2nd bow attempt...The horny bow

[Mar]

Yeah this is the only person I know who can pull this one.

[Mar]

His name is Hercules.

[Kirkll]

Kirkll -- IMO, any piece of wood that you have that might eventually become a bow is called a stave.  It only gets called firewood once you decide that there is just no way that it can possibly work.  I think the important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't apply the 'firewood' name to a piece of wood too early.  Self-bowyers, like wood, go through a seasoning process that may eventually take them to the place where Mar is----where you WANT to take on the challenge of a challenging stave. 

Hojo,

i was just funning Mar. i'm flat out amazed what you guys do with these knarly looking sticks of wood. i'm just getting into it myself.... i'll be interested to see this "Stave" go through it's transformation. i cant imagine bending wood with knots running parallel to the back in tension, and have it hold.  :oThis i gotta see......

Kirk

[Mar]

Risk it! Kill it, don't hold back!

[The Gopher]

And imagine pulling that holly bow with the little finger pinch he's using 

Kirk, take a look at the bows on page 282 of TBB1

[Mar]

Yeah this is the only person I know who can pull this one.

It's only 27.2 # total weight,  so easy to hold.

[Gordon]

Mar, if this is only your 2nd attempt at making a self-bow then you may be better off with a stave that presents a little less challenge. The fundamentals are hard enough to master without getting into character wood like that. But if you chose to go forward with this stave anyway, good luck - it will certainly be interesting to watch.

[Mar]

Interesting is a good word.

[Hillbilly]

You have your work cut out for you. Staves like that can teach you a lot about bow building.

[Gordon]

Staves like that can teach you a lot about bow building.

That's true if one has a decent grasp of the fundamentals of bow building. If not, it's more an exercise in frustration. At least that has been my observation in the few years that I have been helping others out.

[Dave 55]

Must be hard to get an arrow spined for that one,huh

[Mar]

Back to my stave...this is how it's starting to look. I am glad I won't have to deal with those big knots.


This is where those big knots were. Top is the back.

[PeteC]

Pardon,my mistake,I guess I should look a little closer at the pictures before spoutin' off.  God Bless

[Gordon]

Did you remove all the sapwood?

[Mar]

Gordon this was from splitting a stave in half, top and bottom. The sapwood on this piece was bad and working with the lower half:


I have staves though from my other log  such as this one, just will need to deal with some twisty pieces.