Hi all,
First thank you all for the incredible support you have shown since I recently joined this site and posted my first bow! It is sincerely much appreciated!
My Story:
My first bow ended up being 26# and was a lot of fun. It fell short of my goal of a suitable hunting bow however. Since then my next serious project is an Elm selfbow with Blackhawk as my mentor and HickotryBill providing some instructional and motivational support via text message. I honestly learn more in a day with Blackhawk than I did in months on my own! My next planned bow is with a stave of Osage orange generously provided by Russell. Just looking at the beautiful wood intimidates me but is also exciting because I can already visualize the beautiful bow that exists deep inside.
Now in-between sessions with Blackhawk to keep from going stir crazy I stated mucking with a piece of red oak from Lowes. I decided to just have fun with it and learn as much as I could along the way. That Red Oak bow is the subject of this post.
Quick Stats:
Nock to nock: 65.5
#s: 42 @ 27ish
Handle: Red Oak / TB 2
Backing: Linen / TB 3
Grip: leather strip / TB 3
Any suggestions on things I can do better or try are much appreciated! Some lessons I noted are:
I got to aggressive trying out my new tools during floor tillering and took it too far. This produced some hinges that lowered the overall weight potential. Patience, patience
Painting / coloring the linen after gluing it on is way easier.
Thanks!
Rob