Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: bowtarist on August 04, 2013, 11:10:00 am
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I've got myself a 60" piece of ocean spray, 1" on big end and 7/8" on smaller end, big end has a check right in the middle of the piece. Is ocean spray in the TBB? If so I can look it up, if not, where should I start? I'm a total amature when it comes to bow making. Thanks for any help. dp
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OS is quite dense, around .75 , I think. with only 60 inches to work with, you'll have to make it bend thru the handle. How far does the split go? if you can cut off the split portion of the limb and still have enough for a bow, do it. what is your draw length and desired poundage? basically remove the bark carefully and then leave the back alone... reduce the belly during tillering, leaving it full width and keeping the belly flat. Narrow the tips for the last 8 inches or so. In the end, the limbs will have a cross section like a half circle. The handle will likely be a little thicker than half the diameter of the piece (the handle will contain the pith). How long has it seasoned? Beware of further drying cracks on the ends.
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Thanks aaron. My draw is 26", any weight above 35 is good for me. Maybe even a bow for wife or kids. No less than 30# then. The check is about two inches long. I'll have to find out how long it has been drying. I understood your direction, so thanks again on that. I have made a couple of bows, only shot one, but have yet to finish tiller and seal. I'd like to get me a tillering tree set up soon. Pretty sure I can figure that out on my own. dp
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You can get #45-50 out of it
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If you have a 26" draw you don't need to make it a d-bow but you can if you want, if the check is only 2" long i wouldn't worry about it, however i wouldn't take the bark off if you don't know how long it's been seasoned.
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I'm with Zion, OS can handle crazy amounts of bend so I'd say you can put a 6 or even 8" stiff handle on the bow, especially with the lower draw weight. D-bow might take less set though. If you haven't split it yet I'd recommend that, Ocean spray splits extremely easily and straight (at least all I have tried) and checks easily to the pith if its not split. The only thing to be careful of is that for the center of the bow you may want to make some preemptive cuts to stop the split, since 1/2" thick wood in the center is not going to make for good tiller! 1" should be plenty though and maybe you can do a table saw cut to the pith on the handle part to alleviate checking. Just my $.02
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there's a nice build a long on the how to page
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DP; If this is the same OS, it was cut this winter / early spring, and stored out in a cool damp pump house. Good Luck! Ed
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if it was cut this winter ya might want to wait on it a bit
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Here's a pretty good build along with ocean spray almost the same diameter as yours may or may not help you out
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,29156.0.html