Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

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greybeard
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Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#1 Post by greybeard » Sat Apr 09, 2016 8:49 am

I had a piece of Macassar Ebony stored in the workshop for some years. Because this timber is prone to end checking I decided to wrap it in plastic film. After removing the plastic wrap the ebony had appeared to have lost its depth of colour.

I do not know if this was natural occurrence or if there was a reaction to the plastic film.

The ebony was 23” long and measured 3” x 1 ¾” in cross section. My riser design required the timber to be a little over 4” in depth so a little creative cutting and joining was required.

African Blackwood was used for the contrast strips.

The bow was laid up on the form, [a copy of Black Widow 70’s bows] I built in 2009. Smooth on was used for the layup and cured at ambient temperature. Clamps and pressure strips were used to hold the components in place.

I had intended to use black glass for this project but as I had none left in stock I had to settle for brown glass, hence the name Brown Widow.
01 Riser Blank And Form.JPG
01 Riser Blank And Form.JPG (68.48 KiB) Viewed 5380 times
03 Shelf.jpg
03 Shelf.jpg (32.24 KiB) Viewed 5380 times
04 Shelf.JPG
04 Shelf.JPG (60.06 KiB) Viewed 5380 times
05 Brow Widow .JPG
05 Brow Widow .JPG (74.07 KiB) Viewed 5380 times
I quite like the brown glass.

Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

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perry
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#2 Post by perry » Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:47 am

Short Bows are so Sexy, top looking Bow Daryl

regards Perry
"To my deep morticication my father once said to me, 'You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family.' "

- Charles Darwin

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bigbob
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#3 Post by bigbob » Sat Apr 09, 2016 11:11 am

Now that is SWEET!!!!Very nice Daryl I like the brown glass too!
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rodlonq
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#4 Post by rodlonq » Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:29 pm

Fantastic result Daryl. In my opinion the brown glass looks a lot better than black would. The creative work to line up the grain feature came off very well indeed. :clap:

Cheers... Rod

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Nezwin
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#5 Post by Nezwin » Sat Apr 09, 2016 8:38 pm

Beautiful, the brown glass really works.

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GrahameA
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#6 Post by GrahameA » Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:01 am

Morning All.
greybeard wrote:.... The bow was laid up on the form, [a copy of Black Widow 70’s bows] I built in 2009. ....
Something to consider. Both Daryl and I own older Black Widow bows. Dig through the archives if you want to see them. Daryl's Black Widow was designed in the 1960s. Both of us hold an opinion that the original bows are still excellent to shoot. I would be happy to shoot a modern version today. IMO The design is as good today as it was 50 years ago.

If you want to make a bow with good shooting characteristics and are not willing/capapable to do the designing/maths/prototyping/testing consider going with a proven design rather than trying to "re-invent the wheel".
Grahame.
Shoot a Selfbow, embrace Wood Arrows, discover Vintage, be a Trendsetter.

"Unfortunately, the equating of simplicity with truth doesn't often work in real life. It doesn't often work in science, either." Dr Len Fisher.

hunterguy1991
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#7 Post by hunterguy1991 » Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:56 pm

Absolutely stunning bow Daryl! How's it shoot?

gazza
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#8 Post by gazza » Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:11 pm

Nice bow daryl, beautiful as usual,Gazza.
The older i get the better i was

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BenBow
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow

#9 Post by BenBow » Tue Apr 12, 2016 2:14 am

That is a sweet looking bow. Very similar to the Wing slimline bow. Nice workmanship

Stu Ballz
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#10 Post by Stu Ballz » Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:30 am

Wow that is a beautiful bow hows it shoot ?

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Flatliner
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#11 Post by Flatliner » Wed Apr 13, 2016 3:57 pm

Beautiful work Daryl.
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Gringa Bows
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#12 Post by Gringa Bows » Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:06 pm

yes very nice

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greybeard
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#13 Post by greybeard » Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:29 pm

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your replies.

Planning the design of the handle was a bit of a challenge as I did not want to overpower the colour/grain pattern in the ebony. I believe the African Blackwood accent strips achieved the desired result.

Personally I prefer the brown glass but the majority of clients [from my bow making workshops] seemed to gravitate towards black glass.

Of the thirty plus bow making workshops that I ran one client selected clear glass and although brown glass was offered the other clients chose black glass.

Perhaps their decision was such because the majority of commercially made bows feature black glass.

The bow delivers the arrow to the selected spot with what appears to be an acceptable speed but at the same time being a little noisy. I have run out of adjustment in the string for tuning so I need to order another string.
greybeard wrote:.........The bow was laid up on the form, [a copy of Black Widow 70’s bows] I built in 2009.....Daryl.
Although not a major player such as Bear, Pearson or Hoyt the Wilson brothers produced a reasonable number of bows to suit a particular market.
Wilson Brothers Bow Production.jpg
Wilson Brothers Bow Production.jpg (59.62 KiB) Viewed 5187 times
Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

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otis.drum
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Re: Macassar Ebony and the Brown Widow.

#14 Post by otis.drum » Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:33 pm

Absolutely beautiful Daryl.
...otis...

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