Sorry guys. I would have come on sooner with these but my computer died 2 days ago and I just got it back. Here are a few more pictures of the bow that show the wood a bit better.
Mike spent over two hours with me going through his wood looking for that special piece. When we got there I had in my mind a Bacote SAX but once we stumbled onto his secret stash of Bubinga I was hooked.
The really neat part is that Mike is as particular about the wood for someone else's bow as he is for his own. He wants every bow be made from his wood to be the best it can possibly be. He took extra care to find the right wood for the riser. Once we found the one we wanted he made sure cut it so the best grain was facing out on the nose and then changed his cut so the same grain was showing on the sides of the riser and the fade outs. I sure this wasted some wood for him but he wanted it to turn out just right. I'd say he succeeded in Aces. He really has an eye for knowing how to cut so the best features of the grain will show.
I'm sure it was an inconvenience for him to spend so much time with me picking through all his wood but he didn't seem to mind at all. It turned out so well I may have to go back and do it again and finally get my Bacote once I save some money for that project.
If you're in the market for a new bow you may want to consider doing what I did especially if you are in the area at all. It's really pretty cool and rewarding being involved at this step of the process. If anyone has any specific questions get in touch with Steve or I and we can get you to the right guy. Better yet contact Leftyfred directly and he'll take good care of you.