Horn and sinew plains bow

[welch2]

I started with a gemsbok horn .I cut a strip from each side ,and flattened and tillered each one ,before using a short piece and two horn pegs to join them .  Here is the horns joined next to two other shorties.



It is 35" nock to nock.



And here is a closer picture of the belly side ,You can see where I left the handle thicker and the pins .



This is the back side .



Ralph

[welch2]

The next thing I did was to build up the nocks a bit .This one is a sliver of a pig tusk.



And I filed a few grooves for sinew to lay in.



The other is another tip off a horn.







Ralph

[cracker]

Very cool bow.Ron

[welch2]

This is one of the tips sinew wrapped.



and the other one.



After wrapping both tips,and the handle ,I put down the first sinew layer .









Ralph

[welch2]

The first layer of sinew gained 3 to 3 1/2" of reflex .After letting it dry a few weeks this is the first tiller check .





Ralph

[welch2]

Thanks Ron. The next step was to sand the sinew a bit ,and size it to prep for layer two . Notice I sinew wrapped at the end of short handle piece ,to ease that transition and hold the sinew down in that curve .







Ralph

[Coo-wah-chobee]

What kinna sinew Ralph ?....bob

[welch2]

Here is the second layer ,right after laying it down , at the handle.



The room was warm and I had water boiling , I  smoothed the sinew as it got tacky ,then tied it backward again.And hung it over the stove .



Ralph

[welch2]

Little ole whitetail sinew ,Sorry I left that out . I left it over the steam for 3 hours or so ,and smoothed it a few times . Here it is after 3 days of drying with the second layer on .







And retied in just a little more reflex .



Ralph

[welch2]

After a few of drying the bow has 7 3/4" of reflex . It's getting harder to pull .This is as far as I could pull it ,held out in front of me ,for the picture. This is the second layer tiller pictures .







The area near the tip on the horn nocked end (right end ) is bending to early .So I will add more sinew there , before adding the third full layer of sinew.

Ralph

[cracker]

Ralph
  This is a very cool thread it is a complete departure from what I normally think of as a bow. I think that when I envision a natural bow I somehow believe that it must have a hunk of wood in it somewhere.
Ron

[medicinewheel]

WOW Ralph! This is more than cool!!!

[welch2]

Thanks guys . We are up to 'real time' on the build now . I'll add just a bit of sinew to the horn nock end in a few days. Wait for it to dry ,then add a smooth third layer to the whole bow . It will be about done then ,except for final tiller ,wrapping the handle ,and finding some horse hair . I'm not sure if I will cover the sinew with anything . Or what kind of handle to use yet ,any ideas ?


Ralph

[medicinewheel]

What is your expected draw length and weight, btw.??

[welch2]

I'm trying for 45 to 55 at as close to 26" as I can get.

Ralph