I've had this one on the burner for awhile now. The most interesting part of this is the bark pocketed maple, that came from the bottom of Lake Superior. There is this guy that was doing salvage on the old shipwrecks,tha sank. He kept seeing all this timber that as logged back in the 1800s. He pulled a log up and dried it and be hold it as in Great condition. He decided heck with the sunken ships and got salvage rights on all the old growth timber. Being the cold clear deep water the timbers were perfect. They x-ray after drying, before cutting to be sure it's clean,of foreign objects. Like stone points and musket balls. Wow this is original old growth wood. I found what they called barkpocket maple and I'm going to use it for riser and outer limbs. JF

Being as the barkpocket maple has voids 'holes' I'm going to foot it with Osage,another great North American,over looked hardwood. Then cap it with a piece of highly figured Missouri gunstock walnut. JF

Your frick'n kill'n me ole pal frick'n kill'n me!!!! : |

I'm going to put a inner core of,you guessed it, Osage. That way I'll be keeping with a North American wood,tried and tested. I'll also add a update for stability, .020 stabil core carbon. Just under the back,barkpocket maple. This will back some open holes from the old maple. Hopefully add stability. JF

Cool,can't wait to see it done

So after cutting and grinding laminations, of.001 taper,4 of them and one thin Osage parallel. I've come up with a stack thickness. JF

Here we go.66" bow 16- 1/2" riser. .430 total stack, .040 on the back and .050 on the belly the rest is all barkpocket Maple and Osage and .020 of carbon. The maple is almost a veneer but still a taper. .030 at the nock and .060 at the butt I think. It's thin. Should come out 47-50# unless the carbon really kicks in, then maybe 54#. JF

No dish or finger groves in the grip?

I Not sure yet on finger grooves,yes on a dished grip. JF

I'm always amazed how many fine craftsman there are in this site - thank you for sharing, very informative and enjoyable.

It's not over yet Eric :) JF

A mock up. JF

There's no mocking that, that is great work. Love the look of unique woods. Looking forward to seeing more. Good luck.

Well after a eventful morning of hunting. I called it quits. The wind was blowing crazy. So I headed for home at noon. I've got everthing ready. So time to glue er up. JF

Done and fresh out of the oven. JF

Send pics!

nice!!

I'm like you guys I'm anxious to see it too. JF

Oh the suspense :) JF

Boy isn't this ,,,, pretty? JF

Well it's gonna be pretty? :) JF

I don't normally unmask this soon but I had to see what that barkpocket maple looks like,thay came from the bottom of Lake Superior. Sweet I love it :) JF

Great adventure...more soon I hope ??

Your killing me too! Hill style build along, i love them bows! I have 2 ASL's i what to have built to add to my collection but i have to wait and its killing me. I just picked up 1 of 2 flintlocks im having built so bye bye almost $3,000. I knew i shouldn't have read this thread lol!

Bodymanbowyer, that is going to be one special bow and i can't wait to see it when it's finished.

I will continue until it's finished. We will all see how it turns out. JF

That will be one unique bow with a hell of a story behind it.Fantastic thing to hear about. OSR

Where is the carbon layer in the stack? Neutral axis?

Great story!

The carbon is just under the back wood lamination. JF

Very nice bow you have there Sir! Should have a ton of good mojo, thanks for taking us along.

Got work on it some this afternoon. Cleaned of the bow snot, so I can lay out the limb profile and ruff cut. JF

All laid out and ready to cut. JF

You have got my attention. Rooty

More to come,dinner time :) JF

Ruff cut the bulk of the limbs on my table saw,with a Diablo wetlumber blade. This blade has cut I don't know how many laminations and cut limbs down,still going strong. JF

Now the bulk of the limb is gone. JF

Now to grind to the layout lines on my modified belt sander with a 24 grit belt. This will remove it quick,without burning the edges. JF

After grinding I sand the corners with 80grt. Just enough to remove the curled taoe and to smooth out any glass slivers. Sand from riser to tips and at a angle from tape off towards the wood. Don't go back and forth. JF

Mark 33" from center of bow for nock grooves. File straight across the depth of the file. 5/32 I think,'small chainsaw file' JF

Slightly round the edges so they won't cut the string to fast. Now let's brace this baby up. JF

Here's a look at the limb edge. This Osage won't stay Gold forever, looks good now though. JF

The poundage came out great 53.5# By the time I smooth sand the limbs and shape the Riser it should come out to 52#. The tiller measured 1/16 stiffer lower,perfect. JF

This ancient barkpocket Maple has a lot of character. JF

I've gotta give this bow a shot. No shelf and square riser edges,so a bare shaft is best. I wanna see how it responds. JF

It's gonna work just fine. I'll work the riser into shape later. JF

Love the strung profile! Thanks for the buildalong, Jeff.

I don't think your gonna like it. So when it's finished you better send it to Pa. I'll work out the kinks and send it back slightly used.?? All kidding aside it looks fantastic so far

Mike

Looking good!!!

Fine bow, very fine explanations and photos of the process. Thanks very much. Looking forward to the rest of the process. - lbg

I am jealous, nice bow

Nice combination of woods, it'll be purty when you're done.

I was just thinking. Some turquoise powder would have been cool in the pockets of the maple under the clear glass in the limbs. You know like the knife builders have done. Maybe I'll try it out on the riser if there's any pockets when it get to shape. Just thinking. JF

Where ya at with this? : )

Im sure your hunting but i figured id bump it up

Well mountainman, here's where I'm at. Gonna layout this bow to grind and shape the riser. JF

Find the center again,measure and some tape to layout the shape I want. JF

The 6" grinder I use is reversible,with a 24 grit disk. Always grind glass to wood so you don't pull a glass sliver. JF

I grind to the tape with a low angle. On back and belly. I'll grind the sides in another step. This is just to get the sides the same. Shelf and sight window is also another step. JF

Now I'll take the width to where I want it. JF

Now I'll layout out the sight window and shelf. JF

The back, no it's not a lefty :) JF

This is when my reversible grinder comes in handy. When I do the shelf and window on the back.

Now to take the shelf down to a archand straight in. JF

Some DA sanding will smooth out things. I'll star with 80grt. JF

Jeff , looking good . Can't wait to see it finished !

I did a slight dished grip on this one. After the smoothing and blending, I'll change grit to 240grt. JF

The poundage came out 51# at 28" right in the middle of what I was wanting. This one gets my brand. And I'll get a couple coats of gloss epoxy sealer on it. JF

When you shape the riser from the fades into center the poundage can drop some,cuz the fades bend some. Note for the future,leave a little higher in pounds. Then rework,if needed :) JF

Something 'bodark' did on his knives got me thinking to try it on my Bow. So there is more to come. He knows what it is, I think :) JF

Meanwhile, I'll be working on overlays next as the first coats of sealer are soaking in. JF

Make it SHINNY!!

: )

That is amazing!

Great thread. Nice workmanship Deno

Nice!

Love this thread .... absolutely sensational ... thank you so much bodymanbowyer

This is the first time I've looked at this thread Jeff. Very cool! Yes, I have an idea of what's next! Hey, you really ARE a bodyman! I have never seen anyone use a disc grinder to shape the riser and arrow rest! Brings back memories of hanging out at my dads body shop-excuse me, collision repair center-back in the sixties!

Really interesting and great work

Sorry Late to the Party. I see you have been up to some new tricks- Carbon.. Really? ;-) If that thing behaves like it Litter-mate then no doubt it is as smooth as butter and slick as glass. Lookin Good Jeff.

-Bones

I got my turquoise powder,the stuff bodork used on his knives. Pretty cool stuff. I also bought some copper powder,for another day. JF

Changes my mark too :) JF

M gonna find some really nice pieces for tip and grip overlays,to use it on :) thanks for the idea bodork. JF

You did a great job with the turquoise! I really like the way it looks with that wood. The black around the defects set the turquoise off real nice!!

Thanks bowdork. I'll be cutting your wood very soon. JF

I like it. Now just a big inlay in the riser of a 4 point with his head down or something similar. LOL. :-)

-Bones

"When you shape the riser from the fades into center the poundage can drop some,cuz the fades bend some. Note for the future,leave a little higher in pounds. Then rework,if needed :) JF "

-just curious, but would adding thickness with overlays/underlays bring the weight back up?

Awesome bow...

Lookin good JF. The turquoise makes your brand on this one pop when you compare the before and after pics.

Mike

Adding a grip overlay would have to run clear out to the fades. I've see one like that and I've seen them come loose too. JF

Cool, cool, cool. - great post and excellent craftsman

That's the way to get after it. Nice clean bow.

Great looking bow! I agree with your thoughts and other comments about the turquoise. Really like it. Nice wood choices too.

Could put a power lam in the stack.

Do you burn your initials into the riser?

A little bending in the fades is no problem as long as it doesn't take set there. Had that happen. :(

What was the taper rate?

I have .004 per inch of taper. JF

Hopefully there ate some overlays in these pieces. JF

A little playing around with the turquoise and copper powder inlay, that Bowdork turned me on too. JF

There is a inspiration for building this bow. Last week I was on vacation. It was 4:45am. I was almost to my hunting place. When a young 4-6 point Buck decided he wanted to race across the road,in front of me. JF

Instead of hitting the brakes,which would have put him right in front of me, I put the peddle to the floor. Well he hit me in the left front fender,bounced off into my door,then into my box side. I've been real close to hitting deer before. This was my first. I turned around,figured I would pick him up,after calling the police. He was gone. Probably no insurance,so he ran :( JF

Yea but that should inspire you to fix your truck : )

I fix people's vehicles all the time.. JF

So I went hunting Anyway. Nothing I could do now. My truck was still drivable. When I got home, I was in the mood to finish a bow project that I started to put together a couple years ago. Since all I have seen the rest of the day was little 4-6 point Buck's. I'm naming this bow ' Maqokita Revenge' after that little buck wrecked my truck. So finished or not and feeling good with it I'm taking it hunting tomorrow. JF

WOW !! Nice, great job.

Maquoketa revenge. Maquoketa is the town that little guy hit me. I think he had some other Doe on his mind. JF

Great job as always ole pal Good luck tomorrow morning

Longcruise, I do have a power laminate, of Osage. Yes I did make a brand to burn my mark in my Bows or I write it on under the clear coat. JF

I like the brand. Going to fiddle around and make one.

Finished or not this one works just fine.7:30am elevated 15' 20yrd sho,right through the heart. He still ran full throttle for about 100yrd then dropped insight. No blood trailing needed. Magnus Buzzcut 125grn on a Gold Tip Traditional Classic 600 Spine 31" Yes sir it went riiiight through. On a very windy November morning. I am as just about to say heck with this wind I'm going home. Now I'm reminiscing the morning,whiley Deer hangs in the shed. 165# dressed. Good ol Iowa Deer. JF

Ain't that somethin',, very nice,,congrats on both the bow and that fine animal.

That is unbelievable! Great Job all around!

Bret

Tawas meant to be.

That is sooo cool. Always said experience with many bows, makes taking a new one out any time is NOT a bad choice. Very unique bow, neat buck, and thanks for sharing the process.

Best thread ever!

I just bought a new to me Hill Big 5. Gentleman who sold it to me said it was pretty nearly 30 years old. taper .95 thou/inch, another Big 5 I measured was around .45 thou/inch, big discrepancy.

Bowlim, I was just going to say that. If there was a thread Hall of Fame, this would be in there.

Incredible talent and skill!

Bret

Proof is in the hand. I'm not sure which side is entrance or exit. I'm thinking that big tear is exit. JF

Fantastic thread. Thank you and congrats!

Ya gona use his hoves or teeth for string inlays?

: D

Tip overlays Hooves maybe. Teeth? Those are pretty hard. Now how would a European mount look with no teeth :) I might put his bottom jaw back on. I've done it before. JF

Think of the conversation starter that mount would be with no middle front teeth.

Or maybe glue in a set of them novelty bubba teeth : )

Lmaso :)

Congratulations on the deer, beautiful! Would be interested on a treatise about your quiver in the picture.

The quiver I bought off The Mr. Ron LaClair in Kalamazoo a couple years ago. Someone made it for him,but he was thinning down his stuff. It was made for a lefty,but I make do being a righty. JF

I will get back finishing the Bow soon. Here is a better picture of the quiver. JF

That's not mine, cyberspace pictures :) JF

Nice job!!!! You made bow hunting sound entirely too easy!

Thank you for taking the time, really fun to follow along. Very nice bow.

Lol JF,,,,wasting no time!!! Nice buck man, and I bet I know which bow is your new favorite!!! Congrats!!!

Excellent thread and build Jeff. Do you cook good deer Pilgrim?

Grizz, ah, you can eat it but probably wouldn't want to live on it alone ;) ya have to eat some rabbit, squirrel,fish and yardbird ;) JF

Variety is the spice of life. That's why I carry that Ace hex blunt in my quiver.

Enjoying the build along. Thanks.

Ok, dang I i got sidetracked shooting that buck. Back to reality. This is what I'm going to use for overlays. JF

I filled with a man-made blend of powdered turquoise and used,papadoc suggestion of a 420 replacement,lots cheaper. It wicks in just fine. JF

Once through the edge grinder and refill if needed,needed a little more. JF

Jeff you add any more upgrades and "dazzle" to that bow and you will have to have a display case. :-) VERY talented, and congrats again on your Buck. Do you do any classes for building along or shooting? I know a Texas student with a really cool longbow .

-Bones

super post and story! You should be justifiably proud. Congrats.

I think I can do something with this now. JF

I'll see how these glue up and get my feather ends,maybe it'll be what I want. JF

I don't know if Im liking the tip overlays, missing something. Maybe I'll look for a different barkpocket Maple top and go Osage under. JF

What about little carbon in there to match the limbs

Here we turquoise fill this and Osage on the bottom, two tip overlays. JF

Carbon cross weave would be sweet for the bottom but I didn't use it in the limbs. I used a aaaa the other carbon :/ I do have some though. Now I'm rethinking. Thanks mountainman:) JF

We're on to something MM in between or on the bottom. JF M thinking in- between. Cuz my string groove depth should stop before carbon, maybe. JF

Mountainman, you are going to have him re-doing his entire bow before he is done. LOL Seemed to shoot just fine the way it is Jeff. Got the Venison to prove it.

-Bones

Or bottom. JF

.200 is all I need for tip overlays. The top piece is my string depth. Prebeval and this sho work fine. OK so it's not a true 'Hill style' a little more modern. JF

Dont start over just make another : )

Why id think theres carbon lams in it,,that must be bones stick im thinking of Hill style,,,, its a Freeman style

Put the turquoise inlay in the right spot and I think it'll be Great. JF

There is what they call carbon stable core in the limbs. I used it because of the inconsistentsy of the Barkpocket Maple,j just being cautious. JF

This is what I'm going with for overlays. We'll see how it works out. JF

I didn't even see this till a little bit ago. It already sealed over the wood :) JF

Good job Jeff!

Yes sir, Freeman style Longbows. New innovations and Beautiful. Slogan- Works as good in the field as it looks on the rack. That red splash is a memory Jeff. :-)

-Bones

BTW Mountainman, no carbon in mine if that is what you referred to. ActionBoo in mine.

-Bones

Thanks again. Thoroughly enjoying this series.

I cant keep track of his laminations anymore : ) I knew there was carbon somewhere in one of them dare longbows

Grip and tip overlays are glued together with smooth-on,and curing. JF

It'll be interesting to me to see how they turn out. My first time with turquoise powder inlay. Thank bodork,see what you started ;) cool touch actually. JF

You did all the work, Jeff. All I did was tell you where I bought it. If you like the turquoise, wait till you add the copper powder. Here is a necklace I made for my wife for mothers day. Mesquite burl with turquoise and copper. The hard part is not sanding all of the copper off. This cross is about the size of a quarter.

Oh man...where have I been? Hunting daily of course or I would never have missed this party!!!

Your stock just went thru the roof bud!! Beyond cool! Great bow & finishing is left to come. The copper/turquoise is winner especially over the gouges for initials on bow 1. Suggest you craft a personal maker's mark & fill w/your new paint combo?

Bad luck on the wreck. No deer insurance so he ran? What can you expect for a buck?

Big thanks bud!

Well the glued is curedover on but in the vise. I cleaned up the bow snot and peeled off the tape. JF

I presand the overlay tapers,then I will smooth sand them with a fine grit to a paper thin edge . JF

The tip overlay will get split in two and smooth sand the taper. Here's an idea of what it will look like. JF

There should be a couple subtle accents of turquoise inlay here and there, after final shaping. JF

After smooth sanding the bevels to a fine edge,af striking them off square. I'm ready to split the Tip overlays and trim excess off the grip overlay and glue on. But tomorrow morning is another hunting day. So I'll probably do this Sunday afternoon. Cuz I want to hunt with it this weekend :) JF

A fine edge,to blend into the back of the glass. JF

I had to layer the grip overlay to get the pockets that I wanted to show. JF

Little subtle details on the tip overlays. JF

A couple.018 of crossweave carbon fiber for added strength. The barkpocket Maple isn't doing anything,just the Osage and carbon fiber and .040 glass. It'll work :) with Bcyx. JF

It worked once,this shouldn't change anything. I'm hoping. Just a nice finish detail. JF

What do you archers think? JF

I think you should get the clamps and glue and have at it!!

; )

JF, looks great. Seems like a neat mojo mark there.

I think that it's as cool as a 1965 L79 Nova SS, ole buddy! Lance.

Dang big fingers. That should say 1966!

What do I think?

Can't tell cause I have too many bows already. Just know if this bow shoots in the sweet spot like a Hill, Northern Mist, or Bama, it would be an honor to have one. Nice work partner.

It's been 5 months since I've been on here. Great build-a-long. Just an idea for some tips with turquoise I got in AZ. John

Perfect choice of turquoise inlay on those tips John or a copper inlay. What wood is that? JF

Been out, but caught up. LOOKIN good Jeff.

-Bones

Well now that the easier part of deer season is over,1st half. The masses will be out coming Saturday for about two weeks. I've time to finish up the overlays. I find my center and mask the ends to sand with 80grt,on a block. JF

Sand straight to the tape, not sideways. You'll have to sneak up to the tape edge. JF

Wipe all the surfaces with Denatured alcoholand blow clean.When I mask the edges to control the excess glue, I use the same file to push the tape into the string grooves. JF

I'll mix up a 1/4oz of A and 1/4oz of B smooth-on epoxy. Coat both surfaces to be glued. Just a thin coat. Position clamp reposition. Things get pretty slippery with glue. Wipe the leading tapered edge and clamp there too. JF

Same for the grip overlay. I have used gorilla gel super glue to, it works fine too. Smooth-on this time. From start to finish. JF

Now it's cure time,till tomorrow. JF

Ya got enough clamps?

: )

You can never have enough clamps :) You should see my vice grip clamp selection at work,when I glue and weld a quarter panel or a front-end on :) JF

Jeff, the wood I used for the tips is mesquite. John

Yea i forget you body guys got all the clampy,hammery,dolly,spready things

Thanks John. Mountainman, don't forget the dewflinky thingys lol. JF

I'm using my 2" angle grinder with 24grit to knock off more wood and glue. Keeping the grinder almost on the same plane as the limbs sides, maybe slightly more so I don't grind what's done. Just taking it down to the tape. JF

When I get all the edges ground to the tape. I will switch to a small wooden block and 80grt stick-it. This will smooth it down to the side profile and blend it in. JF

Now sand with a little 80grt and then 150grt. 150grt only on the overlays blend into the glass. Another time of being cautious not to sad on to the glass. JF

That is neat, it almost makes me wish I liked shooting Hill style bows. :>)

There not so bad to shoot.This one is a 1/16" stiffer bottom and shelf is a 1 1/2" up from center. I have to admit recurves are a little easier to get the hang of. I just let the Bow tell me how it wants to be held and shoot. JF

Hopefully tomorrow night I can get the string grooves filed around and shape the tips. JF

And the bottom Tip. It may end up with no turquoise. Well see., JF

Very impressive! Wow, as the kids would say, you got skillz...

Man it is REALLY coming on. Funny that you already have a kill with the bow and then started adding. LOL Jeff I really like the turquoise accents. Hope they stay in place. Got any plans for the Copper yet?

-Bones