Sapwood backed osage recurve attempt...

[toomanyknots]

Well, not really "sapwood backed", probably going to be more like "linen backed". Pics:















I have been toying with this stave for a while. I was going to chase a ring on it, just because I feel like it is obligatory with osage most of the time, but I am just too lazy. Plus I am horrible at chasing rings, and more importantly, I hate chasing rings. Long ago, threw my laziness in regards to chasing rings on osage, I was rewarded with the insight that I don't absolutely need to chase a ring, so I figured screw it I will make another sapwood backed osage selfbow. Or thats what I thought I was gonna do, until I sanded right threw a knot in the middle of the back, in a part of the limb that will be bending. So I guess I could of just chased a ring in the first place. Anyhow, I found some linen I had left (THANK GOD) and am probably going to back it with it. Here is the knot in the middle of the limb:



It's smaller and a bit hard to see in the picture, but last time I had a sanded threw knot in the middle of the limb, it was a mulberry longbow I was making. And that bow broke right at that knot. So I am definitely wanting to back this bow with something. My game plan is:

- Sand the back to where it is good enough to be backed
- Floor tiller
- Steam band the recurves
- Back the bow with linen
- Do the nocks
- Tiller
- Sand the bow to 600
- Add Linen thread wraps at the ends of the linen backing strips
- Shoot it
- If tiller stays good, finish it, and go shoot some crap in the woods.

One thing I am confused about, which really doesn't matter, is if I should thread wrap the ends of the linen backing before tillering, or after. I am kinda paranoid about the backing coming off on the tips when tillering, so I almost always wrap the ends of the backing before I tiller, (whether it be sinew or linen or plant fiber or whatever). But I just hate not being able to remove wood under the backing as well...

[paulsemp]

Are you doing that in a bedroom? Man my wife would kill me!

[toomanyknots]

Are you doing that in a bedroom? Man my wife would kill me!

  Ya, I sorta turned an unused bedroom into a place to make bows last winter because it was so cold outside. My wife hates it. 

[toomanyknots]

Well I have been working on this slowly. The cross section is not perfect at all. It is a rectangle that is fat on one side and small on the other. As well as I have a tendency to mis-align a bow when the stave is naturally reflexed. So I am a bit scared of recurving the bow to a full contact recurve in case the bow becomes unstable or mis-aligned at brace or when drawn. I think I could easily just flip the tips, to where the tips are slightly recurved but not where they actually contact the string. (But that is just not as fun,  .) So I am leaning toward full contact static recurves, and hoping that I left the tips fat enough to correct alignment if I have to. Also, I was thinking of trying an oval cross section, to try to lessen the effect of an uneven cross section. My other option I guess is to just cut threw the back rings and even out the cross section to an even rectangle and hope the linen backing holds the back together. Although I will probably not do this. Either way, hopefully I will get the tips flipped/recurved tonight, get it backed tomorrow, and start tillering the thing on Wednesday. 

[beetlebailey1977]

Are you doing that in a bedroom? Man my wife would kill me!

  Ya, I sorta turned an unused bedroom into a place to make bows last winter because it was so cold outside. My wife hates it. 

Yeah I could never do that....LOL  The wife would flip.  Plus don't have an extra room.

[tom sawyer]

Nice looking piece of wood, straight as a string.  If the cross-section is off though, that'll make it want to lean.  How long is it anyway?

Oddly enough, I like chasing rings on hedge.  I did have a couple of sapwood backed staves though, gotta see if I still have one of those.

[toomanyknots]

Tom, the stave is 63 3/4" long. I screwed up recurving the recurves last night, the first one I tried to bend was after an hour of steaming, and it popped out of the form while bending it. So it only got "half" recurved. I am thinking maybe that is a sign that I should just go with flipped tips?  Welll anyway I am not listening to it. I figure I'll get some more aluminum foil and get it recurved this morning/afternoon, and tonight it will be cool and I can take it out of the forms and get it backed with linen. Then tomorrow I can get it cleaned up and tillered hopefully, or start on tillering it... Also, if it popped out, it might not of been ready to bend yet, so I'll try and hour an a half of steaming instead of an hour and see if it bends easier.

[Christophero]

For what it is worth I have success dry heat bending osage but none steam bending it.
Good looking stave, hope it turns out very well for you.

[tom sawyer]

You do have the right length for a static tipped design.  I want to give one of those another try, I've flipped tips but never made a successful truly static-tipped bow.  I just bought From the Den of the Old Bowhunter and will study Stevenson's designs a bit and try and copy it.

[toomanyknots]

For what it is worth I have success dry heat bending osage but none steam bending it.
Good looking stave, hope it turns out very well for you.

This will be my first time steam bending osage. I have had no luck at all with dry heat. Although I have used dry heat (my stove top) to bend an osage bow in the handle to align it successfully, most of the time it will crack on me or a splinter will lift while bending. I got both of the recurves steamed in so far. Both are done and it is cooling as of 4:30 today, it is now about 5:20, so maybe around 7:00 I will take em out and back it with linen. The recurves bent easily enough, nice and easy and all. I think the one was just slipping out of the recurve form. It slipped out this time but I put it back in with the quickness, with the help of my very kind fiance. So I am not sure how that one is gonna turn out. I am actually not sure how either or them are gonna turn out, but time will tell I guess. Based on how it looked to me looking down the bow, and how the first recurve attempt that failed wanted to bend, I am thinking that the recurves are going to be leaning to different directions. Or actually, both will be leaning to the right I think, but when looking down the bow, they will look like both are going off in different directions I mean. So I am hoping that I left enough wideth to just remove wood from each side of the recurve to get it aligned, maybe with some narrow tips if I have to.

[toomanyknots]

[toomanyknots]

Well, as far as I can tell the steaming was successful. I put it away at 4:30 to cool and rest. At 7:30 I unclamped it to see how it went. There was just a tiny bit of lifting on the belly, but most of it sanded away with just a bit of sanding, so I'm very happy. It was just a couple little fibers trying to start to lift, but I'm thinkin the metal ruler might of kept em from actually lifting deep and causing a problem. One recurve went off to the right a bit, and one went to the left, so when you look down the bow they look aligned, but the limbs are actually tilted a bit to the side. But I am (hoping) I can fix it. It is not too much by any means, (I hope,  ). Here are some pics. I will either get it backed tonight (probably) or tomorrow:

[lesken2011]

Lookin really good so far, 2Many!!

[Arrowind]

Looks awesome.  Can't wait to see how it turns out!

[criveraville]

Lookin really good so far, 2Many!!

Ditto 

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