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Author Topic: Small Hunter Bow  (Read 6642 times)

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Offline Zion

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Small Hunter Bow
« on: August 20, 2012, 02:59:53 pm »
hey guys, this was an old bow that i reworked to make it a bit lighter. Made of a very nice piece of serviceberry i found in the woods. I honestly don't know how i had managed to draw it before now, but anyway i just took scrapes off the belly to lighten it and also renew the tiller a bit. Now it weighs about 70# at my draw, (whatever that is,) and is 50" ttt. Since i'm not used to the weight, i am currently working on making my draw a bit longer.(About an inch from the tip of the 'arrow' in the pics, since it's an inch longer than the halfway mark of the bow.)  Just drawing it and shooting a bit each day, and working in my arms to the new weight,(i'll probably have it down in a few days). The original bow had a dark mahogany stain, so i sanded some off to make a nice cammo effect if i go hunting with it. The bow hasen't been oiled yet, but i plan on finishing it with 2 or 3 coats of Tung Oil. (I bought some the other day and i really like the look.) Here's some pictures of the bow, and my home-made 'arrow.'  :laugh: 
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Offline Zion

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2012, 03:01:38 pm »
Btw, are the pics too big? tell me if they are and i'll make em smaller i'm new to the whole pic re-sizing and don't wanna get kicked off the site, it's a nice site  ;D
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Offline Zion

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2012, 03:05:47 pm »
Here's some detail of the back of the bow:
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Offline Jodocus

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2012, 03:13:18 pm »
The back of that bow looks awesome! Nice piece. does not look nearly as heavy to me as it is.
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Offline Hrothgar

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2012, 03:14:26 pm »
Very nice bow. 70# wow!
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Offline coaster500

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2012, 03:26:31 pm »
That ought to be a real hammer!!!!!

Is that as far as you draw the bow?

Nice looking piece of wood :)
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2012, 03:37:24 pm »
That bow woul dbe in the 90-95# range at 25-26". Im guessing you got her back to 18-20" in the pics.
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Offline Zion

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2012, 03:50:36 pm »
Yeah PD you were right. I made a little mark on the 'arrow' to where i draw it and it turned out to be 18". I put it on the scale, drew it to 18" and it was about 67#. The scale i'm using is a hay bale weighing thing, like the kind you stand on. I just put a level with inch measurements on it and draw the bow down. Is this an accurate way to weigh bows? It's all i have available for now.
I think i will take some scrapes on the belly (since i haven't finished it in any way) until i can get another 3 or so inches on the pull. A good draw weight for me is around 65# so if i do it right it should come out at 65#@21", or even more drawlength if i feel like it.
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2012, 03:53:19 pm »
At that length with a stiff handle I wouldnt go past 22-23" and I certainly would cut some weight off it, maybe 45-50#'s max. Your asking a BUNCH from that little guy.

For the record your tiller work is great. You should consider that same bow at 62-64" ntn and drawn to your 25-26" draw. You would love it.
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Offline Del the cat

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2012, 04:01:21 pm »
Nice bow, cool back.
Looks like you are almost pulling it back to brace height >:D  ;)
Del
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Offline Zion

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2012, 04:19:28 pm »
Ok PD, i got it to around 20 and so far like the feel to it. It's probably somehwere around 55# 60# now, but i have to get some school stuff so i can't weigh it right now  :-\ Currently i DO have about three very small diameter staves that are about 6-7" inches longer. One is roughed out, and i'm letting it dry for probably about a week. I'll play around with that one a bit and experiment with weight and draw length.... thx for the advice  ;D
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2012, 04:24:04 pm »
Your draw lenght times two plus 8-10" is a good place to start as far as nock to nock length.
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Offline Badly Bent

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2012, 11:14:37 pm »
Neat bow there Zion, I like it.
Greg
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Offline ionicmuffin

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2012, 11:20:43 pm »
Zion, it looks like that bow stacks A LOT! if i were you i would make a bow that has fairly consistent pull weight throughout the pull so, essentially you would be increasing from brace height to full draw at equal or fairly so increments of lbs. This can be done by increasing total length of the bow. The length of the bow should be 2x the draw length in general. but you can get away with a shorter one like you did. I make 72 in bows for my 28-32 in draw(im thinking its 30) but i could make one as short as 60 in without causing too many problems. If the limbs are too thick, it can add to stacking, on the other hand, if you make them too wide it will be very slow, a good balance between the 2 is the best. GL
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Offline Zion

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Re: Small Hunter Bow
« Reply #14 on: August 21, 2012, 01:28:17 am »
OK! I finally think i established the draw length. I did some scraping and then sanding to lighten the bow. I can draw it to 21" now, and anything after that is a wall because of the short limbs. Yes this bow stacks badly, but i was shooting it today with some makeshift arrows and it's definitely fast, but the arrows are divine crap so they go anywhere but what i'm aiming at. Don't worry, there's a rudderbows shop relatively close by so i'll buy some of their wooden arrows which i like a lot. I'm going to keep the bow as is, because looking at the limbs i think their working quite a bit, especially at the weight its at. If anything i'll just lighten it a bit more. I'm looking forward to making a longer bow, but these shorties are really fun to make and i am impressed how much serviceberry can take. Plus it helps me learn alot. Right now the bow is 60#. here's some pics of my draw after i scraped, its probably a good three inches longer than what it initially was. 
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