Longtime lurker, first time posting...
I thought I'd share my recent work on PA. I made this recent bow as a trade bow. It was my first full static recurve, so I decided to go for a safer length of 66" ntn while I figured out the nuances of tillering this style.
Info:
66" ntn 45#@28"
Bamboo backed osage with spliced yew recurves
Copperhead skins
Buffalo horn nocks
Offset ergonomic handle, leather grip.
Limb width: 1 1/2" at fades, 1 3/8" at midlimb, 15/16" at the base of the recurve, 5/8" at nock.
Overall mass, including handle and skins: 22.5 oz
This particular piece of edge grained osage was special, as it has a fair bit of figure to it like a tight tiger-stripe common in maple. To keep the tips light, I spliced in some pieces of yew for the last 10" of each limb. In the outer parts of the recurve, the osage that covers the yew is only a little over 1mm thick.
The handle is style is based on an ergonomic handle described by Stim Wilcox in his book
The Art of Making Selfbows. The offset allows the arrow pass to be closer to center without having to cut in a shelf or compromise the strength of the wood in that area. (The arrow shelf is built up tooling leather.)
The straight parts of the osage and bamboo were glued up without any reflex so that they would eventually become slightly deflexed. The bow has only an inch of just unbraced set, and the tips rest 1" forward of the handle.
Overall this was a challenging new build style for me, but I'm very pleased with the results. The bow looks good, draws smoothly without stacking, and shoots with authority.
Thanks for looking.
