Bow in progress/D/R cedar/maple/finished

[BowEd]

Thanks again fellas.
Yea you know this deer killing concern issue was put to rest by me last fall when I know for a fact I hit my deer with not more than 45#'s so that paticular arrow is'nt going more than 150fps.....but still I can't seem to help to try to get the most I can.Keeps the fire burning I quess in this bow making for me.Like they say putting it where it counts counts for more.
Another mistake done here is I used deft lacquer from a spray can figuring it was an exterior finish.We shot for 2 hours or so while it was snowing constantly the whole time in northern Iowa and after quitting the finish peeled up or come loose......[not for exterior use it says on the can in fine print].....so I sanded it down again and put what I know is exterior finish lacquer called magna lac.Dries in 1/2 hour at room temp and bow can be strung to shoot.Not really natural but I like it's quick cure clear/non yellowing hard finish.
Anyway just gonna say it does help to practice practice practice with these bows.Had a blast shooting again.Only all natural material bow shot there again but it did'nt take a back seat.Told em I'll take it with me on a canoe trip sometime.....lol.Since it's so wide.On the way home people were in the ditch from the short lived snow storm.

[bradsmith2010]

well glad you got her fixed back up
about coming to full draw,, I had the same issue, then I realized ,, I was coming to full draw for me, it was just shorter,,
so I design my hunting bows to suit my draw,, thats about 25 inches,, I can still get into my back and get my elbow back,,at that draw,,and it makes a nice quick shot at the deer,,,I am getting the full performance at that shorter  draw,, I can still shoot a long draw bow,, and have made bows with 30 inch plus draws for other people,, and can shoot them fine,, a 25 inches draw bow just feels more natural for me,,especially for close fast hunting shots,,

[Josh B]

That sure is a sexy little redhead!  Nicely done Ed!  Nicely done.  I knew it was only a matter of time before it came together for you.  Josh

[BowEd]

Well it was nice while it lasted.Shot like a raped ape,and man I could hit something with it too.......lol.Very stable bow.Think I got close to 1000 arrows through it before the red cedar limbs chrysalled like crazy at the deflex and reflex points on the form.At that point there was about as much maple thickness as cedar on the limbs.Guess it could'nt handle the stress and pressure....lol.It's on my lessons learned and shelf of shame now.....lol.Think these follow up things should be posted now and then too.
I'm not through yet.....lol.

[bradsmith2010]

well seems like you could make the maple more thin, and it would work,, thats a difficult design,,so got to me a learning curve there,, you will get it for sure next time,,,, you don't want to try it with osage,, it would be purty 

[BowEd]

I've done this same design with osage a time or two with BBO's with no problem.I've never chrysalled osage.Cedar is a different animal.The limbs on that cedar were snappy just like adverstised though and yes a thinner backing will be on next time.Gotta find me some suitable cedar though first.
Went ahead and grabbed a piece of hickory 60" long [can't break that without really screwing up.....lol.] to put some horn and sinew on to feel better.Got it floor tillered with the horn and 1 course of sinew on.Gonna put three courses on.Core is 50%.Horn is 25% and sinew is 25% of thickness.Plans are to crank her up to about 10" of reflex to tiller from down to 52#@28" again.Should be able to keep 7" for sure.Have in the past.I like the way those bows shoot.

[lebhuntfish]

I've done this same design with osage a time or two with BBO's with no problem.I've never chrysalled osage.Cedar is a different animal.The limbs on that cedar were snappy just like adverstised though and yes a thinner backing will be on next time.Gotta find me some suitable cedar though first.
Went ahead and grabbed a piece of hickory 60" long [can't break that without really screwing up.....lol.] to put some horn and sinew on to feel better.Got it floor tillered with the horn and 1 course of sinew on.Gonna put three courses on.Core is 50%.Horn is 25% and sinew is 25% of thickness.Plans are to crank her up to about 10" of reflex to tiller from down to 52#@28" again.Should be able to keep 7" for sure.Have in the past.I like the way those bows shoot.

Now that's a bow I gotta see for sure! I would love to see how that goes together with the horn and hickory.
Sorry about your cedar maple bow. I know that you can get one of that design. Just gotta tweak it a bit.

Patrick

[BowEd]

Thanks lebhuntfish but in the horn bow thread there are arts of work for sure there.I've just modified mine a bit to my liking and length and ease of construction to get what I want and like.Kind of a mid stage horn bow type I quess.Not quite 1/3/1/3/1/3 thickness construction but enough to do the job for me for a long time.Does take only about 3 months to get what I want then though.

[lebhuntfish]

Thats cool Ed,  I've always been intrigued with the horn bows.

Patrick

[Badger]

   Ed, just examining the design for a minute and I am not being critical because I played with that same design a whole bunch. But it seems like the only way to tiller it out is to loose the unbraced profile which defeats the purpose of the design. Where if the hook was moved further down toward the tip you would have more room to tiller the inner limb. Another method is to simply reflex the entire limb in a nice soft arc. A bow really should maintain the look of its unbraced profile most of the way through its draw. Otherwise we loose the benefits of the profile.

[BowEd]

I welcome the constructive critique always here.No bother.I'm sure your right and see your point to make sense.Counter productive comparisons of unbraced profile to full draw profile.Fighting each other so to speak.Tillering bows with the reflex out to the tip farther and over all on the whole limb is a lot easier.The previous bow was very touchy about wood removal even with just sand paper on a block.I kept having a flat spot at the reflex post to get rid of for a nice rounded even braced profile.In the process I compromised the integrity of the cedar and the unbraced profile.Might sound like a weird way of looking at it but I see what you mean.Wood just was'nt meant to function that way.Never shot out a chrysalled up bow before.Guess it takes a while but it will finally crush and give it up and snap.I'll get another piece of nice enough cedar and try again sometime.Thanks for the comments.

[bradsmith2010]

you can definitely do it,, just tone the design down a bit, you will still get good performance , even if you made a straight bow with some reflex,, the woods you used will give you nice cast,,  I can see the attraction to the beautiful lines of the initial profile,, look forward to seeing the next one,,