Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: YewArcher on July 24, 2008, 09:42:53 pm
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Here are a few Osage Orange Plains bows. The one pictured on the top has conventional nocks. The lower one is more authentic with side nocks.
These are the other horse bows. We seldome here of them, seldom are they replicated. They are not the most efficiant design, not utilising much of the limb but boy are they cool!! They shoot an arrow hard and fast. Tough to get acurate with but that is part of the challenge of primitive bows. I have no doubt they could take down any big game animal with a well placed arrow. The hardest part is holding them.....the tiller is extremly delicate and if you hold the bow a tad off the tiller gets off. No big deal they shoot great.
Here are the specs.
Bow # 1 The conventional
40" n 2 n
Osage Orange
7 white tail tendons
Conventional nocks
53#@23"
Bow #2 The Authentic
40" n 2 n
Osage Orange
7 white tail tendons
Side nocks
55#@23"
Here they are unbraced:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/unbraced.jpg)
Belly:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/belly.jpg)
Back:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/back.jpg)
Braced:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/braced.jpg)
Close up of top nocks. The Plains Indians would have used horse hair for the bundle on the Authentic bow. I used dyed white tail deer tail.....should be good MOJO for hunting.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/topnockstop.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/topnocksside.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/sidenock1.jpg)
Lower nock. Notice the wraped excess string on the Authentic. This was common on the originals
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/bottomnockstop.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/100_5662.jpg)
Full draw on the Conventional
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/conventionalfulldraw.jpg)
Full draw on the Authentic:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/yewarcher/plains%20bows/auntenticfulldraw.jpg)
There you can really see how the tiller can get strange depending on how you hold the bow and string. I think the pinch draw wuld be of great benifit to these bows. Something I will have to learn.
Thanks for looking.
SJM
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Yew, your bows are authentically awesome. Very impressive. Jawge
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Really Sweet looking pair of bows. They look so authentic. Really beautiful work. Thats an amazing amount of weight and draw length for such short bows.
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Great lookin bows, they do look like they would be tough to get real accurate with. But hey on a horse a few feet from a Buff, whata need?
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Beautiful work Yew!! I really like replica bows, I think they are a great way of keeping a part of history alive and yours are great examples. Are those sinew strings on them?
Alan
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Good looking bows yew I might try that sometime
Ron
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Nice!....try drawing that bow with a pinch grip to the breastbone and use a snap release. You may find that you like it better. It's better for the bow for sure.
great bows...sinew is a lot of work.
R
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That is quite a draw. Look at those string angles. :o Justin
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WOW!!!...that's quite some draw on these little bows! i'm impressed!
frank
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Very nice ,that is getting all you can get out of a piece of wood.Well done. :)
Pappy
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Very authentic looking, one question would these have been shot with a pinch grip release?
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Thanks guys, Yes. These would have been shot with a pinch release. That is something I will need to practice. They are probably to heavy for that style of release though. I would suspect that the true pinch style bows were closer to 45#. It will be a challenge.
SJM
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Thanks fer the answer :)
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Very authentic looking bows Yewarcher, Looks like they could be in a museum ;) you did a great job on the sinew and nocks. I noticed the handle section looks relatively stiff, Was that intentional as per authentic style or your own liking?
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Thanks for the comments. These are not supposed to bend through the handel. The handel area is curved forward (see unbraced) and the limbs start bending after this section. This is my understanding of these bows after much research and study, They are not suppsed to bend through the handel. If they did they could easily be drawn to 26" or so but if you tillere dit so I believe that you would pull the profile right out. Evidence from relics found would indicate the tiller shown.
SJM
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NICE! ;D
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Sweet! It looks like you utilized the osage to it's fullest. Love to try shooting off horseback with one of those!
Tracy
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very impressive! ive never been too interested in the plains bows (im more of an eastern woodlands bow man myself), but thoes are pretty cool man. you did a great job on both!
Phil
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Very nice work. I'm sure the bows aren't meant to be pulled past a string angle of 90 degrees. Your first full-draw looks about 90, the second is going past. Native Americans drew to the chest didn't they? In addition to possibly being generally of smaller stature?
And I can see how it would be tough to shoot them accurately since the reflexed handle is putting your hand behind the arc of the limbs, amplifying any amount of torque in your grip. You run into that some with modern bows that have a reflexed riser.
Fine job on the sinew. Did the bows pull into much reflex when it dried? I suppose you heat-bent the bows to shape, then sinewed? And I may have missed it, but what example were you copying on that second one?
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Very nice work! Superb bows! :)
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Lennie,
I suspect that the Native Americans drew many differnt ways. Being hunters by nature they probably had adapted many differnt draws depending on how and why they were shooting. These bows being shot from horseback were probably draw flat armed slightly canted towards the chest area with a finger pinch. I would sugest that had the same fellow been stalking a buffalo on foot that they would have draw more to the face......Being a practical utilitarian people this makes sence to me.
The handel is exatly why its tough. Even being light weight they are unstable in the hand to hold and aim.......another point for the pinch draw snap shot. This would make more sence with the dynamic of the bow. I did the bends with heat prior to sinewing. The sinew pulled the bws a bit but not a whole lot. Unlike the west cast sinew baced bows that are basicly reverse tillered. Its more importatnt just to keep the sinew on while drying on that deep concave handel area. So the whole bow gets wrapped to keep from puling off while curing.
I did not copy an exact bow for these.....there are sooooooooooooo many and they are all very similar in style and detail. The second one is a compilation a many authentics.
SJM
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Thanks Yewarcher, For some reason the unbraced did'nt show on the first time that I looked, but now that I see the profile I understand and think you nailed it. Great bows..
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VERY nice job!
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I would be curious to know how these would perform if they were braced much lower which was apparently pretty common for Plains bows. Wrist slap and increased offset of the arrow on the wider handle would become a bit of an issue.
Still, you would increase the power stroke a bit.
These two are perfect in classic construction.
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Pat, those are good thought. They were orginally braced real low. I will give it a go nect time I am out shooting and let you all know how they do. They do shoot awsome as is though. I am more then suprised at how they fling a short arrow!
SJM
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Them look great! I've been tinkering with some short bows - looking at these are helping to fuel that fire :).
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Get um going. Short bow are so much fun and such a challenge frm th bowyesr perspective as well as the archers.
SJM
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Great looking bows - both look like they were picked up off the Custer Battlefield. Any chance of sending me direct closer pictures of the full draws? July Bow of the Month is coming up.
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Sure will send them to you.
SJM
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Man oh man, I've been just some weeks away from the forum amd right away thease sweeties appear. great job man. how many layers of sinew?
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Glad you like them Finnish, They each have 7 white tail tendons. For these tiny bows that makes for 3 corses. First corse covering the whole bow, second covers about 70% of limb width and stops about 3" from tips, the third covers about 50% of limb width and stops about 5" from tip. I like to taper my sinew. It gives the finished product a nice rounded and sleek aprance.
SJM