Author Topic: ERC questions  (Read 2915 times)

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Offline Almostpighunter

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ERC questions
« on: March 07, 2014, 03:39:22 pm »
I have some beautiful ERC staves and am excited to get started on them, but my couple of earlier tries ended badly, i think, because I am not used to the wood. They have a sapwood and hardwood layer, several knots and a lot of wood to work with. My questions are:

If backing with rawhide, how crucial is finding a single growth ring in the sapwood (The rings are REALLY small)?

Is there a better bow design for this type of wood over another (Flatbow vs. rounded belly)?

Should this bow be kept longer or the limbs wider to help distribute the forces over a greater area?

Any other helpful hints about working with this kind of wood would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys!!!

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2014, 05:24:35 pm »
I've had good luck with maple backed erc, haven't tried rawhide though.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline 4dog

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2014, 06:20:41 pm »
watching.   ;D
"SET" is always there !!!

Offline Onebowonder

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2014, 07:04:30 pm »
watching.   ;D
+1 on the watching...

I have a bunch of Quartersawn ERC that I hope to back with good tension woods and see what I can make of it...

OneBow


 

Offline bubby

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2014, 07:11:09 pm »
as far as erc selfbow i'd talk to gundoc, he posted a knarly one last year
« Last Edit: March 07, 2014, 08:12:17 pm by bubby »
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline mwosborn

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  • Mitch Osborn
Re: ERC questions
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2014, 08:01:57 pm »
The one successful erc I made...

62" - parallel limbs to mid limb (1.75") mostly sapwood with a sliver of heartwood on the rounded belly.  Stiff handle and sinew backed. It is a pretty nice shooting bow. 
Enjoy the hunt!  Mitch

Offline Almostpighunter

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2014, 02:24:09 am »
Thanks for the input so far :)

Okay, I've searched the older posts for a bit and there seems to be a mixed impression of sapwood vs. heartwood. My ever changing brain is thinking to make a self bow now. Is that even possible with ERC? Looks like most of the bows I could find are sinew backed sapwood.


Offline bubby

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Re: ERC questions
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2014, 02:35:00 am »
« Last Edit: March 08, 2014, 01:56:31 pm by bubby »
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹