Second bow, Hickory Backed Osage (Osackery 110)

[mxalex229]

Hey all, first off, can't say enough on how much I appreciate this community, I don't post often, but I read every post and response and you are all a class act  .

Without further ado, here is a picture heavy post of my second finished bow. It is a Hickory backed osage gullwing recurve. I modeled it with my custom buck 110 as a theme for design, hence the name.  The bow clocks in around 46# at 29". This one took quite a while, first attempt snapped during the tiller but I took my time, plus a couple months on the second attempt. The bulky bulbs around the handle are designed to absorb most of the handshock from the knocks, and the handle is wrapped in leather and sewn with bronze string to accent the carvings, and the arrow shelf is cut into the handle for a more centered shot. String isn't anything special yet, I'm practicing my serving, but this one is a 12 strand flemish twist with an amateur's loose serving. The carving on the front is hand carved, shallow,then rough sanded with epoxy applied and gold leaf on top. I finished the bow with minwax to highlight the grain pattern, and then a coat of leather dye to darken the pigment. It has 12 coats of tru-oil sanded to 1000 grit.

Hope you all like it, let me know what you think!

[penderbender]

Where is the pics?

[mxalex229]

Sorry about the late post on this pics, had to shrink the file sizes to fit them all.

[selfbow joe]

Nice looking bow

[ntvbowyer1969]

Cool looking bow bud. It pays not to give up. How did the build up in the handle fade areas work for the hand shock? Very nice to see others come up with new ideas and apply them.

[Weylin]

Wow, cool looking bow with a nice tiller. You're definitely thinking outside the box with that one. You're flirting with danger in a few places with this bow. It may be fine and last a long time but I would think about these things on your next project to build in some more security and durability. First, the carvings on the back create violations that could lift a splinter and cause tension failure. The bulbous handle is interesting but I think it would benefit from a smoother transition into the working limbs. even though the bow doesn't bend much there it is under a lot of stress at that point and abrupt fades can become a place where the bow fails. The last thing is the nocks. It's a little hard to see what is happening but it looks like the string groove is exposing the grain so that the string might split out the wood. You're off to a great start, I don't mean to sound critical just wanted to help you stay safe as you build more bows. Look forward to seeing more from you.

[gfugal]

Wow! That's unique bow there. I like it!

[mikekeswick]

Wow, cool looking bow with a nice tiller. You're definitely thinking outside the box with that one. You're flirting with danger in a few places with this bow. It may be fine and last a long time but I would think about these things on your next project to build in some more security and durability. First, the carvings on the back create violations that could lift a splinter and cause tension failure. The bulbous handle is interesting but I think it would benefit from a smoother transition into the working limbs. even though the bow doesn't bend much there it is under a lot of stress at that point and abrupt fades can become a place where the bow fails. The last thing is the nocks. It's a little hard to see what is happening but it looks like the string groove is exposing the grain so that the string might split out the wood. You're off to a great start, I don't mean to sound critical just wanted to help you stay safe as you build more bows. Look forward to seeing more from you.

Agreed. You are treading very dangerously! One of the points mentioned above will likely fail at some point. Most likely the back. Your tiller is good for a second attempt though which is the main thing!
Next time keep the back completely intact, glue on overlays for the nocks and go with a very smooth transition from working limb to stiff handle.

[mxalex229]

Wow, cool looking bow with a nice tiller. You're definitely thinking outside the box with that one. You're flirting with danger in a few places with this bow. It may be fine and last a long time but I would think about these things on your next project to build in some more security and durability. First, the carvings on the back create violations that could lift a splinter and cause tension failure. The bulbous handle is interesting but I think it would benefit from a smoother transition into the working limbs. even though the bow doesn't bend much there it is under a lot of stress at that point and abrupt fades can become a place where the bow fails. The last thing is the nocks. It's a little hard to see what is happening but it looks like the string groove is exposing the grain so that the string might split out the wood. You're off to a great start, I don't mean to sound critical just wanted to help you stay safe as you build more bows. Look forward to seeing more from you.

This is exactly what I love to see. Luckily the design incorporated a subtle fade area, the bow has 3 inch fades on each side, the bulbs hand area is actually 3 smaller separate pieces of wood on each side that cover over the fades of the Osage. I should post a picture so it is more clear, the thought was that the fades would still disperse the tension, but the overlapping woods glued on would bulk up the wood and dull the incoming forces, we shall see how it works. I thought about the backing violation that is my biggest fear as well. My first design had a second piece of backing that faded off halfway through each limb, like a layer just for carving that wouldn't violate the working backing. It really fudged the tiller though so it was scrapped. I tried to remedy it by filling the entire carving with epoxy on this one and using a squigy to level it, hopefully it works, but I think you guys are right, it's destined to fail after a while. As for the tips, I have been thinking about using two pieces of brass to lay into the string grooves, and protect the wood from the string, I'll update once the brass comes in!

[dirthas]

Man that thing is about as unique as it gets! Nice work. As everyone mentioned, you're breaking a lot of "rules", but it's cool to see someone push the envelope. Hope it lasts.

[upstatenybowyer]

Definitely a rule breaker but the carvings on the back are beautiful. If it does fail in tension I'd put that incredible skill to use on a non-working part of the bow like the handle on the next one. Thanks for posting!

[mxalex229]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Definitely burned a few pages in the rule book on this one. Only time will tell if the risk is rewarded!

[Danzn Bar]

I know you've got a lot of work into this bow and its shows, but if there is one thing that I would recommend for beginners is to keep it simple.  Nothing wrong with a simple beautifully tillered bow.  Guys that have made a bunch of bows always goes back and make those "simple" bows to use every day and hunt with.
DBar

[mxalex229]

Took it out to shoot today, maybe a couple hours and about 120 arrows or so, no cracks, chrysalis, or hiccups. And she realeases smooth like butter, arrow were quick and concentrated!