40" Sinew Osage Ponybow *Update* 1/29/10
Here is my current project while I wait for the ELB supplies.
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The stave steam formed to the shape I want.
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Threw a yardstick on it to show it's length.
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Sinewed and put up with the Rooster. Rooster is my good luck charm.
Last edited by FVR; 01-30-2010 at 06:22 PM.
Nice! What can you get for a draw length on a bow this size?
Nice work.
A mouse ate a hole in my lumpy chair.
Nice work as always.
Thanks.
They say that a draw length can be 1/2 the length of bow. Now, I'm going to try and push it and, oh, we'll see.
I made the bow bend through the handle so that should give me a little extra.
Very nice work......
How did you steam it?
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I steam over a spaghetti pot. Fill it up with water and bring it to a boil, stick the limb or limbtip over the steam, cover with tinfoil and wait. On this bow I did not use a form but rather got the bow nice and bendy and just worked it with my hands (which had leather gloves on them) and held it until it cooled.
I'm reading Jim Hamm's book and this is how he does it. It worked really well as you can see I put a nice shape to the bow. I made the handle a bit forward in hopes of getting an extra inch on the draw.
I'm going to push it on this bow.
same process i use for steaming. i keep meaning to built a steaming tube, but i don't actually need one, so, meh.
that's looking nice my friend.
Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice - Grey's Law.
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Excellent work as always Frank! I love yours and Canid's bows. Y'all keep 'em coming!!
Nice work FVR. Keep this thread alive with your progress. I'm really interested in following along.
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Damn, you da man!
I only tried making a bow once out of choke cherry,that was killed by fire and standing for a year. From what I've read this should have been a nice stave to start with. So I shaved her into shape,looked great ,but of course the part in the book that said "Don't draw it until it has absorbed as much fat as possible", was completly ignored,....CRACK!!!!!
You do fabulous work my freind!
I'm a simple man, of simple means, turned my back on the machines, to follow my dreams.
I am in awe of the talent and skill that you have to make these! How much time does it take for you to make a bow like this? Have you ever made a take down?
FVR, thanks for posting.
Very nice work.
The steaming process was interesting to see/read, as I plan on making a couple of canoe chairs out of willow, and assuming the steaming process will work with this also?
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Pretty darn good work. To do that just by eyeballing it and without a form makes it pretty uber good.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Good looking ponybow! Just don't utter the famous last words, "Well they say you should only draw a bow of this design about 22" at most. I've been drawing it 26" so far without a problem." because the next shot will be your last if my experience and obeservations are to be relied upon.
Started pulling the little bow back to a 20" draw the other night. Worked it all the way back and was expecting an explosion that never came. Boy was I surprised as I was just abusing this wood.
Here are a few pics of the second sinew job that I just finished.
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Top limb tip.
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Bottom limb tip.
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Bow wrapped and drying with the Good Luck Rooster.
You can see how a little of the recurve has been pulled out of the top limb. Oh well. The bow was pulling 55lbs at 20" prior to the second sinew job.
There are longitudal cracks running up both limbs but with osage that is fine. They are caused by the sinew drying and actually pulling the wood. This is the reason that I wrap my limbs.
I use leg sinew on the back of the bow and wrap it with back sinew. I do not try to be pretty with wrapping the sinew. When it dries, it flattens out really nice.
We will see.
Looks awesome Frank.
I'm curious about your glue. Are you using hide glue? I read a little about using glues and hide glue, being the same molecular structure as the sinew, helps it to react more readily and adds strength. I am curious about your experiences with this. I'm really interested in learning more about bow making. I didn't get my osage limb this thanksgiving
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller
My Plants
My skills
Eye Candy
Plant terminology reference!
Moving pictures
Usually I use Knox Gellatine aka hide glue. Haha........yeh.....Jello is refined hide glue. Do not use the flavored stuff unless you need a snack while shooting.
This mix is a half and half of Knox and rabbit glue. A bud gave me a bag of rabbit glue, I hesitated to use it, but when I ran out I tried it. I need to get more rabbit.
You are correct, the hide glue and the sinew do have the same makings. That article you sent me was awsome. Learned a bit about both hide glue and sinew. Thank you very much.
The big diff. between Knox and commercial hide glue is the smell. Knox does not stink and does not affect the family when I do it in the kitchen.
I have sinewed many bows and there are a few things to remember.
1. Prior to sinewing, rub the bow down with acetone or alcohol to get rid of the woods oils, AFTER I take a coarse file and run it up and down the back of the bow, many times.
2. On the first layer, make sure you size or rub the back of the bow down with a light coat of hide glue even if it dries before you get a chance to put on the sinew.
3. Always size before applying a layer of sinew.
4. Your sinew needs to be soft. I don't pull my sinew apart like many do strand by strand. I pull it until I feel comfy and bundle up about the size of a pencil and put in a enveolpe and stick between in a book.
5. I heat my hide glue up in 30 second cycles in the microwave when it cools.
6. I throw my sinew in warm water to soften even more, squeeze out all the water, dip the sinew in the hide glue, squeeze out the excess hide glue, apply to the bow and then squeegy out extra glue with the round surface of a plastic pen.
7. I have learned not to throw a just sinewed bow in a hot box, it dries it too fast and the sinew has a chance of popping off the wood.
I let it air dry. If I put it in a heat box, I will do so after it has dried for a few days as this will increase the poundage and backset.
That is all for now. I will post pics of the dried sinew later tonight.
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