Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Wooden Spring on October 30, 2013, 11:41:14 am
-
No, crack and twist isn't some new dance move the teenagers are doing today...
I bought a bow from *cough, cough* and when it came, it looked great, but after shooting about a dozen arrows from it, it cracked...
It has been heavily polyurethaned, so is there a fix for this, like backing it, or should I return it to *cough/cough* ??? I'm worried that if I sand it down to try to lay down some linen, the glue won't absorb into the oak because of how deeply that polyurethane absorbs...
Also, a friend of ours bought some arrows from the same *cough, cough* and she got 9 out of 12 arrows that looked like the one below...
OK, the bows cost about $140 a piece, and the dozen arrows were over $100. What do I do??? This is a reputable seller online who claims to "shoots his bows at least 200 times before shipping them to a customer." Do you not think that he would have noticed a crack on the back of a bow and severe twisting in the arrows?
-
Not good and certainly a poor representation. PM me who you bought it from, if you would. I like to keep mental data bases.
The bow is junk, for the most part. Lord knows if those arrows can be straightened completely, never seen one that bad. Its a real shame.
Im sorry for your luck
-
Sorry....but you got ripped off....can you contact the seller and return the stuff and get a refund? I'd even take a partial refund,and would not want a "replacement" set...its clear its junk IMO...n looks like you learned a valuable lesson....next time ask here if so n so is reputable or not...you paid 140$ for a cracked 7$ board...just another case of you can say and be anything you want online
-
Well ya might be able to straighten the arrows but I'm not sure and the bow you definetly got ripped off realize that you paid 140$ for a cracked board That you probably could've made your own self
-
Gotta question....How were the arrows packaged? I know arrows can move from climate change,but not that fast or that much in that amount of time....my only thought is that they were improperly packaged and something heavy sat on them in the back of a delivery truck? Was the container they were in squished, or shown sign of any creases?
-
hlstanley....That's just wrong..Plain and simple.Could ya PM me the seller so I know too good or bad.
-
I have the name Ed.
-
I've had the same problem with some online dealers of wooden bows. My girlfriend went and bought me a bow for my birthday, without consulting me first, because I always leave the site open on her computer. So it came, and within 100 shots it developed cracks in the bottom limb, which I tried to fix, but to no avail. More cracks popped up in different places and it eventually broke clean through. We got our money back, minus the shipping. I was even more surprised because my draw length (26") is well below the max (28") I took that money and bought another bow, which I though would be better. After a few weeks, I noticed it had been taking more and more string follow after a day of shooting and then I noticed huge sections of chyrsals in the top limb. I'm sticking to my own bows from now on.
-
Gotta question....How were the arrows packaged? I know arrows can move from climate change,but not that fast or that much in that amount of time....my only thought is that they were improperly packaged and something heavy sat on them in the back of a delivery truck? Was the container they were in squished, or shown sign of any creases?
The bow was shipped in a large PVC pipe, and the arrows were stuffed in around the bow... Not the best choice for shipping for sure, but the pipe didn't show any signs of misuse.
-
I'll never make this mistake again... I COULD have made the bow that I needed by myself for sure, but this was one of those very rare occassions where I actually had the money on hand to buy a bow, but I didn't have time to make one before we went off to our public shoot and demonstration...
Oh, well, live and learn I guess...
-
Wow. That is bad. Really I don't think anybody should charge that much for a board and that much for some arrows that are bent in a 45 degree angles almost. That is sad. Get a refund and I would say make a bow. The only person you can believe in 100%, is yourself. If you really don't have enough time, I would say look for a guy on here willing to make you one.
-
Wow. That is bad. Really I don't think anybody should charge that much for a board and that much for some arrows that are bent in a 45 degree angles almost. That is sad. Get a refund and I would say make a bow. The only person you can believe in 100%, is yourself. If you really don't have enough time, I would say look for a guy on here willing to make you one.
Just curious... What should be charged for a well made board bow?
-
I believe there is an error in your question, respectfully. The seller can ask whatever price he wishes for his bows, or any other product. If he asks for more than folks are willing to pay, he won't sell anything and will have to drop his price until his product does sell. The question should be what am I willing to pay for this item. Buyers responsibility to do their homework and make that determination. I don't think you necessarily paid too much for a board bow. You were simply done wrong at any price. Demand your money back including shipping IMO.
-
I believe there is an error in your question, respectfully. The seller can ask whatever price he wishes for his bows, or any other product. If he asks for more than folks are willing to pay, he won't sell anything and will have to drop his price until his product does sell. The question should be what am I willing to pay for this item. Buyers responsibility to do their homework and make that determination. I don't think you necessarily paid too much for a board bow. You were simply done wrong at any price. Demand your money back including shipping IMO.
Oh, yeah, trust me, the bow is going back tomorrow morning. And I'm wrapping masking tape around the bow on either side of the crack to emphasize the thing.
I do have another motive for asking about pricing board bows though... I'm beginning to introduce the sport of target archery into the hobby of Civil War Reenacting, and I've been asked by a bunch of folks who want to get started if I'd make their bows for them. Well, I don't have a problem with that, but I'm clueless as to what "market demand" is for prices. I make very simple board bows, but they are period correct according to some original photographs we've seen... I've got about $10 of wood, and about 9 hours of work in them. (the hickory backed jatoba, just a tad more in materials) Any ideas?
-
As much as you can get. If you feel good about it as do the people that you are making them for then everyone's a winner. I know that is not the answer you were looking for but it's the best one I've got. Cool pictures by the way. Good luck in your venture.
-
The most I've gotten for a board bow is around $100. Just my personal limit for red oak, since it is so finicky. Never had any problems though with mine.
Jon
-
$100 each would keep you hopping busy and you'd be making plenty of money off other enthusiasts like yourself. What goes around comes around. Someday you might need some garb and somebody may just give you a heck of a deal!
I agree with fritzy, cool pics!
-
I'd think the best way to determine the value would be to pretend you are purchasing a bow, and look around at different bowyer's prices.
Some people are under the illusion that board bows are somehow inferior to stave bows (and therefore should be cheaper). I think in many cases these opinions are misguided. Some backed board bows, if they are made from the right wood combinations and correct grain orientation, can potentially out-perform and out-live a self bow.
My point being, don't sell yourself short. Do some research and price your bows accordingly. If your work is up to snuff, people will pay for it.
-
Well, I've sold one bow so far... It was a hickory backed jatoba (sorry, no pics, but it's exactly like the bow I'm holding in the first picture above) and it was to the manager of my local office. I didn't know what to charge him, so I told him that I had around $50 in materials, so he handed me a $100 bill. I was thrilled! But, looking back, that was only $5.55 per hour for the labor. So I thought that maybe $150 would be a fair price going forward.
I've paid as much as $250 for a board bow in the past, but that was from Mr. Boswell at Rudderbows, and I still brag about that being a wonderful bow, and I don't regret the money one bit. (Mr. Boswell, if you read this forum, that's still one of my favorite bows!) And, it was a bamboo backed hickory laminate, so it had more work put into it.
-
im am not under the "illusion" that they are inferior. they are just easier to make and not as problematic. if you put less work in to something and it isnt as character ridden and specialized to that certain piece of wood, i think you should charge less. i think it should be 125-200 dollars ONLY if they are quality. i spend at least 24 hours on each one unless it is a super easy stave. the rest are all personalized to who ever im making it for, where board bows tend to be more for the general public, like fiberglass bows but no to that extreme. i personally would rather see tons of people with true primitive bows that are custom beyond imagination. thats my goal with bows that i make. your bow should be a companion that you have done all the work to and have seen the log and took it from a tree to a bow. the only exception to this is if you have to make mass bows or dont have bow wood around you. then board bows are the only way to make a bow with out spending tons of $$$$$$$$ on a stave to get it shipped and stuff.
-
Thanks for all the responses. I really admire you guys who are able to make beautiful bows from staves. I'm nowhere NEAR good enough to do that yet, but I think that board bows suit my brain a little better... I was trained as an architect, so my brain thinks in dimensions and precision tolerances - trying to make a bow that looks almost freeform from a tree limb that isn't straight by any stretch is a little out of my comfort zone!
-
Edit: The comment that was formerly here was removed after my better judgment kicked in :)
-
Edit: The comment that was formerly here was removed after my better judgment kicked in :)
Awww, come on, we shouldn't let our better judgment get in the way of a good chuckle... ::)
-
Cameroo, board bows are inferior to stave bows in my opinion and should be priced much less than stave bows because of a few reasons. Board bows are much less work and effort, board bows are boring there is no character like each self bow has and most board bows I see are much to blocky for my liking. Again just my opinion youre entitled to your own
-
Cameroo, board bows are inferior to stave bows in my opinion and should be priced much less than stave bows because of a few reasons. Board bows are much less work and effort, board bows are boring there is no character like each self bow has and most board bows I see are much to blocky for my liking. Again just my opinion youre entitled to your own
Meh... I'm too utilitarian minded to care what something looks like.
Sure, the stave bows may look pretty, but my 60 pound, hickory backed jatoba board bow that I spent just 9 hours on can put meat in the freezer every bit as good as a sexy, osage stave bow.
Here's the difference - if my first shot is less than perfectly placed, then I wouldn't have second thoughts about casually unstringing my bow and using it as a club to knock the snot out of that deer until he dies of blunt force trauma.
-
Cameroo, board bows are inferior to stave bows in my opinion and should be priced much less than stave bows because of a few reasons. Board bows are much less work and effort, board bows are boring there is no character like each self bow has and most board bows I see are much to blocky for my liking. Again just my opinion youre entitled to your own
An opinion is a lot more meaningful with some type of reasoning behind it (other than personal preference). I'd love to hear all about why board bows are inferior to stave bows.
The point of my original comment was not that board bows are worth more, which seems to be what you are implying. The point was that as far as pricing a bow is concerned, the materials used and time spent are just a couple of many factors that determine what a bow would sell for. There are people that sell exceptional bows made from board lumber for $600, and some that sell stave bows for $100. There are so many factors that could affect what a bow could potentially sell for that it is just flat out wrong to generalize and say that board bows are inferior and therfore worth less. Other factors are would the quality of work, experience, reputation, supply and demand.
Wow, this thread went way off track.
-
"Wow, this thread went way off track."
That's OK, I post in religion forums elsewhere, I'm used to discussions taking rabbit trails. :D
-
Ok thanks No one said you had to agree with me
-
Ok, I won't O:)
I really should just keep my mouth shut, but you board-haters make me cranky sometimes. Now that I've vented I feel much better. :laugh:
Carry on gentlemen!
-
If you got a good bow from rudderbows you should count yourself lucky. He is one I'll never do any business with.
-
If you got a good bow from rudderbows you should count yourself lucky. He is one I'll never do any business with.
Really? My first bow was from Rudderbows, and it's still one of my favorites. I bought it a couple of years ago, so I can't speak to how things are now with the company, but I've got no complaints. What was wrong with your bow?
I had purchased a bamboo backed hickory AFB at 55-60 pounds. It goes completely flat when unstrung, has a spot-on tiller, and really zips arrows. I wasn't a fan of his leather handle, but that's OK, I just pulled it off. Some may not be a fan of how tooling marks are evident in the hickory, but like I said before, I've never cared about how something LOOKS as long at it WORKS. And this bow is a performer!