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Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Apr 7, 2006 21:37:46 GMT -5
After attending my barony's archery practice this evening, I took the advice of my neighbors and shortened my bowstring.
I was hesitant to do it at practice in case their was a critical failure upon drawing. Having had Mk1 and Mk2 fail in my hands during their trial draws I felt I had a good idea where this one would have it's failure mark at, but it has consitantly proven me wrong in the past, but never before have I pushed it this far.
Upon refitting the string and warming it up by drawing a bit farther back time after time, it finaly broke in the grip area upon reaching a wholly full draw.
I constructed Mk3 in late November of 2004, the sinew (sorry didn't have cane) bindings definantly helped prevent catestophic failure. It broke under the leather cover of the grip, but held together. as a matter of fact it is still capable of shooting an arrow, though it is very very squishy (maybe 15lb pull). I am considering taking it apart and seeing if there is enough undamaged layers in the core to attempt a repair. I'm hesitant to see how bad the news is.
::sigh::
-Takeda
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Post by Otagiri Tatsuzou on Apr 7, 2006 21:50:58 GMT -5
It seems like you knew your friend well.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Tell us more about your bow's construction.
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Apr 8, 2006 0:59:53 GMT -5
Oh, was this the one you showed Jehanne last year?  There's something quite heartbreaking (and a little terrifying) about having a bow die in one's hands at full draw. My condolences. S. |
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Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Apr 8, 2006 8:00:47 GMT -5
Oh, was this the one you showed Jehanne last year? Thank you for the condolences Saionji-hime, and yes it was the one I showed you last year. -Takeda (taking a break from the bow engineering table) |
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Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Apr 8, 2006 8:29:59 GMT -5
It seems like you knew your friend well...Sorry to hear about your loss...Tell us more about your bow's construction. Over the course of constructing it's predicessors, I had ample opportunity to learn just how far I could push the ash and maple, it has been an interesting experiment, and it is still in one piece, so it can be used as a court bow (though it looks a little ratty for that) Mk3 was constructed of thin quarter sawn ash and quarter sawn maple (so the grain ran straight) it was built up as a composite, the maple giving strength and rigidity in the grip area and at the tips of the limbs where the permanent curve is supposed to be at the tips. When I constructed it I had no idea how to do the work, and I also did not want to tackle making the bamboo composite "core". So I cut the ash and maple into very thin strips on the bandsaw, sanded and planed the profile taper in by hand, and built a bundle of possible canidates. I then let them sit for about a week to "adjust" to their new life as strips, then selected the ones the bow would be made out of, and further refined them. (This is the funny part) To get the desired curveature, I ironed in the curves... no kidding, regular black and decker hand iron set on medium with medium steam. The wood strips were so thin it worked. I then proceeded to build it up layer by layer, using gorilla glue and alot of hand clamps. This is before I knew about the cord and wedge method. (still have to try that, Yumi's (Japp) tape has been very very helpful) The knocks were then cut in, strung and some of the curves adjusted, and a rudimentary "tillering" done. (I had no idea about tillering, it just seemed that the wood would need to be adjusted to make it bend more smoothly) To complete it was sanded, spray painted black, and using sinew, I did the bindings about every inch apart. (I always liked the black lacquer bows with the dense pattern natural cane stripes) The grip was covered in thin black leather glued on. I had some cheezy kids target arrows and used those for most of my test shooting. It did ok, I though it was more archer failue than bow failure. At Pennsic I picked up a dozen arrows from Yumi that I liked, and never got the chance until a couple of weeks ago to fire them. (They are a good deal heavier than those fiberglass kids arrows) I have no idea what the pull was, it seemed a bit heavier than 30 lb bows, but the draw was very different, there was very little loading, the resistance at half draw seemed about the same as full draw. One thing that was observed by myself and others is how slow the limbs would move forward... it was not a snappy bow, a few people had told me this is because the limbs were heavy in weight for the amount of power they were providing, thier movement has to overcome inertia, thus the bow was robbing power/speed from itself. The 4th bow I made, in the possesion of Ii, had a lighter draw than this one, but was much snappier, it is a much lighter bow and has a bamboo belly and backing. I think Mk5 and Mk6 will be more sucessful from the lessons I have learned since making Mk3, one of which is likely to be of the han-kyu (half-bow) sort... Bamboo also seems to be fairly key.... I am wondering about the properties of rattan... might be just the thing to assmble a core out of. -Takeda |
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Post by Please Delete on Apr 8, 2006 19:56:01 GMT -5
I am sad to hear about the fate of Mk3, but glad to hear that it died honorably in service to its lord, making sure its death had purpose (well, I'm assuming you learned from it, from what you've written).
To folks in general: This has been really neat to watch from the sidelines as all of this came together. Takeda-dono really impresses me as an engineer--one of those gifted people who just look at things and start to figure out how they work and then how to do it themselves. Sure, they do better with more directions, but the fact that they can just apply themselves through trial and error over and over, with rapid improvements each time, is remarkable.
Takeda-dono, I look forward to your next creation.
-Ii
PS: You know, there is a LOT of bamboo still hanging up downstairs. I think it has had quite a while to rest, although I'm not sure if it is the appropriate kind of bamboo or not.
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Post by smriggin on Apr 10, 2006 9:21:49 GMT -5
O/T
Wow - strange coincidence....
I was participating in the Midlands Regional Archery Championships this past Saturday when my bow failed spectacularly during the 2nd of the 5 events. It wasn't a Yumi, but a recurve. But its just strange that someone else broke a bow Saturday too.
The worst thing is, I was in first place when it snapped, having just won Castle Window.
***
Takeda, I'm truely sorry to hear about your loss. This is a great reminder to us all about the Impermanence inherent in all things. Do not mourn it. It is a transition and a guide. Without the failures of 1 and 2, you never would have learned so much making Mk3. With the failure of Mk3 you get to embark on another journey of knowledge and learning.
You broke your bow. Do not let your bow break you.
Shawn
Strangely feeling very Zen today...
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