snake bow hickory sinew art work on belly

[bradsmith2010]

 I posted this a few days ago, but it went away, so try again,,
this is the belly split off of a stave Allyn gave me, my daughter sent me the snake skin from texas road kill overnnighted it to me, but it got here late,, and smelled really bad, but got it cleaned up and you would never know ,, its beautiful,
the bow is 60 inches long and pulls about 55# 26 inches,, shoots good, Im not sure if I want to put a handle cause it will cover some of the snake, still thinking,,I put the art work on belly on one limb, the other wood is so nice gonna leave it,, will take more pictures when light outside,, enjoy,,

[bradsmith2010]

back with snake,,

[bradsmith2010]

running deer detail

[bradsmith2010]

tip

[Allyn T]

That is such a cool looking bow Brad

[Santanasaur]

Very cool and unique bow. Love the artwork and black skins

[PaSteve]

Interesting artwork. I like it. Well done as usual.

[bentstick54]

Great looking bow as always. Love it.

[bradsmith2010]

thanks ,, here is side,,

[bradsmith2010]

snakey limb,, this limb has some sap wood and heart wood,, I thought the mix was so beautiful,,,just left it with no art work,, this stave looked so straight, but split out with some very beautiful character,,,you never know what the wood is gonna do,,

[bradsmith2010]

bottom limb, I forgot to mention,, this stave did not follow a growth ring, the back is just like it split off,,I just rasp it a bit even and sinewed it, it didnt seem to effect the way the bow tillered, or has not blown up yet,, the belly doesnt have feathered grain like a bow that follows the grain,, all in all I think this piece of wood would not have made a bow without the sinew for the back,, I was suprised how much draw weight such a narrow piece of hickory would hold,,I was going for like 45,, but it started shooting good and was bending pretty even so I just said ok,, the snake skin had a nice variation from dark to light and makes the bow look very interesting,,

[bradsmith2010]

side

[Allyn T]

The more pictures I see the more I like it!

[bradsmith2010]

side

[bradsmith2010]

bottom limb belly