Author Topic: all-sapwood BL D-bow  (Read 1054 times)

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Offline upstatenybowyer

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all-sapwood BL D-bow
« on: April 02, 2017, 03:01:07 pm »
You may be asking yourself, "Why did he make a BL bow with nothing but sapwood?"

Well, the answer is, I wasn't going to. I had a 8" diameter log with only enough heartwood to make 1 all-heartwood bow so I split away the sapwood. I was getting ready to cut it up and through it in the woodpile when I thought, "There's plenty there to make a bow and I wonder how it would perform." So I made this one. It's certainly not the best bow ever, but I'm glad I made it. Here are some observations...

-takes a lot of set when it's unstrung after shooting, then looses a lot of it within 30 minutes or so
--the unstrung pick was taken 30 minutes after shooting when it had had time to recover
-feels kinda sluggish, but definitely shoots fast enough to hunt small game and/or target shoot
-heat treating the belly improved its performance fairly dramatically

stats...

58" ntn
40# at 27"
1 1/4" wide through the handle and out to mid limb tapering to 3/8" at the tips
tips flipped a bit with dry heat
"Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands."

Nigerian Proverb

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2017, 03:08:38 pm »
Nice sliver bow!
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2017, 03:59:38 pm »
Nice bow nothing wasted  :OK
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline JonW

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2017, 04:40:16 pm »
Bending too much in the handle will make any bow sluggish. I know it's hard for me to get rid of something I think has a bow in it.

Offline upstatenybowyer

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2017, 04:55:48 pm »
Thanks for the responses guys.

Jon, thanks for pointing that out. I can see it now  ;)
"Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands."

Nigerian Proverb

Offline selfbow joe

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2017, 05:26:45 pm »
Very nice looking bow.

Offline DuBois

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2017, 05:45:19 pm »
So would you do another one if you had another piece to work with?

Offline upstatenybowyer

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2017, 06:48:16 pm »
So would you do another one if you had another piece to work with?

Probably not. Maybe if I was desperate  :-\
"Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands."

Nigerian Proverb

Offline gfugal

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2017, 08:01:45 pm »
I like the tiller shape! Well done for a less satisfactory material
Greg,
No risk, no gain. Expand the mold and try new things.

Offline jeffhalfrack

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Re: all-sapwood BL D-bow
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2017, 08:21:10 pm »
Great looking bow,,as all ways!,,,let's watch this bow awhile?  Bl makes a great bow but if you don't get that sap wood off it could ruin the whole log!,,,,it's like two different trees not getting along!,,,unlike black walnut ,,,,thanks jeffw