# finishing a self bow



## Aronnax (Nov 7, 2013)

First off, if you glue on layers of different woods to build up the grip area and limb tips does it still qualify as a self bow?

Secondly- what would you recommend as a finish for the bow? 

I purchased one of those "you finish" hickory long bows form Ringing Rocks archery (http://ringingrocksarchery.com/products/index.php?id_product=41&controller=product) and I'm nearly finished with it. I glued on a 1/4" thick piece of red oak, followed by a piece of poplar to build up the handle, and red oak tip overlays. The handle/arrow rest area turned out fantastic. Exceedingly far better than I ever could have imagined it would turn out. I have it all sanded with 150 grit paper right now, but plan to go up to 400 grit. 

I think I'd rather not stain it. I really like the light natural colors of the wood, but I'd like to bring out the grain a bit. I'm also turned of to the idea of polyurethane or lacquer finishes, unless somewhere on here can make a really good case for it. Does that leave me with tung oil? I read something somewhere about a guy the recommended finishing hardwood cutting boards with walnut oil instead of tung oil (more organic?? maybe just a food thing). Anyway, whatever finish- I'd prefer something hard to screw up, durable and long lasting (kind of the same thing)...

Here's a peek at the handle- some of the lines aren't as perfect as I want, but I'll see if I can fix some of that up. Trying to keep a crisp edge is not easy, one little slip with the sandpaper and its toast.








thanks,
BM


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## Aronnax (Nov 7, 2013)

I found this web page that explains a lot- 
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes-their-history-and-use

I think I'll probably give the minwax tung oil finish a try. At least I know I can find that at the hardware store. Maybe try it on a piece of scrap wood to start with.

BM


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## BLACK WOLF (Aug 26, 2005)

I live TruOil.

Ray :shade:


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Yep it's still a self bow as long as you don't put any backing on it. Tru oil is hard to beat for a finish. I just got done finishing a bow I made with 4 thin layers of Tru Oil Gunstock Sealer and Filler and 3 layers of Tru Oil Gunstock Finish. A light sanding with 0000 steal wool in between each layer and it comes out great.


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## Beendare (Jan 31, 2006)

*finish*

I think the best is Thunderbird but its harder to comeby and expensive.

I've used Truoil from a rattlecan and it came out pretty good. I fogged on (hold the can back a ways) the last couple of coats to give it more of a matt finish


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## Sanford (Jan 26, 2009)

I am a big fan of Spar and use on all my builds, but that's urethane. Another method out there to emulate the epoxy finish you see on some bows, especially older bows, is to mix your own. 2-Ton or about any 2-part clear epoxy from Home Depot mixed with denatured alcohol as a carrier. The alcohol evaporates leaving a clear epoxy finish. There's recipes and instructions all over the web for it - Google a Massey finish instructions.


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## handirifle (Jun 9, 2005)

It's your bow but as a suggestion I would seriously consider rounding out some of those edges on the handle where your palm will sit. After a number of shots it will irritate your hand I think.


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## Dave V (Aug 13, 2008)

Plus, it'll look a lot more "trad" once you soften the edges. I did the same as you; starting with nice crisp edges to shape the handle, then rounded everything out once I was done.

I can see the shelf. Is it curved or flat? I didn't put enough curve in mine, and what is there is closer to the front (opposite the string... back?) when it should have been closer to the deepest part of the grip to minimize torque.


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## Aronnax (Nov 7, 2013)

thanks to all who replied-

I had originally written a long reply to all of your comments, but I must have screwed up and clicked the wrong thing because it never posted. I waited a while to see if it was just stuck in cyberspace limbo and might still post but it never did. So, here's the short version-

My impatience won over and I ended up using tung-oil from home depot because it's on my way home from work.

the handle is relatively comfortable- the edges do not cause any discomfort, though I wish I would have made the part where the web between my thumb and forefinger sit deeper. The shelf and strike plate area are both radiused. Maybe could have been more radiused, but I think it's ok.

After having shot it a while, I notice the tiller is not perfect. The lower limb is still too stiff. The bow was supposed to come pre-tillered, just needing a handle and finish sanding, but the tiller was WAY off. It had a gentle-ish hinge in the middle of the upper limb, and the lower limb was just too stiff.

Hickory, as I have read, takes a WICKED set after being braced for a while. I mean, inches, it's a lot. 

As far as how it shoots- It suffers from insane hand shock. I mean, on the road for repetitive stress injury amount of hand shock. The bow will buzz for a couple of seconds after loosing an arrow. After about 30 mins of shooting, my left hand, wrist, up to my elbow, are aching pretty badly. I don't yet know what the draw weight is. It was purchases as their 45-50lb model, but I did take a lot off the limbs in my attempt to improve the tiller. I draw 31" so who knows. I don't have a real bow scale, just lame hanging fish scale with a dead battery. I'll try some heavier points too, as my bare shafts are showing my arrows to be too stiff. My arrows are 420-ish grains.

It's also a wicked wrist slapper. My arm guard is too short to protect my forearm. I try to keep my forearm out of the way of the string, but not always successful. If I slide the arm guard up a bit, my wrist gets slapped, move it down and my forearm gets slapped. My last bow was a 50-ish lb pvc pipe bow, and I learned to shoot it w/o and arm guard, and never got slapped. I'm thinking the massive amount of deflex in the bow reduces the amount of tension on the string at brace, allowing to travel back and forth a lot after the arrow is on its way.

Anyway, it is still a rewarding project. None of its flaws will prevent me from shooting it as much as I can. How much does tiller affect hand shock?


Well, my short version ended up being a lot more long winded.

Thanks,
BM


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## Dave V (Aug 13, 2008)

I had the same experience with hand shock. Going straight to self bow after a number of years off, I didn't realize it until I shot a "proper" bow. I had developed a loose grip with only my thumb and index finger looped around the grip and my middle finger tip touching the riser. This caused me to naturally curl my last two fingers in and away from the bow and everything was fine... until I went back to the self bow. I actually bruised my middle finger tip and for a day or so I actually had a broken blood vessel near the first joint.

I learned the hard way that these bows can be pretty harsh to shoot, requiring more of a "death grip" and throwing the 45 degree knuckle concept out the nearest window.

You might try raising the brace height. That might take care of some of the wrist slap. Or do what I did and buy a full length hunting arm guard.

Part of the beauty of Tung Oil is that you can still modify the grip if it's too shallow for you. Just rub it in to the newly exposed wood and blend it in to the original finish. I've done this several times until I got the grip the way I liked it.


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## Sanford (Jan 26, 2009)

Every bow build is just a lesson on the next one. Nice job!


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## Dave V (Aug 13, 2008)

Just for reference I'm adding a photo of my collection so far.

The leftmost bow is a Rudderbows Hickory flatbow
Second from left is just like yours: a pre-tillered blank that I shaped and finished myself. I used tinted Danish Oil, but I'm not that happy with the results of the pigment. I would have probably been happier with a separate stain followed by Tung Oil, or simply the oil by itself.

Third, is a vintage Herter's recurve (ca. 1959) with a really nice birdseye pattern in the riser.

The far right is my pride and joy. A custom R/D longbow made by Dan Toelke of Montana Bows. Riser is cocobolo and limb laminations include spalted maple over a bamboo core. Absolutely no hand shock at all!


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## Aronnax (Nov 7, 2013)

That's a nice collection. I checked out the Montana Bows website, and there's some really beautiful stuff over there.

I tried the death grip last night to see how it helped the hand shock, and it did, a lot. My first arrow was about 1" from center at 8 yds (across my garage), so I was feeling pretty good. 2nd arrow, about 8" right, and a touch low... Third, missed the 18"-ish box and hit the wall to the right, fourth, missed to the left. 

So, apparently death gripping doesn't really work so well for me... I'm no great archer, but I can usually hit inside of 6" at that range. Occasionally I can get a group under 3" when I get everything right.

I'm willing to bet some string and/or limb silencers would help damp the after-shot buzz...

so- fix tiller, heavier points/arrows, add silencers... 

BM


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## Sanford (Jan 26, 2009)

If you could fix the tiller problem without sacrificing too much draw weight, it would help with the hand-shock. Having one limb out of time, returning faster by a measurable margin to the other limb, sets up a good bit of that shock.


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