Good Day everyone,
I am showing off my latest build, a Bamboo backed Black Locust American Semi Longbow.
This bow started out as a pair of black locust billets that were tapered with a jointer and connected together with a tapered finger splice. The bamboo backing was glued on and 1-1/4 of reflex was added at the same time. A 15 power lam was added at the same time to further strengthen the center of the bow. A 12 long block of black cherry was glued on the belly to serve as the handle.
After tillering the bow I cut it in half and used fiberglass mesh and epoxy to make it into a takedown bow. The takedown system works well and is completely solid when put together.
This was my first asymmetrical bow build. I found the tillering to be slightly more difficult then a symmetrical bow since the limbs do not bend at the same radius from the difference in lengths. The bow is very stable in the hand throughout the entire draw. I cant say if the asymmetrical design or just good tillering that is the cause for the stable draw.
The bamboo back was stained with a cordovan leather dye and the bow was finished with 6 coats of water-based spar. A chocolate leather grip and arrow rest was added with artificial sinew stitching to finish it off.
The final stats are as follows;
66 Ό long NTN, 51# @ 27. Asymmetrical design with a 2 longer top limb. 1-1/4 wide limb with a slightly willow leaf design tapering to Ό tips.
The bow ended up with Ύ string follow. The bow is a quick shooter for a string follow design and averages right at 170 fps with 10GPP arrows.
I built this bow with the idea of a simple and dependable hunting bow. I believe it will suit me well on my adventures to come.
Enjoy, Taylor.
20190219-036A9412 by
