5 bend bows

[riverrat]

 well, long story short i got a great osage stave in the mail today. thanks Osage Outlaw. looked it over. nice stave. i got greedy, figured huh maybe i can split in two thickness wise and get 2 bows....well that nice back, it split off about 2/3rds down. not to fret though my grand daughter wants a bow, but the rest...well thall make a nice 5 bend bow for me too. lol i have to follow a ring down the rest of the way though for mine. hers is ruffed out and heat bent at the tips and handle. im going to get to mine in a couple weeks after im done with hers though. shes been waiting awhile. actually im glad it happened like it did. itll all work out nice. ill get my bow too. i call it a 5 bend because it is bent at the tips and handle and when im done and a little set sets in itll be bent the other way in the limbs.5 bends. ill post pics of hers in the making in a bit. my phones outta minutes and my camera battery is dead. lol Tony

[Danzn Bar]

love pic's... can't wait..............
DBar

[osage outlaw]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you make from it. 

[riverrat]

o.k. small grand daughters bow . 37 1/2 inches ttt. plus theres going to be a short piece sticking out the top tip for a hair bundle to tie to. 1 1/8 inch wide in the limbs tapering to aprox. 1/2 " tips. handle area is tapered in to 1 in. holding a lot of the heated in resets at the handle and near the tips. have it tillered to brace. or what will be brace. now i have to put in nocks and get a tillering string on it. this would probley make a nice heavy weight pony bow if it wasnt for my grand daughter. im figuring about a 18-19 in. draw on it when its done. top nock will be a single sided nock with a flat top with a nub sticking out for that hair bundle. bottom nock will be a double sided nock that is rounded.ill post a pic soon as i get the nocks carved into it.
 well, got the nocks carved into it. then i heat bent those other two bends because this wood will not "set". lol and i was going through one of my books and i seen a few Sioux bows had the very ends to the tips made more slender than the rest of the limbs. so i did that as well.tomorrow i make a new tillering string and get it tillered to 18 inches and see what i get. im not worried on weight. just that it bends evenly.if it ends up too heavy ill make her another one lol. if not, well its meant for her anyways. really liking this bow though.
wasnt digging that bottom nock.just didnt do this bow justice. in that book was a cool double sided flat bottom nock so i modified it to look like the one from the museum.Tony

[riverrat]

tillered to brace.Tony
 at 16 inches of draw, 40 lbs.i have to work to the middle a bit more now to get the last 3 inches
o.k. got to 17 inches, tillered a little more tried going to 18 inches and my string broke. my string will work on a 50 lb. draw bow so long as its not this short. it takes a lot to draw that 40 at 16.limbs are getting scary thin. i dont think ill be able to get much less weight from this bow.im trying for 40 at 19 now but im thinking its going to be around 45.
 going to make another string. this time 6 strands 2mm hemp doubled over.good enough for a 55-60 lb. bow normally.did a little shaveing just past the center on each limb. bending over the knee looks very impressive right now. and feels like its well in the 40's.i can see it bending more just to the left and right of center of the bow as i bend it over my knee as well.its 36 inches ntn. at best if perfect i should be able to pull off 18 inches. 18x2= 36.do i dare try for 19 inches or just be pleased at that 18 inches?
soooo, there went another string.....think im going to make one more string. just draw it to 17 inches for a few days. give it a chance to break in a little.then see where im at. at 16 inches the tiller looks absolutely perfect.i just shot it out back. used a 45 lb. spined 28 inch long arrow. about 450 grain. this thing is a rocket launcher! Tony

.

[loon]

Niice
hope she enjoys it

[riverrat]

shot it a little. made it its own arrow. made a trade point out of some scrap steel i had laying out in the back yard.did a little decorating.Tony

[riverrat]

o.k. very excited. im getting 53 lbs at 19 inches! but it feels like it stops cold there. like theres no more to draw.love this small bow! thats over half its length in draw. a great weight , and ill post a pic after shooting it wensday, but no more than 1/2 inch of set right after shooting/drawing it.ive been "drawing it" for about a hour now lol. had to break it in. im glad my grand daughter wanted another bow lol. i might just take this bow out deer hunting the next nice day we have that i have off! Tony

[osage outlaw]

That's looking good.  You sure didn't waste any time getting to work on that stave.

[riverrat]

well think im done decorating,and tillering, its good! im very happy with it. red lightening bolts, white hail.Tony

[loon]

Cool
More strung/full draw pics please??
Where do you get your hemp?
Not sinew backed and more than half its length in its draw? That's great!!

[riverrat]

wensday ill get more pics. i get the 2 mm hemp from walmarts. 5 strands twisted one way then folded in half and twisted the other way and rubbed down with deer fat works for a 40 pound bow. that string is a 6 strand doubled over 50-55 lb. bow.you have to watch the hemp though. if theres a bad spot in a strand, dont use that strand or it will break. but if you use all good strands, itll last quite a while.and unlike sinew it dont stretch. also it dont cost much. bout 5 bucks a ball of it.ive used it for years when i didnt have sinew . also used nettles in the past as well.Tony