Handmade Indian Bow Need Help Trads

[mesquitecountry]

My Father In law gave me this bow this past weekend. He told me that it was made by an Indian friend of his dad's when he was 20 or so for him. It's made out of hickory and is right at 43-44" axle to axle. He was told that it was a horseback bow. (The reason why it is so short). It can be shot right or left. This was about 30 or so years ago. He broke the string on it about 25 years back and just put some curtain cord on it to keep it bent. Not sure if that was the right thing to do or not. I am looking to restore it even get it back into shooting shape maybe ot take a doe or small game even. I was wondering if anyone knew of where I could get a new string or what I should do to restore it or maintain it. Do I need to take the string off? I did oil it 3 times last night with mineral oil. (It's been in storage for 20+ years without anyone touching it.) Any advice on how to take care of it and who could make me a string would be appreciated. If nothing else i'm going to make a handmade leather quiver, wrap a grip on to it and put a new string on it and have it framed. Please offer all advice.... Here are pics so you can see what i'm working with.

[tinman]

oops...posted on your thread in the 'Campfire' forum.

Good luck again with the project.

[bm22]

i could be wrong but i don't think you are supposed to leave self wood bows strung. selfwood being any nonfiberclass bows. i know this is true for osage and i would think it would hold true for hickory. that doesn't appear to be laminated. if you leave a selfwood bow strung then the wood will "set" not return the straight when it is unstrung. another words it will lose most of its strenght and spring.
i really would worry about hurring home to unstring it, if it has been that way for 20 years the damage has already been done. if you try to draw it back do it really slowly and smooth and listen for cracks just to make sure it doesn't blow up. as for string lenght i have no clue on a bow that short.

[Chunky]

I am going to tell you first off,,,,I am no expert but

I believe bm22 is right in that you do not want to keep it strung.

It may be alright to shoot, but I doubt if it is forty pounds at this point and not legal to hunt with.

If you try to shoot it, it very well may crack and break...so you need to ask yourself the question.

Would I rather just put it on the wall as a keep sake, or would I rather gamble and try to shoot it. Only you can answer that. If you decide to try to shoot it, take it slowly. Look it over really well for any cracks. Listen for any noise as you draw it that might tell you it is not sound.

As far as the string goes, there are lots of places and guys who make them. You could try Kustom King, Three Rivers, or even a local shop. There are always several in the classifieds of any Tradationa Bowhunter Mag.

If you want more expert advice, post up at Tradgang.com, or the Leatherwall.com....many many guys there who know more at selfbows.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[mesquitecountry]

thanks alot guys. I think i'm going to go with the keepsake option. I'm going to make a handmade leather quiver and some homemade arrows with flint heads and place them in a shadow box and hang it on the wall. I cant wait to finish it sometime in the near future. It's much more valuable to be just to take it out and shoot it and break it.

[Cropduster]

Mesquitecountry: I think that is a good idea. I know if I had it, that is what I would do with it. Makes for a good conversation piece.

[Restless]

axle to axle? (wink)