# ugly stick



## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

well i have been tinkering on makeing a new bow lately

this one is more of just and experiment bow

i wanted to see how little osage orange it takes to make a usable hunting weight bow

osage orange is one of the best native bow woods in this country,and i have always heard it doesnt take much to make a good bow

i have made a few osage orange bows in the past,but they were all full sized stiff handle bows

well i had this splinter left over from the side of a full size stave,so i decided to give it a go and experiment

this bow isnt quite an inch wide at its widest point,half inch thick in the thickest part of the limbs,only 55 inches long tip to tip

it is pulling 40 lbs at 28 inch draw right now,and it bends thru the handle(known as a " D bow " )

its not completely finishes as i am going to heat treat the belly to bring up the draw weight some,it needs final sanding and a sealer and a handle wrap yet

im hoping to get the finished draw weight up to about 45 lbs,then it will be good enough to take anything from bunnies to deer,and its short enough to be used in heavy brush

if you know anything about self bows,you know thats a lot of draw length for a short bow,and decent poundage for something so narrow/short/thin

heres a couple of pics,let me know what ya think

sorry my pics aint the besst,but i am not much of a photograper lol

but i think you can see it well enough th get the idea of what it looks like

























thanks for looking


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## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Osage is from MN.?


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## cherokee96 (Jan 4, 2013)

Good lookin bow so far sneaky. I've never actually made a bow, but i have a nice bit of osage orange sittin out at the parents house. I'm hopin its not too knotty so i can give it a try one day when i have time.


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## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

Nice, be sure and let us see the finished product.


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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

It looks like you did a good job tillering. I'd be interested in how much it stacks.


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

That's cool! I would like to try making one at some point.


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## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

thanks guys

az: no osage is not from MN, i usually trade for it or buy it.thats why i try to make the most of it and kept that side splinter from the larger stave. the best wood local to mn is hop horn beam.i have one in the makings right now

ruger: once i get her completely done i will post updated pics

fr3d: the tiller isnt too bad,could have gotten the last 4" of each limb bending little more.the stack isnt to bad for such a ling draw on a short bow,a little stack,but not bad

cherokee: hopefully your osage hasnt been damaged by bugs,but you can chase a ring to get past damage.i have seen guys who have made bows from osage out of 100 yr old fence posts and they were excellent bows

itzdirty: if your realy interested in making one i suggest going to a website called paleoplanet.com.lots of great bowyers over there and guys whom would sell ya the wood too,many differant woods can be made into bows,but it does take some practice to learn how to tiller properly


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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

I bought two kickory handles once to try this.....one ended up haveing the grain the wrong direction and I never did get another. They're still sitting around somewhere


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## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

looks like you've made a very good hedge bow.............


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Thanks SGB. I will check it out.


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