Sycamore Longbow

[WoodWildling]

So...sycamore, does it work?
I have been lucky enough to get a good stock of sycamore staves and am considering turning some of them into longbows. Has anyone had any experience of sycamore bows, how long should i leave the staves to season for?

Many thanks!

Wild

 

[Grooveski]

...how long should i leave the staves to season for?

If you have a bunch, grab one and start at it tonight.
Rough it out 'till it starts bending then let it dry. It'll dry quicker than the staves, picking up weight all the time, give you an idea of how the rest of them might dry and you get to play with an axe now!

 

[Dave Budd]

I've heard that sycamore can make a fair bow, but that it's not a long lived bow or particularly efficient. Dunno as I've not tried it myself (I don't have any foreign species in my woods) but if nothing else its all good practice and its easy to work.

give it a go and report back

 

[Snufkin]

Sycamore is a maple, so it should be OK if you don't try and go for a heavyweight bow. I'd be more inclined to go for a flatbow, 1 1/2-2" wide and 66-70" long (depending on draw length). You should be able to get a decent 50lber out of it.

 

[WoodWildling]

cheers guys, will start tomorrow and post some pics

Wild

 

[robin wood]

Personaly I would have sycamore quite far down my list of bowmaking woods. It has really rather short and weak fibres. I would choose, ash or elm if you can get them but no harm in trying with the sycamore if its all you have and let us know how you get on, I would be interested to know.

 

[Gyro]

Agree with Snufkin; it would probably be more suitable for a flatbow. If you're going for a longbow design, that's fine as I've seen quite a few sycamore/maple ones (never shot one though), but it would be a good idea to back it with a strip of hickory or something.

I've just got an ash stave which I'm dying to start on ... !

 

[WoodWildling]

right flat bow it is then! i've never made a flat bow before so should be an interesting experiment!

Liz

 

[Badger74]

I had a 65+Lbs D section longbow from sycamore for two years and just sold it on cos i needed a weeker bow for re-enacting. Absolutely grand, regret selling it now.

 

[Gyro]

I made one a couple of years ago, from a design in a book I have by an experienced bowyer. If you want any dimensions or info; give me a shout. Technically speaking, a flatbow is more efficient than a lonbgbow, and I found it to be more straightforward in terms of the 'shaping'. It was a decent bow and reasonably fast, considering it was self-bow made from Lemonwood.

But nothing beats a longbow for me .....

 

[novembeRain]

I've been experimenting with bow making lately and haven't got on great with Birch, that's a D section bow, as described in Terry wiseman's s.a.s survival guide. It snapped when I tried to string it - sure there's a term for this but can't remember it.

I used to use a longbow when I was about 10 and would love to make one, though I've still got mine somewhere.

 

[Snufkin]

The D section design is only suitable to a limited number of woods. You are much more likely to have success with a rectangular cross section, and make it wide if you can.

 

[Gyro]

Easiest way to start with longbow making is to use lemonwood. It's pretty easy to obtain, is very forgiving, and there's hardly any grain you have to worry about. Of all the lemonwood longbows I've made, NONE of them have broken (unless somebody hasn't told me!)

Backing the bow with a strip of wood (commonly hickory, but there are also many other things you can use), or even linen, will also go a long way to ensure the bow doesn't snap (or, in the case of lemonwood, explode ! )

 

[WoodWildling]

Well, I started the sycamore but when splitting it, it torqued down the length in a spiral!!! Very odd. Anyway, I don't have the skills to right it so started experimenting with other woods. I have started a rectangular cross section bow in alder, which seems to be working quite well. Have also discovered that I can make passable cordage from the bark, so am quite happy really!
The preservation society where I live have been doing some work to open up the wood a bit so I have plenty of cut lengths to work with incase anything goes wrong.

Right, am off to do some tillering....

Did you say EXPLODE Gyro??? Bet that's a sight to see!

 

[palmnut]

In case you find a straight piece of that wood, here is a link to the definitive flat-bow making tutorial by the master, over on PP.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/6222/t/YOUR-FIRST-WOODEN-BOW.html

 

[jojo]

splitting it, it torqued down the length in a spiral!!! Very odd

Nothing you could do. Some trees grow in a spiral pattern like that. It seems growing in a spiral gives the trees some advantages.

From this web site:

Compared with straight-grained trees, spiral-grained stems and branches bend and twist more when exposed to strong wind, in this way offering less wind resistance and being less likely to break. Through the bending and twisting, snow slides down from branches rather than breaking them, but the main function of spiral grain is the uniform distribution of supplies from each root to all branches, and from each branch to many roots.

Sometimes you can see it that the tree is growing in a spiral,then its most likely the wood wouldn't be any good for bow making. Sometimes you can't see it, but the wood would still be useless for bows!

 

[Snufkin]

If the spiral isn't too severe you can steam the bow and clamp it flat (or if the wood is green, you can work it down to near finished dimensions and clamp it flat) and it should hold its shape when seasoned.
Yep, lemonwood explodes. And it's not that forgiving a wood, unless you are making longbows which are a low stress design.

 

[Gyro]

Thankfully, I've never SEEN it explode, but the biggest draw weight I've made with it has 'only' been 55 lb over 6 ft, so maybe not too risky ....

 

[Snufkin]

I was pushing it a bit perhaps. 62" D bow, 1 1/4" wide and 55lb @ 28" with cherry bark backing. It exploded after 30 or 40 shots. Luckily it was the lower limb that went so I still have my teeth . No warning, no ticking sound or creak just KABOOM!!!.

 

[WoodWildling]

I finished roughing out the shape earlier - will put pics up tomorrow.
Thanks for the website, palmnut, it was really helpful!
As to the spirally sycamore, there were no obvious outward signs of this, so unfortunately that was a wasted piece of wood, unless I can make something else out of it
Sorry to extend the thread...but...arrows.
I have always used hazel in the past but where I live now I have little/no suitable trees, so does anybody know of any other good woods to use?

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated! :You_Rock_

Liz