Re: My New Bow

51
wings wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:08 pm Seems reasonable.
https://www.wood-database.com/pecan/[url][/url]
Pecan has slightly lower strength values than some of the other species of Hickory, but it is still among the hardest and strongest of woods native to the United States. The wood is commonly used where strength or shock-resistance is important. As the common name implies, Carya illinoinensis is the tree responsible for producing Pecan nuts commonly used in snacks and cooking recipes, and is the state tree of Texas.

Pecan falls into the Pecan-Hickory grouping, which tends to be slightly stabler but weaker than the True-Hickories, and is considered to be a semi-ring-porous wood. The strength characteristics of Pecan are somewhat influenced by the spacing of its growth rings. In general, wood from faster-growing trees, with wider spaced growth rings, tends to be harder, heavier, and stronger than wood from slower-growing trees that have rings which are closer together.
That web site is a treasure trove of information. Thanks.

Re: My New Bow

52
That was my thought, and I don't do serious woodworking. Discovered it with a quick bout of Google-fu because I had absolutely no idea how suitable pecan would wood be for the task. But now I know it exists.

Had a similar experience with this weird site for left wingers with firearms, actually.

Re: My New Bow

53
Yesterday as I was finishing re-caulking the bath tub where it meets the wall, I got embarrassed again at my laziness on this bow. I mean, I've got four, and I shoot 'em. Still, I very well may take out the hatchet and hack the bark off that bad boy. Next step is sharpening the spoke shave.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My New Bow

54
First you have to sharpen your spoke shave used a decade ago. Water stones cut quicker. This is the coarse there on the bottom, the big one, and I'll use it through when I have to have a bit smoother surface. Then I'll go to medium, which is one half of the upper stone, stored in water. Spoke shaves are not like chisels. You don't have to go to "fine" with spoke shaves. A sort of crude tool--not as crude as the dry wall hatchet, but cruder than the cabinet scraper.

P1010069_1.JPG
Here is the flat side covered with WD-40 after coarse flattening.
P1010071_1.JPG
You can see the water stone gruel left there on the drive way. When we get down to "fine" on a water stone, first you have to polish at it until you work up that gruel, quite a feat with "fine," and then you go to polish the edge. That's for chisels of layered steel, made sharp enough to split a thought.

Here are the hatchet and spokeshave, and the pecan, so white it blinds the light meter.
P1010075_1.JPG
Let's see if I poop myself out hacking this bad boy out by hand.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My New Bow

56
bow3.JPG
Pecan is pretty tough. I'm hoggin' off pretty thick slices with this draw knife. Longest piece is about two feet so far with most around ten inches.

I think I have to go at it like 100 strokes at a time until I get down to where the pieces are thinner, taking less work. 1000 thin strokes or 100 thick ones.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My New Bow

57
That hundred strokes thing is working pretty well. Now, if I were a bowyer trying to make a living I'd have to get a second job. But as an old fart with a garage, it doesn't bust my butt. Here it is so far.

P1010157_1.JPG

On the left is the belly, toward the archer, and on the right is the back. Now, I will draw knife it down close to a growth ring on the right all along the six foot length, then I'll use a scraper to get it down so that just one year, one level of growth forms the surface of the back, away from the archer. Then I shape the grip. Then I'll draw knife the belly down to where I'll need to make a tillering jig with a scale. Cut to length, make string grooves. Then, draw knife, scraper and files to get it to where it can be pine tarred and oiled. I'm sure I'll shoot it a bunch during the last phases.

So, done next week. :roflmao:

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

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