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Author Topic: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )  (Read 13453 times)

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Offline Christian Soldier

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Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« on: February 28, 2013, 02:08:34 pm »
Howdy, here's my latest bow. Made from a Sassafras sapling cut in December. I've gotten some advice from on here and I was planning on turning it into an ELB but every time I worked on it, the stave just wanted to be a "meare heath" bow.   ;)
So I kept it wide to handle the tension and crown and its still going strong after dozens of shots.  :)

The pics are a bit big but if you turn the zoom on your screen down to 75% you should be able to view the full picture no problem.

Specs:
Sassafras, no backing
66" long
2 1/4" wide at the fades and most of the limb.
3/8" wide at the tips.
Osage overlays (first time using overlays)
Haven't measured but it feels just over 50lbs at 26"
Jacobeam stain.
1/4" set. Bottom limb has a bit of natural setback.
1 dozen knots of varying sizes and a bit of snake in the lower limb.

Fastest and nicest bow I've made. I'm quite proud of it.  ;D

Pictures!

Belly


Back


A few close ups...

Upper limb belly side


Lower Limb belly side


Upper limb back side


Lower limb back side


Nock overlay side view


Nock overlay back view


Handle/fade transition


Braced


And the money shot... Full draw pic   8)


Feel free to give me strong constuctive critism, I stive for improvement.

Thanks for looking guys.  :)


« Last Edit: February 28, 2013, 02:13:34 pm by Christian Soldier »
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Offline Jesse

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2013, 02:27:38 pm »
only advice i will give is keep it pointed in a safe direction. looks DEADLY!!!!!!! ;D great job!!
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Offline autologus

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2013, 02:29:43 pm »
That is a fine looking bow.

Grady
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Offline Hrothgar

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2013, 02:47:32 pm »
Nice rustic finish, its looks wicked!
Did you use a hotbox or anything to speed-up drying?
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Offline danny f

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2013, 03:02:12 pm »
nice bow, it all looks good to me.
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2013, 03:03:26 pm »
Good job on some not-so-good bow wood.
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Offline H Rhodes

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2013, 03:26:44 pm »
Awesome!  This is the first sassafras bow I have seen on here.  Beautiful wood grain and great work. 
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Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline Eastman

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2013, 03:38:14 pm »
I really love the overall look of this bow, nice!
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Offline lostarrow

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2013, 03:53:38 pm »
No critisism here. Looks great, especially for such a tricky candidate.
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Offline Christian Soldier

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2013, 03:56:18 pm »
Quote from: Hrothgar on February 28, 2013, 02:47:32 pm
Nice rustic finish, its looks wicked!
Did you use a hotbox or anything to speed-up drying?


Thanks Guys. I'm thinking about naming it "Sassassin"  8)

I split it right away and in January I put it by the fireplace which was burning pretty hot. So for about a month straight (after I shaped it) it had hot air blowing by it which helped it dry out pretty quick.

My usual wood is Hickory so something that really surprised me was how light weight this wood is. I don't know the exact weight but I held it in comparison to a shorter hickory bow and it was probably close to half the weight.  :)

Shoots great, not much handshock because of the bows light weight, but there's going to be some because of that mass in the outer portion of the limb. The price for safety I guess.  :)
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Offline turtle

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2013, 05:07:22 pm »
Great bow. Sassafras is on my list to try someday. There was a man from alabama that told me his grandfather was full blooded native american and that he would spend all winter in alabama building bows and in the spring he would head north selling them. He said the only woods his grandfather would use were osage and sassasfras.
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Steve Bennett

Offline dwardo

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2013, 05:26:41 pm »
Very pretty bow indeed. Very well executed.
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Offline Adam

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2013, 06:06:13 pm »
That's really well done!  I have a sassafras stave roughed out but didn't have much hope for it since I've always heard it is a so-so bow wood.  Seeing what you've been able to do with it gives me hope!  Of course, your tillering skills are way ahead of mine.
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Offline spyder1958

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2013, 07:40:49 pm »
"Sassassin" sure came out. Very nice indeed. Good job and thanks for sharing.
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Offline missilemaster

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Re: Sassafras Self Bow! (Pic heavy :) )
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2013, 09:15:48 pm »
Thats one fine looking bow!
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