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Message started by paracordslinger on Jan 6th, 2012 at 9:08pm

Title: making a bow.
Post by paracordslinger on Jan 6th, 2012 at 9:08pm
I am currently getting ready to make a bow out of Osage. Actually, i am going to. Start in about August, when the wood is seasoned.  Anny suggestions, hints, i dont even have an idea, besides a long bow. Thanks in advance *

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Steven on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:03pm
learn how to make your tools scary sharp .. by any method

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by HurlinThom on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:33pm

Steven wrote on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:03pm:
learn how to make your tools scary sharp .. by any method

I like this in more than one level. For one thing, scary sharp should make the user very cautious, resulting in fewer uh-oh moments.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Masiakasaurus on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:38pm
Scary sharp also tends to lead to fewer uh-oh moments because you *shouldn't* need to force the blade to cut, and therefore will be a little less likely to slip and cut yourself. Scary sharp is good.

David Morningstar posted awhile back about making a bow from a board of red oak. Brian Grubbs also has a few posts about making a bow for his father. You might want to glean those for information.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 7th, 2012 at 8:39am
Well first buy The Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1, And then if you haven't already, split the log. and seal the ends with some white glue to avoid cracks.

You can either leave the sapwood and the bark on and it will take a little longer to dry, would definitely be ready by august though, or you could remove both and get down to the heart wood and it would be ready around the end of april or early may.

Be very carefull when "chasing rings" as if you dig into the next ring there is a very high chance you will get a back plinter or your bow will sudenly become much shorter.  ;)

Again reading TBB 1 will tell you almost everything you need to know. Also take 10min and get an acount on Paleo Planet. There are a few primitive archers on here like myself, Bill Skinner, and David Morningstar, but there are dozens of primitve archers that have lots of expierience on osage bows there (including us three, my username is Woodland Archer). Either way you also might want to try making a Red oak board bow first just to learn the way wood works and to get some expierience before you dig into a good osage stave (It will probably break or be underweight after many tiller adjustments, but even that's part of the learning process to help you make better bows in the future.). You will learn a LOT with your first few bows so it would be really nice to have at least some of that knowledge when you make that osage bow.

Whatever happens, don't give up, primitve archery is no doubt one of the most difficult paths to take but it's also the most sceneic and the most rewarding.


Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bikewer on Jan 7th, 2012 at 10:15am
Dan gives good advice.  I built my first (and only) osage bow a couple of years ago and it turned out very nice, I think I put pics up on the site.  

A very nice fellow on the Primitive Archer forum actually gave me a nice osage stave to work with, and the guys had plenty of good advice as well.

After you read "The bible", you'll understand what "chasing the ring" means.    I found that a perfect tool for this chore was an old machete!  Held in two hands and used like a spokeshave, it was perfect... It easily cut through the sapwood but would not cut into the hard second-growth wood.

I ended up putting a nice blacksnake skin on mine to hide the many little cuts and gouges the back accumulated.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by LukeWebb on Jan 7th, 2012 at 11:28am
 I suggest you make a bark on self bow.  Just take your log and chop it down to shape with an axe not touching the side you want for the back, giving you bare wood on the inside and a bark backing. I also found that a flat bow was easier to tiller than a D bow, but perhaps it is different for different people.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by HurlinThom on Jan 7th, 2012 at 12:50pm

Masiakasaurus wrote on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:38pm:
Scary sharp also tends to lead to fewer uh-oh moments because you *shouldn't* need to force the blade to cut, and therefore will be a little less likely to slip and cut yourself. Scary sharp is good.

That's another of the levels I alluded to.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by johnny108 on Jan 7th, 2012 at 3:38pm
"The Backyard Bowyer: The Beginner's Guide to Building Bows "
VERY good book!  Amazon has it.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 7th, 2012 at 10:26pm
What Dan and Bikewer said.  I lean towards Primitive Archer over Paleoplanet, all PA is about is making bows and arrows while Paleoplanet is more general and covers a much broader selection for primitive skills.  

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by xxkid123 on Jan 8th, 2012 at 1:54am
i used primitive archer my first time as well (only time unfortunately). trace out a bow pattern onto the wood, decide what amount of taper you want, and start cutting it to shape from there. i used a cleaver to cut out the rough shape, but you could use an axe as well. i made my pattern slightly large to allow a margin of error. i then whittled down the stave to the final shape with a knife. after that i continued whittling it until i could pull it back for tillering... which is where i made a mistake that i'll hopefully fix. i made the stave too stiff so i couldn't tiller it right. however, i had tried bending it so many times that i had caused around 2 inches of string set. after i did get it thin enough for tillering, and went on from there. unfortunately midway through i had four inches of string set, or 4/5 of how much it was actually going to be when it was finished (i aimed for 5 inches full brace, or a little less than my pinky to the base of my thumb). after that i had school and whatever so i didn't have a chance to finish it.  

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by paracordslinger on Jan 8th, 2012 at 6:02pm

Steven wrote on Jan 6th, 2012 at 11:03pm:
learn how to make your tools scary sharp .. by any method

Already done. One of my main tools will bemy Usa made recon tanto. It is sharp enough to shave with lol, and i have the tra. Bowyer encyclopedia. I am going for an optimum eight of 40~45#. I haveitglued already.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Crow Hat on Jan 8th, 2012 at 10:08pm
From the traditional bowyer's bible you'll actually learn how to select the trees and cut them down yourself, not just starting from the stave, trust me, those books (volumes 1-4) were the best $100 I ever spent (canadian pricing, taxes in and all that jazz).

I haven't ever made a bow myself, I'm still making my first one, unfortunately I got those books after I started making the bow, so it's a half-complete red oak board bow, I recommend starting with one of those anyway though, it's cheap, easy, readily available, and I'm only going for about 35-40# so I think I'll get some use out of it anyway.

This does bring up another question I have, I haven't gotten to this stage yet, but where does the arrow rest go in relation to the true center of the bow?

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 8th, 2012 at 11:19pm
Depending on your hand size, about 2 inches, (50mm) above center of the bow, nock to nock.  

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by paracordslinger on Jan 9th, 2012 at 9:26pm
just gotfinished reading backyard bowyer, i am going to make a flatbow, and ieill start with a red oak plank first. then make a beauty out of that osage

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Little on Jan 11th, 2012 at 1:43am
Th is old man is good at bow making,  couldnt find that other vid that is also good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWVrNbEMqRg&feature=relmfu

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Steven on Jan 11th, 2012 at 5:47pm

Jabames wrote on Jan 11th, 2012 at 1:43am:
Th is old man is good at bow making...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWVrNbEMqRg&feature=relmfu


Wow seriously good bowyers series on youtube thanks for sharing with us.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Samurismallz on Jan 11th, 2012 at 10:12pm
I have actually done this before with my dad, and he had done it twice before that.  I may or may not be able to post pictures to help you, so if you want pictures, PM me your e-mail and I will send the photos that way.  To start, you want to cut out a piece of Osage about 3/4 of an inch thick, 2 inches wide, and as long as you want it, with no knot holes or cracks.  You will end up trimming a lot of wood off of this thing to make sure it is smooth without any splinters.  We used a planer first off to smooth it down, and the limbs of the bow ended up about 1/2 an inch thick.  Then, you want to trim the ends down into a kind of long diamond shape.  Next, find pieces of another kind of wood, and cut small arcs of wood from them. I can show you what I mean with pictures.  Glue these pieces of wood to the ends of the bow, smooth them out, and cut notches in them for the string to fit into.  The extra wood will act as something extra for the string to fit onto, and will strengthen the ends of the wood, as those are the smallest and so the weakest parts of the bow.  Next, cut a chunk of some other wood, and glue this where your handle will be.  You will want a thicker handle for comfort, and it will help strengthen the center of the bow.  Don't worry if you choose too big a piece of wood, as you can trim extra off, and you will have to anyway when you sand the bow down.  Cut a handle shape in the piece of wood, and cut an arrow rest in there, too, so your arrow won't be resting on your hand when you shoot it.  Make sure the handle feels comfortable, because changing it later can be a hassle.  Now, sand down the entire bow, handle, limbs, everything.  I advise hand sanding it at the end, because that way you can feel for lumps and splinters in the wood.  After this, make sure you have the bow exactly how you will want it, because after the last step, it will be tricky to change the bow at all.  The final step is putting a varnish or other kind of finish on your bow.  This will help protect it from rain and water damage, and you won't have to worry about scratching your bow as much.  I'm pretty sure we used a polyurethane finish, which will protect it from almost anything you can throw at it.  After that, it's a matter of getting a string (which I can't really help you with, you need a special jig) and your bow is complete.  Bear in mind that these are rough directions given almost a year after I finished my bow. Besides that, these are pretty accurate, although pictures will help.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Arthur the great on Jan 12th, 2012 at 11:34am

Bikewer wrote on Jan 7th, 2012 at 10:15am:
After you read "The bible", you'll understand what "chasing the ring" means.    I found that a perfect tool for this chore was an old machete!  Held in two hands and used like a spokeshave, it was perfect... It easily cut through the sapwood but would not cut into the hard second-growth wood.

sounds like a makeshift drawknife

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 12th, 2012 at 3:01pm

Jabames wrote on Jan 11th, 2012 at 1:43am:
Th is old man is good at bow making,  couldnt find that other vid that is also good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWVrNbEMqRg&feature=relmfu


Awesome video, thanks for sharing bro!

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Little on Jan 12th, 2012 at 4:28pm
yeppersssss

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Kjev on Jan 13th, 2012 at 8:27pm
I can't find a decent piece of hardwood long enough and thick enough for a bow, so I was going to hit the hardware store, buy a couple of oak 1x6 boards, and glue them together. The finished bow would have a join running down the center, covered by the bow's backing (2-3 layers of cotton cloth and Tightbond glue).

Since I've never successfully made a real bow before (willow bows as a kid don't count), can anyone tell me if this is a good idea?

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by xxkid123 on Jan 13th, 2012 at 9:02pm

Kjev wrote on Jan 13th, 2012 at 8:27pm:
I can't find a decent piece of hardwood long enough and thick enough for a bow, so I was going to hit the hardware store, buy a couple of oak 1x6 boards, and glue them together. The finished bow would have a join running down the center, covered by the bow's backing (2-3 layers of cotton cloth and Tightbond glue).

Since I've never successfully made a real bow before (willow bows as a kid don't count), can anyone tell me if this is a good idea?


not sure, but i know sometimes backings will be made from a thinner piece of hardwood that's been glued onto the main bow. don't take my word for it, but if done right it might work.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 14th, 2012 at 8:02pm
That 1X6 will make about a 100 pound draw weight bow.  Are you planning to shoot French knights in plate armor?  Depending on the density of the wood, your limbs will need to be around 1/2 inch thick.  You will need to glue part of the grip on to make it thicker and more comfortable to shoot.  There is a build along on Primitive Archer down in the how to section.  It was put up by a shop teacher, it is the same way he teaches his students to make a board bow.  It uses a lot of power tools, that may be a problem if you don't have all the tools he uses.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Kjev on Jan 15th, 2012 at 1:08am

Bill Skinner wrote on Jan 14th, 2012 at 8:02pm:
That 1X6 will make about a 100 pound draw weight bow.  Are you planning to shoot French knights in plate armor?  Depending on the density of the wood, your limbs will need to be around 1/2 inch thick.  You will need to glue part of the grip on to make it thicker and more comfortable to shoot.  There is a build along on Primitive Archer down in the how to section.  It was put up by a shop teacher, it is the same way he teaches his students to make a board bow.  It uses a lot of power tools, that may be a problem if you don't have all the tools he uses.


Can't stand French spelling (too many useless silent letters), but I really didn't have any sadistic designs on French "Kaniguts" (or was it English Kaniguts?) I was thinking of a 40-50 lb draw, Mule Deer antler tips, and a maple, juniper, or mountain mahogany grip. The shape would be similar to Lurtz's bow in "The Fellowship of the Ring."

For tools, I have a tillering stand (I converted my armor stand), a scale, disk grinder, jig saw, circular saw, plenty of band-aids, a couple of power sanders, and my favorite tool, a farrier's rasp. If all those fail, I've got a few hammers at my forge.  Which also needs a wood fire to get started...;)

I'll try to post a sketch of what I have in mind. The overall length can't be more than 4 feet, since I plan on mounted archery, but I don't like the look of Asiatic bows.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Masiakasaurus on Jan 15th, 2012 at 9:06am
When you say that you don't like the look of asiatic bows, do you mean that you don't like recurve bows a la Mongolia, China, India, and Greece

or do you mean the asymmetrical bows a la Japan?

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Arthur the great on Jan 15th, 2012 at 9:36am
here is a site i found with a bit of bow making stuff

www.poorfolkbows.com

also i found this site with a lot of old archery stuff

http://archerylibrary.com/

i hope someone finds this information useful

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 15th, 2012 at 8:40pm
A rule of thumb for building a bow to determine the length of the bow is :  draw length X 2 + 6 = total stave length.  So, if your draw length is 28 inches, times 2 = 56 + 4 (for the grip) + 2 (for the nocks)  = 62 inches.  You can make a D style bow shorter if you have really good wood and if you back it with something like silk or sinew.   If you make a bow 48 inches long, if you use pin nocks and make it bend through the handle, it should handle about a 22 inch draw.  That is what the plains tribes in N America used after they got the horse, they also did heat bending and added some deflex to the grip area so the tips didn't get so close to 90 degrees when it was at full draw.  

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Kjev on Jan 15th, 2012 at 10:05pm

Masiakasaurus wrote on Jan 15th, 2012 at 9:06am:
When you say that you don't like the look of asiatic bows, do you mean that you don't like recurve bows a la Mongolia, China, India, and Greece or do you mean the asymmetrical bows a la Japan?


Both. For a long time the only pictures I saw of Asiatic bows were of them unstrung, and I could never figure out what I was looking at. Still can't figure out how you'd string one. And the Japanese Daikyu just seems off balance with the off-center grip. Obviously it works, but not what I want.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Kjev on Jan 15th, 2012 at 10:15pm

Arthur the great wrote on Jan 15th, 2012 at 9:36am:
here is a site i found with a bit of bow making stuff

www.poorfolkbows.com

also i found this site with a lot of old archery stuff

http://archerylibrary.com/

i hope someone finds this information useful


Poor Folk Bows is one of my favorite tutorials. I pored over that site on my 1st attempt.

Gotta admit, when I looked at the Archery Library, it was one of those, "Ooooooooohhhhhh!!" moments. Definitely a great find! Thanks Arthur!

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 16th, 2012 at 9:11am
Start with the 1 by 6 bow. But if you really want a cool Lotr like Lurtz bow check out this guys tutorial.
http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/45883/Secrets-of-the-Orcbow


Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Arthur the great on Jan 16th, 2012 at 10:42am
kjev your welcome

dan what do you mean start with a 1x6 all the tutorials i have read say 1x2 and aren't most bows at or under 2"??
      but it would be cool to have a bow lurtz it just looks cool

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Masiakasaurus on Jan 16th, 2012 at 5:18pm

Arthur the great wrote on Jan 16th, 2012 at 10:42am:
kjev your welcome

dan what do you mean start with a 1x6 all the tutorials i have read say 1x2 and aren't most bows at or under 2"??
      but it would be cool to have a bow lurtz it just looks cool

Dan is giving the thickness and the length of the board. 1 inch by 6 feet. 1x2 is a measure of the thickness by the width, 1inch thick by 2 inches wide.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Arthur the great on Jan 16th, 2012 at 11:55pm
ohhhhhhhhh ok that makes sense

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 17th, 2012 at 7:24am
Yeah, most board bows are about 2in wide sorry about that.

Though a foundational concept tht should be mentioned is if you are making a bow from a lesser piece of wood, just make it wider.
this way the stress is spread out over a larger area and your bow will not only be less likely to break, but will also take less set (or string follow).

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Crow Hat on Jan 17th, 2012 at 2:35pm
I was going to start a whole new topic about this, but it's a simple enough question.

If you build a D-bow, you can't cut in an arrow rest, but the bow itself is about 1.5" wide. So the rest, be it your knuckle or otherwise is about .75" off center. How do you get straight arrow flight?

...okay, maybe it wasn't a simple question.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 17th, 2012 at 4:45pm
I almost always use bows without a self and shoot off the knucle with pretty decent groups as well. the reason this works is called the "archers paradox". meaning that when you shoot the arrow, off the left side of the bow, it will first bend this way ) and then this way ( around the bow and then back to and forth as it travles towards the target, watch a vid of an arrow out of a selfbow in slow motion.
If you have ever seen wooden arrows for sale you can match the spine weight (how much the arrow bends) to the weight of the bow you have for better accuracy. So due to the force of the string it makes the arow bend "around" the bow. Now the less center shot your bow is the more spine weight affects your accuracy. So when making any kind of bow try to narrow the handle a bit, not only to make it more comfortable, but also so you can use a wider variety of arrow spines.

That's the basic explanation. For me personaly, I really don't see much difference in accuracy with arrow spines when shooting a self bow, especialy when shooting insitinctivly. But it can help a bit with consistency.


Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Crow Hat on Jan 17th, 2012 at 5:38pm
So it's in the arrow, not the bow... I get it. I've only ever shot compound, so I never really had to worry about these things :P

But I heard that when you build a bend-through-handle design you should never narrow the handle at all, that way you won't have it break at the handle when you shoot. Though, I do intend to back it with sheetrock tape like on poorfolkbows.com for insurance purposes :D

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 17th, 2012 at 10:42pm
Crow Hat, a couple of questions, 1.  What pattern or style of bow are you making and 2.  Why so wide in the grip?

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Crow Hat on Jan 17th, 2012 at 11:21pm

Bill Skinner wrote on Jan 17th, 2012 at 10:42pm:
Crow Hat, a couple of questions, 1.  What pattern or style of bow are you making and 2.  Why so wide in the grip?


1. It's a planned future project, but a D-bow, that is, a bend-through-handle design (probably maple, if not then oak)

2. I've done some research around and generally for a D-bow, since the grips aren't reinforces like other types of longbows, the grips aren't supposed to be narrowed or else they will break. Or so I've heard.

The point in this project is one day I hope to hunt with a primitive bow I built myself, preferably one of these D-bows. I like the design because I can have a more maneuverable bow that is about a 10" shorter than the one I'm in the process of building right now (poorfolkbows board bow), The design I'm currently looking at is similar to this, but shorter, closer to 60" (which is still quite long for a D-bow apparently) http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=26907.0 The bottom picture of the handle, which is stated to be 1.25" wide.

EDIT: Scratch out the part about building one right now, it just cracked somewhere tonight... on to the next one :P

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 18th, 2012 at 9:10am
Almost all of the West coast short bows bend throuhg the handle and the also narrowed a good bit compared to mid limb. You will need to make the handle a bit thicker but it also makes it a bit more comfortable. I have heard of a lot of bows breaking due to hinges, really bad wood, improper design, thouhg I have only heard 1 or 2 cases of a bow actually breaking in the handle. as long as your bow doesn't develop a hinge in the handle, which shouldn't happen cause it should be thicker anyway, you should be fine.

The D bow is a good design, best suited for osage but works for many woods. With most whight woods you are going to have to make them a little bit wider than an osage bow in order for them to not take a huge set or break. In which case, narrowing the bow a bit at the handle is a great idea and will not only make it more comfortable but will help with your accuracy a bit too.

If you want to have one ready within the next week, buy a red oak board. A straight grain is very important. Look through the entire pile untill you find the best one, the same way you would look through the woods for the best tree. Make it 2in wide at the fades 1in wide for the handle and 1/2in at the tipps. Take the thickness slow, and adjust as you go. And the Tape will help too.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Crow Hat on Jan 18th, 2012 at 12:35pm
Oh, I see, they said the handle was supposed to be the "widest" part, but that might have been a poor translation meaning the "thickest" part. After seeing a few more build-alongs and other pages, I've noticed the handles are narrowed in most of them. I like a wider handle, 1 inch might be a little bit too narrow for me, I'll go find some scrap and test out a few widths for handles before I actually put one on the bow. Thanks for the help!

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 19th, 2012 at 1:38pm
If you are going to add a wrap, don't forget to add it in as the width, the bow you referenced , the wood is 1 inch wide, the leather grip added 1/8 inch on each side for a 1 1/4 inch wide bow.  I usually just glue a thin piece of leather with a piece of toothpick under it, the toothpick forms a small bump, when I place my hand on the grip, it lets me use the exact same place when I nock my arrow.  Otherwise, my hand moves up or down, and as I shoot off the top of my hand, my groups go up and down.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by rockslingerboy2 on Jan 20th, 2012 at 3:45pm
Bill, when shooting off the top of my hand I sometimes get small cuts. Is this because the forward ends of the fletchings aren't completely covered by the binding thread or is it because the fletchings I'm using are rather stiff ones that I bought? How do I make for painless shooting off the hand?

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 20th, 2012 at 5:21pm
Yes, that ususally cause the flethcing isn't tied down well in the front and the quill is cutting your hand. The best thing to do is just tie more in the front. In extreme cases I have even seen pictures of the feather coming completely off the arrow and going through the skin on the archers knuckle. So best bet is just to tie it down more. Also what I do, depending on what material I used for tieing or if my hand is cut from the quill is make a kind of "ring" of leather that goes from your first joint to about 3/4in past your knuckle towards your wrist. This also allows for a softer and quiter draw.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bikewer on Jan 20th, 2012 at 5:26pm
One of the clever ideas I took for my own bows is the "floppy rest".   A simple piece of leather that is sufficient to protect the hand and also quiet the slap of the arrow against the bow:

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=floppy+rest&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g-S1g-msS1&aql=&oq=&biw=1024&bih=644&sei=AuoZT5XwDc6lsQLMlbznCw

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Jan 20th, 2012 at 9:06pm
Floppy rests are good and they are easy to make, but I usually don't go to the trouble.  You get the cuts on the top of your hand from the end of the quill on your fletch.  There are several cures, wrap the end of the fletches so the tips are covered, peel the feather off the quill, there is no hard sharp tip to cut and last and best, move your nocking point on your string.  Your nocking point is too high and the arrow dives upon release, hitting the top of your hand.  If your nocking point is correct, the arrow will not touch the top of your hand when you release.  It took me several years to figure that last one out, I have the scars on the top of my bow hand to prove it.  Even wraps will rub the top of your hand raw unless they are slick as glass.

You want your nocking point slightly above the arrow pass, just slightly above the diameter of the arrow.  If your arrows are 11/32, your nocking point should be 3/8 (12/32) above the pass or rest.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 21st, 2012 at 10:03am
Wow, I had never thought of that thanks Bill. I always wondered why the arrows would sometimes cut my hand and other time I wouldn't even feel that much friction, definitely nocking point error.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Arthur the great on Jan 25th, 2012 at 3:12pm
i decided I'm gonna make a bow using mountain cedar (aka ashe juniper) cause that is what is around here so i went and signed up on PA got some good advice

(any one who wants to find me on PA i using the ID as here)
no I'm not leaving slinging.org in case any of you are wondering

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Jan 26th, 2012 at 9:32am
Juniper is great in compresion but terrible in tension so if you sinew back it you'll get a great bow. If not, you will most likley have a great looking bow in smaller pieces.  ;)

My username on PA is Christian Soldier.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by eanmwatkins on Feb 1st, 2012 at 6:00pm
http://youtu.be/3zyV8tZGJtE

Do you guys think this is really 60lb? was thinking about making for the fun of it but I don't know.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bill Skinner on Feb 1st, 2012 at 9:38pm
There has been a thread on this bow.  It probably is around 60#.  And, if you have something to put the cut in the pipe, it will work.  I think it would be fine if you ran over it in a truck.  I think it would make a pretty good carp bow.  That being said, if you want a bow to shoot a lot, this one probably isn't it.  On the video, note the way his bow hand jerks when he releases the arrow, that's called hand shock and that bow has a lot.  It can damage your wrist and elbow if you shoot it daily and you don't hold it correctly.

It is not difficult to make a wooden bow, there are several sites that will walk you through, in a step by step format.  Most of them start with an oak board and depending on the site, will walk you through the building process with minimal tools to a fully equipped carpenters' shop.  It does take time, if you want to build it and shoot it the same afternoon, PVC bows are definately the way to go.  Check out Youtube, there are several better ways to make a PVC bow, most won't get the 60# pull.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by eanmwatkins on Feb 2nd, 2012 at 3:37am
Do you know about how long of a process it is to make a bow out of oak with minimal tools? I have access to tools I just want to see what I do with as little as possible. This bow was going to be done just to do it but I didn't know if it was even worth it.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Feb 2nd, 2012 at 9:05am
Well you could do it with all stone tools, there is also a competetion to see if you can build a bow entirely with a hatchet/tomahawk. The last bow I finished (about an hour ago) I used some splitting wedges for the stave, a large knife to baton the stave into shape, a small knife for other wood removal and scraping, and a 4in1 rasp. As Bill said the pvc bows would have a lot of hand shoc and would probably be realtivly slow as well.

If you want a bow in 1-2days I would suggest looking into board bows. First find out what makes a good bow, then find a design sutible for that wood and rasp away, once your stave starts bending slow down. Look for hinges cause you probably will have a few and then work the areas above and below to get your stave to bend evenly.

The last bow I made was a hickory (generaly tougher than oak) deflex-reflex mohigan short bow. Made using 3 main tools, and finished in 3 days. Though again take your time, a bow that works in a week will shoot much better than one that's broken in a day.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Bikewer on Feb 2nd, 2012 at 9:55am
I don't doubt that PVC bow draws at 60#.  However, the tiller is not going to be good (note all the bend is in the middle) and it's certainly not going to have an optimal "cast".  
I'll wager if you ran it through a chronograph it would be considerably slower than a comparable 60# longbow of good design.

You don't need a lot of tools to make a good bow.     I did my last "board" bow using a skillsaw to cut out the rough shape, then a Stanley Sureform rasp for the rough material removal to get to the "floor tiller" stage.

After that, 4-sided rasp almost entirely.   A pair of cheap calipers to make sure everything was tapering properly.    

Down to the final work.... Scrapers.  Pieces of commercial steel packing-tape material sharpened with a file... Essentially free.

Then sandpaper and finish.    I backed it with silk; a couple of silk neckties bought at Goodwill for 1.00 apiece.

Took about a week working a bit each day...   If you have strong arms and plenty of time I see no reason you couldn't knock one out in a day if you worked steadily.

An important thing is either a tillering tree or similar device to gauge how the bow is bending.     I made a simple tree out of a vertical 2X4 mounted on my deck and a pulley and rope.    This lets you not only gauge if the bow is bending properly, it lets you "work" or "exercise" the bow as it's being tillered.
Normally, you do a round of filing/scraping, then put the bow in the tree and flex it 30-ish times.   Check how it's flexing, mark stiff or overly-flexy points with a pencil...  work the stiff spots down.

Title: Re: making a bow.
Post by Dan on Feb 2nd, 2012 at 4:39pm
As Bikewer said a check your tiller often, a tillering tree helps. If you ever see a hinge in your bow, fix it before flexing it anymore. My last bow I broke I had a very fine hinge in combonation with grain running very close to the back, it broke. So once again if you get a hinge, fix it.

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