Black Widow bows factory tour!

[Smeans]

We were lucky enough to be able to go to the Black Widow bow factory yesterday and spend some time with them. The shop was closed to production this week since its Turkey season so most of the employees were out. John, Vernon and two others were there so we got the grand tour and turned loose with the demo bows. "Please forgive me if I got your name wrong or misspelled it".

 Everyone that was there was extremely friendly but what stuck out the most and just really amazes me was how clean the shop was! I was told that they have 3 dust collectors and a huge dust collector wall to help keep dust down. Also they make around 20 bows a week during full production.

My camera died after the first pic so I was forced to use my iphone for all of them. Sorry about the quality not being the best it could be.

Im going to put these in order of how they build.


Entrance door

     


Accessory storage and shipping. They have a whole second floor of accessories!

     


Shop mascot!

     


Riser oven and forms.

     

Risers and misc parts in the forms.

     

Risers out of the forms.

     


Risers with the fades finished waiting for glueup.

     

Lam cabinet, this was only one side of it!

     

[Smeans]

Bow forms.

 


Bow oven.

 


Finished bows out of the oven. These are the cores for the 3 piece bows. Interesting to note that all 3 piece recurves use this same core.

 

Close up of core.

 


CNC used for shaping risers, etc...

 


Misc extra and inprocess parts. They had two shelves like this!

 


Glass storage!

 


In process parts.

 

[Smeans]

One of the dust collectors in the shop. They were ay bigger than I am!

 


Coating booth.

 


After coating with marine epoxy the bows are nice and shiny!

 


The bows are then sprayed with a "frost" coating to give them the Black Widow bow finishe we all know and love!

 


Some custom limbs with cottonmouth skins on them that they are working on.

 


Finished product waiting to be boxed and shipped.

 


The test range and demo recurves and left hand bows.

 


Demo longbows.

 

[Smeans]

Three bows they set out as a starter recomendation for me.

   


First shot.

   


After the second shot. I thought I had slpit one of their arrows. Luckily that wasnt the case.

   


We had a blast at the factory and they were all great hosts! Ended up shooting the bows for a few hours and yes I did walk out of there with my order submitted. I have limited experience with recurve bows but I was amazed at how smooth the draw was on the models that I shot.

[Alexander Traditional]

Very interesting.

[Killdeer]

Thank you for taking all those pictures. I loved seeing the shop and imagining a new bow...

So, what did you order?
Killdeer    

[Smeans]

Ordered a normal Autumn Oak PCH 48# @ 27", low wrist grip 56" limbs. Should have it in 8 weeks or so. I really wanted the Iron wood since I liked  the darker color but their was a noticeable difference in weight. It wasn't much but enough that I decided just to go with the lighter and cheaper wood.

[awbowman]

That sounds like a PERFECT bow!

[Bowwild]

Looks like great fun!  Thanks for sharing your trip.

[mooseman76]

Very cool, I hope to visit there some day.  I've met the guys a couple times at Kalamazoo, but would love to see the whole process.  I'm sure my bow was there at some point in the process, should have it in the next few weeks.

In the picture with the finished bows waiting to be shipped, any idea what the wood is on the limbs at the bottom of the picture? Thanks for the look inside...Mike

[huntingarcher]

That was a great trip,thanks for sharing.I noticed in your pic of finished bows waiting to ship out.The limbs closest in the pic,I wonder what wood veneers is that.

[Ulysseys]

Cool post, Widows are my favorite bows by far.

[GrayRhino]

Nice pictures.  I also visited the shop in Nixa a few years ago.  The guys at Black Widow are top notch, just like their bows.

[Friend]

The BW Nixa tours always catch my eye.

The PCH is a superb hunting bow and performs surprisingly well at extended ranges. Great choice and congrats!

A Nixa visit would be grand and the final expense would exceed that.

[Margly]

[Smeans]

Sorry all, no idea what woods those bows are. I looked at them and just didnt ask. They are both beautiful though.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Thank you! Marvellous bows, marvellous people.

[Eric Sprick]

Great pics!  Thanks for the tour, I'm gonna have to wander down there sometime.

Eric

[ken denton]

Thanks for showing what Black Widow looks like! That is really nice photos. Ken Denton

[gregg dudley]

Nice job with the pictures and story.  I visited the shop when I was in Missouri.  Great guys.