Author Topic: light birch  (Read 3648 times)

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Offline jayman448

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light birch
« on: January 24, 2015, 04:38:38 pm »
so here is my dilemma, i got a pyramid birch bow from a guy to use "as a pattern". he got carried away and developed a bad hinge in it that would not allow it to be a draw weight he wanted and he decided he didnt want to "waste his time" making a light poundage bow. anyways, i took on the challenge and tillered it out fixing the hinge. by the time its all said and done it feels less then twenty pounds (just barely tho) so anyways im planning on finishing it and giving it to my girlfriend. heres my question. i figured to add a few pounds id sinew the back. only thing is i have no way to get sinew, and hide glue id have to order online anyways. is it worth sinewing ( i also hope to counteract the massive three inch set its taken as he was hoping to make a fifty pound bow, pulled it a few times, and it has since turned to twenty pounds) any who. thoughts on if sinew is worth it and how to go about getting the material (Donations to a noob would be nice XD)

Offline huisme

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Re: light birch
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2015, 04:45:00 pm »
From fifty to under thirty to fix a hinge :o :o :o

I think I'd toast the belly into some reflex and call it good.
50#@26"
Black locust. Black locust everywhere.
Mollegabets all day long.
Might as well make them short, save some wood to keep warm.

Offline jayman448

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Re: light birch
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2015, 04:47:46 pm »
yes... i said it was a baaaad hingeXD

Offline huisme

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Re: light birch
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2015, 04:52:44 pm »
That's crazy. I think there might be better places to get something as a pattern, but don't quote me ;) ;D
50#@26"
Black locust. Black locust everywhere.
Mollegabets all day long.
Might as well make them short, save some wood to keep warm.

Offline E. Jensen

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Re: light birch
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2015, 05:10:06 pm »
Yes I'd say temper the belly in and give it some recurve

Offline Eric Garza

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Re: light birch
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2015, 05:45:04 pm »
Realize that while you might have removed the hinge through tillering, chances are good the wood in that area is still damaged. I definitely wouldn't waste sinew on a bow like that. I'm not sure I'd even waste my time heat treating it. I'd probably give it to someone as a low-poundage play bow.

Offline mwosborn

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Re: light birch
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2015, 03:07:35 pm »
Sinew is a lot of work - especially if you process the sinew.  Sinew is also not necessarily a "fix" for "low quality" bows.  You still end up with a sinew backed "low quality" bow.  (I know from experience).  You would gain a little draw weight (as well as limb mass) and perhaps the bow would be a little "snappier" maybe not.  I know it wouldn't be worth it to me!
Enjoy the hunt!  Mitch

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: light birch
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2015, 04:07:56 pm »
Would you put an expensive Edelbrock carb on a worn out farm truck with blown rings?  Sure it boosts the performance, but is it the best use of the resource?

If you can finish tillering a bow with a hinge that bad, you can make a decent bow for your girlfriend.  Is she worth it?
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline Lee Lobbestael

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Re: light birch
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2015, 04:09:34 pm »
Can you pike it?

Offline Joec123able

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Re: light birch
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2015, 04:46:55 pm »
With that much string follow and being that light on draw weight. Id burn it and start a new bow. Don't waste time on it.
I like osage

Offline jayman448

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Re: light birch
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2015, 02:01:09 am »
haha. the time is already wasted. its tillered already and sanded and shooting. lol. im actually damn accurate with it. my main question was is it worth sinewing to bring up the poundage XD

Offline wizardgoat

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Re: light birch
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2015, 02:22:53 am »
probably not  ;)

Offline JoJoDapyro

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Re: light birch
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2015, 12:16:26 pm »
I did my first sinew backing in November. It takes a long time. And I mean A LONG TIME. And its messy, and its also messy, and takes a long time. It also won't bring the poundage up as much as you probably think. My opinion would be to heat treat the belly and shoot it till it dies.
If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got.
27 inch draw, right handed. Bow building and Knapping.

Offline joachimM

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Re: light birch
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2015, 06:23:33 pm »
you don't necessarily need sinew to up the poundage. In fact, sinew is far to elastic for such a light-weight wood with moderate compression capacities.
You know coarse sisal fiber cordage that's used to bind together small bales of hay? Cut it into pieces of 10" or 25 cm, wash it, comb it, dry bundles flat on a towel, and use hide glue (or gelatin) to back your bow with it. First toast the belly, and treat the fiber otherwise as sinew (but instead of stretching 5% it will at most stretch 1.5%, which is more than you'll ever need on such a bow).
You'll need about 10-12 m of rope. String the bow backwards before applying the fiber, and after gluing wrap the limb with strips of the inner tubing of a bike (make sure not to overlap, let the fibers breathe). I typically let it cure for a few hours above my stove (at 60-70°C) so the excess hide glue is pushed out by the rubber, and next it dries. I wait for a week or so to let the entire limb cure in a dry place.