Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: superdav95 on December 09, 2023, 01:54:34 pm
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I’ve been doing a ton of hunting these days still no deer yet. Still got some season left so we shall see. As a result my bow building has been mostly been put on hold during the day and only work little in the evenings. I haven’t posted any bows in a bit so I figured I’d post this work in progress showing my checkering process. This Osage bow is pretty well tillered but not fully shot it yet. A few shots here and there during final tiller stage. I’d like to put my arrows through but weather is not cooperating with me. This species is from panama area and is known as argentine Osage. Maclura tinctoria. I was gifted this piece a while ago from a buddy who lives there and I helped him make a knife. It’s very heavy compared to my other Osage bows. The ring count and ratios was just ok. The first few rings on the back side are decent but the rest towards the belly are tight rings. This stave was quite old according to my buddy 10plus years or so before I got it. I just figured the darker rich Color had something to do with its age and set it aside. It’s more orange then yellow. This could be more to do with where it grew then age or it also could be this type of Osage this is. Not sure. There was a little character and snake wiggles too. I may or may not put snake skins on it. I decided to go with a checkered grip on this one. I’m sure there are a few ways of doing this and I’m by no means an expert on this topic but figured I’d post here my process for those interested in maybe doing one.
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More pics. Here you can see how I begin my layout in pencil first. I use a 2:1 angle guide for my diamonds pattern. Just a preference. The sky is the limit on this stuff. This checkering stuff is another rabbit hole to get lost in and some very talented folks out there doing very detailed intricate designs. This is not what I’m after here. I am just doing a simple pattern with an x in the middle with a double wide line. I’ll clean up the edges a bit still but the first side is done and looks not too bad. You can see in the last 2 pics that I use a set of old dental goggles and a pic of the set I got. It was a basic set that included enough for me to get started. Enjoy 😊
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Lovely work Dave. I've never seen an Argentine osage unbacked before. Was it from a stave, or a board? With that checkering the bow looks like a high caliber hunting weapon.
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Thanks hamish! Unbacked. Do you think I should back it? I’ve been treating it much like I would with regular Osage we would get in the states mostly as I didn’t realize there was any real difference to speak of. I’ve been learning a bit more about it lately and some of the nuances however. It shoots nice. Not my fastest bow but no handshock to speak of and it only took 1/2”-3/4” of set. About 55 at 28”. I’ve done this checkered pattern on a few bows now and it does get a little easier with each one but still takes a few hours to do. Thanks for looking
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No need to back it. I think the only times I have seen it was with bows from lumber, they just happened to be backed with hickory or boo. If the grain is straight enough, then there is no need.
Can't wait to see it in action.
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Yes it was from an older stave. The ring count and ratio wasn’t the best but seems to shoot well enough. I put it through the chrono when weather gets better here.
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Man that is some beautiful work, love it. Pappy
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There is a reason we call you Superdave.🤠🤠
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Beautiful checkering, Dave. Definitely looks like a labor of love.
I've used Argentine osage, not for a selfbow but as an overlay on a fretted belly and it worked great for that.
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Thanks fellas! I should have a little more time to get this one finished up now. I got my deer yesterday! It was putting a damper on my bow making.
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Nice Buck !!! Congratulations
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Excellent work on the bow and the buck.
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Nice buck !!!
Pappy
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Thanks guys. Lot of sitting in stands for this guy. Got this checkered handle pretty well done. Just got to clean up my edges a bit. In total about 3hours to do. It gives a very secure feel without being too aggressive of a grip even if it get sweaty and wet. Think it will suit this bow as I want to show off the deep Color of this Osage.
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Great news about the deer.
Bow looks sweet. I foresee a trend in checkered handles about to start.
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Nice deer!
And good looking checkering too. I've always liked checkering. But never could get the execution down. I'd say you nailed it though.
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Beautiful checkering work, Dave and congrats on the deer. :OK
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Very kind words guys. Thanks. Hamish, I’m surprised more don’t do this on their bows. It really makes the ideal grip. It does take some time to do but there are lots of utube videos on how to do it. I’m no expert on this for sure but just took my time with it. My design I did on this was pretty basic too. Some guys out there are really good and efficient with checkering. I would need more practice to get into some intricate designs. My first few times doing this on scrap handles were not great but I needed to get major mistakes out of the way before trying on actual bow.
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May have to change your moniker to SuperDooperDave!
I am interested in those goggles, brother. These 60 yr old eyes are wearing out and I think I would like to try a pair of those!
Checkering is on my list of skills to learn for my next flintlock. Got recommendation on a book on that subject?
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May have to change your moniker to SuperDooperDave!
I am interested in those goggles, brother. These 60 yr old eyes are wearing out and I think I would like to try a pair of those!
Checkering is on my list of skills to learn for my next flintlock. Got recommendation on a book on that subject?
Thanks JW! I was a huge super Dave Osborne fan back in the day hence the name. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore that’s for sure.
As for these goggles I got them from a friend of mine whose son is a dentist. This is an older pair but they work alright. I think I’d prefer to get led light magnifying goggles though. I had to use a lamp to get more light for the details. Here’s a pair I will be ordering soon I think to try off Amazon. They are cheap and might be worth the risk of buying something cheap at first to try it out. They have decent reviews so I may just pull the trigger on a set.
YOCTOSUN Magnifying Glasses with Light, Head Mount Magnifier with 5 Lenses, Headband, Storage Case, Hands Free LED Lighted Head Magnifying Visor for Close Work Hobby Crafts https://a.co/d/0s8OWMX
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Beautiful job! I wonder how available that wood is? I imagine it grows in other parts of South America as well.
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Badger, Argentine osage turns up on many websites of exotic, import timber merchants, in the US. Usually in sawn boards. Getting some with straight enough grain, and long enough for a set of billets is doable. Full length stave would not be easy.
It's fairly expensive for an exotic wood, though not nearly as much as cocobolo, or ebony. Roughly about as much as regular osage, in seasoned lumber.
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I’ll have to enquire of my buddy where exactly he got this stave. I’d like to get some more actually. It’s really dense compared to my other Osage as far as I can tell. He had to ship it to an address in Miami from panama and then got it to me here up in great white north. I’m not actually certain it’s from panama it could have been harvested in surrounding areas down there. It was not cheap to ship it he said but he still did alright on the deal. I shot it some more today and it shoots very nice actually. I like it the more I shoot it. It’s a near center shot bow and arrows fly really straight through it. I still may put a set of fur string silencers on it not that it needs it. I’m sure it will look good and quiet it a little too. I may keep this one naked the way it is. Gonna do a final sand and lather it up with tung oil tomorrow. It sounds a little kinky when I put it like that but you guys get it😉
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Finished up this bow today and did some more shooting with it. It’s was quite windy today so my shots were all over the place but was able to get some chrono readings anyway. My camera person didn’t stick around so she only got me the one video. I really need to get a phone holder or something for when she’s not around. I got 173 fps at 10gpp at 27” draw. I later did some better readings at 28” and got 178-179. This is a more accurate representation of the speed of the bow. It’s absolutely dead in the hands now that I added the little fur dampers. It wasn’t bad before anyway totally acceptable. I actually expected this bow to be a little slower then it is being so heavy. It’s noticeable the difference in mass. I weighed it for curious sake and it’s around 937grams! Compared to some of my other bows that’s heavy. This bow finished out at just under 55lbs at 28”. It’s shorter then I normally build at 65”ttt and 63.5” ntn. The top limb is an inch longer then the bottom. It’s limb dimensions are 1 5/8” at widest then taper slightly to 1.5” just past midpoint then tapers again to 1” at around 10” from tip to 3/8” at the tips. I went with left over bits of deer antler for the overlays. I had to make some heat corrections on this stave to get the tips to align and the bottom limb untwisted. Still has some character wiggles left which is fine. I straighten it all out to my liking and added some reflex to about 3.5” set back. The miniature static recurves were done with dry heat. After shooting in after tiller I ended up with 2 3/4” set back immediately after unstringing and after about 30mins or so it come to rest at 3”. Pretty happy with that actually as this was a marginal peice of Osage as far as rings are concerned with only 2-3 good rings at best. The rest were pretty tight and ratios of late and early wood not spectacular. The checkered handle was worth it even though it’s time consuming task. It feels secure but not slippery at all being a naked bow. The only finish I used so far was a generous coat of tung oil rubbed in by hand and let to soak in the wiped off excess. I then burnished the entire bow with a porcelain mug. I may add a few coats of tru oil down the road still yet. I also will likely add a calf hair pass too.
Here’s short vid clip of me shooting the bow.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kRees6Pajgb8549s5
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More…
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Few more…
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Sorry. Couple more…
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Lovely job Dave. Certainly is a beautiful timber.
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Thanks hamish it was a fun build
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All around great looking bow! And congrats on the buck! Checkering on that piece looks awesome, and done very well.
Mike
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Thanks mike! Ya it take practice for sure to get good at checkering. I’m getting little better each time I do it but still a ways to go.
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Man that handle looks amazing. Good job.
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Man that handle looks amazing. Good job.
Thankyou Matt! If there is interest I’ll do more of a step by step on my next one to show more my process. It really want so bad to do. The goggles help as my eyes aren’t what they used to be for sure. I just took breaks after about a half hour or so and came back to it. Give the eyes a break. Thanks for looking.
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This has been an amazing thread to follow. Your bow turned out to be crazy nice. It's hard to pick one thing that I like the most... :) You have me interested in checkering now, but I think the grip and tips really show how much emphasis you put into details. Super Dave was amazing to watch, and you deserve the name as well. :OK
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I love a nice bit of checkering. Very nice
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This has been an amazing thread to follow. Your bow turned out to be crazy nice. It's hard to pick one thing that I like the most... :) You have me interested in checkering now, but I think the grip and tips really show how much emphasis you put into details. Super Dave was amazing to watch, and you deserve the name as well. :OK
Very nice of you to say bob. Thanks. I think I’ll post more mini build alongs. I learn from these builds so I may as well bring others along too. We learn together.
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I love a nice bit of checkering. Very nice
Thanks brother!
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May have to change your moniker to SuperDooperDave!
I am interested in those goggles, brother. These 60 yr old eyes are wearing out and I think I would like to try a pair of those!
Checkering is on my list of skills to learn for my next flintlock. Got recommendation on a book on that subject?
Thanks JW! I was a huge super Dave Osborne fan back in the day hence the name. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore that’s for sure.
As for these goggles I got them from a friend of mine whose son is a dentist. This is an older pair but they work alright. I think I’d prefer to get led light magnifying goggles though. I had to use a lamp to get more light for the details. Here’s a pair I will be ordering soon I think to try off Amazon. They are cheap and might be worth the risk of buying something cheap at first to try it out. They have decent reviews so I may just pull the trigger on a set.
YOCTOSUN Magnifying Glasses with Light, Head Mount Magnifier with 5 Lenses, Headband, Storage Case, Hands Free LED Lighted Head Magnifying Visor for Close Work Hobby Crafts https://a.co/d/0s8OWMX
Those look great! I just ordered a set. Thanks.
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May have to change your moniker to SuperDooperDave!
I am interested in those goggles, brother. These 60 yr old eyes are wearing out and I think I would like to try a pair of those!
Checkering is on my list of skills to learn for my next flintlock. Got recommendation on a book on that subject?
Thanks JW! I was a huge super Dave Osborne fan back in the day hence the name. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore that’s for sure.
As for these goggles I got them from a friend of mine whose son is a dentist. This is an older pair but they work alright. I think I’d prefer to get led light magnifying goggles though. I had to use a lamp to get more light for the details. Here’s a pair I will be ordering soon I think to try off Amazon. They are cheap and might be worth the risk of buying something cheap at first to try it out. They have decent reviews so I may just pull the trigger on a set.
YOCTOSUN Magnifying Glasses with Light, Head Mount Magnifier with 5 Lenses, Headband, Storage Case, Hands Free LED Lighted Head Magnifying Visor for Close Work Hobby Crafts https://a.co/d/0s8OWMX
Those look great! I just ordered a set. Thanks.
I just got mine in mail today. They were a late Christmas gift from my boys! These are way better then mine. Wider field of vision and more comfortable to wear. I love mine.
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Those do look like something that I need...then a set of checkering tools. :OK They don't give those tools away... (A)
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First thing I did when I got my set of those glasses was to get my fine tweezers out and pull a couple of tiny osage slivers from my hand! As far as I am concerned, they've earned their purchase price already!!!
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First thing I did when I got my set of those glasses was to get my fine tweezers out and pull a couple of tiny osage slivers from my hand! As far as I am concerned, they've earned their purchase price already!!!
Ya amazing quality for how inexpensive they were really.