Lessons from FM 23-35, 1971 edition

FM 23-35 is the army manual for pistols and revolvers. The older manuals (my 1971 copy, for example) gives instructions for detailing stripping the 1911 pistol. If you're a 1911 fan then you need to get a vintage copy of FM 23-35 just for the detail stripping guide.

The current version of FM 23-35 does not give detail stripping instructions for the current service pistol, The M9. Perhaps more was expected of the average soldier "back in the day".

An interesting lesson in this book are field expedient methods for cleaning your pistol. Out of bore cleaner? Dissolve 1/4 pound soap (what kind, I'm not sure.. probably castile according to M) into one gallon of water.

No gun oil? Engine oil, SAE 10, can be used but it will cause sluggish operation in cold weather. Not the best option, but it could work in a pinch.

Grant Cunningham on firearms lubrication (interesting that Dexron-type Automatic Transmission Fluid makes a great lubricant.. and works better than motor oil)

Evaluating Osage

When evaluating an osage stave, I look at a few things. Some of them are:

• Earlywood-Latewood ratio
• Ring size
• Straightness and free of knots
  
• Color

Earlywood-Latewood ratio

What really matters with Osage is the earlywood/latewood ratio. Latewood is the dark colored, more dense wood. Earlywood is essentially the less-dense sapwood. Separating each growth ring of latewood is a band of earlywood. In the picture below you can see the darker latewood and the lighter earlywood. The earlywood seems to be composed of light yellow dots which eventually form a thin band separating the latewood rings.

Is there a clear definition between each rings and the sapwood? Or does the earlywood seem to muddy into the latewood? If the earlywood bands are fuzzy and ill-defined.. then you'll have problems. This piece has a good earlywood-latewood ratio.

Ring size

Thicker rings offer more safety in unbacked bows, and it's easier to chase a ring. Thinner rings can yield a more dense piece of osage (more layers=more dense) but really thin rings are harder to chase and can be unsafe in an unbacked bow. A thin-ringed piece of Osage full of knots would probably need a backing. Thin rings on a straight and clean stave could be unbacked, if you chased the ring without taking away too much wood off the back ring. The wood, your skill and ability, will tell you how to handle each piece of osage.

Straightness and free of knots

Osage is crooked stuff. Bow wood from osage is a rarity. Ideally you try to find the straightest and cleanest piece possible. Often you have to contend with knots and sometimes a bow blank may need to be straightened to heat. Your skill and ability will tell you how much character in a stave you can handle.

Color

I'm not too big on this. It's been postulated that darker osage is more dense than the light-yellow stuff. That could be true, but such differences seem imperceptible with the design I use on osage.

This post has covered evaluating a stave. Evaluating a tree for harvesting into bow stavese is a subject for another post.

Bow in Progress, part 3

Previously

The arrow rest is made from a piece of broken arrow, or a hardwood dowel. I rasp it flat on side and then attach it to the side of the bow with 2-ton epoxy. Once dried I taper it with a rasp.

Handmade Osage Oven Stick

I made this for M. It's an oven stick. You can use it to pull out the rack on a hot oven and push it back in. No burned hands. The oven sticks that I've seen are little more than wooden rulers with notches cut into them. I figured an oven stick should be thicker, more substantial, and have a better grip. I could make a better one and it wouldn't cost me anything.


I took a scrap piece of osage and began carving away with the drawknife. I used a hacksaw and chainsaw file to shape the notches As you can see, it' s not perfectly straight. As with making bows, I decided to follow the grain. By following the grain you get a stronger tool. The grain will take you to interesting places and you get something unique. As you can see, a slight dip in the grain worked perfectly as it gave a spot for the thumb to rest.











Pull the rack out.



















Push the rack in.







I finished the oven stick by applying a coat of olive oil. The hot temperatures of an oven would scorch off a polyurethane finish. Olive oil is more durable with heat and can be re-applied when needed. Besides, tools used around food should be finished with something food safe.

I've got some oak and maple trees in the yard that drop branches occasionally. Also, with yearly trim trimming I should get a good supply of scrap wood to make oven sticks of other little kitchen utensils with. Maybe I've got the the beginnings of a side business.

Bow in Progress.. part 2

Previously.

99% done.



















The difference between the last time and now was about this much wood.














As you get closer to finishing a bow, the more critical wood removal gets. You need to take off less wood to get the same results.

The left limb has that that wavy area of the grain which results in that area of the limb being slightly forward of the bow's handle. It can be seen here when a yellow line is drawn from that area on the left to the limb on the right. As you can see, the limbs are not exactly parallel to each other. That makes tillering a bit tricky.














In the end I wound up with a rectangular cross section and a tiller very much like what I usually do. My hopes for a hybrid design didn't happen with this bow. In the end, my hands defaulted to the design I know best.

At 64" , it's a short bow for my 30" draw length. The bow seems to be holding up to it pretty well and I'll give credit to Osage for that. If you was a bow shorter than than the ideal, then osage would be the wood to try it with.


The next step will be to sand and finish the bow, then apply an arrow shelf/rest, and cane handle wrap.

wow..oh my

This is quite a find. Utterly fascinating.

The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire.

Experts say the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date to the 7th Century, is unparalleled in size and worth "a seven figure sum".

Leslie Webster, former keeper at the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe, said: "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries.

more pictures .

Bow in Progress

Here is an osage bow in progress. It's a short one: 64" for my 30" draw. The belly is a hybrid of rectangular and rounded belly. I'm trying for a tiller profile that is also a hybrid of stiff handle and bend-through-the handle, so this short bow handle my long draw.

Now lets take a look at what I see:

The two red arrows are pointing to wavy area of the grain which can give the illusion of a stiff or weak spot. Stiff areas are blue. Yellow areas are slightly stiff spots needing correction. The limb on the left is also slightly more stiff. Once I get the those yellow areas corrected, that limb should be bending about as much as the limb on the right.