Tribute to Dean Torges

[TimmyDeNorCal]

I am delighted to see a post RE: Dean Torges. From all accounts, Dean Torges was an amazing individual, and among his many talents and achievements, he was also a great writer.

However (and please know I don’t like saying this), I do believe his beautiful, complicated prose oftentimes was a detriment to his overall work. I found, at times, his sentence structure to be too laborious to parse out and apply to the wood stave in my hand.

BUT, as noted by an earlier post, I have found myself constantly referring back to Dean’s website, and, specifically, his “Writings” section. There are some great essays available online still, great for bow-building, and great for when one desires something entertaining to read that is primitive archery-related.

As for his faceted tillering approach, I find it to be quite interesting…but not quite as useful….which, unfortunately, was the main premise/point of it all. Dean professes some inherent advantage to the radiused belly that his faceted tillering produces, and being that my copy of his book is 100 miles away right now, I cannot recall this advantage.

And the fact that I cannot recall this advantage goes back to my point on his overcomplicated writing: the reader should be able to easily grasp the main concepts of one’s book, ESPECIALLY when that book is a How-To type of creation.

But that is the only complaint/negative point I would ever bring up RE: Dean Torges.
And it is highly likely that the reader (=me) is to blame, because the proof of his teachings are out there, and from what I have heard from those who have personally handled his personal bows, he built self bows that were second to none - perfectly balanced, gorgeous lines, and, of course, perfect tiller.

As for the radiused belly, I think the main differentiating point to take away from it all was that Dean was ONLY discussing Osage Orange wood. Since Osage can handle a radiused belly well enough, and since there was some specific advantage Dean believed held true in the radiused belly, he advocated for one. But had he penned another book - like Hunting the White Wood Bow - he likely would have championed a flat belly. 

Lastly - I love the bow tribute to Dean Torges, organic archer. I have set aside a few of my staves for some Dean Torges flatboat builds myself…should get to starting them any day now. Thank you for sharing yours.

[Hamish]

The faceted approach's advantage is that its easier to keep balanced from one edge to the other. The peak acts like a keel.
A truly flatbow can be hard to tiller evenly across the full width of the belly. This can lead to uneveness in the edge thickness which can lead to twisting.

Also with the faceted approach you adjust the tiller only on the peak belly facet, where it needs to be done.
Weight removal is achieved mainly by taking down the facets on either side of the belly peak. Then you re establish the peak facet, by flattening the peak along the entire length
Its a more methodical approach, that allows many people better control.

[bassman211]

Nice bow ,nice buck Steve. Will B. gifted me with a faucet tillered Osage bow that he had bought before he got into bow building. The riser area had splits ,and cracks that I repaired. It shoots good. I still have it . It is a snakey bow, and still holds a little reflex. I have made a couple ELB,s that also turned out alright with faucet tillered. Methodical way of tillering.

[organic_archer]

I'm enjoying reading everyone's thoughts!

As for the radiused belly, I think the main differentiating point to take away from it all was that Dean was ONLY discussing Osage Orange wood. Since Osage can handle a radiused belly well enough, and since there was some specific advantage Dean believed held true in the radiused belly, he advocated for one. But had he penned another book - like Hunting the White Wood Bow - he likely would have championed a flat belly. 

It would've been interesting to see his approach with whitewoods, Tim! I've never tried a radiused belly on anything other than osage and ERC but might have to experiment and see how it goes with a hickory or elm bow.

The tribute came full circle for me this Sunday after taking down a nice young buck with the bow posted earlier in the conversation. This was its maiden voyage, still as blaze yellow as can be. My usual bows are around 68-70 inches long, and it was a pleasure carrying one of 62" length.

It is what Dean said it would be — a solid, no-fuss hunting bow. He came in at dusk and gave me a slightly angled broadside shot at 6 paces. I’m eternally grateful for the gifts and lessons of the hunt.

Edited for grammar.

[superdav95]

 Very cool.  Nicely done. 

[Muskyman]

Nice deer, should be some good eating. I’m hoping to get out next year with my first Osage bow..
Congratulations.

[bassman211]

Congrads. I made a 70 inch faucet tillered elm bow, and one from ash the  same length. Very similar to ELB bows with arrow shelves. So have other guys on here. They both took the typical set of ELb bows, but shoot fine. Both bows are lower poundage bows compared to ELB's. Elm has a long history as a bow wood, and for good reason.

[organic_archer]

Nice, bassman! I’ve got some really clean elm drying out right now. Ill try a rounded belly in the near future.

[Stixnstones]

Congrats, one helluva trophy right there

[rps3]

Beautiful bow and tribute to Dean. Congratulations on the deer too!
As far as Dean's writing goes, I couldn't get enough. I loved his style and it inspired me to be a better craftsman, and bowyer. I'm glad I was able to have a couple conversations with himand am very grateful for his contributions.

[TimmyDeNorCal]

Nice shot, nice buck!

I hope I didn't come across as too negative RE: Dean Torges' writing...because that would be akin to bowyer treason, as far as I am concerned.

Both my laptop & phone's browsers ALWAYS have a few windows open to The Bowyer's Edge's "Writings." I have probably read each piece 30 times each, and the bow-making specific articles like "Dimensions of a Hunting Bow," "Tillering the Organic Bow," & "Handicapping the Odds" well over 50 times!

And each time I reread them, it seems like I pick up on something new, something interesting & unique, that I might have glossed over the 1st time.

Organic archer, again, great work. And thank you for posting it.

[Dances with squirrels]

Congratulations on the buck, Organic Archer. Nice bow too.

I miss Dean. He was a friend and mentor to me. The only reference I had when I made my first selfbow was his then-new book, Hunting the Osage Bow. Prior to that, I had never held or seen a real selfbow in person, but I still have that 1st bow, ugly as sin, still a shooter. Soon after that I met him, saw his work in person, got some pointers, and my bows improved quite a bit. Just seeing his bows, seeing the quality was possible, was a game changer for me. I have a few of Dean's bows, including The Streak which is the bow he chronicled the construction of in his book.

I eventually bought all the other popular bowmaking books but since I don't care for flat-bellied bows, practically every wooden bow I've made has been made with faceted tillering and fully radiused bellies. There are some benefits that come with the method.

When I use woods other than osage, I adjust the length and width accordingly, but their bellies are all fully radiused too. I've used osage, yew, hophornbeam, mulberry, hickory, elm, ash, cherry, walnut, and others. Dean briefly mentioned using his shaping and tillering methods on whitewoods in his book.

In my opinion, one of his biggest contributions is 'Tillering the Organic Bow'. This too raised the bar for me, forced me to be even more critical of my own work and understanding, and ultimately made noticeable improvements in my bows. THAT'S what Dean was so good at. He didn't like to spoon feed folks if he could help it, he'd rather incite us, sometimes instigate us, to uncover challenges, truths, and rewards for ourselves.

[Dances with squirrels]

Here are a few pictures of Dean's bow 'The Streak' from Hunting The Osage Bow.

[Dances with squirrels]

Two more

[Dances with squirrels]

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