Locust from the start

[THoward]

Glad you stopped by.  Come on in.  A few years ago at the Central Oregon Bowyer's gathering I was given a Locust stave.  See pics.  It's fairly narrow and 66" long.  I hope to create a long bow using the full length and shoot for 55lbs.  I have never worked with Locust so any advice is appreciated.  I will try to rid it of bark and sap wood down to the ring by my thumbnail.  It also has a worm hole right in the middle.  Hope that does not cause a problem.  Feel free to ring in as this may take a while as my time is limited to an hour here and an hour there.

[JackCrafty]

I'm surprised no one has responded. 

Locust is tough wood and should work well for you.  The only thing I am concerned about is that the wood looks a bit grey.  Might just be the photo.

I would take the back down to the first heartwood growth ring to see how it looks.  If there are any worm holes, cracks, or dry rot, you might think about using another stave.  If the wood is a nice light golden color, then it should be fine.

[THoward]

It sat in a barn for about 2 years.  I think it will be fine once I get through the outer layers.  I have the top third down to a good growth ring.  Kind of a golden brown.  I hope it will be fine.  More pics once I get it to the growth ring I am currently chasing.  I'll try to get outside pics.  My shop has a florescent light.  T

[JackCrafty]

Looking forward to seeing the pics.   

[THoward]

An afternoon later here is a pic of the stave down to 1 growth ring.  It looks pretty good a little more work around the knots with a pocket knife and it'll be ready for basic shaping.  The last 6 inches from the end I am holding kicks left.  I'll steam that out after I get it shaped out.  Does anyone have thoughts on how wide to make the limbs.   Again it is 66" long and I'd like a stiff handle.  My draw is 26" and I am shooting for 55lbs.

[PrimitiveTim]

Wow!  It doesn't even look like it came from same piece of wood.  Well done!

[JackCrafty]

Make the limbs as wide as you can, for now.  1-3/4" to 2" will leave you some room to work with.  You can remove material from the sides later when you are tillering.  It all depends on the wood.  Locust sometimes will show compression stress lines if the stave is too narrow during tillering.

[THoward]

It's Sunday afternoon and I am back at it.  After taking some measurements and doing a little layout.  Thanks Gordon.  I am thinking I do not have enough material in the grip area to make a stiff handle.  The bow "to be" is 1 3/8" at the grip and 2" deep.  Pretty narrow and not much to keep the bow from bending after I take a little off.  Other than changing this to a bend through the handle, which I am fine with considering Locust has fret issues and I have made several bend through bows. Does anyone have thoughts on whether to keep with the stiff handle or bend through?  See pics.


Ps. on a side note I have never done a rawhide backed bow and would like to try it, but this wood may be too pretty to back.  I'll tackle that later.

[JackCrafty]

I think you should try for the stiff handle and begin tillering the bow.  66" long with a 4" handle should work fine with a bow 1-3/8" and made of sound black locust.  Keep the belly flat, of course.  The majority of the bending should occur in the widest parts of the limb with the last 4" or 5" of the tips not bending at all.  The bow is a a bit narrow for my taste but you've got to go with what you have.  For this bow a goal of 50# at 26" draw is safe, IMO, but if you want 55# at 28" draw you'll need to take it slow and probably get the handle working a little.

[Pat B]

Patrick is giving good advise. I treat locust like whitewood because of it tendancy to fret if not tillered properly. Also, locust handles belly tempering well and that will help prevent the possibe fretting. 
  If you have a good, clean back ring no backing is needed. Locust is quite strong in tension.
  Leave the handle area stff until mostly tillered then bring the bend back towards the handle. I like to feel the handle give a little when I hit full draw. 

[TRACY]

Are you going to do dutchmans plug in that void or just leave it? Looks like its shaped up nicely from the first step. Great advice on dimensions and specs. Looking forward to the final product.


Tracy

[THoward]

I'll work on reducing the thickness this weekend.  Have to attend the Oregon Ducks Spring game tomorrow.  Go Ducks!  For me and those who do not know what a Dutchman's plug is please add to this post.  I may have to do something since the hole is pretty big and right in the handle.

[TRACY]

Sorry, it is a combination of fine saw dust and wood glue to fill in voids like the one in your handle area. You could also use two part epoxy to strengthen it if it seems to be a weak spot if you end up with a bendy handle at all.


Tracy

[THoward]

Another problem has come up.  I spent the afternoon taking material off in order to floor tiller and this little crack showed up.  It is the worst near the picture but it seems to show up in a a few places at the same depth.  Since Locust is not great in compression and this is near the belly, it seems bad.    I was also not able to get the width as stated above.  The options I see are to make this thing a bend through the handle and lower my draw weight to 40-45, a deer shooter, taking the crack out of the equation by making shavings of it.  OR I can do nothing and see what happens. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[TRACY]

Do you think super glue will work on the crack? Just keep filling it until wont take anymore. If that doesn't work, then go for the bendy handle design. Just a thought. Good luck.

Tracy