Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Sidewinder on May 04, 2009, 02:47:49 am

Title: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 04, 2009, 02:47:49 am
For those of you that have seen this on PP, forgive my redundancy. For everyone else I hope you enjoy it.

  Here is my interpretation of an English Longbow. Kansas osage style. 68" 60@28. 1-1/16" at the handle tapered to 3/8" tips. Belly depth at the handle is 3/4 My kitchen scale says it weighs 19oz. but I'm not sure how accurate it is ( old garage sale spring scale). It draws real smooth and shoots real good.


(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5184.jpg)

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5118-1.jpg)

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5119-1.jpg)
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 04, 2009, 02:52:15 am
and a few more....

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5121.jpg)

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5122-1.jpg)

I call this one the paleo peep sight

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5128.jpg)

belly shot

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5128.jpg)
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 04, 2009, 02:56:36 am
Sorry for the double


heres the belly before the handle treatment is applied

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5130-1.jpg)

and here is the handle and a few pics of the tips

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5187-1.jpg)

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5131.jpg)

(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5137.jpg)
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 04, 2009, 03:04:40 am
here it is after a hundred arrows and freshly unbraced


(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5194.jpg)

I don't know how well you can see this one but the grain and cell structure on this macro shot reveals alot.

 (http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/Osage%20English%20longbow/IMG_5168-39.jpg)


Danny
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Timo on May 04, 2009, 07:58:36 am
Very nicely done! I like it alot.tiller looks real swell to me can't tell there is a knot in it .
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Dean Marlow on May 04, 2009, 08:11:20 am
Very nice sidewinder. I am working on my first Osage Elb and your post of your bow has shown me a thing or 2 I need to do on mine. Dean
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Olschool on May 04, 2009, 09:03:02 am
Nicely done on a NICE piece of Osage
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: chep on May 04, 2009, 10:42:19 am
Good looking bow.
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: huntertrapper on May 04, 2009, 11:29:19 am
awesome looking bow ya got made ther sir!
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: OldBow on May 04, 2009, 12:07:58 pm
Congrats on a well-made weapon. Bookmarked, too, for May Self BOM
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 05, 2009, 01:08:29 am
Thanks guys. I think I will do another one and see if I can get the tiller bending more midlimb and out next time. I will say, these longbows are well balanced and accurate. I've been shooting my little 60" osage pyramid most of the year and this one has upped my accuracy a good bit. I also am sure that you can get more bows per log outta this design because of how narrow you can make them at the handle.  Danny
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Rich Saffold on May 05, 2009, 01:46:04 am
That's a beautiful stick Danny. I love that clean neon Osage..
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Keenan on May 05, 2009, 07:36:58 am
 Very nice bow Danny. The tiller looks great and the unbraced profile definitely shows a well made bow. I've always wondered how Osage works for an ELB. How would you compare it to a flat bow for shooting characteristics?
Title: Re: Osage Englsih longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 05, 2009, 10:35:07 am
Thanks Richard and Keenan.

Keenan...I guess I don't have quite enough experience to be able to descern how much of the differences are because its an ELB or just longer than I have previously made. The longest bow I had made prior was 66" and that was the Mulberry with all the blood streaks in it. This bow is tillered better so I think it shoots better. It certainly is easier to be accurate with because the longer limbs feel more balanced. I know I like the looks of this one alot better too. It looks medivial with the dark distressed leather handle and the arc of the bow looks beautiful when drawn. I know I like the flatbow style alot and have one in the works already that has some nice snake, but I will definitely be doing another one in the near future. I think I will try and get it to bend a little less near the handle and try for more from midlimb to the tips so as to be a bit more accurate in the representation. Hopefully that will improve cast some by reducing the amount of set taken in the handle area. Its not excessive by any means, I just think I can improve in that area for sure.

Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: burn em up chuck on May 06, 2009, 12:35:38 am
very nice. clean, good tiller. i hope i'm looking at the picture wrong, but did you cut across the back to make string knocks? if so i'd be careful and watch out for splintering.

                                                                                 chuck
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Pappy on May 06, 2009, 12:35:44 pm
Beautiful bow very nice tiller,I was thinking the same thing as Chuck on the string nocks. ???
    Pappy
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 06, 2009, 10:35:03 pm
Is there anyway to fix it other than pike it a half inch on both ends and redo it? I realy dont want string on the ends unless I can make it look good.

Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Christophero on May 06, 2009, 10:44:31 pm
You could file and laminate an overlay over the existing nocks.
Pretty work on that bow.  How is the handshock?
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 06, 2009, 11:14:35 pm
Christoph... Please explain your sugestion to me.   

Handshock is very very little but is there none the less. It was more before I heat treated it and then completed bringing it into weight. It shoots pretty nice now.

Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on May 06, 2009, 11:37:21 pm
Tiller is good but cutting across the back of a nock is not. Jawge
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 07, 2009, 01:25:50 am
I promie I won't ever do it again Uncle George. lol  Seriously though, I won't. I guess its mistakes like this that keeps me grounded and reminds me I have a ways to go.  Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Hillbilly on May 07, 2009, 10:04:38 am
That's a fine looking bow. Maybe bending just a fuzz too much in the handle and not quite enough through the midlimbs, but it looks good overall.
PS- mighty tasty looking patch of lettuce and onions, too. :)
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 07, 2009, 11:49:32 am
Thnak you kindly Hillbilly.Those are garlic by the way, the onions are behind me iin the other bed along with the strwaberries.  Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Christophero on May 07, 2009, 01:05:43 pm
Danny,
What I was alluding to is when you see someone file the back tip of the bow at an angle and then glue on a laminated tip overlay for strength.  It, also, helps to keep the limb tips thinner as you won't need as much nock grooves on the side of the bow to hold the string.  I'm sure you've seen them on PP as the Baker designed performance pencil tips work real well with overlays.  The reason you would file the back at an angle is to allow a better glue joint, to keep the overlay from protruding out from the back of the bow much if at all, and in your case, to clean up the string groove you already have there.  It will serve just like what you already have but keep the back from splintering.  Just don't file the new overlay material down to the existing back wood of the bow.
Here is an example of what I am talking about on a recurve: 
(http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/WoodenBows/RecurveandTip.jpg)
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 07, 2009, 04:35:12 pm
Ok Christopher let me see if I am geting this right ( i can be a bit dense at times). Make an overlay and laminate it on top of my current back violation. Make the new back groove for the string at an angle. My question is, will there be a void between the bottom of the new piece and the pre existing groove thats already there?  Danny
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Christophero on May 07, 2009, 09:33:51 pm
No.  First file the back of the tip down at an angle that removes the existing string groove.  Then glue on an overlay with the medium of your choice, file, sand and shape to a design that suites your eye and you will have a stronger tip than what you have now.  The end result could look exactly what it looks like right now if you want but because you have laminated another layer over the violated back tip wood and filed a string groove only in that laminated material it protects the osage wood fibers from tearing out as could happen as it is.
If you look at the picture of my tip overlay you will notice that I first removed quite a bit of osage from the back of the bow's tip to allow the overlay to "fill in" the removed wood area.  Yet, with the antler, in this instance, now "Backing" the bow in that spot I don't have the worry of the wood splintering here.  Think of it as backing a bow where there is a violation to keep the back from blowing out.  Same principle only used in a single spot.  Then with the Backing on you can file a new groove there with out the danger of a blow out. 
I hope this helps.  Let us see what you finally do.
Christopher
Title: Re: Osage English longbow
Post by: Sidewinder on May 08, 2009, 11:34:12 am
Good advise Christopher. When I get it done I will post and update.   Danny