Buddy of mine just handed me this bow and asked what it is? No markings at all, is either laminated, or consists of heart and sapwood. I think maybe osage and rosewood, judging by the color. Almost looks like its not laminated though, just solid piece. It is grungy, any suggestions on how to clean it up and what to refinish it with? Leather grip lacings look hand tied with some crude knot. Just shy of 60" long, and no shelves. Selfbow? Thanks... TK

That's an old yew bow. Do you intend on shooting it or just making it look pretty for the wall? That will decide the best way to clean it up.

PD might be right on the Yew call, although the sapwood looks VERY thick in the one handle close up. It was likely finished with shellac, so denatured alcohol should soften the finish, and if you go through the finish it won't damage the wood. I don't think I would use anything abrasive on it. Self Bow.

If it were mine, I'd like to try shooting it. Maybe I can talk him out of it in a trade, he got it for free. I owe him an elk antler anyway for some bison meat I traded with him for. If nothing else, it would look nice on a man cave wall. Since it is about 59 1/2 inches long, approx. what length string and what type would be best to go on it? What brace height should I try for? Thanks. TK

It does have some type of shellac finish under all the grime...

That's a short bow! Wear body armor and a face shield if you get/try to shoot it. It's going to have some serious stacking if brought to full draw.

I thought the same. It is pretty stiff, I'd say at least 50# at maybe 26" draw. My draw length is 29" ideally. I don't think I can do it with this bow without damaging it or myself.... Hmmm.

Id suggest not shooting it. If its a wall hanger then leaving the patina would be my vote.

I'll try cleaning it up with some mild detergent and warm water to see how it turns out. Blue lightly abrasive sponge okay? Not the green kind that scratches metal... The layer of crud on this bow is thick and hard.

Do not shoot a self yew bow at 29" and the bow is 59 1/2". That is a recipe for disaster, if it is indeed a yew. A self yew should be 68 to 70 inches to draw 29 and that is testing it with a deep belly design.

If you do shoot it, do NOT draw to 28" Yew bows of ELB design were 72" long for a 28" draw. 60" is about right for a 26" draw.

And, the bow should be stored in a place of slightly higher humidity (the bathroom is probably good because it's only HIGH humidity while the shower is running) before you begin exercising it--drawing it many times to a point much shorter than 26".

The handle wrap is not a factory job but I don't think the bow is either. Lots of archers made their own bows in the early 1900s and Scouts did well into that century. I'd think this one was made by or for a young person because of it's length.

I'd start cleaning it up with fine steel wool just to break up anything that is not the applied finish. Then wipe it with a dry cloth and see what you have and figure out what to do next.

It looks like the belly side of the handle is flat, which might make it uncomfortable to shoot, but you have other things to do before shooting it, if you do.

clean it up and see if thats sapwood backing (yew) or if its an old hickory backed osage.Hard to tell.

A yew doesn't have to be that long to draw 29", George, I have one that is 60". I won Bow of the Year with it several years ago. I suggest not shooting it because its very old and we have no idea what it has been through or where it was kept. Yew can be very violent when it goes.

I found out he does not plan on shooting it, just displaying next to his bison head mount. I didn't ask him to consider a trade (yet). I am going to clean it up for him though, and I will post some more pics then. I'd like you guys to take another look then to see what you think it is. I certainly wouldn't try to pull that thing back to 29" even if it were mine, and you can tell when far enough is enough anyway I'd think. It is old better off just left alone, I agree.

On a bow with no shelf, do you just cant the bow, or use your hand as the rest? Looks like the shooter above is doing that without canting...although that bow looks like it has a narrow rest too.

Both, and wear a glove on your bow hand!

On the bow above I added a single piece of saddle leather to form a ledge. Just enough to put the arrow in the same spot every time. Canting does the rest of the work.

:) thanks.

Pearl Drums, I'm sure there are exceptions. I'm going on the old notes from guys like Gerald Welch who cautioned about drawing past 28" on 68" bows.

Yah, there is lots of old stuff out there that doesn't hold water. Its all part of learning on your own and not buying into everything you read in books. I caution that quite often in this hobby.

At first glance I thought it was a yew bow as well... but then I noticed in the one picture that the sapwood seemed to have wide, quite visible growth rings, so now I'm not sure.

I do have an old yew bow here that looks a lot like it, only smaller. Mine is small, a kid's bow.

Any time I've brought an old bow like that back to life, I did so similar to tillering one. First inspect closely for any flaws. Then push each limb tip against the floor as if floor tillering a new bow(this gives some assurance it'll be safe to brace). And if all is well, no creaks, groans, cracks, etc, brace it and then pull it a couple inches, exercising it there 30 times or so, inspect, then pull it an inch or two farther 30 times, inspect, and so on on the way to full draw. Even if all went well, I would not continue to increase draw length if the string angle at the tip neared 90 degrees.

Pearl, your bow was not a deep D cross section, right? You know very well that the design of a bow is what determines how far the limbs can be bent without breaking. So comparing your bow to this one is clearing the way for a broken bow.

After looking at the bow some more, I don't think it is a hickory backed laminate. I think it is sap and heartwood, because it is almost worked completely through the dark heartwood into the sapwood on one limb approaching the tip. In fact, the very last pic shows this pretty good. The lighter area on the bottom of the limb in the pic is what I am talking about. The dark wood was worked right away in this spot. When I clean it up, this will be more evident. I will take more pics and post tonight or tomorrow.

Jim mine has a shallow D. Calvins bow is a bit more flat from what I can see and if it was healthy would take more than mine above would with a shallow D.

Mine has a slight curve to it - shallow D as well. I will show that in a full pic later.

Here it is in its full length, and almost certain it is not a glued laminate. Gonna clean it up now, just got home. Late, Im beat, but gonna do it.

Interesting bow Cal, I'm looking forward to seeing it cleaned up.

Cleaned with clothing detergent. Has a pretty moderate,coat of shellac that was never sanded and recoated, just drip dried. There is a small old splinter in it.

Got more but this should give a pretty good idea.

Righty...

Cal, as I suspected, it appears to have porous spring growth in those rings, which would rule out yew, since yew is diffuse porous. The coarseness of grain and wood color in some pictures are reminiscent of osage. Osage selfbows are usually made with just heartwood, but CAN be made with sapwood as yew bows are, if seasoned properly.

It looks like the splinter lifted in an area where the grain was violated a bit and allowed to run off the edge of the limb. If you're going to try to use it again, that should be addressed so it doesn't get worse. Inside/under the splinter should be flushed and cleaned out with plenty of alcohol to remove any dirt or shellac that might be in there, completely dried, then glued with thin superglue and gently clamped. Problem is, alcohol dissolves shellac, so you may end up messing up the finish in that area. In which case the whole bow could be rubbed down with alcohol, allowed to dry, and then a fresh coat of shellac applied. Very quick and easy. If you guys just want to hang it for display instead, that's cool too.

Some of those old bows I have seen had taken a lot of set not because they were badly built but because they were left strung for several years. I have heated them back up and slightly reflexed them. Sometimes it holds and sometimes it doesn't. You might even be able to put the profile back in it and retiller to an acceptable weight.

Looking at the grain structure I would say without a doubt it is osage with the sapwood. That splinter is a deal breaker for shooting the bow unless you do a quality wrap over it.

I'd say osage. Clean the dirt off and keep it as a wall hanger. If it breaks you've turned an interesting piece of history into kindling wood.

Ill hold yer beer fer ya:)

Ill hold yer beer fer ya:)

He just wants to display it but thanks for the info and identification. It has a red and an orange yellow layer. It could have had a better finish job done on it. The shellac was drip dried and not sanded. If it were mine, Id probably just hand it on the wall too. Gonna build a nice new one out of something else.

I found two real straight approx. 6" hop hornbeam trees today. Real good future selfbow potential....

I found two real straight approx. 6" hop hornbeam trees today. Real good future selfbow potential....the,second one the,beavers got started for me.

Heres the first one again. A good ten feet of straight untwisted hhb. How do you temper it, take to a lumber mill kiln? Can I do it myself at home?

Those look like very good HHB trees. A beaver chewing Ironwood, wow. Looks like he gave up. Probably broke a tooth :^)

What do you mean by 'temper it'?

The ones I cut, I did everything at home. Cut to 6' lengths, seal the ends, remove the bark, seal the backs, and leave them in the basement or garage to dry.

It IS better to cut them when the sap is up because the bark comes off easily and cleanly. If you will have access to them in the spring, I would consider waiting. You could drawknife and scrape the bark off, but you have to be super careful because if you violate the first ring under the cambium, removing it cleanly without violating the next one is even more difficult... since hophornbeam rings are soooo thin and diffuse porous.

So much for declarative statements earlier lol

Thanks for the info guys. Since I have never done this and there are two, I might try it both ways. Might try the beaver cut one now, since no sap is gonna run up the cut side anyway. I am anxious to try this out. Need to let dry so its gonna be a long enohgh wait as it is. Will get the first one in spring. We have a lot of ironwood in this area.

Then go git that sucker!

Maybe the beaver will finish the job and save me some work. Got one more week of late bow starting tomorrow, then Im going back for it. Its not a spot Ill bowhunt in.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here