Penobscot bow build

[ineffableone]

Today's update

Got the helper bow Zebrawood and Wenge laminations for the handle riser and nock overlays glued on.







Also did a bunch of scraping to try and correct the limb twist. And while I got some twist out, I was noticing that the profile for the limbs was starting to get less and less even. Not overly so as I stopped before it got too noticeable. This is telling me the twist is not due to me removing material unevenly but that there is a natural twist to the limbs. So instead of making the bow limbs an uneven profile I am planning to use a heat gun to help remove the twist. I will clamp a weight to the side I want to correct and then heat the limb to bend out the twist.

Similar to this video from BoarriorBows shows, though my limbs are not nearly as twisted as the ones he is fixing so it should be much easier for mine.


Rather than setting up the untwisting today, I am going to wait till tomorrow or when I have good chunk of time to really monitor the process. Last thing I want to do is over twist it.

Since I don't plan on much more removal of limb material, I started the long sanding process on the main bow limbs.

[ineffableone]

So my brother had loaned out his heat gun, and I just got it tonight. So will likely be attempting the twist correction over the weekend.

Not a whole lot to note or take pictures of the past couple days due to this. A lot of sanding of the limbs starting with 100 grit, then 220, then 400. Since I couldn't proceed with the rest of the bow build sanding was at least something I could knock out a bit of so I wasn't loosing too much time.

I also sanded out the helper bow's nock overlays string grooves. Which was the most exciting and interesting part of what I did get to do and only thing worth some pictures.

[ineffableone]

The untwisting was minimal so it went fairly quick. Set up and waiting for it to cool down took longer than the actual untwisting.

It didn't show up in the pictures but I used cooking oil to protect the wood from the heat gun. You can see the bottle of Crisco oil in the background of some of the other pictures.



Adding weight (tape measures) to a small bucket to give the wrench leverage to untwist the limb



Checking the end to make sure I don't over compensate



While I was at it, I gave the limbs a bit less curve from the tillering process by heating up the sections then clamping down to thew bench.





Next was gluing. I glued the nock overlays to the main bow.



And the handle section





Tomorrow I can shape the nock overlays and glue the helper bow to the main bow.

Sadly due to the limb twist I wont be getting this bow done till sometime next week. But things are moving forward and I am looking forward to getting the parts put together so I can get the shelf cut out. From there is is just sanding and finishing the bow.

[ineffableone]

Some good progress today.

Got the main bow nock overlays sanded down and shaped.

Bottom main bow nock



Upper main bow limb nock with stringer groove.



Sanded the handle sections of the main bow and the lamination on the bottom of the helper bow to make sure there was a nice flat even surface to glue together.



Then it was time to glue the helper bow to the main bow. Making sure to line up the center lines



Starting to look like a Penobscot bow now that the helper bow is attached to the main bow.



Tomorrow I can work on cutting out the shelf and sight window, shape and sand the handle section, and finish sanding the bow limbs and string nocks. At that point it will be ready to test fire. Then time to do the finishing which will actually take a couple days for the several linseed oil finish coats to soak in and dry, then topped off with a wax coat. Once the finish is soaked in nice and dried I can then place the beaver fur arrow rest and plate, string up with the fast flight string which will replace the dacron string, put some llama wool string silencers in the string, and add the brass nock point collar.

My estimate is full finish will be by next weekend. But tomorrow should be the essentially finished point. With all the shaping and hard work done.

Of course this is where I had the catastrophe last time, so I will be taking my time and being careful while shaping the handle to make sure there is plenty of material to support the bow. And of course not drawing the bow without the helper bow strung up also. That was the critical mistake last time, drawing the main bow without the helper bow strung up.

[ineffableone]

OK so the good and the bad.

Good news, don't worry it didn't break.

Bad news, I made some dumb mistakes being too excited to get this finished and didn't wake up enough and pay attention enough to catch these dumb mistakes. So the bow is not as cool as I would have liked, and I will eventually be making another one. LOL. But for now this one will have to do, I don't want to spend another month making another bow.

Ok so now to my mistake. When cutting out the handle and shelf I did something wrong. I cut the shelf into the back of the bow instead of the side. I also cut the shelf so what was supposed to be the upper limb is now the bottom limb, not the biggest deal and only thing that effects is the stringer groove is on the bottom limb instead of the top one like it should be. *sigh* Oh well, it didn't hurt the bow, other than making it look a bit odd.



So rather than get upset, or scrap the project, I kept on and shaped the handle.

Close up of my mistake after handle shaping.



Riser detail



I found I needed to cut some string grooves in the main bow's nock overlays for the helper bow's strings to ride in.





I have been able to put 3 coats of boiled linseed oil on and after I post this I will go add another coat. While the Penobscot bow didn't quite turn out like I wanted due to my own error. It is still cool, and it still shoots nice.

Once the bow soaks up plenty of linseed oil, I will give the bow a nice wax coat to seal the oil in. Then start adding the finishing touches. Beaver fur arrow rest and plate, fast flight string, llama wool string silencers, and brass nock point collar.

Penobscot bow build, almost finished

[ineffableone]

Ok the Penobscot style bow is now pretty much finished. Just adding the beaver fur arrow rest and strike plate

Added the fast flight string, and a brass nock point collar. As well as some teflon tape to the nock point. I do this due to fast flight strings being thinner and it makes nocking easier due to quick visual of where the nock point is. Plus teflon tape is very slick so it also adds to easy of the arrow nock coming free of the string with less friction.



Added some llama wool string silencers. This time I got black wool (luck of the draw) last time for my Samick Sage they sent me light brown and white. Amazing the sound difference from no silencers to these. Super quite. Oh and cuddly silky soft too.



Am I hearing swearing and frustration at me showing pictures of just parts, rather than the whole bow? Are people saying "ya ya just get to some good shots of the bow, we have been waiting to see the thing this entire build thread."


















Ok time to show ya my new Penobscot bow







And I got to do some shooting of my Penobscot bow

Just tossing a few arrows into the target to get used to it


Going for a bit more accuracy with the Penobscot bow


I know your saying hey what about that one on the right. Look a bit closer, notice the missing fletching?

Yep on release the fletching fell off.


This was an older arrow, and had already had a chuck taken out from another arrow hitting it. This is part of why I usually only shoot one arrow at a time, instead of doing groupings. You damage more arrows shooting groups.


Over all I am pretty happy with this Penoscot bow. Yes eventually I will make a new one, without messing up and putting a shelf on the front. However right now, this one is working fine, and will likely last me years. So no hurry to make a new one. Plus taking my time with this one will let me get more ideas for the next one. Gain some experience with this style and figure out some possible extra features to add to it to improve the performance. Not sure if I will go with the Rudder Bows kit next time, or make one from scratch. I am sort of leaning toward making one from scratch. However that is no knock on Rudder Bows Penobscot kit. The kit is great, and makes it easy to build one of these. However if I make a new one I might want to change some things up that I would not be able to do with the kit. We will see, for now I am having fun with this Penobscot bow, and hope everyone enjoyed following along with the build on the thread.

[Peter Remling]

This was a great tutorial. The bow looks great. Thanks you !

[Peter Remling]

This was a great tutorial. The bow looks great. Thanks you !

[ineffableone]

This was a great tutorial. The bow looks great. Thanks you !

Your welcome, it was a lot of fun. But now the better fun of shooting the bow and getting used to it begins. I was having a blast shooting it today. And look forward to many more days of shooting it.

[Ringulf]

That is a wicked looking peice of armament! As long as you are finnishing up the tutorial, I would love to see a short video of its performance! If you have the tech available to you. I love the appearance of the bow, you have done a great job!

[ineffableone]

That is a wicked looking peice of armament! As long as you are finnishing up the tutorial, I would love to see a short video of its performance! If you have the tech available to you. I love the appearance of the bow, you have done a great job!

Sorry but I only have my phone for a camera and the video on it is horrendous. Not to mention nobody to hold it for me.

[Beldanath]

Wow that is beautiful! I want one

[ineffableone]

Wow that is beautiful! I want one

If you don't want to go through the fun of building yourself, they do sell prebuilt ones at Crows Head. Though you don't get the fun lamination inserts, just the main bow and helper bow glued together.

http://www.crowshead.com/penobscott/

[Eothain]

Very nicely done, sir! Good to see your bow finally put together and shooting after that unfortunate snap! Your craft is that of patience, determination and skill, I hope the bow brings you good use for years and years to come! Too bad you don't have a camera that would take a good video, I too would love to see it in use.