Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: leonwood on September 19, 2017, 07:44:44 am
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This is a bow I made a while ago which actually failed because of a few mistakes I made. Decided to try a fix I would have never thought of without seeing it here. (Thanks Del!)
The story:
A friend of mine gave me some yew staves from a 200+ year old hedgerow. This was a small diameter branch with some knots and a fair bit of deflex (The reflex side was unusable due to lots of knots and wind damage from it’s neighbouring branch)
It started out as a 55 lbs bow but after 100 or so shots a knot on the belly collapsed. The knot goes through the whole side of the limb, I thought is was pretty solid but should have drilled it out instead;-)
After reading Del’s patch stories I decided to give a belly patch a try. (I call it a "Del patch" everytime someone at the range asks me what that thing is on my bow) So I did as Del does and rasped out the collapsed area and made a matching yew patch for it. Quite a challenge to rasp a nice rounded area and make an exact fitting patch! Glued it down with smooth on and sanded it level with the belly. Had to touch up the tiller a bit and left the patched area a little stiff for insurance.
Now to shoot it again after patching was a little scary;-) Shot it a few sessions and to my surprise I had another piece on the belly collapse! This time on the belly of the flipped tip. There was probably a split there wich I had not noticed. The funny thing is it collapsed downwards. (sometimes the belly cracks a bit when bending with heat but that is always a clean break outwards)
So I decided to try another patch on the belly. This was easier to fix because I could just sand the bottom of the curve flat and glue some wood on it. This time I glued on a piece of oak and had it shooting again after two days!
Now this was three months ago and I have been shooting this bow three times a week for two hours per session since! I am usually not into fixing a bow with mistakes but somehow this bow wanted to be a shooter.
Stats:
Wood: yew
Length: 66 ntn
Draw weight: 51@28
Handle: leather
Tip overlays: ipe
// side_profile_unbraced
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4391/37143212781_3460a76be0_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YAdF7n)
// top profile
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4413/36471624973_9a201f1ec3_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XySBse)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/37095328506_3f1b4424b7_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YvZfMq)
// braced_side
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4379/37143316651_23c62f92a5_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YAecZe)
// belly
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/36888767010_51fa014eb3_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YcJzfj)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/36448625164_4135bc57d4_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XwQJpN)
// Patches
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/37095116836_1de9e245f7_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YvYaRW)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/36472319324_c83c4bc8a9_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XyWaRN)
// handle detail
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4388/37113551712_6ff7a5d608_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YxADUC)
// tip knot
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/36448519404_f8c17cc250_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XwQbYm)
// fd
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4410/37113088272_674991128c_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Yxyh9h)
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Always like seeing bow problem solving 101 being done with success.Nice bow!!Hope she holds up for ya.
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Nice save and beautiful bow, love it when a plan comes together. ;)
Pappy
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What a nice looking bow and great job on that patch! I have a short bow where I also have a belly collapse and I have been waiting for the right time to fix it. You just inspired me to do so! Don't forget to also post some pics of your HLD bows. I thought you were doing a great job on the one you had a single pic of.
Cheers,
Phil
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Nice one ... fame at last ;D
Del
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Thanks guys! One of the reasons I tried to save this one was that I got the staves for free from a good friend and I wanted to do them justice. And then I was inspired by the famous Del the Cat of course :laugh:
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What a nice looking bow and great job on that patch! I have a short bow where I also have a belly collapse and I have been waiting for the right time to fix it. You just inspired me to do so! Don't forget to also post some pics of your HLD bows. I thought you were doing a great job on the one you had a single pic of.
Cheers,
Phil
Thanks Phil! On the hazel hld: I have a fee photos of that bow here:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/149541802@N05/oAjs16 (https://www.flickr.com/gp/149541802@N05/oAjs16)
Not a full set of pictures though because I only wanted some pics for my instagram feed :laugh:
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Thanks for the link on your HLD bow, it is beautiful! I especially like the transition into the handle and the handle itself.
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Impressive save and a beautiful bow to boot! Bravo
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Great fix! I'm in debt to Del as well. Used a side knot "removal and plug" technique I learned from his website on a yew static I made. (see pic below) We should start a Del fan club or something. ;)
The bow looks great!
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Nice save. Looks like it is a really good bow.
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Super nice bow you made there Leon. Elegant and lovely profiles, great work with the patches.
Congrats!
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Very nice! :OK
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Great fix! I'm in debt to Del as well. Used a side knot "removal and plug" technique I learned from his website on a yew static I made. (see pic below) We should start a Del fan club or something. ;)
The bow looks great!
Nice save as well! It's funny that you when you start learning to make bows you read a lot about watching out for splinters and chrysals and when that happens you better start on a new bow. (And don't get me wrong, I still think this is true!) But sometimes it is nice that you can actually save a bow by using this simple technique!
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And thanks everyone who replied, really appreciate it!
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Very nice bow Leonwood, you do very nice work and seem to be a quick learner. I like that your not afraid to try some of the more difficult things.
I'd join the Del fan club any day
Bjrogg
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Very nice bow Leonwood, you do very nice work and seem to be a quick learner. I like that your not afraid to try some of the more difficult things.
I'd join the Del fan club any day
Bjrogg
Thanks Bjrogg! For me trying new things is a challenge and lot's of fun. I don' care much how long it takes to make a single bow so I will continue working on it until I am happy with it! (or dump it in the firelace when I am not happy and start on another one;-) )
Oh and I think we already have a few members for the Del fanclub!!! (=)
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Very nice bow Leonwood, you do very nice work and seem to be a quick learner. I like that your not afraid to try some of the more difficult things.
I'd join the Del fan club any day
Bjrogg
Tentatively count me in for the Dell Fan Club, depending on dues and what nasty initiation rituals ya'll come up with.
But seriously, that is some excellent work on patching that bow up and rescuing it from the rubbish bin. Del has a phrase I am particularly fond of, namely "mended beyond repair" for those bows we just cannot stop "fixing". I have a friend that has a bow that has gone through eleven different repairs and modifications. He calls it "Our Lady of Perpetual Breakage". Looks like yours won't fall into either of those categories. I'll call it a success! Well done, truly.
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Very nice work saving that bow.
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@ JW... Our Lady of Perpetual Breakage ;D
Yup that's a keeper...
Del
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@ JW... Our Lady of Perpetual Breakage ;D
Yup that's a keeper...
Del
Considering the guy is an atheist and his wife is a new age pagan, that is quite saying something!
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awesome job getting it done. working through it and making a beauty of a bow!!!