Fred Arnold 2017 Bow Trade, Pictures Please, housekeeping issues

[Swamp Thang]

Another question on the fish skins wait untill the sinew dries correct? Also what kind of glue do I use for the skins same as the sinew?

[DuBois]

Definitely yes, and yes if you want.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I'd wait to apply the skins until you have the bow shooting. You can alway put them on early. But your run the risk of damaging them in the tillering and shaping process. Or having to peel them off if the bow fails or doesn't come out to your standards. Which sometimes the piece of wood just doesn't want to shoot as well as you'd like, even with decent tiller and proper specs. I havmt done many ainew backed bows. But TB3 does bond and will give a waterproof layer over the sinew. I plan to use that with some turkey feathers to cover sinew on a bow I have drying.

Kyle

[DuBois]

Anybody working on their trade bows?

[Greenriverwoodcraft]

I am but I had a bunch of other bows in process that need to get finished before I can really dive in.

[stuckinthemud]

I am, split down a laurel stave last night, split didn't work out the way I planned, now I'm not sure what style to go with - maybe a gull-wing - I like a challenge 

If they're long enough, 5-curve bows don't have to be sinewed do they?

[Red Arrow]

I picked up a hickory stave wide enough for 2 bows and an Osage stave from Danzn Bar a couple weeks ago on my way to my kids house. While I was there I also collected a couple ERC and oak staves, and now that I'm home I've been splitting some walnut staves, more oak staves, and (possibly) ash staves. Some of them have been down and seasoning for awhile but some are green cut. Now I just need to pick the best staves to start with, decide on a bow style, and start on it this weekend.

[DuBois]

Steamed the other tip and got it bent. Pics later.

[stuckinthemud]

This is Plan A - need many opinions please, including "oh no don't do it". Prunus Lauracasus (common laurel) - an excellent bow-wood, but this stave has issues.  The kink is at the arrow pass; the stave is currently 66" long, there is a pair of nasty knots in the centre of the longer limb. Limbs are moderately high crowned, 1.5" wide at the fades and 3/4" thick with several significant knots in each.  Moisture content is high even though it has been cut more than 6 months.  The shape sort of suggests a 5-curve. 





Apologies for the poor photos.  Probably should mention the one limb has a 1.5" out and back sideways curve although the tips and handle do line up. The stave is moving a little but is massively over weight

[tattoo dave]

It's probably doable, but sounds like a lot of issues.

Tattoo Dave

[gfugal]

Got the juniper logs worked down into four billets. The two on the right are wider (about two and a half inches) and better quality. I’ll be making the trade bow from these. They are about 33 inches each. The other two are less favorable and have some issues. one has a crack (see topic crack parallel to handle). However, they are longer (about 37” each) but narrower (one and a half inches). I still have to take the bark off on half of the billets. Do you think It would be better to leave it on or should I take it off as soon as possible?

[gfugal]

This is Plan A - need many opinions please, including "oh no don't do it". Prunus Lauracasus (common laurel) - an excellent bow-wood, but this stave has issues.  The kink is at the arrow pass; the stave is currently 66" long, there is a pair of nasty knots in the centre of the longer limb. Limbs are moderately high crowned, 1.5" wide at the fades and 3/4" thick with several significant knots in each.  Moisture content is high even though it has been cut more than 6 months.  The shape sort of suggests a 5-curve. 





Apologies for the poor photos.  Probably should mention the one limb has a 1.5" out and back sideways curve although the tips and handle do line up. The stave is moving a little but is massively over weight

It definitely would be a challenge. considering how thin it is it would probably be best to keep the entire length with minimal recurve and reflex if you were planning on doing that. I'm thinking more of a charactered American long bow style. And considering it's thickness probably bendy handle. The fact the kink is still in the handle area is a plus. You don't have a lot of width to accommodate for those knots but is still doable I would imagine.

[DuBois]

G-Is the bark coming off easy? If so, I would probably go ahead and get it all off and seal the back since it isn't that old yet it could still get checks I would think.
The bark color on those looks really different on 2 of the 4. Why is that?

Hey Stuck, Looks pretty good other than the kink and I would think that could be corrected. Don't know much on Laurel wood but I would think you could go a lot of ways with that stick besides 5 curve. Does Laurel tolerate knots well?

[gfugal]

G-Is the bark coming off easy? If so, I would probably go ahead and get it all off and seal the back since it isn't that old yet it could still get checks I would think.
The bark color on those looks really different on 2 of the 4. Why is that?

It might have been if I did it when I first cut it down but now I have to scrape at it for quite a while with a knife. The other two already have the bark off, that's why they look whiteish. You suggest painting the back too to prevent checking? Would I have to do that for the other two if I leave the bark on?

[DuBois]

I can't remember exactly when you cut that log but wasn't it a few weeks back? I have never had juniper except erc and mine got bug damage with the bark on. When I got the bark off and sealed them in the past there was no problems.