In search of Bigfoot!

[beyondmyken]

Will keep watching this post, very educational.  

Kirk,  the photos showing the parts of your shop in the background are always interesting.  Maybe you could do a shop pictorial one day.

[Big Ed]

Doc, We need to put that bow in action this fall!!

[Doc Nock]

He's baaaack!      

Got a note this AM that Kirk and Kat got back at some very late (early?) hour and had a grand anniversary trip.

Ed,
It would be an honor to bloody that bad boy with you.

********************

Thing about Kirk--- he doesn’t just build a pretty bow (all I’ve seen were gorgeous!) but he builds a fully functional bow and each of his design feature has been thoroughly tested and -- re-tested.  I paid my deposit and held my “spot”.   He shared high speed clips of his limb designs in action-- he is passionate about bow design, limb function: vertical limb stability, lateral limb stability, and resulting performance.  He wants to exceed his and the customer’s expectations.  He has researched deeply into different types of carbon and has settled on his “matrix” design that he’s tested, reviewed, tested under high speed videography and settled on a formula that offers high performance while maintaining vertical and lateral stability!  I’d watched a few of Kirk’s video build series in the past and I’d been in a few bowyer’s shops to see processes unfold, so it is not all alien.  

Kirk took time to share parts of the build process with me so I could see “my bow” come alive in his hands.

Those pics above were neat to see cause I could roughly understand them... I understood, well enough for my purposes, his explanation of vertical limb stability and horizontal stability and how it improves performance, but Kirk would have to step in to do that topic justice… understanding doesn’t mean I can describe it accurately.

I wonder how many others invest in high speed video equipment, editing software and then blow up thousands of dollars of limbs & materials, while being photographed with high speed equipment, to see, if, where and how they fail? And then start over to fix it all till it is perfecto??

[Bel007]

Been waiting a while to read this one buddy....

 

[Doc Nock]

I'm stuck at home today...deeply immersed in varied chores awaiting the possibility of a knock on my door from the postman or postmam.

Some suckers told me that if it shipped OR on Thursday AM, could be here today!    :eek:  

Ain't no way I'm getting further from my door than the neighbor's!  

I did have one other picture to share real quick.

Seems that Kirk has taken on an assistant or understudy or underfoot or whatever...

I'm sure that under this diligent watchful eye, my bow turned out superior!
 

[Killdeer]

What a beautiful spaniel!
Does it come with the bow?
Killdeer

 

[stringstretcher]

Wonder if his name is "Rufus"?

[Doc Nock]

I keep searching old files...I think her name is Gracie, but I can't be sure... Kirk will be by when he's got time and share I'm sure!

Great dog and I've heard stories of her antics and she appears to be quite the companion...

But nope... I'm pretty sure Kirk would give up a hand before that pup...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Ok.... i got some Zzzzz's....  Here's  few photos showing the rest of the riser lay up and hardware installation.

After getting the the overlays on the back, it' time to cutout the shape and do the belly ramp caps.

 

 

 

 

All these different lay ups take time to cure before going to the next step, but here's a peek at what all these little pieces look like when you are done.

 

[Killdeer]

Lots of nice wood, but here is where skill comes in.
Killdeer

[**DONOTDELETE**]

One more little shot here and i gotta get back to work....

After the overlay process is completed we need to get some hardware installed to bolt the limbs on.

First thing i do is get the riser clamped in to the vise on my mill using a smart level.

 

next we get everything drilled and tapped out for the limb bolts and location pins....


 

 

 

 

[Doc Nock]

Ain't that sumpin!?

Ya got that "skill" part right, Killy!

Craftsmanship... skill, experience... combine that with Kirk's thirst for knowledge and driven penchant for "testing everything" to see how, why and IF it really works...and oh, my...

[TomK]

Hey Doc, Postman show up yet?

[Doc Nock]

NOPE...usual postal delivery on Saturday is about 4pm...I'm afraid to even jump in the shower!  

In my past experience, I've had Priority deliveries come very LATE in the day...when it comes in they told me (back a few years) that they have to deliver it...but hey... I dunno.  

It'll show when it shows...but I do feel like a kid at Christmas!

Living alone has it's drawbacks, but I can set up my target bag on the kitchen table and do bale work without being in trouble!    

[lpcjon2]

Lucky you I used to get away with shooting through the house, but now the kids hold me hostage on the bribe(I will tell mom you shot in the kitchen). Good things come to those who wait, as long as the postman isnt hung over...LOL

[Killdeer]

I listen for the sound of running water before I knock.

Killdeer~the mailma'am.

[Doc Nock]

2nd floor shower is in the back of the townhouse...doubt they could hear it lest they stuck their head in...

Alas, guy rolled up...regular gent is on vacation.

Said that is the last of any deliver for priority today... but I did get fedders from Magnus!

Oh, well...monday then...

Me an ole Carly Simon...antici-paay-shun

[maineac]

Looking forward to "the rest of the story".

[Doc Nock]

I hear whinning in the background from the peanut gallery...

Ok, here's my last informational installment for the day...  

Kirk Listens

Kirk listened to me more than I realized. He listened when I said I love figure and wood grain.  We debated pro’s and con’s on some issues. I’m not afraid to question what I don’t understand… until I do understand.  One friend was curious if Kirk would still be talking to me at the end of the build.

I didn’t want all the fancy lay ups, or footings, in my riser that add cost to just be “eye candy.”  I wanted a bow that functions at peak performance, even though I’ve had to lower draw weight due to age and other medical type issues.  

However, I did opt to increase mass and strength with a wood I-beam. I’m not drawing heavy bows as arthritis has taken it’s toll…so I didn’t need tremendous riser strength provided by Kirk’s “G-10” I-beam… but I wanted increased stability and mass so we agreed on a wood I-beam.

Maybe Kirk could illuminate at what point the G-10 becomes a serious asset versus the wood I-beam or other riser configurations…

Kirk has shown here on Gang some exotically beautiful bows of Bocote he has built.  I asked about that wood. He showed me pics of a slab for  a riser bocote that made tears come to my eyes… he is not only a driven tester and performance perfectionist, but he is an artist.  We settled on a combo of waterfall bubinga (he calls it “snake fight”) for the wood I–beam sandwiched into this incredible piece of Bocote…!

You've seen the lay up of those woods... but here was the material set aside for my build
 

Kirk's artistic vent was in over-drive. He put the bubinga over the back of the riser for contrast to the bocote back limb veneers.

You saw those overlays in his one "build" shot lying there to become "belly ramp caps".  if you look close, you can see the belly ramp caps tying the bubinga in the middle of the riser sandwich together on the belly side along with the overlay on the back side of the riser.

Sweet!
 

[larry]

gee Doc, don't want to spit in your tea, but mine shipped out thursday, and I spent the better part of the day shooting it.  :eek: