Finally finished choke cherry self bow

[burtonridr]

I started on this one like 6 months ago and then it sat all summer. Specs out at 66" tip to tip, 1-3/4" wide limbs to mid limb, then tapper to 1/2" at the tips. Limb profile is flat belly and flat back. The back was de-crowned substantially, I had a challenging rot spot to work around and it made things interesting. Tiller isnt fantastic, I messed up early on with a tear or something and goofed up a limb. But it shoots pretty sweet, just has some hand shock and vibration. The mink fur silencers do a pretty good job making it quieter.

I wrote down 45# @ 28" on the bow handle back when I finished out the tillering, but I'm pretty sure its actually more than 50# at full draw. I worked the limbs pretty hard when tillering and it seems like they have stiffened since I measured it. The other reason I think it went over 50# is I have another bow that is 48#, and it is heavier than the 48# bow. Anyway, doesnt really matter much, the relative I made this for will be happy anyway 

[Woodely]

Looks ok could we see some full draw pics.   I would never attempt to use choke cherry its a little bit on the brittle side.  Hopefully it will stay together for you.

[Lehtis]

Nice work and bow... but, please, remove that ugly peg above the handle and shoot over knuckles.

[Azmdted]

Good job.  I harvested some chokecherry this summer and every split did a 270 degree twist on me.  I hope it burns well as firewood. 

Well done.

[dylanholderman]

Nice looking bow, hope to see a full draw soon

Nice work and bow... but, please, remove that ugly peg above the handle and shoot over knuckles.

Hey shooting on knuckles isn’t for everyone, especially someone new to archery. And adding a shelf by gluing on a piece of wood/bone/horn whatever is a perfectly valid and safe method. If you want to be constructive you could say that it could be refined a bit more or better yet give advice on how to refine it some more.

[Deerhunter21]

Nice looking bow, hope to see a full draw soon

Nice work and bow... but, please, remove that ugly peg above the handle and shoot over knuckles.

Hey shooting on knuckles isn’t for everyone, especially someone new to archery. And adding a shelf by gluing on a piece of wood/bone/horn whatever is a perfectly valid and safe method. If you want to be constructive you could say that it could be refined a bit more or better yet give advice on how to refine it some more.

+1 dylan. Its how he shoots.

[burtonridr]

Thanks guys,

Woodley: I didnt realize choke cherry could be brittle, but so far my experience has been good. This is the second bow I have made from choke cherry and I like it. I'm a little concerned about the tiller job and hand shock, but I've fired over 50 arrows through it so far and no ticking or anything that would indicate an issue. Good to know about the brittleness though.

Lehtis: I like the peg, the pic doesnt do it justice, its actually a piece of the heartwood and looks good in person. I'm not a fan of shooting over the knuckles. Just my preference.

Azmdted: I have the same issue with the twisting grain. What I do is find a straight 6" log and kerf it down the length with a circular saw and split it that way. Then I use a hatchet or ax to rough it out. Then VERY carefully use a draw knife to get it within about 1/4" of my final dimensions. Then use a sureform rasp and course rasp to take it down the rest of the way before sanding. Because of the twist you have to be very careful of tear outs when using a draw knife. I found that you can draw on direction on the right side of a limb and draw the other direction on the left side of the limb and make it work, you just have to be careful about it. But i have made two with choke cherry so far and no issues with the twisting grain as far as breaking or anything.

Dylanholderman: Thanks man, I will try to get a full draw pic up tonight

[bassman]

Beware of Wild Choke Cherry. Very brittle. I made 6, and have 2 left. 4 blew up after 2 to 3 hundred shots. The top limb broke on one ,and broke my glasses in two pieces,and bruised my eye. Worst injury I have had with my self bows yet. When they blow they explode. Cost me a pair of glasses also. I was lucky not to lose an eye. Not trying to scare you ,but that is my experience with wild Choke Cherry. The only way I will shoot the 2 remaning bows will be with a sinew backing like our Natives made them.

[burtonridr]

Beware of Wild Choke Cherry. Very brittle. I made 6, and have 2 left. 4 blew up after 2 to 3 hundred shots. The top limb broke on one ,and broke my glasses in two pieces,and bruised my eye. Worst injury I have had with my self bows yet. When they blow they explode. Cost me a pair of glasses also. I was lucky not to lose an eye. Not trying to scare you ,but that is my experience with wild Choke Cherry. The only way I will shoot the 2 remaning bows will be with a sinew backing like our Natives made them.

Try not to scare me? That's terrifying!... Crap, I cant give that to my relative. I'm already concerned about it getting mishandled by someone that doesnt really understand how to handle a stick bow properly. Thanks for letting me know, I would have felt horrible if someone got hurt due to it exploding.

The previous one I built I gave to my brother, but that one was built with the bark left on the back. Do you know if that will prevent them from breaking?

This is really a shame, its nice wood.

[bassman]

1 that I have left has the bark left on, it is 62 inches 38 lbs. at 26 inches. All 6 builds went fine. All in one winter. Then as I began to shoot them things started happening. Backed with sinew they would be fine I think. If you can get your hands on some Walnut saplings for a give away bow their backs are nearly bullet proof. Very thick ringed,and with good belly heat treat can make a nice bow.Here are 2 pics. wild choke Cherry first then Black Walnut .

[loefflerchuck]

Nice work! Hope it lasts.

[Ringeck85]

Good to know on Black Walnut!! Tons of it grows around my area, and there are a couple 5-7" diameter trunks in my friend's woods that look very promising.  Does it split easily?

(I don't know if this is similar to choke cherry, but I tried splitting a black cherry log from the same area, and it was a hilarious disaster    Should have used a circular saw instead lol; or maybe the grain just had that much weird twist to it; I kept getting diagonal slivers of wood)

Also great bows!!

[bassman]

Ring neck it is easy to work with, and  splits easy, and takes heat treat really well. Build it wide, and a little longer.