"I eat onions."<br><br>Did ya'll see that movie "The Grinch Stole Christmas?" Not the real one, the remake where Jim Carey does the voice. Thinking of Lennie, I just can't get that scene of the Grinch eating a raw onion out of my head.<br><br>Got yer panties in a sack yet boy? Looks like we might get rained on, although it's actually a blessing. When you leaving?<br>
I go commando.<br><br>We loaded most of the camping junk on the trailer last night. Smoked a pork picnic last night to bring along. Gotta siphon a couple of gallons of homebrew into jugs and I'm ready. We're heading out Thursday after I get off work, trying to reach Clarksville but Paducah is probably more realistic. Moteling Thursday night, and cruising in on Friday morning.<br>
I can see the similarity<BR><BR>
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I could eat a Vidalia like that.<br><br>I just got a haircut Dano.<br>
<P>"siphon a couple of gallons of homebrew"</P>Don't git no Grinch slobber in my beer boy! What can I bring you from Misssssippi? <BR><BR>Expect we'll be rolling in about mid afternoon on Friday. Been bustin' my hump gettin' stuff ready. Got me some show-n-tell, new arras for me and wifee, etc.. We're really looking forward to our little get away.<BR><P></P>
Lazy me, I bought Shannon and I each a dozen new arrows from Three Rivers just for the occasion. I was up until midnight fletching my two daughters' custom dowel arrows, they did the paint job on the shafts and I did the rest. So we're all armed and dangerous.<br><br>I'm bringing my two ABC wannabes, I want to see if that backed bow will make weight. Also bringing my Wes Wallace Mentor, those store-bought bows are lookers.<br>
ABC Bow Challenge Entry
My name is Leonard Rosenkrans. I am submitting a composite bow for consideration in the 2007 Ambush Bow Challenge. The following is a description of my creation. It is somewhat long-winded due to the fact that the bow is more complicated in its construction than your average selfbow, and also due to the fact that I am naturally long-winded.
Design and Construction
My bow is of fairly typical Asiatic composite materials for the most part, with sinew back, bamboo core and horn belly. Unlike many Asiatic composite designs, I made my bow with relatively little reflex. The limbs themselves are straight just after unbracing, and the only reflex comes from the modest angle of the siyahs. I designed and tillered the limbs to bend fairly evenly throughout the working limb, unlike some composite bows that tend to bend very hard near the handle. I feel this spreads the stress more evenly over the working limb.
The bow is 50†n/n. The working limb sections are 1-3/16†wide (parallel over the entire length), approximately ½†thick and 12†long. Siyahs are 10†long and attached with a v-splice at a modest 30 degree angle. The bow pulls around 62lb@28â€Â, measured to the back of the handle.
The sinew is from whitetail leg tendon, and was applied with hide glue. The horn for the belly is from oryx (gemsbok), and was glued onto the core with resorcinol. Siyahs are made of black walnut and are v-spliced to the core using resorcinol. The handle area consists of a black walnut piece on the back, and an osage piece on the belly. The walnut is typical Asiatic construction, while the osage was necessary because the horn was not long enough to cover the belly side of the handle area. I chose osage for this spacer piece, for its superior compression characteristics. The v-splices on the siyahs are reinforced with a thin piece of walnut on the belly side, again due to the fact that the horn was not long enough to overlap this joint. I wrapped the limbs with sinew where the horn butts against wood, to bolster these areas.
The horn belly differs somewhat from a typical construction in that I’ve laminated two pieces side by side to achieve the proper width. This was necessary because the horn cracked in half when I attempted to flatten each half, resulting in four quarter pieces. By flattening each quarter and then cutting it in half and flipping one piece, I was able to cover one limb with one quarter-piece of horn. Using this method one can make two of these bows from one oryx horn. Yes I’m a frugal individual.
I used resorcinol rather than traditional hide glue for everything except the sinew backing and silk covering. I felt this would give a stronger bond that might be necessary due to the parallel horn pieces, and because this is the first composite bow I’ve undertaken. I have used resorcinol and am familiar with its properties and the type of surface preparation required.
I covered the sinew with a thin layer of silk, then painted this and finished with lacquer. I felt this would provide adequate protection from moisture and make the bow more consistent in its performance in varying humidity conditions.
I chose black walnut for my siyahs because it is a fairly low mass hardwood, and because it is aesthetically pleasing. Also, the wood was cut by my father and therefore carries the mojo factor. I oriented the grain of the walnut at such an angle to the bowstring so that when drawn the string loop is perpendicular to the grain. The bowstring won’t press into the wood parallel to the grain. My thought here was that the bowstring could cause the siyah to split if the pressure were straight into the grain. Siyahs and the horn belly are finished with tung oil finish.
The handle and fades were first wrapped with sinew to bolster all joints between wood, sinew and horn. Then it was wrapped with a heavy string of synthetic material and sealed with tung oil finish. The bowstring is of synthetic B50, and constructed with long loops typical of Asiatic style bows.
How does this bow satisfy the specific criteria for the Ambush Bow Challenge?
1) Stays braced without losing cast: Having back of sinew and belly of horn, with adequate protection against moisture this bow will perform well day-in, day-out. I have used materials that can easily withstand more tension/compression than the toughest woods, yet I’ve over-stressed neither sinew nor horn.
2) Quietness: My choice of siyah wood, my use of modest reflex, and a tiller that results in proper limb timing have contributed to a fairly wquiet bow to shoot.
3) Easily braced: I have personally braced this bow while laying down. It is of such a length as to be easy to brace using a “step-through†method.
4) Balance in the hand: the bow is symmetrical about the geographical center and therefore the bow was tillered slightly positive to give the bow the proper balance.
5) Forgiving: The stiffness of the limbs and siyahs is such that this bow is very difficult to torque.
6) Smooth to 28â€Â: The angle of the siyahs gives a low string angle at full draw, so there is no stacking and the result is a smooth increase in poundage.
7) 60lb@28â€Â: The bow easily makes the minimum poundage.
8) Shoot heavy arrow to 15 yards: The low mass of the limbs results in high bow efficiency, a good percentage of the stroed energy goes to the arrow.
9) Dependable materials, reliable construction: The materials and construction are time-tested down through the Ages. Sinew stretches farther than wood, horn compresses more than wood. The addition of the newer, stronger adhesive is the one place I think I actually improved on the design.
10) Pleasure to shoot: The relatively low mass wood used in the siyahs, combined with a farily thick/narrow limb, keeps hand shock to a minimum. This is the one criterion for which the design probably does not excel though. I find the bow not at all unpleasant to shoot. For me, the struggle is with the poundage.
<P>I think I like the looks of it better before you pimped it out Lennie. Darn credible entry bud. Impressive. Unconventional perhaps in our little world, but historically beyond reproach. I'm really curious to see how it scores, and I'm confident you'll get the nod.</P>
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