Crimean Tartar attempt

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 5:40 pm

Hello Everybody,

The last bow I posted unfortunately broke. After wishing myself some luck I had to start another attempt and decided for a Crimean Tartar style bow. Out of caution, I built in a modest grip to limp angle. It´s a seven piece construction. Lenght ntn will be about 56 inch. In the bending section the core is 4 mm thick and the horn has the same size as well. Overall thickness is about 12 mm. The width is 36 mm. Sinew is now drying since week. Because there is heating season in Europe, Hungary, I guess one more week will be enough.

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:46 pm

The bow turned out to have 38# at 28".
I assume I was to impatient and didn´t wait long enough for the sinew to dry. I applied an additional layer and will not touch it before four weeks of drying. I´m curious what will happen with the draw weight.
The picture is at full draw, the arrow is 32 1/2 inch. The bow, at this draw weight, is pleasant to shoot and actually does not feel like that weight. My KTB, 38 pounds as well, feels stronger. It´s pretty long though and of course doesn´t stack.

Allen Elishewitz · Post by **Allen Elishewitz** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 1:53 pm

Nice looking bow! Thanks for sharing!

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:32 pm

You are welcome.
I didn´t document the process much, unfortunately. Of course I will post the further progress, i.e. change in draw weight through one more sinew layer and finally the decoration.

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:16 pm

As planned I added one more layer of sinew. In total it´s now 90 gramm sinew on it. Total weight of the bow is 560 gramm.
After letting it dry thoroughly the draw weight increased to satisfying 50 pounds at 28 inch.
I also increased the brace hight which support the balancing of the limbs and makes it more stable when shooting.
When comparing subjectively to my Mariner 51#33" (which comes to 41#28") it´s not slower and shoots smoother tthan this one. But this might be personal pride. It also compares to my KTB, 38#28", in speed what was definitely not the case before adding sinew.
Anyway, I will let it shoot together with the other bows by some guys in the club to get some feedback.
Covering the back still remains to be done. I know some nice birch trees and cherry tree with propper looking bark. I hope they´ll agree and I can strip some nice pieces off.

pcoutin · Post by **pcoutin** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:10 am

Very nice!

I really want a bow like that

What's the core material? Is the belly water buffalo horn or some other horn?

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:17 am

All wood part are ash, belly is water buffalo, sinew is backstrap from deer.
The bow could be 10 cm shorter but I thought it will be safer/easier to build when it´s longer.

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Sun May 29, 2016 9:50 pm

Finally finished the bow.
The backing is fish leather with the edges of the scales in gold color.
The arrow is bamboo.

pcoutin · Post by **pcoutin** » Mon May 30, 2016 9:14 am

So nice
How did you dye it?
Eye candy

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Mon May 30, 2016 2:30 pm

I just bought it in this color. Lucky draw...

KenH · Post by **KenH** » Tue May 31, 2016 1:21 am

Beautifully done! Bravo!

mikekeswick · Post by **mikekeswick** » Tue May 31, 2016 7:28 am

Nicely done! I have plans to make one like this someday.
Could you give more details on the covering you used?

rtvn · Post by **rtvn** » Tue May 31, 2016 11:39 am

Mike,
The covering is fish leather, Tilapia. I bought it online from a German shop but I guess you can find it anywhere on the net.
The price for a piece of Tilapia is not to high although the size of the skins is limited and a covering can be as much as with some kinds of snake leather. I needed 9 pieces for the covering. However, other sorts of fish leather are way more expensive than the Tilapia and the quality of this one was good.

Crimean Tartar attempt

Crimean Tartar attempt

Added sinew