Selfbows

[KenWood]

[ATTACH]790742[/ATTACH]

[4dog]

Yall are gonna confuse the man...aint no splicing needes on his stave...sheesh ...givin him lofty ideas like splicing...next someone will convince him he needs glass for it.....lmbo!!!

[Dry Bones]

Splicings and glass... Wait I though he wanted to carve out a bow or two from the stave, Did I miss something?I believe that is like going from step one to 10 and not reading the in-between.

[SwampRabbit]

Its okay fellas, I was just curious how he was joining two short staves. I know that is graduate level selfbow material

This thread doesn't just have to be about me and my build ya know

I googled Z Splice. Pretty cool stuff... the draw knife can't get here any sooner ha ha!

[SwampRabbit]

BTW, cabinet scrapers are awesome!!!!

[ChadMR82]

You guys are a bad influence. I already have the self bow bug, great thread! Keep the pics coming. GREEN, I didn't realize you built bows also. I recognized your name from another forum I frequent. GREAT JOB

[SwampRabbit]

Chewed up my hand really bad using an improper draw knife.



Going to just have to find one online and hope for the best.



Here is some yellow! My first yellow ring.



This is the thickness of the sapwood that is kicking my ***.

[SwampGhost]

Don't let it beat ya Swamprabbit lol
Looking good! Wish I had some of that Osage

I split my hackberry and got the bow drawn out earlier today. Got it widdled down with the hatchet. Will start with the draw knife and rasp tomorrow

[Dry Bones]

Thanks to this thread I have started another elm stave, though this one has some pretty bad twist to it from end to end. Is there any way to straighten it out or is this something that I should have avoided? I will try to post some pics tomorrow of the ruffed out stave.
SwampGhost that is a really straight piece of Hackberry, did you let it dry first or are you starting it green?

[KenWood]

Thanks to this thread I have started another elm stave, though this one has some pretty bad twist to it from end to end. Is there any way to straighten it out or is this something that I should have avoided? I will try to post some pics tomorrow of the ruffed out stave.
SwampGhost that is a really straight piece of Hackberry, did you let it dry first or are you starting it green?

Maybe rough it out to floor tiller. Clamp it down. Rub it with cooking oil and attach clamps every few inches down the limb. Now tie a string with something for a weight to every clamp. Now use a heat gun and slowly apply heat till the bow begins to bend. Let it go just a tad past where you want it. Let it cool and remove weights. Repeat for the other side. Don't bend it for a few days letting the moisture content equal out. If you bend it the same day it will take set like you couldn't imagine.

[Selfbowman]

That sapwood comes off with the band saw at my shop. Life saver for sure. I am old! Arvin

[4dog]

Scott is young and he can take it...your first selfbow should give you blisters ,sore fingers,arms,and back...that is how i come to appreciate and learn to love it and hate it .
You learn to appreciate how the wood feels in your hands and the fact that you are closer to "how it was done before" at least we have steel and not doing it truly primitive with flint and fire!!
If he finishes this bow and gets a shooter then on to power tools!!!
Dont spoil him arvin!...lol

[Green]

Not sure what type of makeshift draw knife you used Scott, but your hands look like a combination of too aggressive hand action and no fun! A good draw knife will have comfortably shaped handles that allow you to either hog off wood, or finesse spots of early wood without all that damage. There are a few Greenlee's posted on ebay right now in the $30/range that will give you an idea.

I'm with AW, after about the third bow, I opted for a Porter Cable 14" bandsaw that was on sale at Lowe's. One thing to remember about a bandsaw is summed up by Gary Davis "a bandsaw is a tremendous tool, but it's also a quick way to firewood". There are a few techniques to learn.

Even though I have one, my favorite bow building tools are still my drawknife, scrapers, and rasps.

While you're waiting on that drawknife, have you been thinking ahead to the tillering? You're going to want to make yourself a tillering rig and gizmo.

That's still one of my favorite layout's SwampGhost......good luck!

[Jon Stewart]

[SwampGhost]

Thanks to this thread I have started another elm stave, though this one has some pretty bad twist to it from end to end. Is there any way to straighten it out or is this something that I should have avoided? I will try to post some pics tomorrow of the ruffed out stave.
SwampGhost that is a really straight piece of Hackberry, did you let it dry first or are you starting it green?

It's been drying in climate controlled spare room in my house for over a year. It is very light now compared to when I cut it. I just hope it's not too dry!