First Recurve Attempt - Hickory 65 N/N

[Buckskinner]

Well after my last bow exploded, I pulled out another chunk of him and decided to try my hand at a recurve.  Boiled the tips for about an hour and put on a D style jig that copied from Clay Hayes, worked pretty well, but I think I need to get a tighter radius cut on jig and get a little more aggressive for next one.  First attempt at tips as well, deer antler.  I was shooting for 50# at 28" but tillering got away from me a little and was 46 when done, but after heat treating belly, I got back to a tick under 50#.  Certainly nothing fancy but happy how it turned out, smooth shooter and very little set (finally).

Stained with potassium permanganate and sealed with polymerized tung oil.

Thanks for looking!

[Buckskinner]

Couple more.

[rps3]

Looks good. Heat treating the belly of hickory is definitely the way to go.

[BowEd]

and that's the way it's done.Nice work.Looks like your ready for the target range or the woods.

[superdav95]

Bow looks great buckskinner.  Question for ya.  Did you also heat set the recurves after cooling off with dry heat.  I know this has helped with retaining the curves for me in hickory.  It’s a different wood with heat treatment for sure. 

[Buckskinner]

Thanks.  The heat treating really does help a lot, I noticed a different feel aside from added weight after treating.

I did heat set the curves a day after the boil/bend procedure, put them back on jig and heat bent them just a tiny bit more than when I boiled them.

I'll say it again, you guys are a wealth of knowledge, and all have a hand helping us rookies make these trees shoot!

[Will B]

Very nice recurve bow. I like your antler tip overlays. Should make a fine hunting bow for you. Well done!

[Pappy]

Nice job, beautiful bow.
 Pappy

[bownarra]

Good effort. That looks like a well tillered bow. the low set is a function of understanding how to tiller and where/how much each part of the limbs should be bending - tiller logic.
No need to heat the recurves twice for the future.  In its purest sense heat 'damages' wood. If you get the recurves hot enough all the way through, bend them, then remove from the jig once thoroughly cool - you will be good. Extra heat doesn't help.

[BowEd]

In all honesty your bow represents what is called a working recurve.Made right like this will shoot very well.

[bjrogg]

Looks great Buckskinner. Tiller looks good. Bow doesn’t look overdressed at all. That one should last you a good long time.

Bjrogg

PS like the Cherokee Two Fletch

[Buckskinner]

Looks great Buckskinner. Tiller looks good. Bow doesn’t look overdressed at all. That one should last you a good long time.

Bjrogg

PS like the Cherokee Two Fletch

 I had a hunch you would notice that arrow...  Really like them and have yet to break a fletching.  I am amazed at the toughness of that style of fletching, they look so delicate.

[TimmyDeNorCal]

A damn nice recurve.

Tiller looks really nice, too.

My first recurve has a slightly tighter radius on the hooks and it is a nice performer. I went for much tighter recurves the next go ‘round - after reading “The Ol Bowhunter” about Chet Stevenson and seeing some of his extreme recurves! - and it feels different throughout the draw...but they both shoot well.

If you are anything like the rest of us, your next bow is already underway...so take a crack at tighter hooks with her.

And you are absolutely correct - the wealth of knowledge here allows us newer people to turn out shooters waaaay earlier in our bow-building careers!! All of these guys here have made it so that the new guys do not have to spend a decade burning through hundreds of staves to get to the point where we are turning out solid bows. Every bow I build think about how amazing it is to be a newer bowyer these days.

[backtowood B2W]

A first, you can be very proud of!!!
I like the profiles!