This last Christmas a freind asked if I would make his wife a wood bow. I had made one for him, and after that, that's all she wanted. And she has been really impressive shooting this thing.
So I started on a dogwood stave I had cut the previous summer. I was going at it experimentally since I had never worked dogwood before. He wanted the bow to look like his, so the dye job is very similar to his hickory bow I made home, but with purpleheart tips. I just recently got a chance to get photos.
Dogwood was awesome to work, and it seems very like very tough stuff, but it seems come in heavy in physical weight. I think its due to its high tensile stength, so it will take a bit of set if not left wide enough. So I think I a smaller diameter stave would help.
This bow is 64" ntn, 45lbs @ 26".
I had heck of a time getting the limbs lined up. One was deflexed and the other reflexed. I got it pretty well straightened out, but cracked in the fade are while bending the deflexed limb back. It had no affect on the bow tho. Im not the best at tillering these more character staves, still learning it.
The gray dye on the belly, with the coatings of truoil really brought out some grain character that is really interesting.
