A New Ash Self-Bow

[Broch]

A New Ash Self-bow

It’s been a while since I made myself a long bow so I thought now was the perfect time.

I’d cut some straight ash logs last year and one of them has been split out into staves ready for the task; I just needed to get on with it

Here’s a quick photo trace through the process. It's a 6 foot, ash D section traditional bow and has come out a little heavier than I wanted at about 60Lb at 28 inches, but it had tillered up so nicely I’ve decided to leave it there for now – I’ll have to get some more exercise in . I've got a second one started that I'll aim to make lighter then a third at children's weight.

1 - Splitting the log with a froe



2 - The Prepared Staves - then left to season



3 - Shaving the Profiles



4 - Scraped, sanded and oiled



5 - the String Making Rig




6 - Whipping the Loop



7 - the Finished String



8 - the Finished Bow

 

[Onelifeoverland]

That's great. Shooting with a proper long bow is an experience if one is only used to modern bows.

I made a long bow at a workshop during either the 1st or 2nd Bushmoot - can't remember now - I loved that thing and used it too. I'd kept it for many, many years. Only recently losing it after moving home.

OLO
www.onelifeoverland.com

 

[Coldfeet]

Excellent, thanks for sharing.

 

[kawasemi]

Superb thread. Thanks.

 

[John Fenna]

Oooooh! That looks very nice!

 

[Mesquite]

More toys to play with

 

[punkrockcaveman]

that bow oozes quality, down to the string. Skills

 

[Wayne]

Well done.

 

[Tony]

nicely done mate, looks good. How long did you spend on it?

It's always nice to go from raw materials to finished product, a real sense of accomplishment... Not that I've done a bow like that from scratch...

 

[Broch]

nicely done mate, looks good. How long did you spend on it?

Mmm... a bit hard to tell if I'm honest because I'd walk away from it for a day or so to stop myself making rash tillering decisions

Probably, total time working on it as opposed to staring at it, a couple of days. As I said it's a long time since I made one so I think the next couple will go a bit faster. Having said that, the whole shave horse/shaving bit is quite Zen and I'm in no rush

Edit - thinking about it, that's probably not including getting the initial staves ready to season!

 

[Sieddy]

Great to see a bit of Bowyery on her. The longbow looks good, happy shooting!

 

[The puffin squire]

Superb great display of craftsmanship

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