Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: tdog on May 11, 2010, 11:03:27 pm
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Well, almost 1 year after buying a hickory stave/blank at the Howard Hill shoot, I finally got around to completing my first selfbow. I started on the bow in February(fight after deer season) and got it to the floor tiller stage and left it until about 3 weeks ago. I then got the itch to finish and decided that I would have it done in time to shoot it at the HH this June. Lots of scraping, rasping, and sanding later, I had myself my first selfbow. I went for simple and safe by doing a pyramid style and made it plenty long(69"ntn). I originally planned to put some tip overlays on, but after getting it tillered to the point of being able to shoot it, I got so excited that I wanted to get it finished as soon as possible.
I would rate the bow as follows: Positives - smooth drawing, very quiet, surprisingly fast ; Negatives - hand shock(but not much worse than most HH bows that I've shot), and the string tracks to the left of center somewhat which makes an armguard a necessity.
My impressions are that making a selfbow is not that hard, when you start with a good piece of wood. Making a selfbow that looks like most of the works of art that you guys post on here is another level altogether ;D
Well, here are some pics. Specs are: 69" ntn - Low #50's at 30"
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Nice looking bow Tdog. Certainly respectable your the 1st self bow. If you want to get rid of the elbow shock, thin your tips a bit. Tom
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Here is a full draw shot and a group that I shot from ~15yds
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That's an awesome job for your first bow! My first didn't turn out nearly as well.
Keep up the good work.
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Very nice job and especially for your first bow. Tiller looks great!
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Very nice bow!!! I wish my first looked that good, great grouping also. :) You live around Birmingham? I live in Gardendale/Fultondale Area...
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Thanks guys. I read TBB 1 & 4 as well as countless posts on here and other sites and decided that a pyramid style would be best to try first. I had read that this style of bow was easiest to tiller, and that was true on this bow. Once I had the pyramid dimensions finished, I mostly just scraped(and scraped, and scraped!) equal numbers on each limb until I had it down to final weight. Only minor adjustments early on. I would definately recommend this style to anyone starting out.
I also made my first string for this bow. So far, neither has broken!LOL!
Josh, Wetumpka is about 1.5hr south of Birmingham, just above Montgomery.
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Great looking self bow! Hickory is fun to work with as it can be a challenge. Tiller looks good and also appears to shoot a good group. Good job and hopefully we will see more bows from u in the future!
Cheers
Russell
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That a really good first bow, that is for sure!
You mention it has a bit of hand shock. That could probably be reduced by narrowing the tips some more; there's plenty of material there.
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Great jon on that bow! Jawge
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Very well done for you first,wished mine had turned out that good. :)
Pappy
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Very nice tiller, looks smooth and sweet.
But that glove is so 8o's ;)
Nice to see a longer draw for a change (ELB style)
Del
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Better keep lookin over yer shoulder, eh? That bow buildin bug is sneeking up on ya :D Very nice, think about keeping it as you wont ever have another "first" and a few years up the road you'll be able to blame that bugger for all the trouble ya been up to.
Rich
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Very nice job on your first bow.
N2
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Rich, you are right, I can see where this could be addicitive. I will definately keep this one to hopefully see the improvement with each one made. I am going back to the HH shoot next month and will be looking for a new stave to start on. Also, I have about 40 acres of property that has lots of hickory that I may try out. I think making a bow from a tree on my own property would be cool. Killing a deer with it would be awesome, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Mark
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Very nice job, congratulations on that bow...
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great first shooter- Good luck gettin' a deer with it! My sis lives in Dadeville....pretty down there, but HOT!
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The stave started out with about 1 1/2 inches of reflex and now it has just over 1 inch of string follow. Does that mean I have 2 1/2 inches of SET? I always confuse those terms. Is this about normal for set?
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The stave started out with about 1 1/2 inches of reflex and now it has just over 1 inch of string follow. Does that mean I have 2 1/2 inches of SET? I always confuse those terms. Is this about normal for set?
Yep, that's the way I use those terms... :)
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Got your fine weapon bookmarked for May Self BOM!!
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awesome job !! even for a bama boy >:D
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Bama boy yes, but Auburn alum. WAR EAGLE! ;D
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No fair! Your first bow is better than my 10th! Excellent job.