Red oak board, 70" ntn,
55 50lbs at 28". 3/4" x 1 1/8" at its thickest and widest, tapering down to 3/8" x 1/2" at the tips. The last one I made from a similar board feels like a sluggish brute - much wider through the hand, and heavier limbs; this feels light, lively, lithe. After roughing with a draw knife, I did most of the work using a concave-bladed spokeshave, so it has a rounded belly.
My latest toy - a Shinto saw rasp - came in the mail yesterday. I'll see what I can do with it next.
I also had a quick and rough play yesterday with some Murray pine/white cypress/
Callitris glauca, making a wide, flat, short bow (more like a crossbow prod than a bow) from a fence picket that drew a lot of weight at a short draw - 4' long, pulling 60+lbs at 15" - just to see what it - and I - could do. It's lovely stuff to work, and smells beautiful. I made it explode this morning, but it's a timber with some promise, I think...
