Ash bow rough shaping advice please

[badgeringtim]

Well i finally found a 6' bit of relatively straight ash which split in half nicely. Its abbout 3" across but does have a small branch/knot in the middle - given that this is around the handle is it a non starter (i wil probably have go anyhow to practice tillering etc).
So i have my 2 split halves which are not massive and i have cut the edges back ie shortened the longest growth rings to make the pieces roughtly rectangular(but not cut the outside rings so that side is still curved), there is a lot of variation in the size of growth rings though so i am worried about splitting - although it has been down since february so not as green as all that.
Do i need to take more of the back to remove some of the smallest/old growth rings, is the branch in the handle area a massive problem and how much should i shape it before leving it to dry?
At the present the 2 halves are tied together and in my car (i dont have outside space to keep them) i was going to lash them to an upright of a sturdy shelfing unit to try to keep them from going off to much in any direction.
Comments thoughts etc would be VERY welcome as peple may have noticed ive been looking for some ash for some time and would prefer not to mess it up in ways i should be able to avoid!!

Thanks

 

[BushEd]

Hi Tim.

I have no experience of this other than from the pages of a book - of which the lessons i learnt are

1. only remove wood from the belly of the bow
2. only remove wood where the stave is bending least

The guy makes a tillering stick, basically a big plank with notches cut into it every 3" or so; then he puts a string on the his stave and with the bow at the end of the plank, pulls the string back and sets it into a notch. Then he removes wood until it is bending evenly at that length of draw. Then onto the next notch and repeat until the draw length is finished.

Really i would recommend buying a book or two, or doing a course - there was a one day course on here for £25 not long ago... http://www.bushcraft-magazine.co.uk/courses.php

Some books i've found:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Traditional...UTF8&coliid=I1RZQIYWKKK7FM&colid=MYC11USEN8TR 4 volumes of that one!!

This also has a section on bow making http://www.amazon.co.uk/Primitive-Technology-II-Ancestral-Society/dp/1586850989/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Hope some of this helps lol!!!

Good luck, will be attempting the same thing over the summer, let us know how it goes.

 

[badgeringtim]

Hi BushEd,
I think the proces you sdescribe is actually the tilering - i am relatively ok conceptually on that - its more the rough shaping and drying - and the presence of that weak point in the handle concerns me.
I was hoping to be on a course through here in ne near future but unfortunately i was to slow and they got full.

Im following advice on many posts by severa people here and the 'have a go' school of thought, given half a chance i can read about things endlessly and not try them for years. I find the hands on approach makes much more sence along with readyign etc, but also some reasurance (or otherwise) from people that know better on here is always good. Especially at this early stage.
I do agree though people should make the effort to find out things for themselves and not ask endless questions.
Off to amazon to add a bow making book to my wish list!

cheers

 

[dwardo]

If you making a flatbow just put the knot in the none beinding handle. Providing the wood around the knot is good then it will be easily strong enough.

I am doing one at the minute with a big knot in the handle and it will be fine.

 

[Nonsuch]

I've made a self-bow in ash - just one so I am no expert, but I had good tuition and it is (still) a good shooter. I would say that the handle area does no bending at all so you could safely put the knot there.

You shouldn't really touch the back of the bow at all (the bit away from you as you shoot it - just remove the bark). If you do you must end up with a consistent growth ring all the way down the back of the bow. If you haven't got the bark off yet, you need to get the bark off before it seasons any more

NS

 

[badgeringtim]

Ah right, no the bark is still on - bark of tonight then and i might take some more of the side facing you - the short growth rings, the side that is compressed when shot. I may have used the wrong terminology up there.
Another daft question - how d you know wen it is completely dry - as i said it was cut early spring - very early so was not very green to start with but i have not weighed it to see how much it looses. I think i might get the bark off and rough out a thick bow shape and then leave it for as long as i can be persuaded while i read up some more!

 

[caliban]

Mate, I may well be wrong here, but I'm not understanding the terminology, I think you only talk about "removing the growth rings", when you are taking the wood from the bow back. If you thin the bow for its entire length on the belly you might well remove an entire growth ring, but that's not really relevant, cos' it doesn't matter a jot about cutting the growth rings on the belly, so you'd just be thinning down the bow on the belly side. If you talk about removing growth rings people will assume you are talking about the bow back.

I belive in some premium bow woods you have to chase a ring to thin down the outside of the bow (bow back) to establish the best layer of the tree for the bit of the bow that does the most stretching, but that's not for us beginners, and it's not neccessary with Ash, as long as you leave the growth ring just under the back unviolated. If your stave is six foot, you can make a non bending handled bow out of ash no probs.

This was the most helpful article I read on bows.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/simpledbow.html