Slinging.org Forum | |
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl
General >> Other Primitive Weapons >> Making my own bow https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1288530295 Message started by Key on Oct 31st, 2010 at 9:04am |
Title: Making my own bow Post by Key on Oct 31st, 2010 at 9:04am
I'm starting a project and i just need some help.I've ordered a couple of traditional archery books and they should be here in a week or so.I don't have access to a whole lot of tools. I've took off the bark and am going to let the bow dry for 2 days or so then i'd like to "split" the bow but i don't have an axe or a large knife to baton the wood. I was watching a video. Link ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpw5P3c3T3k
And this guy uses some type of wooden stave to split off the wood in sections.I'm hoping someone can help me understand how he does that. Sorry the picture is upside downish. As i said,the wood isnt very straight and it has knots in it.But its my first experiment. Thanks ![]() |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Masiakasaurus on Oct 31st, 2010 at 10:34am
His "wooden stave" was a beetle and he used a wedge made of antler to split the wood. To do this make or get a wedge made of a harder material than the wood you are cutting and place it on the wood along the grain and lightly tap it in with a soft hammer (called a beetle when hammering a wedge) to make an indent in the wood. One you are satisfied that it's straight then bash is as hard as you want to almost split to wood at that point. To move onto the next spot you want to beetle place the wedge into the edge of the split you've already made and bash away. One you get a split along the length of the wood split the ends all the way through and pull the wood apart. I've done this with a hatchet, and the technique is almost the same with a beetle and wedge.
You're going to have to buy a hacking knife and hammer, froe and hammer, or wedge and mallet if you don't use a splitting axe. [edit]Every archer and bowyer on the forum will tell you that knotted wood will not make a good bow, and that the wood needs to be a straight as possible. There's a thread with a link to a bowyers tutorial that I'll look for. Found it![/edit] |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Bikewer on Oct 31st, 2010 at 11:36am
What books did you order? The Primitive Bowyer's Bible series is excellent.
I have not yet made a bow "from the tree", though I did work an already-cut osage stave which turned out nicely. You can split the stave out while the wood is still wet, but then you have to dry it carefully. You can do this "naturally" in a protected area or speed the process up by various techniques. (covered in the books) Something as simple as a cheap hatchet and a hammer will work pretty well; you can just tap the hatchet head through to split the log (small log) to get started, and then split wedges off that half to get a stave. The smooth, unbroken outside of that stave will be the back of the bow, it's most important that this be free of knots and such. |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Key on Oct 31st, 2010 at 1:32pm
Thanks for the quick responses guys.I realize that a knotted stick is unlikely to make a successful bow.I have had a hard time finding a good hardwood that is free of knots in my area.I haven't been deep in to the woods but I've been looking around my area and neighborhood for a while.
I was hoping to not spend any money for my project but i understand now that i have to since i don't have any type of bone/antler tools. Also i bought 3 books from amazon. Vol.1 Of the Bowyers Bible. Making Indian Bows and Arrows The old Way And I think the last one was called Traditional Archery or something like that. I'm hoping to get into archery and at the same time keep my interest in slinging. I tried splitting the wood yesterday with a pocket knife and a stick i've been using as a hammer/baton thing and i ended up slicing my finger and creating quite a gash so i probably am in need of some better tools.I have no idea where to get a hacking knife but i'll probably pick up a cheap hatchet up at ace.From that video does anyone understand how he created the edges on those stone tools?Those dont look like stone you can flake, i may be wrong though. Also has anyone attempted a bundle bow? I may just try one of those until my books come in |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Dan on Oct 31st, 2010 at 2:41pm
I have once tried a bundle bow but the sticks must have been to green because it just held its flex and had very little power. My most recent bow was finaly a sucess :) :) :) After 2 other official tries and several other expierments I finaly got it right I made a short bow out of a straight piece of maple with very few knots I originaly only had about 10lbds of pull on it but it could still definitely be used for small game but, as human nature goes i wanted to make it more powerfull so I laminated a piece of bamboo on the back so hopefully that should add some power.
Also there is such a thing called a "board bow" and can be constructed from an ordinary 2/4 but MUST have a backing otherwise it will just snap. As far as tools go invest in a good 10$ Mora knife they are they best knives I have used for whittling, have a good reputation, and also are very affordable. http://books.google.com/books?id=dQT9krc53isC&pg=PA269&dq=traditional+archery&hl=en&ei=tJrBTM-_Bc6s8Abz1vmpBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=traditional%20archery&f=false Starting at page 195 they talk about making bows from cracked and knotted wood and even wood with big holes in it ! So I figured this should help you out some |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Bikewer on Oct 31st, 2010 at 4:24pm
Knots can be coped with , but require special treatment. Osage is notorious for having knots, and you have to leave plenty of material around the Knot...Leaving it reinforced.
A deep knot that goes well into the wood.... I fear nothing will save such a stave. "Board" bows are relatively easy to construct, I've done several. However, "an ordinary 2X4" is NOT what you use. Pine is a particularly poor bow wood. Normally, the choice for hardware-store lumber is oak. Second would be maple, and ash is a possibility if your stores have it. The trick is finding a board with the right grain structure. You are unlikely to find a perfect board to work with, but it doesn't hurt to look. If the grain is OK but less-than-perfect, a backing can be applied. Silk or linen works well... My silk-backed oak bow still shoots fine. I used a couple of old silk neckties from the Goodwill. All this will be covered in your books; the first volume of the bowyer's bible will cover this in detail. |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Dan on Nov 1st, 2010 at 3:44pm
[quote author=Bikewer link=1288530295/0#5 date=1288556687]Knots can be coped with , but require
"Board" bows are relatively easy to construct, I've done several. However, "an ordinary 2X4" is NOT what you use. Pine is a particularly poor bow wood. Normally, the choice for hardware-store lumber is oak. Second would be maple, and ash is a possibility if your stores have it. [quote] Thank you bikewer for informing me I have yet to make one but what you say makes a lot of sence, I had forgotton about various wood density structure , and how important it is in bows. |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Key on Nov 1st, 2010 at 8:15pm
What is the importance of letting wood season?And how long does it take?
|
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Bill Skinner on Nov 1st, 2010 at 8:52pm
When you let wood "season", you are letting it dry completely out. If the cells still have moisture in them, when you bend the bow, it will not be as elastic as it would be if it were dry. Also, the cell walls are not as strong, the cells will chrysal or crush, the bow will be weaker and will break.
Go ahead and make the bow. Most beginning bowyers, me included, break the first several bows they make. It helps if you can sit down with someone who has made several bows. Go to the Primitive Archer site, they can answer any question you can ask. There are people with all levels of experiance there, some are not as far along as you. Bill |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Key on Nov 1st, 2010 at 9:03pm
Thanks Bill
|
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Morphy on Nov 1st, 2010 at 10:27pm
Concerning the video you posted a lot depends on the wood. Try doing that with osage, elm, hickory or any other wood with interlocking grain and it won't look so pretty. So the type of wood matters as does the shape it's in. Your stave looks particularly difficult for a beginner. I second the board bow idea. Great way to learn the basics and not get overwhelmed.
|
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Key on Nov 3rd, 2010 at 6:39pm
I got my books today.the seasoning process takes at least a year! Any suggestions?What is a board bow?Also how did you all learn wood identification?
|
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Morphy on Nov 3rd, 2010 at 6:49pm
Key you'll find in bow making there are a lot of rules and a lot of ways around the rules. You can season a stave very quickly if you want to. Within a week or two. You can also season them over a matter of years. It just depends on the process you follow.
A board stave is just a board that has grain suitable for bow making. Your looking for grain that runs the whole length of the board. Simple as that. If you go to your local lowes or home depot just check the section with red oak boards and look for one that has the grain you need. www.georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/boards.html If you have a hard wood lumberyard in your area that would be a good place to check as well. |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by Masiakasaurus on Nov 3rd, 2010 at 7:19pm Key wrote on Nov 3rd, 2010 at 6:39pm:
Red Oak has a pinkish tinge to it, but more importantly Lowes puts a sign next to it that says "Red Oak." ;) I've never made a bow, ever. But if I wanted to build something out of wood with the highest strength possible and the least chance of splitting when bent then this is what I'd look for (in order of importance):
Knots are hard to work around, and the wood near a knot is weaker. When the grain of the board is slanted to one side the board is more likely to split when flexed. Warped board can be straightened to a degree, but you want to start with the straightest possible board before straightening. Heartwood, which is at the center of the tree, behaves differently when flexed than outer wood. Having one type isn't really important, but the different behavior in flexion can lead to different properties when aged. Advanced bowyers can take advantage of heartwood and use it to make the bow perform better, but it'll take you a while to be that good of a bowyer. |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by colejack3 on Nov 4th, 2010 at 8:13pm Morphy wrote on Nov 1st, 2010 at 10:27pm:
X2 |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by David Morningstar on Nov 9th, 2010 at 4:42pm
This is the wood I used to make my first bow. I went through a woodyards stockroom until I found one with perfectly straight grain from end to end:
The rough sawn stave: And shooting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1IZ4mDfPGQ |
Title: Re: Making my own bow Post by leadrocks on Nov 14th, 2010 at 3:51pm
okay...lots of misconceptions on this thread (no offense). board bows are by far the easiest way to build a bow if you know what you are looking for. grain must run all the way through the board. no (or very few once you have experience) steps in the grain is a critical part of a board stave. Seasoned tree cut staves are easier for most beginners to start with because it's easy to follow the grain. Simply remove the bark and you have your bow back. Knots require a lot of patience. make the bow wider in proportion to account for knots. If you have only removed the bark then natural reinforcement by the tree around knots will suffice. Still make the bow wider though. I recommend you order a floor tillered hickory stave from rudderbows archery. It's a good way to get started with a straight knot free peice of wood. If you break it, consider what you paid for the stave (not too expensive anyway) cost of many lessons learned and move on to another one. I recommend highly all the books in the Traditional Bowyer's Bible series. Volume 2 will have what you need to know about board bows. Volume 4 has all the most recent developments on design and performance and so much more. There are ways to "quick cure" tree cut staves. The less wood there is there to cure, the faster it will cure. if you take a green stave fresh cut from a tree, and work it down closer to finished size it can cure in only a few weeks. That exact process is in volume 2 (tbb), and is it again discussed in volume 4. Basically volume 4 takes a lot of the stuff in volumes 1-3 and says, "we figured out this is sometimes true, and this is why." Vol 4 also has some awesome methods for heat treating bows. The results of doing this properly are astounding. This makes for the fastest shooting, most durable solid wood self bows possible. Good luck, have fun, and take it with a stride because you gotta learn from mistakes to make good wood bows. Hope this helps.
|
Slinging.org Forum » Powered by YaBB 2.5.2! YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2025. All Rights Reserved. |