Back in september someone had mentioned somthing about black walnut on another site, and i said oh your lucky, i wish i had a piece. well a couple days later i had a PM and it was a fellow who said he had a BW on a piece of property and the property was due to be sold soon, so he asked if i wanted it he would cut it for me, well he had never made a bow or for that matter cut and split a log for staves before, so i gave him instructions and asked what he wanted in return. well we "himhawed" around a bit and finally he seemd like a nice guy so, he was to cut the tree, we would split the shipping and i would build him a bow from one of the staves and keep the rest for myself. well the staves came and they all had a 90degree twist and riddled with knots, so i told him it may not work but i would do my best. so roughed some out to speed up the prgress, well time came when i could work on one. well 3 staves into it they all had broken before i could even brace them. no amount of heat or steam could bend it all straight and still keep them together. so i gave him the bad news. well he wasnt too happy but handled it well, we talked for some time and shared stories. so one day i decided to make him a bow from elm and just send it too him without him knowing, well he must have had a vibe that i was doing just that so he mentioned that he could never except a bow from me since i got nothin from the deal either....the jig was up. i had to tell him my intention, which he grately appriciated the gesture but couldnt- not give me somthing. but he was a good guy and i wanted him to be happy. he couldnt afford to pay me for one and nor would i let him. so he had graciously offered to allow me to turkey hunt with him in spring if his work allowed it. so we became good freinds over email.
so in the end I made him a bow and a set of 4 arrows and he invited me turkey hunting. not as a trade, but as a friendly adventure. Dax McCaleb is a good man. i was happy I could make him a bow. so here it is after a long winded story.
slippery elm, 67" 58# @ 27inches. the tips were made from The Walnut he sent me originally.
in the full draw picture i draw 26" so picture it drawn back another 1"
. the tiller is decent. its got a little twist here and there. it started with one limb deflexed quite a bit which i corrected with open flame, and some deflex in the handle area. it took a little string follow but overall, held up well. thanks for lookin- Ryan
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