Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Horn Bows => Topic started by: loefflerchuck on September 05, 2014, 11:05:09 pm
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Here is my most recent completed bighorn bow. 36.25" tip to tip. 35" ntn. The tag was from north Dakota on these rocky mt bighorns. I think I remember they were 29" and 30" around the curl and 13.75" bases. Lap splice with 2 handle sections on top and bottom. 7 Copper rivets in the handle. 6 layers of elk and moose leg sinew. 1 layer of long deer backstrap on top. This bow took a large amount of reflex. About a foot. Even after leaving it strung for 3-5 days strait and shooting, it returned to 10" of reflex after being unstrung a few days. Finished this bow in 6 months.
55-57# @ 19.5". A short draw for one of these bows, but 19.5 feels like a safe full draw for $450 horns. This bow tested very fast.
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Awesome work. Glad to see that your shop floor looks like my garage floor.
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Stunning!
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that's just doggone nice! :)
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I will wrestle you for it,amazing.
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Very cool sheep horn bow. 8)
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Sweet
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Yes Sir! That is one fine looking bow.
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Very nice shape to it! CC
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Great bow, great arrows. Love the pictograph too.
Thanks for posting.
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Insanely cool bow chuck, I love it.
I'm sure I'm not the only guy "patiently"
waiting for you to complete your build
along for one of these !
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Thanks everybody. Swamp Yeti, I don't wrestle anybody with yeti in there name. But may trade for one of your amazing works I just saw. Goat, I need more hours in the day. Soon
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chuck, how much sinew is on one of these? how many individual leg or back sinews?
just want to clarify what a layer is to you. cheers!
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and the caul that you use when you form your horn, how much back set are you putting in the handle?
it looks like 2" but its hard to tell
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Wow another masterpiece :o
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Ryan, I use about 3 ounces shredded. The bows are between 1/3 and 1/2 sinew. Not sure how much backset they start with. I don't just use one form. In the end tiller can add to backset
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Thanks chuck, thats alot of sinew. I was mostly referring to your caul
that is in your build along on your site.
Have you had a failure making one of these yet?
If so what happened?
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That caul has 1.5" of reflex. Yes I have had 1 break in testing and 2 in the first. After over 50 hours of work and a month of testing I had one break at one of the rivets in the handle. Important lesson there. Not thick enough for a hole filled with harder than horn copper. 2 was a 35" bow with a 22.5" full draw. It developed extra bend near the handle after a couple months of shooting and failed. 3 happened after the bow left my shop. It broke in a thick even spot and I don't know how. May have been misused? All breaks were at or right above the handle.
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Is that why you add horn lams on either side at the lap splice?
How thick should the handle horn all be?
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This kind of bow has been my favorite for a long time yours is another great example
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Absolutely beautiful!!!! 8) A lot of hard work, and stress of worrying if this one will fail also. My hat is off to you sir! How does it shoot, any hand shock? Again, just outstanding all around. Beautiful bow, and scenery. Thanks for sharing.
Wayne
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2 of the failed bows had the 2 handle splices. I think now the most important thing with the handle in true replicas id a heavy wrap of sinew on the handle. The last 4 I started work on- 2 have 2 horn rivets and 2 have no rivets. Just the tung depressor like the one found in Wyoming dating from 1700+-. I am trying all designs out. most recent is a 30" Paiute replica. The handle splice is a lap splice only 2.4" long with 2 horn rivets. No handle splices. This bow I am willing to test to possible fail. I want over 60# draw and 18"+. The non bending section will only be 2.5"
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Wayne, with a 550 grain arrow the chrono read in feet per second--175, 177,152,180,148,180.7 . Those numbers were higher than I expected and I think I was probably overdrawing the bow to 20" or so on the fastest shots. Funny though with a 305 grain cane arrow it shot almost the same 179-185 fps
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I had to whipe the slober off my mouth before I could type!!dang that's a sweet bow!!I have been into primitive archery 15 years now and have always loved a horn bow but never even had the chance to touch one!maby someday.beatyfull bow brother.
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Incredible craftmanship, always love seeing your bows Chuck. This one is again a masterpiece as others already mentioned. And great pics and arrows, too!
Did you boil the horn flat, or do use a caul for adding reflex alredy in this stage?
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It's great Chuck. I'm wondering in your summary of the bow, you reinforced the bow with horn overlays on the handle on the top and bottom of the lap splice? I'm thinking of doing that with my project... If I do a 3.5" lap splice, how long should the reinforcing piece be? Would 5" be enough?
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lookin good Chuck.
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Thanks. Simson, I boiled the horn a few times but never for over 10 min. Parnell, 5" is plenty for a riser. If you have thick enough horn in the center I would say just do a lap splice with a couple rivets. I have overbuilt a few handles but am finding a thick sinew wrap may be enough for most center splices.
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Ok, thanks Chuck.
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Man that bow is so damn cool ! I really like the pic against the petroglyphs that brings it full circle...well done !
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Nice work!
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Thanks. The petroglyphs are on Stansbury island. About an hour west of salt lake city. The 2nd largest island on the lake. There is a dirt road leading to the island now with evaporation salt flats on the sides, but in 1869 it was surrounded by water with just a peninsula connecting the island to the south. The east side of the island is private property but loose. I found two hillsides completely covered with petroglyphs about 2 miles apart. One of the sites has a few panels of Dinwoody forms. Identical to ones in the Wind River range in Wyoming. These Dinwoody monsters are tied to the Shaman religion of the Shoshone. There are 4 petroglyphs with the bow and arrow. This one below my bow is the only one with very bendy tips. I would like to think this is a sheep horn bow deception. Looks like a moose petroglyph right in front of the archer and a couple unmistakable bighorns in front. I noticed both the petroglyph sites are located next to rock outcropings forming high walled game drives.
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That's absolutely fantastic. And what I like best ist that it looks no bit fancy (must have been tempting with the expensive meaterial, no?). Just plain and pure and very well made. Congratulations to that bow.
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Nice chuck how that boiler bax workin for ya
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Tyke, have not used it yet but pulled out some old twisted and warped staves to attempt making them useful again.