Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: kinkfeather on July 11, 2010, 01:18:02 pm
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68" long,8"riser,4"handle by 1"thick by1 1/2"wide,riser tapers 2",from riser fade to 1/2"tip.now with all that said my question.ken did you say no fade on belly just straight from riser to tip on belly.this question is for any my primitive buddies.i shot my first home made self bow today.i love it an it shoots good too.it is definitely a special,special,self bow to me.kink
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A pyramid selfbow has a consistant thickness throughout the length of the limb. The tiller comes from its profile
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rain man can you tell me what profile means.kink
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in other words, the tiller naturally comes from its pyramid shape. The belly shouldnt get tapered.
Here's a picture of my red oak pyramid bow that I finished a few weeks ago. This is called its "profile"
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/BuckMstr98/P1010537.jpg)
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rain man do you cut or work down the thickness of the limbs before you glue on the riser.is 1/2 thickness on limbs about wright or shound i leave a little longer for a 50 pound bow.kink
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If you want to, I guess you could work down the thickness of the board before you glue on the handle. I didn't do that. Gluing on the handle was the very first thing I did. The bows draw weight is about 40#. The limb thickness is 7/16" and its 70" nock to nock. I really wanted the bow to be heavier (50 pounds). So I think with a 68" length and 1/2" thick limbs, you will be close to having a 50# draw weight.
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I have done a few board bows and I have found that the handles sometimes pop off when you resaw the board to thickness before glueing on the handles. I thought I was saving time by sawing down to the thickness and just adding enough extra thickness to the handle to keep it from bending. Wrong.
All the bows that held together thru thick and thin were those that the "fade out" area was taken from the full thickness of the lumber. I think trying to build up a fadeout to stop the bending stresses is too difficult for the glue joint.
I tried glueing freshly sawn edges together, sanding with coarse paper prior to glue up, using a toothing comb to increase the mechanical bond, and cleaning the glue surfaces with acetone prior to glue up and none of it really worked well.
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i went on an glued the handle on i did that on my first bow.do you think using a draw knife to cut the fades in.my bandsaw is not working wright now or using my plane to cut the fades in.decisions,decisions,decisions.thats why this is so much fun.what about backing the bow with camo linen or does that all poundage to the bow.do you think the length of the riser makes stiffer limbs.i hear about handles poping off.i wonder if you dowel pinned your riser on when you glued it if that would stop it.so many things you can do to make your bow different.kink
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I've always avoided using dowel pins to hold a bow handle together because anything that violates the grain of the back of a bow (board bow or stave bow) makes me nervous.
I use my spokeshave and my rasps to shape the fadeouts.
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jw i believe you are wright. :) why take the chance.i need to make more bows before i start playing around.kink
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And if you are making board bows and have a good source of boards, why NOT take chances. It's one thing to blow up an $8 1x2 from Menards, quite another for an $80 stave.
Also, every successful bow teaches you a little, but every busted bow is a post graduate level course!
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my 1x2 cost 5.49 at lowes.well 6.25 after taxes.need to go to bed got to get up early an take care of grandkids.i am going to work on bow tomorow.strat cutting in fades.ketch ya latter.kink
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Kink, forget those dimensions that I told you earlier. That was for my 1 x 3. You probably need different dimensions for your 1 x 2. Maybe someone else can give you some directions. I never did a pyramid out of a 1 x 2.
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joe if u havent cut it yet shorten grip to four inches and fade length to 1 inch that'll give you a lil more workin limb. constant thickness out of fade to the tips . your gonna get a lot of tip movement out of this design just make sure inner limbs bend just enough to not take set. good luck with this one .pyramids are addicting so be careful . ken
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i have all ready glued riser on. can i cut the riser shorter.kink
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Congratulations, kinkfeather. Very nice to hear. I rarely add a handle section to a bow. But I've pinned handles from the belly side and into the board itself but not to the back. Jawge
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ken i cut the riser down to 4" handle. but making the handle different.i cut the handle in with 1/8" off set toward the right if you are looking toward the belly of the bow thats for a lefty that brings the string closer to the shelf.the string is still in the center of the limbs.i rounded the fades off on the handle.it is different looking but it suits me.shaved the fades in on the limbs.just a hair more thickness on limbs.starts at the riser 9/16 down to 1/2" at the tips.the bow will be 67"from nock to nock.tomorrow i will start tillering hope it works.kink
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joe just make sure its bending some out of the fades so you dont over stress the last half near the tips, when this things on the tiller stick it should look more circular then eliptical .you can probably bring thickness at fades down to 1/2 inch alsoso its a constant thinckness.
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ken,at the riser 9/16 out to about 1" goes from their 1/2" thickness to tip.with a thin handle my concerns are the handle poping off.i might wrap the handle before tillering what do you think.kink
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what you have should work fine
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started tiller have 1 1/2 check in limb glued check do you think it will hold.the check pop up out of no where. the check is bottom right side. i put long string on it an went to 5,then 8,tillter took very good.went to 10.i went to regular string the brace was 61/4" so i put it back on tillering tree when to 8"tiller looked great when to 10" when to 12" still looked great then to 14"@24 lbs an then crack i hear tooked drow an there it was 1 1/2" split.so i glued an went to lowes an buoght another board.looks like the best grain i have found.would you shoot the bow that checked or would you make it a look at bow an see what i did wrong.ken if i am doing something wrong tell me.this next one i will slow down an be more careful.have any ideas.kink
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i believe when i cut the handle in there was a tiny chip between the handle an limb.i did not pay much attention to it.but that is where the check is.their is alot of stress on the bottom outer side.so the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes.i will take more time an check things out more.kink
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joe post a pic of the check .might can salvage it if it runs the length but show a pic and we'll go from there. if all else fails you can back with hickory and probably make a shooter. i have had some issues with red oak popping on a grain line under stress usually around the fades. we'll figure some way to hold it together but i could tell you better with a pic
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having trouble posting pic forgot how.it will come to me later.glued handle on #3 bow last night.marked in fades an cut in fades today.ken i need 1 on 1 instructions on how to correctly tiller a bow.can you tell me step by step on how you do your tillering.ken your a good friend you have helped me in many ways thanks alot.i hope some day i can return the favor.kink
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(http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af111/kinkfeather/1279118144.jpg)
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not much of a picture but the best i can do.kink
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if it doesnt run off the side of the bow you should be alright, if you want insurance back it with 1/8th inch of hickory or oak
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joe heres the short way and this may be controversial. cut front view profile you want , then reduce limb thickness till it will start bending . for pyramid same thickness out of the fade to tips. floor tiller till you have six inches of tip movement, long string it till tips will flex evenly for 12 inches. then brace about 4 inches correct limbs to bend evenly.exercise on floor ,raise brace to six inches ,from there bend on tiller tree watch for even bend ,type of bend (elliptical or circular). and watch weight dont pull beyond your target weight at any time during tillering. keep in mind your bending profile should match your front view profile for pyramid it should look circular ,because limbs are bending according to their width. for a bow that is wide untill the last 6 to 12 inches the center part will remain flatter and not bend as much as the tips . hope this helps
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thanks again ken.i have picked your brain because i want to not screw up.thanks for the knowledge an patience.i consider you one of my pa buddies.i hope some day i can help someone else out.but it will be a good while.pa has been a real primitive web site.i have not met any one that was not been a real help.we all have the same interest an we all work together.can not wait till huntin season comes.there is some thing special about building your own bows,arrows,broad heads.i hope the fun will never stop.i think we will have a little more pride in our hunts,shooting,an trying to be a bowyer.we are different people so we need to stick together an help each other out at times.the first deer i killed was with recurve an wooden arrows.my best hunt ever.thats why i want to go back to the old primitive hunts it is more rewarding.flaped my jaw long enought.kink
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b(http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af111/kinkfeather/1279292176.jpg)oth bows are shooters.1 48lbs@27 an the other 46lbs@27.1 not finished.kink
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looking good, and you didnt think you could build one by deer season ! lol you will probably have a dozen by then .good job
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Where are the Moderators when you need them!!! That last photo needs to be removed immediately! This is a FAMILY site. For ctying in the osage shavings, I can see his buns!
Way to go Kink, you got the addiction now! Be sure to post the photos of the deer you get. Just don't show your buns anymore!
>:D