My favorite are shoot arrows. Beautiful, yet simple.
Anyways here's a little trip down memory lane. Don't expect this to interest anyone but myself but I'm too excited not to post my last two pictures. Been waiting for this day for 5 years.
From left to right - Smokey the Bow
Smokey the Bow - In 2012 I traded Dan from this forum some bow making materials as well as I think some money for two nice hickory staves. I was in Cali at the time and the "bow wood" we had available was barely fit to be burned. One stave was made into Smokey (Yes I do name my bows, and will name the very fancy slings I make as well. I'm silly like that. The other stave is next to it. Beautiful wood but it did have some propeller twist in it. If you look closely at Smokey it might look like one limb is out of tiller with the other. That's propeller twist. You can see it clearly on the unfinished stave to the right of Smokey. Not an issue. Very common with staves.
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1388777482/0Chinaberry bow build along. Would you believe I never finished this??! Doesn't sound like me I know.
The reason is I was reluctant to use a sinew backing at this point as it is great for certain things but adds a lot of weakness such as more ambient humidity issues. But this particular piece might only be saved through a heavy sinew backing. This stave was deflexed by a huge amount. I took virtually all of it out but once strung and stressed at least 2-3 inches came back. Not a good wood for heat bending. So heavy sinew backing might be the only way to finish this thread as sinew will brute force it into reflex whether it wants to or not. Suck it Chinaberry!
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1352230043/0The next is an old Ben Pearson take down recurve. I was actually planning on giving this away to someone soon but I think my new Malaysian made parang is a better prize. Errr..."gift" whoops.
The next bow is the green solid fiberglass. I will be refinishing this bow into at the very least a bow fishing bow. It has a huuuuge amount of reflex for a typical bow. Not sure what brand it was but it needs TLC. Pure fiberglass bows as opposed to laminated fiberglass bows are not considered efficient but they are practically indestructible and 100% resistant to anything even resembling water. That's my apocalypse bow. Looking more and more likely I'll need it sooner or later. I nicknamed it "Max" after Mad Max, for obvious reasons.
A plains Indian quiver I made. More of a test. My real PI quiver was made from brain tanned deer hide. I didn't see it in my storage so not sure if someone jacked it or what. Had several people in and out of there over the years helping with stuff while I was half a country away. Really hope I find it though. I don't care for this one.
Tillering stick. Badly needs to be replaced judging by the woods color.
A bamboo backed Ipe bow with Lyptus and Osage riser sections. Deceptively simple this bow was made sort of as a quickie bow for my wife who wanted something "pretty". It has a arrow shelf with soft Velcro for a soft send off. Not a great bow really but it's the thought that counts. I guess.
The last stave is white oak and can barely be seen behind the ipe bow. I cut it weeks before moving from Cali. It's now 5 years seasoned and ready to be made into a horse bow. Should be fun.
The last stave is white oak and can barely be seen behind the ipe bow. I cut it weeks before moving from Cali. It's now 5 years seasoned and ready to be made into a horse bow. Should be fun.
That one limb has a good amount of reflex. Really this should also be sinew backed but I'm trying to find an alternative for sinew. Don't judge it by how it looks right now. Come back to this post when I've finished it and you will see why.