid Sander for a back up if needed.. Going to drill holes for ILF detents and add overlays later today.

[canopyboy]

You sound busy Rob. I need to start making progress in the shop again. Made a few yellow shavings last night, trying to drop a few pounds from a osage bow someone gave me that developed negative tiller after a few shots. I have a young lady who's grandpa wants to introduce her to something without wheels.

Mike, I like that a lot. Nice job.

[razorback]

Mike, nice riser, what is that modeled after, looks familiar.

[bamboo]

 
here's the unstrung profile--the static section starts about an inch off the table--I'm super happy with the shot characteristics on this one!
tony--its just my interpretation of a late 50's recurve-with influences from all over!
--thanks dave

[Robertfishes]

nice looking bow! I like the 50's look too. put in 8 1/2 hours at the job got home at 3:45, changed into my shop clothes..I was grinding on my limbs and my "on call" phone rings..got called out for a few hours..got home and cut up a wild hog ham, got the tenderizer hammer out and made a small pile of fry meat..Helen came in and we used dry tempura mix with Tony Chasere seasoning sprinkled in to fry the hog meat in coconut oil. Next I made some pepper gravy..and some black eye peas. had a quick dinner..then I washed up and went back to the shop. I got my overlays glued on and made some tip overlays from red and black phenolic..got them glued on too. Made it back in the house at 11:15..its 11:45pm and I have to start my regular work day in 6 1/2 hours, unless the on call phone starts ringing again

[Roy from Pa]

Another nice haul for Ken..

I'll take those short ones in the right front off your hands, Ken..  

   

[bigbob2]

i am envious, all that yellow gold! Very hard to get over here, it's possible but not easy.

[canopyboy]

I'm jealous too Bob. Not quite as hard here, but it doesn't grow in peoples' backyards generally either. Tuesday night I had my first real experience tillering a osage selfbow. I've worked with it in trilams and risers before. But I quickly fell in love with those yellow shavings and how well the things shoots. I need to figure out how to get more! Maybe a trip to the midwest?

[canopyboy]

Today has been a good day. Weather is aweseome after last night's storm and cold front. After sleeping in til 0630 (on purpose), I saw a giant rafter of turkeys crossing my neighborhood driveway. Looked like four adult birds and about a dozen large chicks. I hunt deer around my house, but have never seen a turkey or even sign in the 12 years I've lived there. I hope this means that they're moving in!

Then I stopped by a hardwood store on the way back from a site visit instead of lunch today to see if they had any myrtle. I did find a nice block of figured myrtle that should make about six longbow risers. But before I stumbled across that, I found some giant yew slabs. They called it rustic yew, and it had a lot of character due to the rotted/spalted areas. I figure there will be a lot of waste. But it also had a ton of very tight grain, totally clean, knot-free wood to pull lams out of. The board is 1-3/4 thick and 8' long, I took home the one on the right.

 

It's not a huge haul of osage, but I'm still stoked and finishing the full day at work is gonna be tough.

[LittleBen]

That store looks familiar. Bastards never had yew anytimes I stopped I there. Fortunately I've had my auction trigger finger working and have been building up my supply whenever I see undervaluation of yew.

Bought me two live edge slabs of yew recently that I think should yield some good lams. Both are around 2.5" thick x 4" x 40". Very tight ringed. Counted 150 rings on one and 160+ on the other. Pretty cool to think those trees were growing while the civil war was fought. Plan is to take one of the slabs and slice off the live edge, rip it into 2 billets and build a super gnarly ELB. I'm talking branches sticking out and everything.

[Robertfishes]

I finished these ILF long limbs this afternoon. 52# on a 15 inch riser. Veneers are Santos rosewood with bamboo tapers. I only got three arrows shot when it started raining..I am very happy with the limbs, very quiet and dead in the hand at the shot..too bad I made these for one of my friends, I would like to keep them for myself..  

[LittleBen]

Fine veneers on those limbs. I think it's awesome you're building IlF limbs.

[Ken Sorg]

1.Roughed out 5 Osage staves and a set of billets to speed drying time.
2. Cut (almost) to length 4 additional sets of billets.
3. Glued a hickory backing, which the edges lifted on,to a maple board. Going the try and cut it out anyhow.
4. Glued a hickory handle and hick tip overlays onto a hickory board
5. Cut out and sanded a hickory backed maple board flat bow,,,,made from scrap wood. Probably tiller and blow it up today!!!

[Roy from Pa]

LOL,  Ken...

[canopyboy]

Saturday my daughter and I went to a shoot, quite a turnout. I had trouble finding parking -- even down the road. No warmup, my first arrow was center of the 11 ring. And we went downhill from there. After taunting my daughter about how she better not miss that giant bedded elk target, guess who put his arrow in the ground a few inches in front? Yep, that was a lot farther away than it looked. But the weather was beautiful. Later in the day I confessed to my wife about buying the yew board and the block of myrtle. To my surprise, she wasn't upset except that she thought she could have found me the myrtle for cheaper online...

Yesterday I got some work done in the shop and cleaned a bunch of stuff up which always feels good. A little buddy and his dad stopped by and after splitting and stacking firewood for a few hours we relaxed and got his son shooting. It's always fun to see how quickly they go from arrows all over the place to all their arrows in the target.

 

I finished out the night by wet sanding out my daughter's bow and putting on a few coats of wax. It's been done for months except for dealing with a touch of orange peel in the finish and wrapping the handle. Hasn't stopped her from shooting it, but realized at Saturday's shoot I needed to get 'er done.

[bamboo]

I've been deep in the yeller last couple days!!
 
roughed in the grip on a new hybrid--
 
 
 
hope to have a string on her by Saturday!