Tuesday, September 30, 2003
I have narrowed the bow tips, braced higher, pulled to 24 inches and 35 pounds. I still have some twist to remove, should have done that before narrowing the tips. Just unbraced profile shows tips even with handle, 0 reflex left.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
The tiller on the hickory bow is good now. The tips are starting to bend but still show recurve at 16 inches. I deepened one nock on the lower limb to center it better over the handle. I need to narrow the lower tip a good bit and the upper tip a little before the tips get too thin. I lost another 1/8 inch of reflex today. The wood dryer is staying at 96 degrees, 40 percent humidity.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2003
I'm still working on the hickory bow on and off. I am excercising it to 16 inch draw 100 times after each session. I have been bracing it higher and checking rate of bend at brace. Tiller is real close, tips still recurved, set in mid limbs. Reflex is down to 3/4 inch just after unbracing. I have been pulling 20 pounds to 16 inches so this could be a 40-45 pound bow at 28 inches. It will probably wind up about 35 pounds at my wife's draw length.
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Sunday, September 21, 2003
Went to Connor Prairie with the family today. The best part was the log hewing demo by that guy on PBS Roy Underhill. He demo'ed a broadax and an adze too. Pretty cool what they knew back in the 1800's.
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Saturday, September 20, 2003
Here's where I went squirrel hunting today Deam Wilderness. I started scouting and stump shooting towards mid day. I broke one arrow shooting at a tree to see if the gamenabber point would stick. It didn't stick. A squirrel suprised me by jumping out of a tree as I was walking out. I had to nock an arrow. I shot over his back as he left the area. Saw 2 does and collected some turkey tail feathers. I saw a lot of country and some good places to set up for deer.
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Friday, September 19, 2003
Here's a good link for figuring what the long term moisture content of your wood will be Computing Moisture Content of Wood
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Well if I thought I had a cadillac wood dryer, now it's an Escalade. My son in law got me an indoor outdoor electronic thermometer and hygrometer. So I have it mounted on the box with the outdoor sensor in the dryer. Pretty nice.
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Thursday, September 18, 2003
I shot broadheads and gamenabbers yesterday and found they are grouping about 6 inches stiff at 30 yards. I need to work on getting my full draw. I broke one nock, thankfully with a game nabber, not a broadhead. I almost lost a broadhead in the sod I use for a target, but I was able to dig it out. Had to fix 2 arrows this morning, though. I braced the hickory a little higher and used a short straightedge to find flat spots and spots bending too much. After some work with bowyer's edge and a number 50 rasp, I exercised the bow another 50 times. Still too stiff on lower limb and too stiff in the tips on top limb.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2003
I got to looking at the picture I posted yesterday and noticed the bottom limb was stiff near the handle and the top limb was stiff near the tips. I worked on those areas this morning and excercised the bow 50-60 times. No more reflex lost.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Shorter bottom limb on left in pictures is a little stiff. Most of the bend is near the handle. Needs more work on mid limb out to tip.
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Hickory after removing more from the belly from mid limb to tips short draw on tree, braced low with long string
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Monday, September 15, 2003
I did some more floor tillering and strung the hickory a little higher, too high. I restrung it lower, saw that the string needed to move over more and shaved the tips some more. It's still a little crooked, but the string lies within the limbs throughout. Now it's down to 1 1/8 inches of reflex. Inner limbs are bending fine, tips stiff. It's belly is rounded out to the recurves which are flattened now. I need to get the recurves bending and then flatten the inner belly before it gets too much set. I want to get the tips aligned right and narrow them before they start bending.
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Sunday, September 14, 2003
Sun came out. Here's a slightly better picture of a filed broadhead
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I floor tillered the outer limbs this morning, strung with a very low string and narrowed the tips on one side to center the string. It rained and I kept returning the hickory to the drying box whenever I worked up a sweat.
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Saturday, September 13, 2003
Update on the hickory - It's 1 3/4 inches reflexed now. It had about 1/2 inch natural reflex. Most of the twist is gone now.
reflexed
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reflexed
Here's a closeup of a filed edge. Autofocus got the ferrule not the edge. By the way this is a 200 grain Ace. Pardon the dirt on it. It's so easy to resharpen that I don't have to worry about practicing with my hunting arrows.
Filed edge
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Filed edge
I have been trying to figure out an easy way to sharpen broadheads. Tom Musatto's page has been around a long time, but I never "got it".
Now I have figured it out and the problem was, it's too easy. I kept wanting to make it hard (like sharpening a Buck knife). The secret is to just file one side of the blade. Get a good burr edge. Then peel it off. Only takes 2-3 minutes for both sides. EASY.
Sharpening Broadheads
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Now I have figured it out and the problem was, it's too easy. I kept wanting to make it hard (like sharpening a Buck knife). The secret is to just file one side of the blade. Get a good burr edge. Then peel it off. Only takes 2-3 minutes for both sides. EASY.
Sharpening Broadheads
Hickory - some spring back after cooling
after cooling
Still some twist, mostly straight though.
straighter
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after cooling
Still some twist, mostly straight though.
straighter
Recurving hickory. I usually use osage and I am used to easily bending it with dry heat. Hickory is not that easy to form. This was a belly split off a stave I got from DCM who got it from Hickory Flat Mississippi. I made my nephew a bow from the outer split. This one is narrow and it will be a lighter weight bow. I am also trying to straighten the limb and take out twist at the same time. This is the shorter lower limb.
recurving
straightening
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recurving
straightening
Friday, September 12, 2003
I just finished a "Cadillac" wood drying box. I have 4 40 watt bulbs and insulation keeps it at 95 degrees. If anyone is interested I'll make some pictures.
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