bows for "stuff"

[Prarie Bowyer]

Hi all.
Ok, so money was created as a convenient medium of exchange because direct barter is kinda difficult.  The net and forums make it easier to connect trades for good A to good B.   The next problem is value matching.  Where I mention prices below it is only intended as a baseline NOT to circumnavigate the intent of the trading post.  It’s just easier for me to think like “snake skin avg price =$54.00 = ½ buckskin= 1/5 avg reflex/deflex= 3 shooting gloves etc.  While I’d be happy for a deal I don’t want to short change anyone.

I have two bows I’m willing to trade for “stuff I need”.  The first bow is a Hill inspired hickory backed bamboo trilam flat bow.   Woods are hickory, caramelized bamboo, and maple.  Grip is walnut as are the tip overlays.  NOTE the maple on the belly has a small crack that has been filled with gorilla super glue.  I have fired many arrows through it and it doesn’t seem to want to break.  I’ve even tried drawing the bow past my anchor point.  It has killed fish.  I trust it but it could probably use a band aid.  I would be happy to get the equivalent of $25 - $30.  It is about 33# @ 28”.  Finished with Danish oil, shellac, and paste wax.  B-50 string in blue and black with a tied on nock point.  Glue was Bow Grip 100 (Rudder Bows) cured in my Subaru with the windows up on a 100* day parked in the sun. I like the bow but it’s light for me.  Pics below and full draw pic coming.





The other bow is a deeper reflex/deflex semi mistake of mine.  The glue lines are wonderful.  What happened was that my compression straps pulled more bow down to touch the adjustable form than I intended.  This bow isn’t finished yet.  I’m hoping to get it done this weekend.  I LOVE the combination of hickory and bamboo backing.  The hickory was nearly a perfect board.  All sapwood and had practically chaseble ring orientation.  The result is that the limbs have this sort of flat sections then flipped tips.  I was aiming for more gentle transitions.  This creates a funny look to the drawn bow.  It’s about ¾ finished and feels nice so far but is quite heavy.  I’ll get some pics of this up soon.  The woods are bamboo, hickory, walnut and yellow pear.  If anyone is interested give me a sense of a draw weight that you would like.  I’m forcing myself  to finish it for practice but I understand my mistake and am confident that Future ones will be error free.



you can see the flats caused by the compression clamps.



10 straightened Bamboo garden stake shafts with self nocks.  These are not yet made.  I made a mess for myself and loved them. The only pics I have on my hosting site also show my $1.50 fletching jig which I will use in another post.  I straighten them to a point that works for me, file the nodes, and cut, file the nocks.  These are fletched but I'm out of fletching.  Only shafts with nocks are an the table for the trade.


 

Stuff I need/wan’t
Buck skin ~1/2? Enough for several handle wraps.  Need not be brain tan but I like that light tan color.
Snake skin~ copperhead would be lovely.  Two would be wonderful but I think I’m short on value here.
Quivor~ I have this fabric one in my head out of duck canvas but I doubt I’ll get time to sit down and pattern it and sew it up.  I’d like a side quiver with the hole to draw arrows out the side.
Shooting glove~ Nothing fancy, 3 rivers entry model is fine for me.  I have a medium large hand in glove size.
Trade points, or Stone points~ Trade points don’t seem to have a big sticker on them so I’d be aiming at the average market value unless you have done something special or used special grades of steel.  I like the tang insert type over the regular triangle.  Stone points . . . I’m not picky.  Should be able to kill, if it’s too pretty I’ll likely never shoot it . . .  which is ok I guess.
Flint knife~  I think I’ll be short value here but I have other bows and some more in the pipes.  I’ve seen some sweet ones on here with bone handles.  Nothing huge or long.  Looking for display and usability.

Osage stave~ I use a board bow sort of method.  No self bows as yet.  So I'd like something clean and mostly straight that I can work with mostly easily.  I can saw lumber out of a rough stave if necessary.  My desired bow will be 66-68" long with a max center thickness of 1/2".  If I could get two of those from the stave I'd be tickled pink.

[MWirwicki]

PM Sent

[Prarie Bowyer]

Thanks guys.  I've gotten many replies. I'm between thinking and working on my latest bow plus we had guests, I had to make a trip "to the city" to get bow wood for the winter, and track down my 4 year old's stolen bike. Oh and I may get an opportunity to do a forecast for a friends relatives business (fingers crossed).  I need that for my resume.

The R/D bow above is coming along pretty nice . . . till tonight.  I cant tell if I have different tiller because of the stretch clamp goof up or my tillering or both.  Probably the later.  the "flipped tips" are a bit different.  It looked a little funny before but now I have one limb working more than the other and a reflex limb and a recurve limb.  I didn't intend to glue up a character bow.

The bow draws to 29" at just under 60# so far last I checked.  it's probably less after the last few adjustments.  I don't think I'm at full brace yet.  Possibly.  Riser section looking nice.   I have a few tiny spots that didn't get filled with the glue.  I do these joints with either hand tools or a self made drum sander.  I think they were air bubbles in the Urac.  I would normally just open it up a bit and flood it with thick super glue and crushed turquoise.  It isn't a flexing seam.  I got the tip overlays on and  started shaping them.

[Prarie Bowyer]

That yellow pear in the riser and tip overlays will darken to a deep golden orange sort of color. 

[Prarie Bowyer]

Like this.




I have some tiny edge gaps on the tip overlays.  I was hesitant to cut too deep into the power fibers on the bamboo.  I'll just fill it with turquoise.

[MWirwicki]

What is turquoise?

[Prarie Bowyer]

Semi-Precious stone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise

Often seen in indian type jewlery set in silver.  Can be crushed, mixed with a thick or thin density resin like super glue and used as an attractive gap fill. 

I do some bowl turning in green wood also that I let crack and fill like this.



I also harvest and mill much of my own wood for risers and such.  Usualy it's left over from a carving project or drop from cutting a bowl blank.  The technique work well with bows also.  So long as the crack is not structure threatening.  Even if it is actualy but other stuff needs to be done.

This is my current bow that I shoot and plan to hunt.  The walnut riser was a log saved from a firewood pile.  I cut away the biggest cracks but the little stuff I just filled.






some people fill this sort of tiny end grain crack with super glue and saw dust but it seems to alwayse show.  I used to get a resin filler and fuss with paints like a furniture repair  and make it invisible.  Now I prefer to highlight it. I am working with wood after all.  I also use crushed coral which is pink, and lapis lazuli which is cobalt blue (out of the later one).  Malechite can be used also, it's that light green rock.

[Prarie Bowyer]

Thanks for the paitence everybody.  Both bows traded.