Z handle?

[blackhawk]

Here's one from the osage hater  I know he's done one with a board and I think a hickory stave too?...lemme look for em

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=27644.0

Like pearly says...be careful how you do it...you need to get the fades right...you do not want to have any stress coming into the fade otherwise it'll wanna break from the extreme runout of the grain...

[BowSlayer]

Thanks for the tips and advice guys on how I should go about it.  Do I make it before or after tillering?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Before

[BowSlayer]

Thanks

[Josh B]

I believe the offset handle  is a classy touch.  If it were me doing it, I would make the fades a little longer and wait till after tillering to cut out the handle.  That way it will be more stable on the tillering tree and the strain on the handle will be reduced to as low as it will be before  you make the cuts that will inevitably cause grain runoff.  However you do it, be sure to keep the handle plenty beefy so there's less chance of the runout causing problems.  Just my .02.  Josh

[Cameroo]

I've never tried that yet, but if I was to do it, I'd do just like Josh says.  Not that I'd be worried about it failing while tillering, but just to keep it stable on the tree. 

[Onebowonder]

I built 'Sow's Ear', ...so it's probably not tooo terribly advanced of a build!   However; as with anything, there are compromises you make when doing a Z Handle like the one I did.  For one thing, the handle is super long.  SE's is 11 inches long.  ...and the fades are extra long too.  I don't have a picture of it right now, but the back of the handle HAS TO HAVE a stiff riser block glued to it to keep the run out you create when you cut out the handle from becoming a problem.

Also - the advice about not cutting out the handle till the very end so that it will sit in the tiller tree correctly is very WISE!  I did not wait and so I had to build a template shaped like the inverse of my Z-handle to set the bow into everytime I put it into the tillering tree.  :embarassed:  It worked, ...but waiting a bit would have been more ideal.


OneBow

[Joec123able]

Don't worry about it now onebowonder , BS says he quit making bows lol

[mikekeswick]

I always shape my handle after the bow is braced to be sure of where the string will track (regardless of the handle shape).

[bambule]

you mean this one?