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Author Topic: Chasing a Mulberry Ring  (Read 3502 times)

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Offline BowJunkie

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Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« on: April 08, 2011, 07:26:48 pm »

I have a Mulberry stave, I have to cut off 3 rings to get to the 4th nice think ring in which I am chasing.
For the most part I am chasing it with a draw knife.
I am also using a very sharp hunting knife around the nubs and to finely scrape for a smooth finish.
I have been at it for roughly 4 hours and only down to half a stave finished.
My question is,,   :o  OMG Is this the right way or is their an easier way.
If this is the right way, then anyone who performs this task deserves the right to be called a Bowyer.
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Johnny
in Texas

HatchA

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2011, 07:45:19 pm »
If you're halfway to your desired ring, the fourth on down, after 4 hours...  then you're a helluvalot quicker than I was with my first ring-chase!!  I took my time over several evenings, with drawknife and scrapers to get to the ring I wanted!!  It was painstakingly slow but I got a good feel for the wood.

Taking your time is the best thing to do cos the LAST thing you want is to go too deep...   :-\
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Offline HoBow

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  • The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.
Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2011, 07:56:36 pm »
Some on here can chase rings in the dark by feel...others are slower. I'm in the slow group, but it doesn't bother me. For me, the enjoyment is as much in the process as the ending ;)
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2011, 08:15:42 pm »
Someday I wish I could be able to chase a ring halfway across a stave in 4 hours! On the other hand I haven't quite got in the swing of ring chasing, by any means. Hey, does your mulberry stave have little pin knots poking out of it all over? If so, do they go away/flatten down after a couple rings or do they go right down to the heart wood?
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline BowJunkie

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2011, 08:51:45 pm »
Yes the stave I have does have a lot of pin knots all over it.
 I thought maybe I was going to slow, this is my first ring I have ever chased.
Maybe its a good thing the ring I am chasing is the 4th ring down.
By the time I chase the ring the knots have just about vanished.
One thing is for sure, you do learn a feel for the ring you are chasing.
1st pic is before the ring was chased
2nd pic is the end of the stave after ring was chased.
3rd is back of bow after ring chase.
Any comments?
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Johnny
in Texas

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2011, 09:30:46 pm »
"I thought maybe I was going to slow, this is my first ring I have ever chased."

Oh, cool. Thank you very much!

"Any comments?"

Yes, good job! (to my knowledge). :)
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline gstoneberg

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2011, 10:17:53 pm »
I've made lots of mulberry bows, but never one from a piece of wood that small, nor have I ever made one with sapwood on the back.  I'm very interested how it turns out for you.  What I see looks fine.

George
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St Paul, TX

Offline BowJunkie

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2011, 11:58:45 pm »
So am I doing this wrong?
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Johnny
in Texas

Offline RyanY

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2011, 12:18:25 am »
You're doing it right but it's difficult to say what you should do with a piece of wood that small. Usually with sapling bows you would just take the bark off and not worry about chasing a ring. I say just start turning it into a bow.
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Offline BowJunkie

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2011, 12:28:57 am »
AAAAAH Gotcha. The reason I chased a ring was to remove the knots and broken small limbs off and to make it smooth.
Once I got the handle area down to the fourth ring, this things fits like a glove.
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Johnny
in Texas

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2011, 01:10:03 am »
What's the hurry? You are doing a great job...looks like. Take your time. Turn on the radio. Listen to baseball game while you do it. Enjoy the process. :) Jawge
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Set Happens!
If you ain't breakin' you ain't makin!

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2011, 02:30:54 pm »
I had a mulberry stave that took me 20 hours to get down to one growth ring.  And that stave wasn't even close to my first rodeo!  That's the one that got me so mad at I beat it on a great big ol' Ponderosa pine trying to break it and ended up throwing it in the creek!  The bow ended up with 7 sets of paired pin knots.  Each pair of pin knots was suggestive of prominent female anatomy.  I can't say on here what we called the bow, but I gave it to a 15 yr old boy.  He liked it.

The tougher the job the more it teaches you.  Sounds like this stave has you out behind the woodshed for some one-on-one tutoring! 
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Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline gstoneberg

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Re: Chasing a Mulberry Ring
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2011, 03:06:30 pm »
Quote from: BowJunkie on April 08, 2011, 11:58:45 pm
So am I doing this wrong?

There's no wrong in this hobby.  You never know what's going to make a good bow and just because I haven't done one that way doesn't mean you won't make a great bow.  Just in the short time I've been on here I've seen people do things I would never have dreamed would work.  I agree with Jawge, work at your own pace and enjoy the process.  You'll do fine.

George
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St Paul, TX
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