Take down twins

[Kegan]

Finally got some take downs done. I was going to post them after I've thoroughly shot them in, but I'm not sure I'll use them that much, or even if they'll live that long

Both are tempered hickory. The handles are sheet steel, wrapped three times and finished with small home made nail rivets. I'll be honest, these are anything but my best work. The bows themselves are more or less finished to see how the handles work. They do though

"Primero", about 67" ntn. This one is made from lesser hickory, and I was suprised it held up like it did. It started straight, and after tillering and the handle's slight give in, wound up with 1 3/4" string follow. I tried flipping the tips, but the wood just wanted to crack. It's 66# at 28", and 72# at 29.5", my draw. This bow isn't as fast as Betty was (obviously it has a little stack in it), and I'm constantly waiting for it to blow up on me

"Segundo", about 64" ntn. This one actually turned out pretty well. It's better in almost every way, and it gave me alot of inspiration for the next takedown. Flipped the tips, which gave it a R/D shape. 59# at 28", 63# at my draw. It holds 1" reflex after unbracing. It's the same specs as "Talea", and shoots almost as fast, but with much more stability. I really like how it shoots. I canted funny, which makes it look hinged, but it isn't. If it were I would have used that as an excuse to sinew it . The picture sorta makes me sad, the better of the two has a worse full draw pic.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Kegan]

Here they are taken down. The finish rubbed off, but the whole finish job was a bit sloppy anyways. Either way, they're jsut practice.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[RyanY]

I've been thinking of making a takedown myself. I love the profile you have on those bows. I really like the art work too. Beautiful.

[Josh]

Wow Kegan, beautiful bows!!!  I think it is awesome that you made your own take down sleeves.  Tiller on both look great, especially now that you said you were canting "Segundo".  The artwork looks great on them both as well.  Got "Primero" and "Segundo" both marked for Self BOM too.   

[WillAdams]

Did you consider using rawhide for the take-down sleeve?

[ricktrojanowski]

Nice work and I like that you made your own sleeves. 

[Pappy]

Very nice work,you are right the first ones tiller looks better,but if it shoots good,that is all that really matters,looks like some fine work to me.Love the paint job on the back and profile of the bows.
   Pappy

[Kegan]

Thanks everyone When I first saw the picture of "Segundo's" tiller I almost had a heart attack. The tiller is positive on the top limb, but when I put it on the tillering stick it looked alot less 'hingey'. The sleeves are the result of being too cheap to buy one and unable to find staves that fit in smooshed piping.

Will- Never considered rawhide. I tried the epoxy/fiberglass mesh before, but it didn't work as well. This metal is working pretty well though, I'm very pleased.

As for the artwork, I have to admit the truth... it's just Metallic Silver Sharpie

[medicinewheel]

Great work.
Really like the profile of the one with the flipped tips!

[Orkraider]

Kegan, cool looking bows. If you posted some more info about how you did the handle and sleeve parts, I'd be much obliged. 

I love the profile on your bows, always looks great. I like the look of black on bows, too, I'm still bummed that black betty 'sploded.

[Pat B]

Dang Kegan. Your skills sure have improved over the last few years. Your work is outstanding and your knowledge of wood bows and your wood bow building skills have grown incredibly since we first met you here on PA. Congratulations!!!
  I think this design is ideal for a hickory bow. Gets all the goody out of the wood and the narrow tips put the energy into the arrow and not your hand as unwanted hand shock.

[Kegan]

Thanks guys

Orkraider- The handle is made from 20 gauge sheet steel. A 4" by 16" strip was cut to use as the sleeve. I squared the handle and cleaned it all up. I wrapped the metal around once, getting the shape. Then I took it off carefully and cut the bow in half. Wrapping the metal back around, I got the next revelution around the handle, tapping with a hammer and holding the bow together in the vice. For the last revelution I did this with the handle free from the bow, getting it a little tighter than I would have been able to otherwise. I then drill two holes, about 1" from the edge and 1/2" in from the end of the metal wrap, and insert two nail, peaning them over as rivets. I tried glues, but they all broke and cracked to one degree or another. These rivets hold tightly. I'll have photos of the process up soon, just have to get them all resized.

It was a shame what happened to BB, I tried fixing only to have the belly crack elsewhere (should have let it sit longer after taking it from the box). On the birght side, now I know what works, and I'm making the tips even lighter and stiffer than BB. Learned alot from that one

Pat- Thank you Pat! It's all the good inspiration on here.

You're very right. The handshock and speed of these last few bows has been incredible. I had had a flatbow with wider tips and about 4" of reflex shooting before I had done BB, but it was much less stable, not nearly as fast, and the handshock was noticeable. These are just fine though

[bowkee]

Hey your an artist also

[Kegan]

Hey your an artist also

Not compared to you