The Ante

[HH~]

Put some more reflex into these billets. Should make a very nice bow but I don't think this particuler wood will hold a ton of it.  That's ok by me.

HH~

[scp]

Looks very promising. It's time to really baby it. It appears to be still really heavy in physical weight as well as in draw weight. Better not rush to string it or even pulling too much on the tillering tree. Unlike most experts, I prefer to leave it alone for a week after deep heat treating. I like to weigh it at least twice a day. Care to tell us how heavy it is?

[HH~]

Physical weight? Do not know and I have a 10-12oz very dense block for a riser support that will stay there til bow is ready to come off tiller tree.  string weight now after heat is about 200lbs@1".

Yes, no rush to string. Will long string it next week maybe and have a look at inner third. Had iinner flexing OK, then hit it with the heat again. I will put string overlays on next as i am purty sure it'll make a bow but one never knows?

Something to keep me busy fer a bit. I have my friends bow I'm finishing for him after his passing. I want Pappy to get a few scrapes on it as well and take a look. We spoke with Bart of what he was looking to do, and weight, we know his draw length. He had it out to about 17", its out to 24" and about 5-7lbs heavy. So, it's right in the ballpark.

Shawn~

[scp]

Thanks. For now relative weight will be fine. Just like to know how the physical weight changes over time, after heat treating.

[Will B]

That is a great looking recurve!  I’m enjoying this thread. I like to build 66”-68” hunting weight bows like yours. Thanks for sharing the photos and process.

[HH~]

Sure Will

Its not hard to make a 60lb static, just leave everything heavy and you can get t done rather easy. Cept stringing it heavy every time. These fella's here are making Super slingers! Trying to eek out every oz of reflex vs strength /weight for power. So, building a hunt heavy static is no problem but it may only shoot as well a Super at 45lbs. The number one thing that will determine this is the wood and wood properties of the stave or tree it came out of, cure time, etc. You get some Hedge with early late growth with heavy chaulk line even with a good ratio, the chance for maintaining great reflex is poor I have found. This maybe also be my supply of wood now too. Tenn wood is not NW Mizzou Wood or east OK Wood so that may well be just a tree to tree thing or species slightly different and although trees look similar they are different in  genetic variation in some way. Who knows?
I have seen heavy dense springy stuff shoot real fast but its way heavy. Then, have seem they dry chaulky Hedge shoot real fast with lower mass weight.

That one I posted earlier was two scraps of un-matched pieces laying around under tin of some old short staves. Also, that recurve I scraped belly purty round on belly corners. I think if I had left it more square it would have had a tad more zip to it.

Shawn~

[ssrhythm]

Trade...what I mean about covering a multitude of sins...I’ll give an example from my short history of bow making.  Once, I let my attention slip a tad and during early tillering, I recognized a weak spotl/ hinge on my bottom limb.  Error/sin...so I had to tiller the limb to remove the hinge which limited the limb to whatever the hinge dictated.  Then I had to make top limb a tad weaker than bottom...and a bow that woulda come in at 58# came in at 47lbs before any sanding/finishing.  So, instead of leaving it as a 45-47# longbow, I put some recurves in it (limbs were plenty wide enough) and voila, I now had a 58# bow.  There is no doubt that had I not screwed up, I coulda had the bow shooting in the same ballpark as a 58# longbow...albeit with a more stacking draw. 

[Yooper Bowyer]

Ok, so you corrected the mistake before recurving.  That makes more sense.  My guess is that is not over strained because the 47# longbow it was laid out like a 58# bow, so it must have had width to spare.

[HH~]

Heat treat will almost never take out a major tiller flaw. Over time that stiffness from heat will give way some. Specially with white woods. You can as he said save some by flipping or recurving. I'm sure we have all done this but it certianly leaves the "did a pigeon just terd on me feeling"? Been there got the stains.

Come in heavy, get string on heavy, get bow shot in heavy, near end, leave strung for a several hours test weight hope yer heavy. Then sand into weight. What we shoot for. Just dont always work that way.

HH~

[HH~]

Need to get BJ in here at the table. Didn't you just make a heavy weight static BJ? Can't play with just one at the table. Arvin, you back in?

Oh Yeah, Arvin, that 50lb Orange OK bow is 50@28"ish, not shot in and it's time for a cornfield shot with a tapered 50lb spine 450grn arrow, 4" fletch soon. Just finish up riser and arrow pass. Limbs are thiiiin 10 strand is ready.

Friend of mine dropped me off some Mercado for tips other day. He had a tip bust entirely off bow, I helped him rebuild both tips and he gifted me some purty wood. They fixin to go on Ante so I can put some string nocks on it.

Shanw~

[bjrogg]

Shawn I’m sorry I haven’t been able to join in the game. I have been busy spreading poo.

I did a build on Leatherwall. It certainly wasn’t a idea stave but I will see if I can post a few pictures. I have been having trouble posting pictures on PA lately.

Bjrogg

[HH~]

I'm sure Arvin's going to "Up the Ante". Bow had a semi-catastrophic. He will have another up and running soon im thinkin.

These super's with tons of reflex if truth be known, only work about half the time but you'll never hear that anywhere. Why I wont be crying if some reflex comes out.

I have some good Elm put up but it's no way ready for bow building. Like to thin stave, let sit , thin some more, floor it heavy heavy, then, reflex and recurve then, when it still has a little more than normal bow MC. Then, back in barn or attic til the time is right for a build. Get it at right time with dry heat you can tie knots with the right elm.

HH~

[bjrogg]

I agree Shawn. At least for me.

I also really like the little bit at a time. Put them back on the rack for a year method of bow building to.

They do seem to hold their shape better that way.

Bjrogg

[HH~]

Well, here's Bart's bow I finished out how we spoke he wanted it 66.5" GTG 48@27". Got to find my 90grn BH's for the shot.

The Cornfield Killah. Just burnished it and it will get an Arra thru it for distance soon. No sense in adding finish on limbs to slow it down.

Shawn~

[HH~]

Bart’s bow is done til I shoot it in. Very high string tension at brace. Rubbed some polymerized linseed oil and beeswax on it for now. Have a 29” 450grn arra to launch in his honor soon. May do it when they fire the three volleys at grave side in KY in Jan. His last bow will be there for his memorial this week im hoping.

Shawn~