bows in iraq? why not!

[armymedic.2]

yeah hey, knives work great, and ya feel real hard core, lol.  the last one i made for my dad i did with a butcher knife grandaddy used to use, and gave him the knife with the bow.  I named that bow "promise"  if you are interested to look/search it.  My bows are not perfect yet, but they shoot good and make me happy!  that was ipe boo too, with a mahogony handle.   
ain't nothing wrong with using an oversized blade!  and heck, if ya got the room to work in a hooch there is no limit to the fun you can have!

[mullet]

  Keith, I can send you guys some tools so you don't have to dull those fine looking knives. Just give me an address. My boy's heading over this week but he's heading for Tikrit or I'd get him to pack them along.

[armymedic.2]

hey thanks eddie, i certainly do appreciate the offer, but im havin fun playin rambo! don't worry the point is still plenty sharp.  actaully what i can't seem to find is a good sealer that i can get over here, 3 rivers says they won't ship tru-oil, or polyurethane air....i ordered it anyway cause im stubborn and hope they send the damn oil.   i could hassle the cooks for some beef fat, but it gets so dang hot here i picture it burnin off and running if i put it on too thick......any suggestions?  gotta seal some moisture in these things.  0 humidity here, its crazy.  I wish the best for your boy, hopefully he has a friend to share a hobby with over here too.  also need ta figure out a stain for the bamboo, anyone ever heard of using boot wax?  or something i could find easy?  wanna stain it and then sand into it for a tiger effect on the boo.......and the question i really hate asking cause im a dumbbutt- I left my nock too roiugh when i filed it out, and the string bit in and made the boo crackj about 1/4 inch.  not thinking to superglue the crack, i smoothed the nock area and cu off the split peiece, so now it looks like a 5th grader tried whittling on a bit of my bow......ugghhhh i hate it when im dunb for no reason- so i was thinking of piking it to make that spot dissapear.  bow is 72" now, got plenty of room to mess around still, really liked the shape of it though, with the nice classic long wnglish limbs.  might just leave it....i guess im really just looking for advice on what you would do.  don't have a pic but it is about 1/4 inch smoothly knifed off right at the nock and below, on about 1/3 with of limb on the edge.....it is superficial enought that the bow stil holds the string in place with no problem.  Can't decide to fix by piking, or leave it as a lesson learned about being in a hurry when a problem arises! 

[mullet]

 I'd pike it myself. But if you leave it it shouldn't hurt it any. You should be alright rubbing beef oil for a finish. Just rub it in real good.

 The son will spend most of his spare time in the Gym or Video games. that's his hobby.He's over there as a Contractor this go around.He's been in Afganistan twice and Guantanimo. He hasn't told me what he's doing but the company he went to work for plays with the Drones.

Be carefull.

[ballista]

 dang, thats awesome that you guys can do that- you could probibly get a few camel spiders! I heard they are giant over there. my uncle was a seal in the gulf war, probibly not far from where you are man- all I can really say is thanks for serving the country, good luck with that longbow, and if you need store bought supplies (shafting, fletching jigs, ect) don't hesitate! i'd be happy to ship whatever you need out, along with most of the other guys on this site, also.   -jimmy

[Shooter_G22]

hey doc,
   i coouldnt help to think after you said boot die for your stain, i thought of maybe trying kiwi wax "clear for a sealer...??    dont know if it would work???  hell i dont even know if your px would carry it since all boots now are treated sued... but if you got a px about..  and it gots the "clear" kiwi boot wax... i dont know im thinking it might work    but id check with some of these pro's first.... 

    i really think the beef fat from the mess hall would be a last resort!!!   i know that $hit would melt out there like it was butter as soon as you took it out of hooch!!!  lol...


  hell man grab some clp and rub that in... i know gun oil has been used in the past to protect rifle stocks...   and i myself have used clp on some wood products... not my choice... i usely use linseed oil....
but i have used clp on my mason levels from brand new to a couple of yrs old...  my work levels get real dry from all the Texas heat and contruction dust and i oil them about once a week to protect and seal from sun damage... and clp has worked fine for that....   but like i said i would check with all the pro's   cause i still dont know much about bows....

ttyl...

[Marc St Louis]

Just use wax for a finish.  Paraffin should work well

[Shooter_G22]

hey doc,

   you got me thinking after i replied and i had to call one of my buddies from high school that is like a brother to me...  even if he did go Army and i went Marine Corps... lol...
anyways he just got back stateside a couple of months ago from his tour and is stationad at ft benning. i had to check with him to see if they would even still carry the kiwi clear wax...   since its been soo long since i was in the desert and i know alot of things have changed...   like i  heard that they were going to go to a differant type of rifle protectant becuase of all the sand and dust sticking to the clp....   and they were going to go to some type of teflon coat spray...

but you see when i served...  Marine's were not allowed to use anything but CLP on there weapons...   and we would practially be in a   w.o.s.  if caught trying to use something other than CLP...   lol...      i guess thats why we were allways cleaning our rifle on our "down time" lol...

but he told me that yea they still have CLP soo you might have to hunt down the armorer if your out...   but thats if you even want to try and use it...

my buddy told me that he has even seen some of the Kiwi wax clear out there sooo you might be able to put your hands on that too...  he told me that he was using WD-40 on his saw...   instead of the CLP just cuase it worked a little better for him with all the carbine build up... and it was easier to get a hold of...  
however i would not use WD-40 on a Bow!
i have used wd40 on my levels befor and in two days it cuased them to dry back up in the sun...
soo i dont use that and i do not recomend it...
   and dont get me wronge i dont know if the wax or clp will work on a bow i would think they would or at least the clp would cuase i use it on my levels... but i'm just saying this would be something to look at.. " for field expedaincy use only "   or to adapt and over come the stiuation of having to use what is available,  it might work...

hope that helps doc.
good luck...

[majsnuff]

First, Thanks for your service to our great Nation. I am an OLD vet myself. VN 68-69, we didn't get as hot as you are, and our heat was wet .
Now as for sealing that bow, do What Marc said, go with parafin if you can get some. As for stain, I havn't a clue LOL mebby coffee, or ink from those great military pens?? Might be worth a try. As to the knock damage, have you thought about a wrap of glue soaked thread?
Anyway, good on ya for continuing your bow-building over there.
As others have said just msg me if there is anything you might need or want. I will comply.

[Rich Saffold]

Armymedic.2 Good to see you having fun. As you have noticed, lack of humidity is hard on the bamboo. Lightly rounding the back edge of the bamboo can help prevent splinters..

Is there any mineral oil ? Rubbing in a some of this works great and is compatible with a lot of other waxes. parafins, and polys, and if you can keep the bow where any artificial humidity exists like shower stalls this can only help as well..

Rich

[Shooter_G22]

lmao,  !!! 

   there you go doc,   walk in the showers with your long bow man....   lol...

   sorry man thats too funny..lol...  i just got a visual of  the troops looking at you like WTF!!!

docs lost it man... he's  taking a shower with his bow!!!lol....  heheh haha lmao...  oh my damn..  that made my night...

[Shooter_G22]

sorry man didnt mean to burst out laughin...  just struck me funny...
is all..


but yea doc,  Rich is right!  that would work ...  that should,  for sure get some moister back in you bow wood... 

just caught me funny to think of what somebody might think, if they didnt know what you were trying to do...lol...  they might think "yep! doc is fry'd man!  he wont let go of that bow for $hit! "  lol...

[armymedic.2]

lol, i gotta say i can see why you were laughing shooter!  im sure rich has a good idea i didn't think of and i think i might just do that, but yeah they would all think im crazy.  They all do already anyhow......im going through withdrawls because the last time i worked on the bow was when io posted the pics, and knowing im gonna pike it its driving me crazy not to just get started.  The bow is in my colonel's room and i can't work it outside for fear some jacka$$ high up officer will be like "you can't do that!"  then i would be hobbyless again :}  plus i am concerned with the iraq sun beating it up too before it is sealed.  maybe that is why there aren't many trees around here, there were, but the locals exploded so many bows trying to figure it out they eventually ran out of trees
The other thought was to put a thread wrap around it, and i actually like that idea a lot, but it is where the nocks are, so i don't think i could do it without obscuring the nock and having the string run against it. I will just have to pike it and go from there.  To be honest with myself i could use a good 68" bow anyway, my hickory is 72" and a beast. and when i finished my dads 68" i liked it a lot better.....too bad he wouldn't trade :} 
I was thnking about coffe myself for the dye MAJ, but i was worried about rubbing too much moisture into the back of the bow all at once, but that is the color i would be going for.   my plan is to stain the whole back, and then sand a bit to fade in stripes, not drastic stripes, just a breakup of the color.  Maybe i will try the coffee, sounds fun if noone knows anything harmful by doin it.
The wax sealant seems to be a favorite suggestion on here, so i will give it a shot if they don';t ship the true oil.  rub fast to heat it up like doin a bowstring?
Thanks for all the suggestions, and your great show of support for the military!  Realy makes me fell good to know i got nice folks like yall back home to chat with.
 

[Rich Saffold]

I hoped that would get a chuckle, but there's more than a few guys here in the zero humidity Southwest that do this all the time. I live a mile from the ocean and we frequently get bone dry conditions (90 and 10% humidity today)  and I do this with bows I get nervous about..

I'm quite sure the dry air had a lot to do with the evolution of composite bows in that region of the world

Rich

[JW_Halverson]

Doubt there are many bear in the area for bear grease.  Have you tried dropping by one of the local open air markets and asking for bacon grease or ham fat?