I got this Osage bow blank from Matt W at trade blanket in Marshall.

It was a nice piece of Osage. It had a ring chased and was cut out close to bow dimensions. I tillered it out to 50 lbs at 28” awhile back. Some of my buddies and I shot it a quite a bit. It has really held its unbraced profile very nicely.

I finally decided to finish her up. I didn’t like the antler tips I had originally put on so I replaced them with water buffalo horn.

I lost track but I think about seven coats of Tung oil

I used some antler to make a arrow shelf

I wrapped handle with black leather from an old couch.

It turned out pretty nice.

I miss the primitive archery meet and guys like Matt

Here’s pics

Bjrogg

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More

Unbraced profile

Braced

See.. Now thats a real bow. Waiting on the day i can get my hands on some good osage. Great looking bow sir!

As close to full draw as I can get Bjrogg

Nice!!

Awesome bow! Very nice bend!

Beautiful bow and contrasts well with the beautiful "GREEN" backdrop! :)

Your customary tiller. Very little to zero set. That full draw is a thing of beauty. Excellent job BJ.

Beautiful bow from the word go! Well done Sir, besides, anyone that wears overalls has to be all right in my book. I just change from blue ones to brown ones LOL. Zero set is an awesome thing too. Love the finish also, really brings out the wood. Way to repurpose the old couch. Poundage is too high for me now, more like 45# and under for me now. I bet it is a shooter too.

Now THAT'S a BOW. I like it. Nice job Brian.

Did you stain it or was it aged? Great job

Thank you everyone

Bustedarrow this was a bow blank that Matt prepped for guys that want to learn how to build a selfbow. I know Matt helped a lot of people make their first bow.

Thank you EzArcher and PA bones glad you like it

Thanks Mark it actually helps having the yellow contrast too. See you are from Michigan too. I actually tested out my planter yesterday and planted a few sugar beets in my nephews food plot. A little early to start planting yet though.

Thanks Steve. Means a lot coming from you. I’m still using the water buffalo you gave me. It really is some nice stuff to work with.

Thanks tradslinger. I had this one at 55 lbs at one time but my buddy had me drop it to 50. I can still handle 50 but 45 is certainly easier to shoot repeatedly.

Thank you Jeff. Once again it means a lot. I know you know what one looks like

4noltz it’s just the natural color as it ages. I narrowed up the tips a little and it was yellow underneath. It didn’t take very long for it to blend right in. No stain just Tung oil

Bjrogg

Beautiful piece of Osage right there. I don’t think you could get one tillered any better than that. Love everything about it.

Lookin' good. Great job!

Shick

Beautiful Bow! I need to start learning the craft. Thanks for sharing.

That's a beauty! I have a "half done" osage stave in my garage, maybe this summer I will try to finish it up. No green and yellow in my townhome garage though!

The Farmer in you knows how to grow a good bow, Nice looking Brian

Very nice bow, BJ.

No set BJ. Looks great!

No set BJ. Looks great!

Good job, beautiful bow. >>>-----> Ken

Beautiful!

Nice looking bow. Good job.

Wow!

Very nice! That takes talent and knowhow!

and that's how you make a fine bow... as always. :) Great job!

Thank you everyone.

Matt did most of the grunt work. Gave me a really nice starting point. I don’t know if he still makes them but it certainly is a great blank for a beginner to start with.

All I did was tiller her and put a few finishing touches on her.

Bjrogg

Just think about how many blanks Matt and Gary cranked out in 20 years plus. Its staggering. Makes my 250-300 bows feel like child's play :)

Yeah they really helped carry on the knowledge and gave a lot of people a very good chance at success with their first Selfbow.

I only meet Gary briefly a couple times but he made me feel very comfortable and showed genuine interest in my work. I remember shooting against him in the second round of the water jug shoot at Marshall. He said I gave him some competition but I think he was just playing with me. He was a big man in more than one way. The last time I saw him he was just leaving the meet as I was carrying my blackstraps fresh off the grill to our pot lock dinner. He wouldn’t stay for the dinner but he did take a couple back straps.

Matt might be a short guy like me, but he has a big heart and passion to pass it on.

Bjrogg

Gary was a helluva shot. I watched him shoot the money bear at Elm Hall many years ago. That sucker smacked that bear every time at 85 yards! He grabbed his winnings and put them right back into the coffee can.

Very nice.

Yes he was. I remember watching him shooting the water jug and he had a couple really good bleeders. As the water ran out of his jugs he stuck a couple extra arrows in the top of his opponent’s jug where the water wouldn’t run out just for a little extra weight.

Thanks reb

Bjrogg

Osage for a living . Planting corn as a hobby .

Sorry guys. My first passion is farming.

I think as long as I’m able and no one kicks me out I’m going to be farming.

If I just grew corn I might be able to do it like a hobby. I haven’t even planted corn in the past two years.

I’m not a huge acre’s farmer, but we plant a lot of specialty crops that require a lot more time.

I guess I like it that way.

You might not think it, but Michigan is second only to California in the amount of different crops we produced in US. With all our shorelines, peninsulas, inland lakes and bays. We have a lot of different micro climates.

At this point I don’t see myself going full time bowyer. I’m going to be 63 in a month. Who knows. Maybe if I slow down or retire.

Besides. I can already work hard and lose money.lol

Bjrogg

Beautiful bow and fun reading. Thanks for sharing!!

BJ so true about the money. I can afford my losses when it’s a hobby.

Great lookin' Bow BJ - as always! Will let Matt know about this thread, He'll really appreciate it. I was very Lucky to be able to call Matt and Gary Friends! Many Great memories. Bob

Wow BJ, that sure turned out a beauty. Nice work and thank you for all for the kind words. As Pearly mentioned, Gary and I discussed it one day and we were able to count about 2000 bow blanks between us. Thanks Bob for having me log on and read this thread. Its been a long while since Ive been on. I finished a little sinew backed shortie a few weeks ago. I think you'd like it BJ.

I was hoping you would see this one Bob. Know you get together with Matt yet.

Great to hear from you Matt. That’s a lot of Osage blanks. I wonder how many of them were first time Selfbows and still shooting. If you and Bob or Bruce get over this way I’d love to see you.

Take Care

Bjrogg

PS

I’d love to see a full draw and profiles of that sinew backed shorty.

Bjrogg

Nice!

As always Brian. Very nice bow. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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