Anyone in NC, making their own bows?

[burniegoeasily]

Originally Posted by bigcountry

Man, I must suck at bow building. This cats on his first and has a perfect arc. If he can get it near that good on brace, he's set.

Dont kick yourself. F.M. is on top of this one.

Brace tells the story. Ive had great bends on longstrings, but went all to heck at brace. Think of an R.D. bow. If you go by long strings, you will screw your bow all up. Mark, think of the first reflex you made. I pointed out that you needed to stay off the reflex, even though it looked like they were too stiff. once you braced it, the story was told. While longstring you will be inclined to loosen too much. On some designs, I dont longstring at all. I floor tiller and brace with a flat string, or no more than an inch.

[Fieldmouse]

So explain to me the best way to go about bracing the bow? I know I need to get it on short string but how do I get the length of the string correct? Is this just another make do string as well?

Originally Posted by Fieldmouse

So explain to me the best way to go about bracing the bow? I know I need to get it on short string but how do I get the length of the string correct? Is this just another make do string as well?

I have a bunch of short strings. You are going to put your string thru a lot during this process, so I reserve these for building.

Send me your nock to nock lengths and i can try to twist you one up. Just goint to be 2" shorter to start. You can twist it more.

[burniegoeasily]

F.M.
I make two short strings. One that will be the string for the bow to shoot with, and another for the final tiller (that is, if I dont have a short enough one which I usually do). If you do not make string, get a cheap flemish string. You want to untwist the string so that the brace is very low. 2 to 6" of brace. As you work the bow and get close to target length, twist the string up as you go. Granted the tiller is going well.


Another thing you can do, granted your string is not too long and not twisted much, twist your long string up to shorten it.

[Fieldmouse]

Thanks guys. I'm going to take BC up on his offer. I'm holding steady now until I receive his string. I'm sure I will have more questions after that like handle styles and maybe some pics.

[burniegoeasily]

Originally Posted by Fieldmouse

Thanks guys. I'm going to take BC up on his offer. I'm holding steady now until I receive his string. I'm sure I will have more questions after that like handle styles and maybe some pics.

Ill echo Mark. If ever you need a string or anything else, let me know. I would be glade to whip one up and send your way. Flemish string are pretty darn cheap to make, so dont hesitate to ask.

I forgot to say;

Welcome to the addiction. I started making bows some time ago, and have yet to quit. If you are like me, you will start trying all kinds of different styles. It is very addictive. I started with glass lam bows, then once i got my feet wet, i moved to organic bows. I have to say the challenge of all organic bows really gets under your skin. Mark (BigCountry) jumped right on into organic bows and has got it all under his skin. He recently finished up a heck of a bow, a bamboo backed ipe R-D bow.


Mark,
When you get froggy for some hackberry, let me know. Ive still got that snakey one, as well as the knoted one. Ill do some digging, I think I might have another pretty straight one. Ill also be cutting many more this spring. Ill have a much better supply this spring. last year I didnt have much time to get out and chop down trees. Like right now, i need to cut some osage, but cant find the time. Also, I need to talk Rowell into taking me to his place in Oklahoma. He has much more osage than i do around me.