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Message started by walter on Feb 24th, 2019 at 6:23pm

Title: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Feb 24th, 2019 at 6:23pm
My first attempt. 70 1/2" n to n oak board bow. Tips are bending 5" with 30 lbs pull; ready to string @ 4" high with full draw weight of 50 lbs. I hope :D
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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Feb 27th, 2019 at 2:49pm
Looks good.  I like your tillering tree setup.  :)

One of my first bows was a board bow of red oak.  I ended up taking way too much off and it came out at about 23 lb @ 28".  I still have it and shoot it every once in a while.  It's fun because as you back away from the target, you really need to arc your shots.

Looking forward to see how your bow comes along.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Kick on Feb 28th, 2019 at 10:26am
I need to have a go at making a bow. I'm particularly liking the videos made by Mick Grewcock:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_zw4hK5YIIcE59-iymfxg

He's really good at making his videos informative and entertaining.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Sarosh on Feb 28th, 2019 at 2:01pm

Kick wrote on Feb 28th, 2019 at 10:26am:
I'm particularly liking the videos made by Mick Grewcock


I watch his videos for the shooting I like the high draw weights. For bow making, the traditional bowyers bibles are just the best thing you can spend time on.
I don't do archery :( don't have a place yet. so nowadays I try to figure out anchor points, form and aiming methods.
I can't find a video to explain how to draw and aim heavy poundage warbows (don't want to hurt my slinger's shoulders) . any suggestions?  :-?

@ walter

are you backing the bow?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Feb 28th, 2019 at 3:02pm
I haven't seen any of Mick's videos before.  I'll check them out.


Sarosh wrote on Feb 28th, 2019 at 2:01pm:
the traditional bowyers bibles are just the best thing you can spend time on

^^^Totally agree with this.  Although I would says it's good to have a basic knowledge of bow making beforehand.  Some of the information can get a little hard to follow.

Another of my favorite bow making resources is a DVD you can find here: http://www.osageorange.com/.  He also has it listed on ebay.  It's a little pricey, but the detail it goes into is great.

@Sarosh, I haven't heard anything on heavier draw weights other than you have to work yourself up to them.  Like any other kind of weight training, you need time to build up the strength of your muscles, tendons, etc.  Once you're comfortable at a particular weight, you can increase it a bit.  One thing you can do with a bow that's a little heavier than you're used to is shorten up your draw length while your strength builds.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Feb 28th, 2019 at 5:20pm
I'm not going to back it.  I do want to shorten it a couple inches as there is zero set so far and a 72" bow (tip to tip) is really a loongbow  :D

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Mersa on Mar 1st, 2019 at 1:05am
I've had a go at a few primitive bows , morphy knows all to much .

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Sarosh on Mar 1st, 2019 at 2:15am
build alongs might be a better help for a beginner but after 1 or 2 working bows i think it's a good time to read TBB vol1.
I started bow making after reading this http://poorfolkbows.com/oak.htm
my experience with fiberglass : don't ever use that again on a bow.


Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 3rd, 2019 at 5:16pm
50lbs @ 22". I made a 3 ply 15 strand b50 string for it.  Forgot how much b50 stretches. A couple more times on the tiller and I think it will be done.

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Mar 5th, 2019 at 4:11am
Nice Walter. Is this your first ever bow or just your first board bow?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 5th, 2019 at 7:30am
First ever. Decided that 50lbs is still a little heavy for me.  Now shooting for 45@29". By the time the bow was pulling 50lbs @ 20", it had 3/4" of string follow (set?) measured  immediately after unbracing the bow at the tips. Hoping the bow  doesn't end up a 45lb bow with 50lb sf :-/

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 13th, 2019 at 8:01pm
Got to spend about an hour  on my bow today. It is pulling 45# @ 24" now.  Bought another scale. They all lie, so now I check the weight on all 3 and divide by?  :-?   ;D

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Sarosh on Mar 14th, 2019 at 11:58am
lol can't you just adjust one? :P

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Mar 14th, 2019 at 12:15pm
Do you have anything of a known weight to check your scales and see which one is the most accurate?

What kind of scale are you using?  I use something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-AMW-LS-110-Digital-LuGGaGe/dp/B00OVLH548

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 14th, 2019 at 8:11pm
Sarosh, yes. It's called a hammer :)

Joe, two say 2 gallons of water weigh 16 lbs, but they loose it past 30lbs. Went to walmart and bought a six dollar luggage scale. It is reasonably accurate. I am also using my other inexpensive spring scale to average out the weigt. The costly digital scale reads what it wants when it wants. .

I can already tiller a bow (for me) by feel. If I can draw it 28" for hours at a time, it's just right :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Sarosh on Mar 15th, 2019 at 6:24pm
haha a hammer big enough can be a solution to everything.

i use this kind of scale : https://www.amazon.de/ECD-Germany-H%C3%A4ngewaage-Analog-Forstwirtschaft/dp/B07L97PGG6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1552688536&sr=8-3&keywords=hanging+scale+weight

only difference  max is 100kg

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 15th, 2019 at 8:22pm
45lbs @ 231/2". Think I have a hinge :(

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Sarosh on Mar 16th, 2019 at 4:18am
i dont see it from the photo, there might be  picture distortion from camera.
I don't understand 231/2".

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 16th, 2019 at 9:57am
23 and 1/2 inches draw length. It looks like there is a slight hinge on ghe bottom (right) limb just past the fades.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Mar 18th, 2019 at 10:12pm
I have to keep droppng the weight due to disc disease and a hernia patch that I have ridged. Not much pain from either physical problem, but I really do not want  another hernia operation >:(.
I am at 45lbs @ 24 1/2" in this pic. Going to 27" and will sand the crap out of this bow, which is already sold. Next one too :-? Thknk I got rid of the hinge today.

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Apr 10th, 2019 at 7:19pm
Hit a stone wall. aridity. serious lack of moisture in the air. Humidity as low as 26%. Highest was 51%.  LOL, draw length would decrease a couple inches every day @ 45lb.
Going to get a 4" diameter pvc pipe to keep a bow I am working on. Should be able to get and hold 50% in the tube.
Pic of braced bow and drawn to 22 @ 45lbs, which I believe to really be 28".

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Apr 11th, 2019 at 9:51am
The moisture drop is a concern.  If the moisture content of the wood gets too low, the bow will more liable to break.  The PVC pipe idea sounds like it could work.  Another thing you might try is to put a coat of oil on the bow.  I don't normally oil a bow until it's finished.  But I don't see why you couldn't earlier.  Obviously as you're tillering, you'd need to re-oil that area when you stop for the day.

The bow is looking really good :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Apr 11th, 2019 at 7:08pm
Thanks joe. I want to stain this bow with cherry stain and then put several coats of some kind of varnish to slow down the evaporation rate or to keep it from sucking up too much moisture (it's supposed to be going to Minnesota).
But first, I have to rehydrate it back to 9 or 10% moisture content. Hence the pvc with several little tobacco humidifiers.
I knew I was going to have trouble with aridity, but it has dropped sooner and faster than I expected. By May and most of June, it will drop to 10 and even 6% :-/
Right now it is

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Apr 11th, 2019 at 8:26pm
I see.  The PVC chamber is a good thought.  And if it does work well, that will certainly be beneficial for working on a bow over a long period of time.  I look forward to seeing it once you have it finished.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Apr 20th, 2019 at 6:38pm
The hydration chamber is a good idea. I'm convinced shifting MC is one of the biggest unseen causes of bow issues, at least in the long term. Hydration Chambers let you keep the bow at it's original performance easier.

You may have considered these options but in your part of the country hickory is king. It will shrug off all but the worst MC abuse and shoot all the faster for it. If you want to get really evil with your design you can do boo/hickory or sinew/tempered hickory (which will shrug off virtually all MC issues, or sinew/juniper etc. Boo/Osage will also be good. White Oak is also worth a shot. I've gotten away with murder with it. Avoid yew, red cedar and other such woods. Red oak is also sort of an iffy one in those conditions but that largely depends on the grade you get. I once found a dark red board of red oak that felt as least as dense and heavy as an Osage board of similar dimensions. Still kicking myself that I didn't buy it.

Do you have any other bows planned? It's hard to build just one.  ;)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Apr 20th, 2019 at 8:55pm
LOL, I have 3 more! Bought another board yesterday; started on it today. It's 1 1/2" wide x 3/4 x 6' southern red oak. Got the profile done today. Will work down the belly, floor tiller and cut in nocks tomorrow. That is the plan anyway.

Haven't seen any northern red oak or hickery here. Home depot does have birch, but I couldn't find a piece with close to straight grain.
What do you think would be a good finnish that would help keep moisture in?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Apr 21st, 2019 at 2:29pm
I've always leaned towards spar urathane. It's everywhere, comes in a spray can for even applications and with 7 or so thin coats does a good enough job. That and your pvc pipe should pretty much take care of issues. When in doubt just add a few more coats.

I've seen some people who will dilute heavy duty epoxy with acetone and use a disposable spray applicator. I imagine that creates a pretty heavy duty coat. Super glue is another that takes awhile but I've seen good results with it.

Lastly you might consider marine spar varnish. Ive not used it but it's an intriguing idea.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Apr 21st, 2019 at 2:56pm
I use a 50/50 mix of linseed oil and shellac.  Although this is more of a continual process rather than a one and done.  I give my bows a fresh coat every year or so.  The oil mixture smells really nice and the finish builds up over time.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jun 2nd, 2019 at 4:08pm
The moment finally arrived. Twenty seven inches at 47 lbs :)

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jun 2nd, 2019 at 4:25pm
Wrapped the handle area with 2mm hemp with a short wedge of wood wrapped in for a shelf.  Shot it in this am. Love it! The shelf and wrapped handle work good, but look like crap. Going to try padding the belly area of the handle with leather to build it up some and wrap that with leather .

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Kick on Jun 2nd, 2019 at 5:05pm
Looks great! Can't wait to see it all finished up.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Jun 11th, 2019 at 10:44am
Nice job!

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jun 11th, 2019 at 9:42pm
Thanks! Love this bow. Not just because it is my first. When I was shooting it in, I was first surprised by its speed and how hard it hit and then realized I did not feel any shock in my shooting hand. It is a very fast, smooth and hard hitting bow and yes, I know I got lucky. Followed the teaching in Bowyers Bible closer than the King James :-[...
Because of this, I could not sell the bow to my buyer. He wants antique looking bows for wall hangers. Explained my dilemma and he was ok with it, but asked me to sell him good looking bows that are prettier than useful! No doubt that will happen ;)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Jun 13th, 2019 at 12:41pm
Shoot that's the best kind of buyer. A truly well made good shooting bow takes far more skill than a pretty bow. I did notice the tips we're looking quite good. Especially for a newer bow maker. Most tend to overbuild them a bit out of caution. I'm not surprised it's a shooter based on the design. Looking forward to more bows Walter! I don't have the time, let me live vicariously through you! I just want to LIVE Walter! Lol.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 4:24pm
The almost finished bow. Decided to add tip overlays, which will be the last thing I do to it.
It has a bendy handle with an arrow rest. I put a little leather padding on the belly side and wrapped the handle with reverse wrapped hemp. Not pretty, but comfy and the padding and wrapping can be removed in just a couple minutes. The shelf is glued on.


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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 4:42pm
Looks great!  It sounds like you're running into what I've dealt with on several occasions.  Just when the bow is about done, you have the thought, "I should do this to it too."  Sometimes it seems like you'll never get to the end.  :D

I like the idea of a hemp wrapped handle.  I've always just used a leather wrap.  I might have to try that on a future bow.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 8:19pm
Beautiful!

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 9:21pm
@ joe_meadmaker

@ Morphy Thanks for your positive comments!
Anyone make ther own arrows?


Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 11:02pm

walter wrote on Jun 23rd, 2019 at 9:21pm:
Anyone make ther own arrows?

I did once.  A handful of years ago I took a workshop on arrowsmithing and fletching.  During the workshop I finished 6 arrows that had already been started, and completed 6 more from beginning to end.  It was very interesting, and I always meant to start doing it at home.  But then I started looking at all the equipment I wanted to get (fletching jig, fletching burner, scale to measure spine weight).  The cost added up pretty quickly so I never took the step to start buying the equipment.  It's still something I would like to do some day.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Jun 24th, 2019 at 5:20pm
Yes, arrow making is a lot of fun. It can be as complicated or simple as you want. Footed arrows are beautiful and fun but my favorite ones to make are shoot arrows with a thumb plane.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jul 10th, 2019 at 10:18pm
Second bow; 40lb @ 28". The tips are juniper. Now I have a target and a hunting bow :D

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Jul 10th, 2019 at 11:59pm
Those tips look beautiful!  How about a shot of that thing at full draw.  ;)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Kick on Jul 11th, 2019 at 11:03am
That looks really nice. Great work!

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jul 11th, 2019 at 11:32am
Thanks! A few more pics. Will get one at full draw as soon as the s o has a few minutes to spare. Could not get the pic without her. She also has a better camera  ;)

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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Kick on Jul 12th, 2019 at 12:47pm
I just rediscovered this page which I've had bookmarked for an age now. I would love to try this out but bamboo isn't exactly growing wild over here in Finland, particularly not at the size needed. Still I thought this might be of interest:

https://sensiblesurvival.org/2012/03/24/build-a-bamboo-survival-bow-in-30-minutes/

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jul 13th, 2019 at 3:16pm
Forty pounds @ 28" draw :)


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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Jul 14th, 2019 at 1:26pm
Beautiful!  Nice job.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Jul 14th, 2019 at 11:48pm
Thanks joe!

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Oct 11th, 2019 at 9:20pm
Another red oak bow. This one is 69" n/n, 45lbs @ 27" draw with 1 1/4" set on bottom limb and 1 1/2 " set top limb. Except for the quarter inch difference in limb set, I am very happy with this bow.


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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Oct 12th, 2019 at 4:05am
Thats awesome

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Oct 12th, 2019 at 8:23am
Uneven set is very common. I definitely would not consider that a drawback. It looks really nice. What kind of stain did you use?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Oct 12th, 2019 at 9:34am
Haven't stained it yet. Been using blo and true oil. Going to cover the blo and true oil with urethane on this one.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by ghost0311-8541 on Oct 12th, 2019 at 7:17pm
https://youtu.be/SkeRPlnXwSE

I like watching and learning.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Oct 13th, 2019 at 5:18pm
@walter - Nice job as usual.  How many bows is that you've made so far?

@ghost0311-8541 - I like the video.  It's very interesting to see all the different tools and techniques people use when bow making.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Oct 13th, 2019 at 8:04pm
@ joe_meadmaker

Third bow. I have #4's profile cut and the belly planed and rasped down enough to begin floor tillering. It is a quarter inch wider fades to mid limb and a few inches shorter. Hoping for 45lb less than an inch set.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Dec 3rd, 2019 at 8:26pm
Did not get less than an inch set @28". Got exactly 1/1/2" set on both limbs, but still very happy with this bow :D


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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Dec 4th, 2019 at 10:03am
Thats beautiful.  I just cut down an ash tree, and cut into  12 staves. Never made a bow, but want to attempt next year

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Dec 4th, 2019 at 2:49pm
@walter - Nice job on the tiller!  How much shaping do you do in the handle area?  I looked back through the topic but didn't see a front (or back) view.  Just curious.

@vetryan15 - Awesome!  Ash is a great bow wood.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Dec 5th, 2019 at 6:06pm
@ joe_meadmaker

Not much shaping. The bow is 1 1/2" wide. I cut the handle to 1 1/4" wide. After the bow is shot in, I sand, blo, tru oil and cover the handle area with leather.
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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Dec 5th, 2019 at 6:09pm
@ vetryan15

Thanks! Think you will enjoy turning that ash tree into bows :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Dec 6th, 2019 at 3:39am
I hope so, been reading about it. My knife making mentor makes bows, but we never got around to making one before my move. But if i have questions.  He is there to help.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Feb 17th, 2020 at 7:33pm
I just finished a D bow with limbs that pull evenly throughout the draw length, but one limb has slightly more set than the other. Does anyone know which limb should be the top limb? Does it matter?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by joe_meadmaker on Feb 17th, 2020 at 9:55pm
Nice!  I'm looking forward to a picture of that one.

The limb with more set I'd probably put at the top.  If your bow has one limb that's bending a little more, that should be at the top.  And reversely, if you have a limb that's a little stiffer, it should be at the bottom.

The reasoning behind this is that the handle of the bow is in the center.  When shooting the bow, the arrow will be on top of your hand, effectively making the upper limb a little bit shorter.  You want the limb that bends more to be the "shorter one" so the stress on both limb is as even as possible.

All that said, if you have your bow set up so the arrow is lined up with the exact center of the bow, then it doesn't matter so much.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Feb 18th, 2020 at 5:21pm
Thanks joe! I place the arrow pass 3/4" above ctr. This bow shoots a little better with the higher set (1 5/8") limb up, but I thought it would be stessed more and develop more set. Seems sensible to shoot the bow the way it shoots best and try to ignore a lttle more set. After all, the bow knows best  :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Apr 26th, 2020 at 8:48pm
string follow or set has been 1 1/2" more or less top and bottom limbs on all my bows. The bows are all 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" wide at the fades. Thought i could beat this much set by going to 1 3/4" wide. Got under an inch permanent set. Over 2" immediate set :(
This on a 68" n-n self bow. Have decided i must get over the inevitable string follow or be ok with backing bows, which in my humble? op are not self bows.
Below is my latest. It is 1 3/4" at the fades, running paralell past ctr. One half inch at the knocks. Here i am at 48lbs @ 25" with a very little work left to do. This bow ended up at 45 lbs @28" with the set mentioned above. Plenty of hand shock for the first dozen or so shots. By the time i shot it fifty times and was up to 3/4 draw, i could only feel a little vibration.
So, now i am thinking that less than one inch of permanent set may be a good thing even if it is slowing arrow speed. Anyone agree?


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Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Apr 26th, 2020 at 9:18pm
Less than one inch is just fine. It’s not a cut and dry answer on this question. You can make a bow with zero set if it was three inches wide and quite long but the mass would kill efficiency. Of course you can also make a bow with very little set with good efficiency but that’s just a process that comes from practice.  A little set could mean you are correctly lowering the mass to be properly balanced with energy storage or it could mean the bow is too dry or the bow is overbuilt. Consider the Traditional Chinese Composite bow. Tons of reflex, garbage efficiency. It’s super overbuilt. Set/reflex isn’t everything.

If you don’t have it already consider looking into the Traditional Bowyers Bible vol. 4 and reading the chapters on heat treating, the mass principle and proper tillering techniques based on the front view profile of a bow. That’s a good introduction to getting efficient bows.

That’s a fine looking bow Walter. Well done man!

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Apr 26th, 2020 at 9:29pm
Thanks Morphy  :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Nov 27th, 2020 at 2:11pm
No more school and just lost in all the free time. So I reread this entire thread. It's one of my favorites. Walter you look like a freaking stud standing there with that home made longbow on your shoe. So glad you're finding satisfaction in bow making.

This reminds me of a thought someone had earlier.  Now that our man Kick is getting into bow making we actually have "a lot" of regulars that are interested in the subject.
Is it time to actually have a sub forum dedicated to the topic? Personally I think so.

CA if you see this what do you think?

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Kick on Nov 27th, 2020 at 2:21pm
I would be interested in that.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Nov 27th, 2020 at 3:55pm
I 3rd that statement.  Definitely would be interested in that sub form

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Nov 27th, 2020 at 5:51pm
oh yeah :)y

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by IronGoober on Nov 27th, 2020 at 10:44pm
I'd be interested in a sub forum too. I made so many bows when I was young. I could tiller so well. I was just figuring out, via trial and error, that you needed to not cut through wood fibers on the back of the bow, when I was gifted the traditional bowyers bible. It was great to get so much good information so fast. It was also self-satisfying to realize that much of it I had figured out on my own, and it was humbling and a bit disappointing to see all the stuff that I hadn't figured out.  Funny thing is, I haven't really made any bows since I got the book(s).  But I recently acquired a stave that I really want to try make a recurve from. I just haven't made time to do it yet. 

Walter, amazing looking bow. I hope to have as well of a tillered bow as that. I never quite understood the worry about the set though. I've never had a self-bow that didn't take some set. I was actually very amazed reading the TBB that some bows can take as little as 1". I never achieved anything close to that. The bows still shot arrows just fine.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by Morphy on Nov 28th, 2020 at 9:18am

IronGoober wrote on Nov 27th, 2020 at 10:44pm:
I'd be interested in a sub forum too. I made so many bows when I was young. I could tiller so well. I was just figuring out, via trial and error, that you needed to not cut through wood fibers on the back of the bow, when I was gifted the traditional bowyers bible. It was great to get so much good information so fast. It was also self-satisfying to realize that much of it I had figured out on my own, and it was humbling and a bit disappointing to see all the stuff that I hadn't figured out.  Funny thing is, I haven't really made any bows since I got the book(s).  But I recently acquired a stave that I really want to try make a recurve from. I just haven't made time to do it yet. 

Walter, amazing looking bow. I hope to have as well of a tillered bow as that. I never quite understood the worry about the set though. I've never had a self-bow that didn't take some set. I was actually very amazed reading the TBB that some bows can take as little as 1". I never achieved anything close to that. The bows still shot arrows just fine.


So when I got into primitive weapons there was effectively no internet. I would just read encyclopedia entries on any weapon I could think of lol. So I went to the local library and asked if they had any books on bows and arrows. They had Bows And Arrows of the Native Americans by Jim Hamm.

I read that thing so many times. I still have it complete with the "Property of the Harris County Library System" or some such on the side. Can't tell you what that book and Jim Hamm did for my life. It was like throwing gasoline on embers. Wow. Then I got the Bowyers Bibles and other books and things went crazy. 30 years later I still can't even write this without wanting to go out and immediately start a bow.  ;D ;D

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Nov 28th, 2020 at 9:29am
@ IronGoober

Thanks for sayin
Set slows the arrow, but a bow with a lot of set can be a sweet shooter.
I recently heard about "no set tillering". Def going to check it out. Not looking for 0 set, but consistently less than 1.5" would be nice.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Nov 28th, 2020 at 11:10am
@walter, just curious i am still learning the terminology for archery.  But on your handle, the block of wood. Is that the riser? Did you just glue it on? What is the purpose?.

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by walter on Nov 28th, 2020 at 3:13pm
@ vetryan15

It is a riser, which prevents the bow from bending in the handle area. It also makes the handle more comfortable. I like bend in the handle, but on some bows I think it is safer to use a riser because you have to cut in maybe too much to get the handle narrow enough so the arrow can do its archers paradox thing.
I do not like high risers. This is just a half inch thick and yes it is glued on. The glue is tite bond 3. I would not use a riser on a D bow under 45lbs and/or less than 1 3/4 " wide. Untill one breaks in the handle that is :)

Title: Re: long bow in progress
Post by vetryan15 on Nov 29th, 2020 at 4:21am
Thank you for that information. Always learning something new here.

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