Hazelnut D-bow (with pics)

[Gordon]

Last fall I received a call from a gentleman in Washington State. Mike had seen my ambush style vine maple bow on the Web and asked if I would make him another like it. But instead of a rawhide back he wanted snakeskin and a lower draw weight.

I did not have any suitable vine maple that was dry but I had a hazelnut stave which Bryan Briand had generously provided to me that looked like it might do the trick. Mike expressed an interest in seeing the process of how his bow was made so I decided that I would document the steps in a build-a-long. Three months and over 200 pictures later, the bow is finally done. You can’t really appreciate how much time goes into making one of these bows until you have to describe each and every step!

You can read the build-a-long at:

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,3895.0.html


Here are the bow’s specifications. This bow is 60” ntn, 55# @ 27”, rattlesnake over silk backing, and hardwood tip overlays. The limbs are 1 3/8” wide tapering to 7/16” at the tips and 1 ¼” at the handle. The bow bends slightly through the handle. The handle wrap is tanned elk-hide dyed black. The tips and limbs are dyed with leather dye. The tip accents are done with red serving thread.

The bow has a slight amount of string follow at rest and is a sweet shooter. I think Mike will like it. Here are some pictures:

[GregB]

Very good looking bow Gordon as we've come to expect from you!

[Keenan]

 Gordon, as I stated on the buildalong, you are a master craftsman. The buildalong shows in every detail just exactly what goes into a quallity bow.  That is bow thats worthy of BOM for sure.     Keenan

[cowboy]

I think Mike will like it too - if he don't whatcha asking for it ? Naw - that is one sweeet lookin bow, everything about it is right on - beautiful!!

[FlintWalker]

 A work of art, that's how I would describe it. Just simply beautiful.

[Shooter]

Oh my! A truly fine piece of work right there.

Very generous of you to do the build along, Gordon.

Bruce

[mamba]

She came out spectacular Gordon.Your effort always shows in your work.

[Jbell]

She turned out beautiful Gordon! Thanks for your buildalong, it was extremely informative.

[Gordon]

Greg, to be honest, this bow was a little more nerve wracking than most as I did not want to mess up in the middle of the build-a-long. But it turned out alright much to my relief.

Keenan, your work has been inspiring me since I first joined this forum. From you that is a compliment of the highest order.

Paul, I already received an email from Mike saying he saw the finished bow on the site – he seems to like what he sees.

Shannon, I fell in love with your recent osage recurve. I only hope that I can someday build a bow like that. Thank you for your compliment.

Bruce, the build-a-long was the least I could do to payback the generosity of the folks who make up this community. I’m gratified that folks enjoyed it. Thank you.

Mamba, I try to give my best to each piece of wood I work. It might sound a little campy, but I believe I owe that much to the generations of hunters, arrow makers, and bow builders that came before me. We are what we are today only because of what they did -we owe them our respect.

Justin, thank you for your compliment. I’m so glad you found the build-a-long useful.

[BigWapiti]

Some "Mike's" get all the luck....  What a Great bow!

Mike (not the Lucky Mike tho )

[Dano]

Gordon, what's ta say? Your work is constantly raising the bar for us, aspiring.

[duffontap]

Beautiful bow Gordon--better than the first ambush bow which is saying something.  I also like to see some of our great bow woods from the northwest getting some press.  I have a couple Hazelnut staves in mind that are shaking in their roots right now. 

What are your thoughts on Hazel vs. V. Maple? 

         J. D.

[tradrick]

Very beautiful,you sir are a true craftsman.tradrick

[sailordad]

                 Gordon,
I have just one thing to say about that bow.  WOW    now thats what i call a bow
You sir are a true master craftsman. Someday I aspire to be half as good as you. By the way,that was one awesome BA.

                                                 Tim

[Gordon]

Thank you for the compliment Mike.

Thank you Dano, but I think there are plenty of others here who are raising the bar – it’s hard to keep pace with all of the great craftsman on this site!

JD, I like to think that I make each new bow just a little better than the last. The NW is well known for it yew, but we certainly do have many other wood species that make excellent bows – and I hope to sample most of them by the end of this year. Hazelnut is not as dense as vine maple, but it is much easier to work – you don’t have to deal with all of the knots, grain swirls, and whoop-de-doos. I like vine maple primarily because it is fabulous tension wood and it is very tough. But with the right design, hazelnut will make a hard-hitting bow that is light in the hand.

Thank you for the compliment tradrick.

I’m pleased you enjoyed the BA Tim and thank you for the compliment.