Replies

1. 
   bill_1010 | Oct 12, 2004 06:20am | #1

   In the magazine section of a large bookstore you should be able to find a magazine called traditional archery.  They will have listings of dealers who sell books, to port orford cedar shafts, to osage orange staves. 

   They used to have a section in there where clubs met for traditional archery, see if one is in your area.  Lots of traditional archers make their own or buy a custom setup.  Look for those people to give you some help.

2. 
   TXJon | Oct 12, 2004 03:27pm | #2

   The Traditional Bowyers' Bible (3 volumes) is an excellent place to start.  Vol 2, in particular, has a lot of information on building board bows, which is the least expensive way to start, unless you have lots of stave quality trees of your own to harvest.

   Amazon carries all three volumes.

   Also, look here:  http://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/tf/lw/threadsx2.cfm

   There are a bunch of people with a great deal of experience.

   I have made a few self bows, but have never had enough confidence in my marksmanship to take a shot at game with one.  Generally I rely on lead to fill the freezer!

3. 
   VanderLaan | Oct 12, 2004 04:42pm | #3

   The Bowyer's Bibles are a great resource.  Definitely worth the coin.  The question is do you want to build a selfbow (all wood) or a laminated bow (wood with glass)?  Go to the http://www.stickbow.com and do a search of the archives.  try "bow building", "selfbow" or "bingham's" and you should get plenty of leads for either type of bow. 

   If you want to build a laminated bow, I would suggest that you go to http://www.binghamprojects.com and take a look-see at the materials that you would need to build the bow.  You might want to consider starting out with a simple "hill style" longbow.  Very stable bow that will shoot well and is not that difficult to make.  Increases your chances of getting a "shooter" on your first try.  Materials for a hill-style bow should be around $75, with plenty of smooth-on left over for a few more bows.

   Also check out the "building laminated bows" how-to on the stickbow as well.  Rick Anderson does a great job of showing you what you need/how to get the job done. 

   Good luck and let us know how it goes.

   BVL

4. 
   Bouboubomber | Oct 12, 2004 08:11pm | #4

   I have heard that laminated hockey sticks make good laminated bows!

1. 
   Biscardi | Oct 13, 2004 05:04am | #5

   You might check out Threeriversarchey.com. They have lots of stuff to build self bows.

   I tried making a bow  once. The hardest part is called tillering. I think with a good book and a sharp spokeshave any competent woodworker  can do it.

   I have always used recurves and longbows. A recurve is a lot easier to shoot. It is very relaxing. For a woodworker with a pretty good "eye", it is a natural sport.

   Bowhunting with a traditional bow is a real challenge. I am not much of a hunter, but hope to get a deer someday with my recurve.

   Frank

1. 
   cft353 | Oct 14, 2004 04:45am | #6

   Thanks for the suggestions, I'll investigate them all. Meanwhile I've started on the "simple" directions I got off the web on a stick of ash I have. Worst case scenario is I'll get lots of experience with drawknife and spokeshave, and high-quality kindling...

1. 
   OneofmanyBobs | Oct 14, 2004 05:23am | #7

   Just take care about the grain.  Needs to be continuous down the whole length of the bow.  Any runout at all and it will split.  Ash is probably OK for practice, but I don't think it will hold up very long as an actual bow.  Unless maybe you laminate the front face at least.

1. 
   cft353 | Oct 14, 2004 06:23pm | #8

   Yeah, I think not cutting thru growth rings will be my biggest challenge. I've sharpened my drawknife to the nth degree for maximum control.

   Biscardi, what is it about longbows that make them harder to shoot?

2. 
   VanderLaan | Oct 14, 2004 07:10pm | #10

   Not sure what Biscardi is getting at.  I shoot both recurves and longbows, and personally, I think that a longbow is much easier to shoot.  While a recurve may be more accurate because of the increased speed of the arrow (ie- a flatter trajectory), a longbow's design is much more stable and more forgiving of form/technique flaws.  A recurve typically has less handshock due to the increased mass in the riser.  Conversely, the reduced mass/weight in the riser of a longbow tends to produce more handshock.  The energy of the limbs has to go somewhere. 

   That said, I have shot longbows and recurves that are "dead in my hand" and others that have rattled my fillings.

   Keep Safe-

   BVL

3. 
   Biscardi | Oct 16, 2004 12:09am | #12

   Chad,

   With a longbow the release has to be perfect. You need an arrow that is splined lighter. Brace height is probably a bit touchier. You are also shooting from the edge of the bow with a smaller shelf then shooting through the center with a larger shelf. You have to cant the longbow more off the vertical.

   There are probably longbow shooters who won't agree. But that is  sort of my 2 cents.

   Frank

4. 
   cft353 | Oct 16, 2004 03:25am | #13

   "With a longbow the release has to be perfect. You need an arrow that is splined lighter. Brace height is probably a bit touchier. You are also shooting from the edge of the bow with a smaller shelf then shooting through the center with a larger shelf. You have to cant the longbow more off the vertical..."

   Frank, that's all good info. Now if I only knew what it meant...I think I get the "shelf" and canting the bow more toward the horizontal. But what's a spline? What's a brace?

   My shop floor is covered with lovely shavings from drawknife, spokeshave and surform. No power tools have been turned on for this project, nor will they be. I'm a happy guy...

5. 
   Biscardi | Oct 17, 2004 02:55am | #14

   Chad,

   With a longbow, the arrow has to flex a bit as it progresses across the riser. The flexibility of the arrow is measured as spline which is roughly how much force is needed to bend the arrow. It is measured in pounds (newtons would probably be tecnically more correct). The arrow is typically splined 10-15 lbs less then the total pull of the bow (usually measured in pounds at 27 inches). An arrow that is too stiff bounces of the rest and doesn't fly true.

   Brace height is the distance in inches from the riser to the string. You adjust it by twisting (shortening) the string. The arrow will porpise if this isn't adjusted correctly.

   The glory of traditional  archery is that once you fix these things, that is it. You practice to where you know how everything should feel when you are spot on and that is when you release the string. No sights, mechanical rests etc. If you miss, it is your fault. Shoot a big heavy cedar arrow with a 135 gr tip and your set to hunt. Go to threeriversarcher.com to find some good archery books. There are two written by Fred (?Askbel). They have cool stuff as well as traditional arrows, strings, etc.

   Frank

2. 
   TXJon | Oct 14, 2004 06:44pm | #9

   Look into building a board bow.  It's a different profile, you don't need to worry about following rings, and if you goof it up, you are only out a board, not a whole stave.

   White woods like ash work just fine as board bows.  They need a little more bulk than osage or yew, but you certainly can make a long term shooter from ash, oak, maple....

1. 
   cft353 | Oct 15, 2004 03:04am | #11

   TXJon, thanks for the suggestion. I'm loving the feel of the drawknife under my hands WAY too much - never really used it before, though I've owned it forever. My surform plane is also being a happy little friend -

   What's the conventional wisdom on birch as a bow material? I have a ton of it on my property.

5. 
   Biscardi | Oct 17, 2004 04:04pm | #15

   Metod,

   Thanks for jogging my memory. Weight is mass x acceleration due to gravity.

   Frank

6. 
   cft353 | Oct 17, 2004 05:56pm | #16

   I actually use the "Armstrong" unit of measure, as in "Is my arm strong enough to pull the dang thing?"

   Apropos of nothing, has anybody seen the trailer for the next "Anna Nicole Smith" show, where she's shooting a compound bow while decked out in tank top and short-shorts, and snaps the bejabbers out of her left forearm when she releases the bowtring (hee, hee!)? Oh, Anna, Anna - let me show you how to do that, honey...

1. 
   IanDG | Oct 17, 2004 06:13pm | #17

   Such a fuss about making a longbow yet the only living examples of the famed English longbow [recovered from the Mary Rose] resemble nothing more technical than a roughly-trimmed branch from a yew tree!

   IanDG

1. 
   cft353 | Oct 17, 2004 09:34pm | #19

   "Such a fuss about making a longbow yet the only living examples of the famed English longbow [recovered from the Mary Rose] resemble nothing more technical than a roughly-trimmed branch from a yew tree!"

   Well, yeah, that's the impression I'm getting as I research different sources. I'm using medium-dumb instructions and will just see how it goes. I continue to hold the sneaking suspicion that sometimes people make things more difficult than they are or need to be. On the other hand, if the first time I try to draw my medium-dumb-made bow it snaps in half, well, I'll have more empirical data than I had...

1. 
   TXJon | Oct 17, 2004 11:10pm | #20

   I think it's a lot like any other kind of woodworking.

   Anyone can make a table with 2X4s, nails, and a piece of plywood.  That table will keep your beer off the ground just as well as one of Mr Millard's Federal pieces, but you really wouldn't say they are the same thing.

   I have read of a perfectly functional bow made in about an hour of willow branches and strapping tape.

   Also, I have noticed that a lot of the bow making instructions I have seen are developed for people with little woodworking experience...

   As to the snapping, well, be carefull tillering, and maybe you can break it then, before your face is right behind it!

1. 
   cft353 | Oct 18, 2004 12:21am | #21

   Well, here's the link to my "medium-dumb" instructions.

   http://www.compulink.co.uk/~courtney01/combrogi/longbow.htm

   It seems fairly straightforward to me...

2. 
   TXJon | Oct 18, 2004 01:30am | #22

   Here's another link to look at:

   http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/bowyer.html

   I have tried birch, but as a board bow, not a stave.  It did not work, but there's no reason to blame that on the wood, either.

   Remember, I'm no expert, but I saw a couple things in your link that I have heard "experts" disagree with.

   One thing that I did not see mentioned was then when building a stave bow you need to make every effort to be sure the back is one uninterrupted growth ring.  You shouldn't see any grain. This is more important than an arbitrary straight line drawn on the stave.

   Keep a  consistent thickness, though.  If the stave bumps out a little on the back, leave that, but bump the belly in so that area of the limb is not too thick.

   Also, and I can personally attest to this, when tillering, do not draw your bow beyond your target weight or draw length.  You can get a bow scale for about $20, or you can rig a bathroom scale to check this.

   When setting your target draw weight, aim high.  It is pretty easy to take a few pounds off your bow.  Adding them can be done, to a point, but it is harder.

   I've only made a handful of bows, and I have yet to reach the draw weight I try for!  My best to date pulls 43# @~30", red oak board backed with home made rawhide.  I was trying for 50#.

3. 
   Biscardi | Oct 18, 2004 02:13am | #23

   Chad,

   I think tillering it is the hardest part. A functional bow can be made easily, but a really wonderful bow that is a beauty to look at takes some experience. Stick bows are ok, but a laminated bow with glass limbs is really alot smoother shooting.

   My father-in- law lives in Montana and is an avid bow hunter. He killed a Dahl (?sp) sheep on the run with a longbow once and a black bear at 10 yards (he had to kill it). He has several very expensive and beautiful custom bow- really gorgeous.

   I think it is great you are learning to do this and bet you will have alot of pleasure out of this.

   Good luck, and post some pictures.

   Frank

4. 
   cft353 | Oct 18, 2004 04:00am | #24

   "I think tillering it is the hardest part. A functional bow can be made easily, but a really wonderful bow that is a beauty to look at takes some experience. Stick bows are ok, but a laminated bow with glass limbs is really alot smoother shooting.

   My father-in- law lives in Montana and is an avid bow hunter. He killed a Dahl (?sp) sheep on the run with a longbow once and a black bear at 10 yards (he had to kill it). He has several very expensive and beautiful custom bow- really gorgeous.

   I think it is great you are learning to do this and bet you will have a lot of pleasure out of this."

   Oh, I'm not sure anyone will be interested in pictures of the first one!

   My mother thinks I may have found my niche. I just want to make a bow (functional is o.k.) because I want to hunt with it (quieter than a rifle, if you catch my drift) and can't afford an expensive, commercially available one. The longbow appeals to me vs. a compound bow probably for the same reasons I enjoy playing acoustic instruments more than electric ones, and using hand tools more than power tools.

   Thanks for the encouragement, Frank!

   P.S. I did get the part about not cutting thru growth rings and I think I'm accomplishing that.

7. 
   IanDG | Oct 17, 2004 09:28pm | #18

   I can't get the link to open but I'd be surprised if there are any other 16th Century English longbows still about.

   The ones on display at the Portsmouth Dockyard only survived because they spent over 400 years at the bottom of the Solent.

   IanDG

8. 
   jackiechan | Oct 18, 2004 04:45am | #25

   M',

   A Newton is the unit of force in the meter-kilogram-second system equal to the force required to impart an acceleration of one meter per second per second to a mass of one kilogram.

   Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.