# Build-Along



## bam_bam (May 10, 2008)

I know Apex done a IPE build-along and Nick done a Clovis, I was wandering if anyone would be interested in a selfbow build-along? I got a stave i am about to work on and figured i could take a few pics along the way.  Anybody interested?


----------



## Ta-ton-ka chips (May 10, 2008)

Heck yeah!


----------



## Murphy (May 10, 2008)




----------



## choctawlb (May 10, 2008)

OK so what are we waiting on? Git er done there Bam Bam.
Ken


----------



## bam_bam (May 10, 2008)

choctawlb said:


> OK so what are we waiting on? Git er done there Bam Bam.
> Ken



I will try, who knows i may fail miserably.


----------



## schleylures (May 11, 2008)

Bam Bam  the  ball and bow are in yoour hands I will follow along.


----------



## Ta-ton-ka chips (May 11, 2008)

I've been waiting now for over 18 hours. When does this thing start?


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

Paitence...


----------



## Nicodemus (May 11, 2008)

Hurry up, waitin` on pics!!


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

Ok here it is a black locust stave 66" in length. It has some bends in it that will need to be taken out later


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

here are some of the tool i will be using


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

Here i have taken it in the vice and removed some of the wood from the belly and squared it up some.


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

Now i will turn it on its side and you can see where i have drawn the lines of the would be bow on the back. first i took a string and measured the whole stave then folded it in half laid it down and there was the center of the stave. It is gonna have a 4" handle with 2" fades and the limbs will be around 1 7/8'' at the fades and carry that to mid limb then taper to the ends as you can see in the pic


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

Now i have taken the drawknife and carefully brought the sides down to the lines allowing the wood to run around knots , not through them. you can see a wide spot close to the end, thats where a knot is i left wood around to help support it.


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

now i am gonna shape the handle with my rasp. here it is drawn out its about 1 1/4 wide.


----------



## bam_bam (May 11, 2008)

and now shaped


----------



## Al33 (May 11, 2008)

Looking great Chris! Enjoying this immensely.

Thanks for taking the time and effort! Great job!


----------



## chinquapin (May 11, 2008)

That is awesome I've been wondering how for a long time.  Thank you for taking the time to show us step by step!!!!!  Look forward to the rest.

BEn


----------



## Nicodemus (May 11, 2008)

Very impressive Chris! That bow is gonna have a lot of character. Looks good too!


----------



## bam_bam (May 12, 2008)

Here she is fully roughed out








now it's time to start chasing a ring, i know some people do it before shaping the bow but i figure it is more work for wood that gonna disappear anyway. I have chose a fairly thick ring about a 1/8 inch down.






now is not the time to get in a hurry, if you get reckless and cut through the ring you will have to go through chasing the ring again, or if you do it and know nothing about it the bow may break possibly causing injury. Another option is backing it with something if your not to confident in your abilities (Like myself).


----------



## schleylures (May 12, 2008)

my abilities to sir looks good so far


----------



## Ta-ton-ka chips (May 12, 2008)

bam_bam said:


> now it's time to start chasing a ring, i know some people do it before shaping the bow but i figure it is more work for wood that gonna disappear anyway. I have chose a fairly thick ring about a 1/8 inch down.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Why did you pick that ring? Are you looking at a darker ring or lighter? What are you looking for as you set up at this juncture?


----------



## dutchman (May 12, 2008)

Looks mighty good, Chris. Looking forward to the rest of the show.


----------



## bam_bam (May 12, 2008)

Ta-ton-ka chips said:


> Why did you pick that ring? Are you looking at a darker ring or lighter? What are you looking for as you set up at this juncture?



Yes i am looking at the darker ring above the pencile mark. The reason i chose it was preference i guess, but if you look it is the closest thick ring to the back so that means there wont be much wood to remove plus it is thick enough that you got a little room for error if your drawknife digs in too far. Now as far the difference between the light ring and the dark rings is the light is early wood and the dark is late wood, the early wood is soft and spongy-ish the late wood is hard and dense and better for a bow back


----------



## Auchumpkee Creek Assassin (May 13, 2008)

Bam Bam...........this is awesome build-a-long, good pic's and details, thanks for sharing


----------



## Redbow (May 13, 2008)

Good luck with your project Bam Bam. I hope all goes well for you! I have not made a bow yet out of black locust but I would love too!

I have made quite a few bows and a lot of them have broken! I would think maybe a hickory backing or maybe bamboo would be good for that bow! I like making self bows and I have backed some of mine with linen but that doesn't help much with  the breaking issue!

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!


----------



## bam_bam (May 13, 2008)

Alright people, i worked on this thing for 2 hours this morning and got half the bow to one ring. 

I used a drawknife and a cabinet scraper(mostly scraper) to do this here is a pic of the layers i went through to get to the ring i wanted







I came across a small knot in the back so i worked around it and will come back later 






A side view of the knot






Here is the knot after i scraped it down, i used the curved tip of this knife and 100 grit sand paper.






side view






time for some sweet tea and a sammich now


----------



## Redbow (May 13, 2008)

bam bam, how long are you making your new bow, and what is the target weight you are shooting for? 

Looks great so far, wish I had one of those staves!


----------



## bam_bam (May 13, 2008)

66" and i would like upper to mid 60's @ 28"


----------



## Redbow (May 13, 2008)

Wow thats a powerhouse of a bow, at my age and with arthritis I could never pull that much now..

You decided what you gonna back it with yet?


----------



## chinquapin (May 13, 2008)

very nice work Bam Bam!  This is a great thread thanks again

Ben


----------



## bam_bam (May 13, 2008)

Redbow said:


> Wow thats a powerhouse of a bow, at my age and with arthritis I could never pull that much now..
> 
> You decided what you gonna back it with yet?



hope i dont have to back it...but if i do i havnt decided with what yet, maybe silk,rawhide...i dont know


----------



## Al33 (May 13, 2008)

Again, great job Chris!!! Thanks a lot!


----------



## Auchumpkee Creek Assassin (May 14, 2008)

Bam Bam-------she's looking good


----------



## schleylures (May 14, 2008)

very nice keep it coming


----------



## Nugefan (May 14, 2008)

lookin' good Dude ......

and Thanks for the close up pix as ya go .......


----------



## bam_bam (May 14, 2008)

well i started on the belly of one limb today and ran into some obsticals, oh and i am gonna place a disclaimer in here stating that i really dont know what i am doing, and this is the way i am going about with this thing. This is in no way how your supposed to do it.

ok for the first pic, here is a place where a knot was and when i reduced it the wood followd the knot so i am going to straighten it with some dry heat. here it is (notice the tip is still quite thick)






me and my trusty heat gun 






i forgot to get a pic with it clamped down but basically i get to wood too hot to touch (maybe 10 minutes or so with the heat gun about 5" away from the wood)and had a block of wood just behind where i want it to bend and take a C-clamp and slow start bending it so here it is with the woopidy doo bent out of it and a niffty lil reflexed tip






Here where i ran into a problem, while heating and bending the wood came apart at this knot. This is why you leave it over built when bending incase boo-boo's like this occur. A little rasping away should be ok and still leave enough wood for a decent poundage bow....time will tell i guess






here it is after i took a rasp and filed it down, i wont touch this for a while to come


----------



## bam_bam (May 14, 2008)

Here it is after i reduced the rest of the limb down with a combo of rasp,drawknife and scraping. I got it to start bending like its suppose to and i am gonna start on the other side next. Its starting to look like a bow now...


----------



## Redbow (May 14, 2008)

Man that things gonna make a very nice bow..

I figure the Deer around your parts are getting a bit nervous already!


----------



## bam_bam (May 14, 2008)

Redbow said:


> Man that things gonna make a very nice bow..
> 
> I figure the Deer around your parts are getting a bit nervous already!



I hope......Its not finished yet, knowing my luck it could explode at anytime.


----------



## Redbow (May 16, 2008)

Hey I am hoping the bow turns out good for ya,, I wanna know . I might order me a stave off ebay. 

One of my favorite little bows I made exploded with me a few days ago.. It happens..


----------



## soopadoopa (May 18, 2008)

Holy Cow Man!  When you told me about this, i never expected so much detail.  Doin a great job, too.  

Folks if you have never met Chris, he's one of the most easy goin down to earth folks i know. I'm glad to call him my friend.  And believe me, he lives and breathes this stuff.


----------



## dutchman (May 19, 2008)

Still looking good, Chris!

And after shooting Schleylures hatchet bow this weekend, I figure it's just a matter of time before I try to build one of these things. Just something else for me to mess up, I guess.


----------



## bam_bam (May 19, 2008)

Hatchet bow!!! Schleylures holding out on us??? Where is some pics of said bow, i would love to see it. Thanks i have been so busy lately that it has just sat in the corner, but i will be back on it tomorrow if i get a chance. Dave thanks for the kind words buddy, get that video camera warmed up it wont be too long. Dutch if you make you one be shure to throw some pics out there for us.


----------



## choctawlb (May 19, 2008)

Bam Bam,
     Real nice build along, top notch for sure. You ain't got a extra stave of that black locoast you might be willing to trade  for a stave of mulberry do ya.  I really appreciate you taking the time to do such a detailed job. Look forward to seeing ya at Blackbeards if all goes well.
Ken


----------



## dutchman (May 19, 2008)

bam_bam said:


> Hatchet bow!!! Schleylures holding out on us??? Where is some pics of said bow, i would love to see it. Thanks i have been so busy lately that it has just sat in the corner, but i will be back on it tomorrow if i get a chance. Dave thanks for the kind words buddy, get that video camera warmed up it wont be too long. Dutch if you make you one be shure to throw some pics out there for us.



I've got some studying to do before I attempt it. And I'll need a bunch of coaching.

And Wendell's finished hatchet bow was made by someone else, or so he said. He's working on one or two of his own right now, though.


----------



## bam_bam (May 20, 2008)

choctawlb said:


> Bam Bam,
> Real nice build along, top notch for sure. You ain't got a extra stave of that black locoast you might be willing to trade  for a stave of mulberry do ya.  I really appreciate you taking the time to do such a detailed job. Look forward to seeing ya at Blackbeards if all goes well.
> Ken



Sorry Ken this was the only one i had, if i had another you'd shore be welcome to it. Here is the guy i buy some staves from on ebay, he has some decent stuff sometimes.
This one looks pretty good

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180243164230&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

See ya next week


----------



## bam_bam (May 20, 2008)

Back to it again today i made nocks for it and had a brain Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----. I thought it would be faster to use the 'ol dremel to put some nocks in, well one little slip and plan A got changed so i had to go with plan B....pin nocks 


here is one of them. May end up wacking them off and doing the over.








Now to get the sting to run the middle of the handle







here is where i am gonna heat it at. I saw on another website if you put oil on the wood it would help from scorching the wood. Figured i would try it


----------



## bam_bam (May 20, 2008)

Heated and clamped


----------



## schleylures (May 20, 2008)

nice going


----------



## Nicodemus (May 20, 2008)

That`s gonna be a purty bow when it`s done.


----------



## choctawlb (May 21, 2008)

Nice work Chris. That's quick becoming a shure nough purdy piece of wood. Would it have been better to have left the bend in the wood as the string was running next to the edge of the handle? Wonder if it would have made it less spine sensitive, more of a center shot? You've been moving right along on this project. If I move that fast on a bow I usually end up with "Fancy Firewood". I've really enjoyed the build along, awesome job.
Ken


----------



## Auchumpkee Creek Assassin (May 21, 2008)

looking good.........


----------



## bam_bam (May 21, 2008)

choctawlb said:


> Nice work Chris. That's quick becoming a shure nough purdy piece of wood. Would it have been better to have left the bend in the wood as the string was running next to the edge of the handle? Wonder if it would have made it less spine sensitive, more of a center shot? You've been moving right along on this project. If I move that fast on a bow I usually end up with "Fancy Firewood". I've really enjoyed the build along, awesome job.
> Ken



You got a point ken, i havent thought about it being better to be one one side. I think with the proper spine arrows they will bend around the handle during the archers paradox  you think?

here it is unclamped. I may cut off the pin nocks and go for a Eastern woodland type nock


----------



## bam_bam (May 21, 2008)

*on the tiller*

got her a string on and started bending it. This this is STOUT! it's limbs are about 3/8'' thick and i can still hardly bend it. I am worried about getting the limbs too thin. Ken 'bout how thick are the limbs on your osage, i know your limbs are probly a little narrower than mine (1 7/8") but i figured it may give me a idea.


----------



## Nugefan (May 22, 2008)

if YOU say it's stout I don't want anything to do with it ..... I probaably couldn't even budge it ......

many thanks for the tutorial Chris ....

you have motivated me to finish mine .......


----------



## bam_bam (May 22, 2008)

cool, cant wait to see it...


----------



## schleylures (May 31, 2008)

come on bam bam what next


----------



## dutchman (May 31, 2008)

schleylures said:


> come on bam bam what next



I'm getting a little anxious, too, Wendall. Bam Bam appears to be taking a little break...


----------



## bam_bam (Jun 1, 2008)

*bad news*

well fellers been a while since i posted, had to let my feelings heal a little. I had it on the tiller tree last week and was looking at how it was bending, as i was pulling the rope i had attached to the string on the bow broke inturn dry firing the bow. Here is the result, just a bit of bad luck i guess.


----------



## Redbow (Jun 1, 2008)

Ouch!! That hurts ! Is there any way to salvage the bow now?

Most of the ones I break a complete limb shears off!


----------



## shawn mills (Jun 1, 2008)

Was really enjoying the lesson. When you gonna start on a new one?


----------



## bam_bam (Jun 1, 2008)

Redbow said:


> Ouch!! That hurts ! Is there any way to salvage the bow now?
> 
> Most of the ones I break a complete limb shears off!



I am waiting on a second opinion. I think maybe some glue and sinew wrapping will work to hold it together.


----------



## choctawlb (Jun 1, 2008)

BamBam,
I think if you clean it good with lye, and fill that crack with hide glue and wrap it good with sinew soaked in hide glue it will be alright. Need to let it dry about 3 weeks after glueing. It's worth a try anyway.
Ken


----------



## deerstand (Jun 2, 2008)

or, just take the handle area down flat even with the limbs(like a D-bow), then glue another block of wood on, and re-blend down to the limbs. just like if you were making a board bow. you can even use different color wood for a two toned bow.


----------

