mini bow jam last wkend

sadiejane

sadiejane

Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
1,120
camped with a few friends and did some bowmaking
lots of photos coming...

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luke getting started

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katie working hard

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this was primarily all done by hand
wayne did use the band saw to remove some larger bits of wood
other than that it was all scraping

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after 2 hrs of work this is the progress...

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took a break for some shooting

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of course whats camping without a fire and food

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that big pot was full of chili. and since the weekend was just that it was the perfect thing.
the teapot was my grandmas. she was an avid camper, hunter fisherwoman. she never was a coffee drinker, just tea. that pot has seen many a fire over the last 90 yrs or so...

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whittling seems a natural activity round the fire too

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was really hoping to find some morels, but the sun never did come out over the wkend. it was a bit damp, spinkling on n off. and the wind blew in some, but really a great wkend for being outdoors.

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this is a five yr old bow wayne(the guy showin gus how...) made and has used since. love that knot. he left lots of wood around it, so its plenty strong and shoots straight.

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second day nick is still hard at it

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so is joel

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dave didnt make a bow this wkend. but brought one he'd made previously and worked on re-wrapping the grip

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joel's is starting to look like a bow. he and luke(the two young pups) were the only ones who finished up and had their bows strung before heading out sunday evening

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joel is really getting there

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checking out how its shaping up and where the work needs to be concentrated

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maybe this was why i didnt get mine finished on sunday.....

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and whats a wkend in the country without knives? thats one thing great about car camping, you can bring as many as you want. no worries bout weight, the subaru can carry LOTS of knives

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but no matter how many i live with. it seems the same few are the ones im always using.

this is one of my all time favorite blades. little nessie made by matt at ml knives

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this is also one of my top choices when camping/hiking
old farmer named dale tackit( notice the tack hammer in his stamp)

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nevertheless with all the customs that have traveled thru here over the yrs. this esee hest is still almost always with me. somehow i dont mind abusing those productions knives as much as the customs.

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luke is nearly ready for a string

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wayne showing joel how to string his bow

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regardless of the temps n damp n clouds, it was one awesome weekend. thanks for coming along.
 
Wow....great pics. That looks like an awesome time.

It was a bit chilly last weekend, but not too bad. I really dig all the bow pics. That one with the knot is too cool.

Thanks for postin!!

Whered ya get the staves?
 
the wood was provided by wayne who was doing the instructing. he and his two sons, luke and lewis do this lots. also nick and his brother andy brought wood and they too travel and do bowjams lots. they spend a great deal of time traveling and hunting osage orange thats straight enough for bowmaking. you can find em all(myself included) at the mo jam bow jam the third weekend of july in marshall mo every year. its one of the largest in the country as this is where most all that osage orange comes from. so lots of folks travel great distances(even europe and japan) to take home as much of that bowwood as they can haul. if'n ya never been, there are all sorts of primitive skills taught. flint knapping is another. forging blades. its sorta like a rendezvous. good time. highly recommendo if ya can get there.
 
That looks like it was fun. I currently shoot a compound bow but have thought of going more traditional.

My dad has a few osage trees on the farm that he's planning on cutting. I thought of bow staves and maybe some for knife handles when he told me he was going to cut them. What should I look for: size/diameter, length, and how straight does it have to be?
 
I shoot traditional, and have yet to make my own bow. Very inspiring!

Good to see folks keeping this art/skill alive!

Professor.
 
That looks like a lot of work. I’d like to use a draw knife to make something. Pretty cool.
 
kyturkey said:
That looks like it was fun. I currently shoot a compound bow but have thought of going more traditional.

My dad has a few osage trees on the farm that he's planning on cutting. I thought of bow staves and maybe some for knife handles when he told me he was going to cut them. What should I look for: size/diameter, length, and how straight does it have to be?
Click to expand...

has to be really straight
though ive seen some well experienced guys make em outta curved wood
and used the curves to make a lovely bow
the knotted twisted stuff is, of course, my fav for knife scales. but ya cant do that with a bow
the stick i started out with is over 6' long
in the pix joel started with one about 6' but his bow ended up being around 5'
as you can see in the pix a knot can be worked with
but that really takes some knowhow
the thicker the rings the better
leaves more room for mistakes
when shaving off wood

save it all!
if its not usable for anything else
its the best firewood too
have fun!
 
Looks awesome!
I have my eye out for a decent sized guava tree around here so i can hopefully get a few staves outta it. Guava is supposed to be great. Never made a bow before but seen lots on it and looks like a fun craft!
thanks for the pics!
 
now that looks like a great weekend... awesome pics.. thanks for sharing...:thumbup:
it reminded me that i need to get back to work on a Juniper stave i started a while back... i have lots of bows, (got another today actually :D) but i have yet to complete a good shooting self/primitive bow..:(
 
sadiejane said:
the wood was provided by wayne who was doing the instructing. he and his two sons, luke and lewis do this lots. also nick and his brother andy brought wood and they too travel and do bowjams lots. they spend a great deal of time traveling and hunting osage orange thats straight enough for bowmaking. you can find em all(myself included) at the mo jam bow jam the third weekend of july in marshall mo every year. its one of the largest in the country as this is where most all that osage orange comes from. so lots of folks travel great distances(even europe and japan) to take home as much of that bowwood as they can haul. if'n ya never been, there are all sorts of primitive skills taught. flint knapping is another. forging blades. its sorta like a rendezvous. good time. highly recommendo if ya can get there.
Click to expand...

I live right south of Marshall...I saw a flyer for that last year, If im not in Moab that weekend, Ill be there!!!
 
It does look like a great weekend. It was a pleasure looking at the pictures.

I've shot bows most of my life, but never the handmade long bows. I do have many hand planes and antique woodworking tools however:D

Can you get accurate with the bows you make? Would it be against tradition to carve in an arrow rest?

drew1095hc said:
very cool....
I shoot compounds alot but i have always wanted a stick bow
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I have a couple fairly nice stick bows, but once getting a compound bow I haven't shot them since?

Peter
 
sadiejane said:
has to be really straight
though ive seen some well experienced guys make em outta curved wood
and used the curves to make a lovely bow
the knotted twisted stuff is, of course, my fav for knife scales. but ya cant do that with a bow
the stick i started out with is over 6' long
in the pix joel started with one about 6' but his bow ended up being around 5'
as you can see in the pix a knot can be worked with
but that really takes some knowhow
the thicker the rings the better
leaves more room for mistakes
when shaving off wood

save it all!
if its not usable for anything else
its the best firewood too
have fun!
Click to expand...

Not that I have much firsthand experience with Osage or bowmaking (I have none) I have air dried many, many board feet of lumber and what you might want to do immediately after sawing the logs and/or billets is seal the end grain. There are professional products, but latex paint works well as does melted wax. Coat the ends generously to keep end checks (caused by the ends drying out much faster than the rest) to a minimum. I know that Osage is a really stable wood but anything you can do to keep from wasting wood is advisable.

Have fun!

On a related topic, how long were those bow blanks seasoned before working on them? Just curious. Nice pics by the way.:)
 
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