It's not every day I make a bow I'm really happy with. I was actually kind of disappointed with this bow in the beginning because I accidentally glued the bottom belly lam on backwards and because it came out heavier than I wanted. But as I was shooting it today, my attitude completely changed, and now I love this bow.
I've decided to call this bow "Tex" because all of the wood in this bow grew in Texas. The grass core didn't, though. But even the horn I used for the tip overlays came from a Texas cow.
This is a bow I've had in my head for a really long time. I had been wanting to find some cedar I could make lams out of to where the sap wood and heart wood ran parallel along the whole length of the limbs, so I could have it half and half. I cut these out of a log. There aren't even any knots.
I also wanted to try some mesquite in the handle. I rescued this mesquite from craigslist. A guy had cut up a tree and left it in front of his house for somebody to pick up. When I got there, somebody had beat me to it, but I helped him load it in his truck in exchange for a couple of pieces. That's where I got the mesquite from.
I had heard that mesquite is kind of brittle, and Bob Sarrels told me a horror story about somebody having a bow break over his head because of a mesquite riser, so I did a couple of things to beef it up. The handle is a little thicker than I usually make them, and I use a piece of Osage as an accent to where it would be thin on one side (allowing for maximum mesquite), but growing thicker on the other end where the arrow shelf would be to add extra strength. I've shot it at least 100 times so far, and my head is still intact.
It's 64" and 53# @ 28".
Thanks for looking.
I've decided to call this bow "Tex" because all of the wood in this bow grew in Texas. The grass core didn't, though. But even the horn I used for the tip overlays came from a Texas cow.
This is a bow I've had in my head for a really long time. I had been wanting to find some cedar I could make lams out of to where the sap wood and heart wood ran parallel along the whole length of the limbs, so I could have it half and half. I cut these out of a log. There aren't even any knots.
I also wanted to try some mesquite in the handle. I rescued this mesquite from craigslist. A guy had cut up a tree and left it in front of his house for somebody to pick up. When I got there, somebody had beat me to it, but I helped him load it in his truck in exchange for a couple of pieces. That's where I got the mesquite from.
I had heard that mesquite is kind of brittle, and Bob Sarrels told me a horror story about somebody having a bow break over his head because of a mesquite riser, so I did a couple of things to beef it up. The handle is a little thicker than I usually make them, and I use a piece of Osage as an accent to where it would be thin on one side (allowing for maximum mesquite), but growing thicker on the other end where the arrow shelf would be to add extra strength. I've shot it at least 100 times so far, and my head is still intact.
It's 64" and 53# @ 28".
Thanks for looking.
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