More bowmakers sprouting from Canberra (lotsa pics)
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:40 am
Last weekend I had another bowmaking course.
I've had quite a few now. I think I've done five or six. This course had four students. This course had the highest number of high-draw weight bows I've had. 48, 57, 59 and 60 lb bows (if I remember correctly, but they were all close to those figures).
I had them use spotted gum. The photos don't really show it off, but the grain on all of them was really nice. And with 500 grit sandpaper and beeswax finish, they were beautiful to look at and hold.
We had one disaster. On bow, sitting strung on the bench delaminated and announced its demise with a huge bang. I and the student were devastated. Doing a quick autopsy, it appeared the glue line was clamped a little too tight which had squeezed too much glue out. It's repairable, and that is what the brave bowyer will do. Before making some others.
This is the first course I've run in which we've done overlays. We used Tasmanian Blackwood, and I think they came up a treat.
Set on all bows (including the fallen one was pretty good. no more than 1 3/4 inch.
And now for some pictures:
Preparing the nock in the overlays:
A stripe of wax on sanded wood
We often tilt the room 90 degrees to see what the tiller is like the right way up. Here the tiller is getting close
Nice overlay:
Four nice overlays:
We do endless-loop strings:
and serve the center of the string when the bow is strung:
Like I said, photographing the grain was difficult:
I've had quite a few now. I think I've done five or six. This course had four students. This course had the highest number of high-draw weight bows I've had. 48, 57, 59 and 60 lb bows (if I remember correctly, but they were all close to those figures).
I had them use spotted gum. The photos don't really show it off, but the grain on all of them was really nice. And with 500 grit sandpaper and beeswax finish, they were beautiful to look at and hold.
We had one disaster. On bow, sitting strung on the bench delaminated and announced its demise with a huge bang. I and the student were devastated. Doing a quick autopsy, it appeared the glue line was clamped a little too tight which had squeezed too much glue out. It's repairable, and that is what the brave bowyer will do. Before making some others.
This is the first course I've run in which we've done overlays. We used Tasmanian Blackwood, and I think they came up a treat.
Set on all bows (including the fallen one was pretty good. no more than 1 3/4 inch.
And now for some pictures:
Preparing the nock in the overlays:
A stripe of wax on sanded wood
We often tilt the room 90 degrees to see what the tiller is like the right way up. Here the tiller is getting close
Nice overlay:
Four nice overlays:
We do endless-loop strings:
and serve the center of the string when the bow is strung:
Like I said, photographing the grain was difficult: