I was asked to try my hand at building a static and accepted the challenge on the condition that expectations were low. The more I watch the true craftsman on here the lower I rate my own skills. Still I was up for the challenge and set off to learn something new.
I chose the stick 3rd from the right cause of its large rings and straight grain. There was a small amount of checking on the back, but after removing a few rings I was off and running. Laid out some lines and quickly had it down to size.
After cleaning it up and further dimension reductions I needed to even it up abit from side to side and end to end. So I threwh her on the form.
I was super antsy about the next step cause I've never tried hooks this severe, but after talking it over with Chris I got out the pot and started boiling some water. As it turns out, my nervousness was unfounded... This was much easier than I thought.
After the steamed in hooks had several days to rest I began the slow process of tillering. I had already floor tillered before, but the statics had added a whole new level of problems. I was extremely focused on keeping this an honest 50 pounder and so there were a lot of extra exercise sessions. In the end I was right on target and my patience was rewarded.
For tips, I cut a couple pieces from a blonde water buffalo horn and glued them up. These 2 happen to have more dark in them than I had first expected, but still a very nice fit!
Next step was skins and after much discussion this beautiful set of blotched water snakes was chosen.
Left was the sanding (and sanding, and sanding...) then finish was applied, and the bow was shot in. Turned out to be one of the hardest hitting 50# bows I've made. No nonsense about her, if she wasn't already committed, I would be keepin her. 66" overall and 50# @ 28". This was a fun project!!
Here's some candy shots...
Thanks for looking and God Bless!
