First bow - Douglas maple (photos added Sept24)

[campx]

I've just been bitten by the bow-building bug.  This site is HUGE in the amount of shared knowledge, thanks to everyone who has ever posted in here.
Anyways, while out hunting for mulies last week, I found a bunch of decent looking maple (Douglas after doing some research).  Cut down the straightest one of the bunch, about 6.5 feet long, maybe 4 inches in diameter.
Not knowing any better, I roughed it out that nite, and put on a 2X8 board with a clamp in the middle to keep it straight, placed blocks of wood 8 inches down from the tips and clamped them down to give it a slight recurve.  I put this setup in my greenhouse........and let me tell ya, the inside temperature of the greenhouse has been between 45 and 50 dgrees Celsius  the last few days, so I left it in there for 3 days.......
Gotta go for now, pictures to come......

[DarkSoul]

Welcome to Primitive Archer

With temperatures that high, the freshly cut wood is likely to check within hours. Keep an eye on it; depending on how much you rouged it out, it may check not at all or it may check like crazy.
Did you seal the ends? Did you remove the bark, but leave the wood underneath the bark undamaged?

[campx]

Probably lucked out, but no checking whatsoever.  I kept the bark on the back.  I did some tillering on it last nite when I got home from work, got 'er bending to what my untrained eyes thought was a nice even symmetrical radius on both limbs.  I am using a scraper I built from a power metal hacksaw blade, filed on the edge to give it a nice bur.   Hogs off the wood pretty good!
Pulled it to 28 inches on the tillering tree, and it didn't blow up in my face!!!!!!!   Then for shitz and giggles, I put it back on the 2X8, pulled out a blow torch, and gently heated (okay, scorched)  the nock ends down to about 12 inches, again with the ends clamped down and blocks of wood underneath to add a recurve to it...........I realize I am probably breaking a bunch of 'rules' to the art and techniques of bowmaking, but what the hey, I'll give it a try..........

[Hunter Van Winkle]

Very interesting 

[Carson (CMB)]

Sweet looking forward to the pics.  Douglas maple is closely related to vine maple, and from I have seen from vine maple, and from what others have said, it seems to be able to dry quickly without checking.  Probably would not have survived your greenhouse if you had not roughed it out.   

Interesting bit from Wikipedia:  "It is sometimes referred to as "rock maple", due to the extreme hardness of the wood, which often requires special cutting tools.[citation needed] Not to be confused with Acer saccharum, the Sugar Maple, which is also referred to as "Hard Maple" or "Rock Maple" or "Hard Rock Maple"."

Campx, I would let it rest a little while before you bend on it, after that scorching session. I broke a vine maple recurve after I put a bend in it with dry heat. 

[Bryce]

Ive seen a couple nice bows made from rock maple. I agree let it rest a while before continuing.
If its anything like ol'viney. Should take between 2-4 weeks to dry out properly, in it's current condition.

-Pinecone

[soy]

Welcome....lets see some pics 

[campx]

Finally got back to my first bow.  Had to clean up the man cave first, my reloading/flytying room was a disaster, then I started building a different sluice box cuz gold mining season is here.......too many hobbies, not enough time.
Anyways, here are a few photos I just rattled off.  Had to retiller it today, as the blowtorch heat-treat job I did sent one limb for a bit of a journey.  Its amazing how LITTLE material you shave off a limb can affect the tiller; I learnes a few things today.
Spec's of the bow - 68" NTN.  1-1/2" wide at the grip and fades, tapering to 3/4" at the nocks.  "D" profile at the tips, flattening out as it goes back to the fades.  I don't have a clue what the draw weight is, honestly.  Need a scale.  I have nothing to even guage this bow against......
As for a string, well, I am just using a nylon 1/8" rope right now just to get the shape down.  Next project is to learn the Flemish twist, its apparently a new dance sensation sweeping the nation.
Comments, criticism happily taken.  I don't take myself too seriously, but I strive to leran and do things the right way.

selfbow 005 by CampX, on Flickr


bow 003 by CampX, on Flickr


bow 011 by CampX, on Flickr


bow 004 by CampX, on Flickr

[burchett.donald]

   Wow! Nice tiller for a first! You should continue making bows dude.
                                                                   Don

[blackhawk]

Dude,your cracking me up..I like ur attitude...

My cirticism is to make another,and this time do it with dry wood. You can buy a cheap scale at wally world,either a 50 pound fish scale or they have luggage scales by the luggage section that go up to 85lbs.

[dwardo]

Fine job on your first bow. Now go make another, and another, and so on. You have no say in the matter now your hooked.

[campx]

Hahaha, ya, I am hooked. Went to my gold claim yesterday down the Fraser canyon, saw all kinds of wood that screamed 'make me into a bow!'  Acacia, apple, oak, maples, hawthorn..........time to either bring my chainsaw everywhere or buy a good Swede saw.   Cut a bunch of juniper a few days ago, going o try that out.........

[coaster500]

Very nice bow!!! 

[campx]

Just a follow up...... I waited on the drying factor long enough, I'm calling it good.  I live in the 'Dry Belt' of southern BC, had less than 1mm of rain since mid August....its dry.

bowback 019 by CampX, on Flickr
That was the cotton backing I put on with Titebond II, for safety anyways.
Now, don't flame on me, but I just fired some carbon fibre arrows through this for the first time, because they are the only arrows I could get (for now anyways) and she wails.  I have no point of reference for fps, but the arrows are flat for the first 20 meters.  I put the bow on the bathroom scale, and it is pulling 47 pounds.