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Sinew is weird stuff. I bought it from Highland Horn as
dried sinew. It looks like hard, translucent, leathery dog chews! Sinew is
prepared by pounding it with a hammer and tearing apart the individual fibres
(very laborious). There are some good links to this on DAG's thread 're-curve
bows'.
Once the sinew was on, I let it dry for a couple of days
and tested it on my tillering rig. I got it back to 28" draw at 53 lb. I shot 6
arrows with it in my garden, and it felt really good and fast. I was reluctant
to lose any of that power, so I got greedy (my biggest mistake). I was aiming
at 40-lb and was going to work it down a little, to maybe 45, and had taken it
48-lb.
Then one frosty morning, in my impatience, I thought I'd
take some pictures showing it on my newly-built tillering rig (see image, and others, below). Previously, the
bow had been indoors overnight, but not on this occasion. I took it back to 28",
stepped back to admire it, raised the camera, and heard a crack. Oh dear. That's
gone. But never mind; I'll take a picture anyway.
BANG! It shattered into two pieces. Sad, but I've learned a
lot.
I built the tillering rig using a 110-lb spring balance and
a trailer winch with a cut down handle. It only cost about £30 for the lot. I've
also learned how to use sinew. Next time, I'll try natural hide glue and three layers
of sinew instead of just two!
I'm planning my next bow already. My neighbour has a dead almond
tree standing in his garden; I've generously volunteered to remove it! I'll
make the bow a couple of inches longer, and deflexed near the handle and reflexed
at the tips. I still want that short, pretty bow with a ludicrous draw. It
should be great for shooting in woodland at the field archery club I've just
joined.
Update: The almond was riddled with woodworm and useless,
so I scoured the local woodland and found a fallen tree which I think is a very
old coppiced field maple. (I'll be able to identify it accurately in the spring
when its fellows are in leaf). I've split some nice staves from it and painted
the end grain with PVA to stop it from drying too quickly. 2009 should be a
bumper year for bowmaking!
Del
Editor's Note: CR4 would like to thank Del the Cat for contributing this story.
Cheers, Del! Click here for Part 1. Additional pictures of Del's project appear below.
Glue and Hold
Broken Bow
Broken Bow (Close-up)
Splitting Wood
The Tiller Rig
The Tree
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Re: Bow Making Exploits (Part 2)
