Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: silent sniper on January 30, 2017, 09:33:54 am
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Hello everyone, I wanted to show off my latest creation. This is a hickory pyramid bow I made from a nice quarter sawn “commercially de-crowned “stave. ;)
It is 68” long, 66” NTN and pulls 57@29. It is 1 15/16” wide at the fades tapering to 3/8” tips. It has black walnut tips and a walnut overlay on the grip. I heat treated in ½” of reflex and it has settled in with ½” string follow and ½” set directly after shooting. The grain had a swirl right at where the top limb met the riser and a knot on the belly of the lower limb coming out of the riser. I kept both areas wide to compensate and have not had any issues thus far. It is cut 1/8” from center and has a beaver tail strike plate and arrow rest. I stained it with dark walnut stain and sealed it with 6 coats of water based poly. The handle was wrapped in thin diameter jute string then soaked in TB3. It makes an easy secure grip that I like. I had to go with a high wrist pistol grip as the low longbow grips tend to bother my elbow. The string is made of 18 strands of BCY-X.
This is my first unbacked bow and my 3th useable bow so far. It seems to shoot fine with very little shock or noise. I think it will make a fine hunting weapon. I had trouble with the lower limb being stiff but I think I got them evened out. Please let me know any critiques you may have, it certainly won’t offend me as I want to continue to get better. Enjoy, SS
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-5_zpslfb3uyvh.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-5_zpslfb3uyvh.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-4_zpsidcmedaw.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-4_zpsidcmedaw.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-12_zpsns9xaosl.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-12_zpsns9xaosl.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-7_zps09psca9r.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-7_zps09psca9r.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-8_zps7rkd4hmg.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-8_zps7rkd4hmg.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Mobile%20Uploads/Taylor-10_zps9pvwxfxe.jpg)
(http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Mobile%20Uploads/Taylor-10_zps9pvwxfxe.jpg.html)(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-11_zps0ohq3vo8.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-11_zps0ohq3vo8.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-9_zpstdj96v5k.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-9_zpstdj96v5k.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-3_zpsuc3uezhc.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-3_zpsuc3uezhc.jpg.html)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/action_2008/Taylor-14_zpsckl7tlg0.jpg) (http://s281.photobucket.com/user/action_2008/media/Taylor-14_zpsckl7tlg0.jpg.html)
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That's a nice looking bow.
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Good job on that hickory!
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Turned out nice, nice work. :)
Pappy
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Gooood looking example of a pyramid bow at full draw.You did good.I'd be satisfied if it were mine.The resting profile says it all.Your precautions during construction worked out great.Old hickory likes the heat that's for sure.
On a bow like that being less stressed getting close to center shot is nice and I'm sure it hits the mark for ya consistently with a bunch of different type arrows.
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Very cool bow, tiller looks spot on.
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Really nice 👍👍👍
Bjrogg
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Awesome looking bow! Congrats
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Looks great. :)
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Nice bend
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Looks great, I love how circular the tiller is, even with the stiff handle.
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Well done, very nice bow
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Hack all you want on the "industrial staves", but there are plenty of us that can make a bow outa them!
You knocked that one outa the park, son! No shame there, just a shooting machine!
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Very nice looking bow
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Weapon ya can be proud of. Congrats!
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Let me first say that is a nice bow with a sweet bend!
Two things were I would go different: 6 strands of BCY X is enough - you will gain 3-5 fps. The fade are very very steep, the ondulation is very hard, also longer fades are a lot easier to tiller.
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Thank you everyone for the kind words! It is truly an honor to hear feedback from those who I consider idols in the bow making community. It is pretty special!
Simson, you are correct the fades are harsh and not overly attractive. I have not yet been able to come up with a better way to do it. I need a pretty thick riser to make the high wrist grip, but also want to keep my riser as short as possible to allow for more working limb length and less overall stress on the bow.
Maybe I will try to glue on a longer block of wood for the riser and cut longer tapered fades going into the full width handle. It will add a little more mass to the bow, but would probably help the ascetics and overall lines of the bow. I will see what I can come up with. Thank you for the critique.
6 strands of BCY-X will make for one thin string, but I am sure it would do just fine.Do you pad your loops with only 6 strands? I have used 10 strand D10 strings with padded loops with great success in the past, but did not know exactly how to go about this new expensive BCY-X stuff.
Thanks again everyone, SS
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Very nice hickory stick congrats I would be proud of that one !
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Sweet looking stick you got there. You did good on that tiller for sure.
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Great looking bow! I've been thinking about a hickory board bow lately and this is inspiring.
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Very nice Bow and tiller looks awesome!
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Looks like a fine pyramid and an outstanding 3rd bow. I like a well executed, symmetrical "commercially decrowned stave" ;) as much as anything else!
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Yup. Darn nice bow for #3. Nice work?
Tattoo Dave
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This would be my 3rd "working bow", that does not include the dozen failed attempts it took to get here.
If I have learned one thing so far it is to slow down and really think about what you are doing instead of blazing away trying to get it finished. Once i learned to slow down I finally started making bows that worked. I am hoping things will only continue to get better with more practice.
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Great job! I live in Utah where it is pretty dry. I have found hickory to be one of the fastest woods I have used out here. This pyramid design is also the best for hickory IMHO. Your tiller is great
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... Wow.
Very nice
I love the color and everything.
When shooting with a longbow style grip, do you keep your wrist straight or collapse it?
http://www.dickwightman.com/howardhill/hillgrip/grip3/davethomas3.jpg
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Loon, I collapse my wrist against the grip. I really wish i could shoot a longbow grip, as i find them more natural and in many ways more comfortable to shoot. Every year I end up buying a glass backed longbow because I think I am over the pain, just to have the elbow issues come back.Last year I finally gave up after 3 straight years of continuous elbow pain that lasted several days after each secession shooting my longbows.
I shoot with more of a outstretched target style stance, and I think that low grip drives all that pressure thru the base of my wrist right into my elbow. I can start to feel the pain coming after just a few dozen shots from a low wrist grip. The more I continue to shoot them the more severe the pain gets. My last hill bow had my elbow so wrecked that I couldn't raise my arm for 3 days without a knife jabbing pain.
I may make a few "regular grip" wood bows just for the experience, but I have to accept the fact that I can not use them as a daily shooter compared to my high wrist bows which do not bother me.
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Sorry about that.
What if you did a medium or high wrist grip with a straight gripped bow? (putting the force on the web of the bow hand..) - puts more stress on the wrist, maybe less repeatable, but is done in many archery styles
you likely considered this already, but maybe you're locking your bow elbow by straightening the arm too much?... ...
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If I have learned one thing so far it is to slow down and really think about what you are doing instead of blazing away trying to get it finished. Once i learned to slow down I finally started making bows that worked...
The force is now strong in this one :laugh:
Fine bow, I bet it packs a punch :)
Del
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very nice bow with pretty good bends
Hans
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That's great I cant wait to work a piece of hickory.
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Hey, nicely done. That full draw pic looks pretty good!
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SS, very cool bow, love the jute wrapped handle and the walnut stain really sets the whole bow off!
Good luck hunting with it in the fall
Kevin