2016 Primitive Archer Bow Trade Sign up and Information

[Fred Arnold]

  Tim, It's against the law to give away your first bow. Sorry chap you're going to have to make another. 

[DuBois]

Yep Tim, you got the sickness.

You'll need to use caution while driving, as you may find your eyes wandering to the roadsides to examine trees.

Nice bow you finished there too!

[Fred Arnold]

I'm also going to give hackberry a go. My property is abundant with them. This limb with all of the top tension has been screaming at me for 5 years besides being in my way every time I take this route down to the creek. I can't tell you how many times one of those branches has slapped me.

[---GUTSHOT--->]

I'm also going to give hackberry a go. My property is abundant with them. This limb with all of the top tension has been screaming at me for 5 years besides being in my way every time I take this route down to the creek. I can't tell you how many times one of those branches has slapped me.

Look closely guys Fred has already built steps to get up in that tree to get his Limb. 😃

[stuckinthemud]

If those steps are level, that tree is growing at a crazy angle

[jeffp51]

It is spring break!  the students won't be back for a week and I have some time to play.  I hope to make some good progress.  First task is untwisting about 45 degrees of yewwood.  The softness scares me a little.  I am thinking support the clamped areas with a couple of layers of leather top and bottom and the same where I apply the twisting force. then wrap an area with a damp cloth and foil, heat, and twist.  then move on and do a little more.  The twist  is pretty evenly distributed from one end to the other.  Any suggestions?  should I put a coat of shellack on the back first?

[DC]

I use this strap wench I made. It will hold on most shapes and spreads the load enough so it won't mark. If the stave is the same size from handle to tip I have had good luck steaming and untwisting the whole limb in one go. If you have already tapered it some then you have to do it in sections.

[Fred Arnold]

  Those steps are for a tree stand that is going to be built after the limb is down. You ought to see all of the rubs on the smaller trees along that bottom side of the creek and it's less than 100 yds from my back porch. Spotted a nice 5x5 under that tree the past 2 years along with a couple 6 pointers sparring within 15 yds of the tree.

Jeff, I'm trying to picture the twist. If it looks like I think it does your best bet is to straighten it as close to the handle as possible and the remainder of the limb will follow.

[jeffp51]

It started twisting once it got to my dry climate and loosing moisture content, I think. It happens to a lot of staves that get sent me.  I will definitely start at the handle and work outward.

[Fred Arnold]

Jeff, could you post a pic?

[stuckinthemud]

Yew responds really well to heat and Del has posted lots about straightening it on his blog; if the wood is fully dry, then dry heat works really well, and I have had good success with taking the bow down to finished dimensions (brace) and combining heat treating the belly with straightening. Once the heat treat is done, clamping the bow down while it cools takes out most of the twist. Yew reacts to heat treating REALLY well, my last yew bow gained something like a 30per cent improvement in cast after a moderate heat treat.

[Dakota Kid]

Yep Tim, you got the sickness.

You'll need to use caution while driving, as you may find your eyes wandering to the roadsides to examine trees.

Nice bow you finished there too!

I'm glad I'm not the only one that risks death in pursuit of good bow wood. You'll never catch me on a cell phone or texting, but my eyes are never solely focused on the road. I even keep a notebook in the car where I jot down addresses/ locales of primo trees. There are actually a bunch of huge yew trees around my city that have been neglected as far as trimming goes. I've seen some that have as many as a dozen 4-6" trunks. I'm guessing they were cut off at the ground 50 or 60 years ago and haven't been trimmed since.

I've gotten my rock elm to the breaking in stage. It shoots well, even better after I took some more material off the tips. It was thumping my hand a bit at first. I had some frustrations with it not holding heat corrections, but I figured it out. It got warmer here and the furnace hasn't been running that much and forgot to get the dehumidifier running. Being on lake Erie has it's perks but the constant humidity is't one of them. I may end up making a small dry room where it's easier to control the moisture. I go through a dehumidifier every 2-3 years, with them running constant all summer just to keep it around 55%. I even have what is considered a dry basement around here.

I'm making a work road trip starting tomorrow. Headed to Mt Vernon IL for 4 days then to several small towns in KY for the second week. I'll get some pics of the bow up when I return. I hope to be able to check the boards on my trip, but if I go completely MIA You'll know why.

[jeffp51]

Jeff, could you post a pic?

a little hard to see with a picture, but here is an idea

[mwosborn]

Tim, It's against the law to give away your first bow. Sorry chap you're going to have to make another. 

I agree!!!

[---GUTSHOT--->]

Filedthe edges of the skins tonight and removed scales sanded the edges and gave that BL a coat of tung oil. Man o man did that fume job pop after that I can only imagine what it will look like after 10 coats. I wanted to post a pic of it after one coat but I want to wait until it's finished.