Bow Making

[Rob]

I tend to have a wander around some of the local fishing lakes to get feathers.

Get a few funny looks, but never had any problems.

The ones that aren't in public parks are the best, just pretend that you are checking out the lake with a view to fishing it at another time.

 

[Bushcraftsman]

Yes goose feathers are good, you can either, like rob said, find them on the floor or you can buy them from ( will get back to you on this tonight, im currently at school ) if you do buy them they will be of better quality. A little tip, the best feathers to use are the wing feathers, tail feathers can also be used but the wings are better. All feathers from the left wing are (obviously) designated "left" feathers and the same for the right. When putting the feathers on the arrow you want to make sure that all the feathers are either all "left" or all "right" not two "left" and one "right" etc. I know this is hard but it will make the arrow fly much straighter....this probably isn't that important because it's just a bow we play around with and also because our life doesn't depend on animals that we hunt etc

hope this helps

 

[bushyboo]

Hi All

I got my bit of hazel and started to trim some of the wood of it
but do i take some of the sides on the thick end ? or leave it as is untill it dry ?
heres a pic if it works

it doesnt look anything like the yours stovie

Gordon

 

[stovie]

the link not working. Use "img" tag

 

[bushyboo]

ok will try agian

 

[Leon]

Hi Stovie and Bushcraftsman,

This is a great thread and I feel inspired to gives this a whirl. All seems clear except for one bit that I'm clearly not understanding as it seems like a contradiction.
If the flat side is the back and the curved side the belly and you start by reducing the belly (lower quote) then how does the back end up flat? I'm erring on the side that this might just be a typo but as I know relatively nothing about bows, I'm likely wrong
Always fancied making a bow and this thread has given me the confidence to have a try. Cheers

The D represents the shape of the bow if you were to cut it in half (a cross section).The flat bit of the D represents the BACK of the bow (ie the bit facing away from you) and the curved bit is the belly of the bow (ie the bit facing you). Unlike the traditional "flat" or "pyramid" bow shapes which have a rectangular cross section.

With your very sharp knife (and First Aid Kit to hand) you need to reduce the belly side of the bow until it is half the thickness you start with. Make sure you take the wood off the same on both limbs (the stave either side of your handle). At this point do not attempt to bend the bow or make the limbs narrower.

 

[ForgeCorvus]

Its not a typo

The 'Perfect'* back is one undamaged growth ring across the whole surface, you want it to be this way to keep the bow as strong as possible (note I mean strong not powerful)

Because trees are basically tapered from one end and a bow is tapered from the middle you'll have to remove wood, taking thickness from the belly of the bow will weaken it less then taking it from the back as the belly is in compression


* Perfect is not necessary, sometimes you have to compromise due to quirks and flaws. But it is the ideal you'll be trying for

 

[Leon]

Its not a typo

The 'Perfect'* back is one undamaged growth ring across the whole surface, you want it to be this way to keep the bow as strong as possible (note I mean strong not powerful)

Because trees are basically tapered from one end and a bow is tapered from the middle you'll have to remove wood, taking thickness from the belly of the bow will weaken it less then taking it from the back as the belly is in compression


* Perfect is not necessary, sometimes you have to compromise due to quirks and flaws. But it is the ideal you'll be trying for

Thanks for taking the trouble to answer FC.
But I'm afraid I still don't understand how the back ends up flat if you are only taking wood from the belly?
In post #16 the picture seems to show the flat side of the D has been shaved but the semi round belly appears untouched.
Stovie refers to the flat as the back and the round as the belly.
Cheers.

 

[ForgeCorvus]

Are you talking about the second picture in that post?
If I've got it right, the stave is shown with the back at the top of the picture and the belly at the bottom, you'll see the stave has been pared down from the handle towards the nocks (which are out of shot) on one side only. There is some deflex to the stave (this is where the bow curves forwards), this is also useful as it will limit the bows tendency to 'follow the string' (it tries to stay bent as if its strung, loosing power )

I don't know much about boughstaves (staves cut from branches) as most of my books are about bows made from billets (where a trunk has been split into quarters or even eighths) or laminated from several different woods (but thats something totally different)

Hopefully Stovie and Co will be along to explain better then I can

 

[Leon]

Thanks ForgeCorvus, I see my mistake now. I had in mind the D cross section (mentioned earlier in the thread) where the flat is the back and the curve is the belly and went on to think that this was being illustrated in the top picture in post #16. Although the top does have an elongated D section appearance, I now understand that this is actually considered as a rectangular section, not a D. So, in the picture, the slightly curved face (outside of the stave) is the back and the shaved flat bit is the belly. Phew!
After zipping off across the web to read about English Longbows and their D sections and flat bows and pyramids I now see the error of my ways (lot more too it than I ever dreamed). Your post finally confirmed I was back on the right lines. Thanks for your patience

 

[ForgeCorvus]

You don't learn if you don't ask

The people that get up my nose are the ones who don't ask coz they think they know it all already

I've always thought you can always learn something new, mind you its great to be able to teach (thanks for letting me )

 

[shawn]

heres how i made mine http://gabushcraft.blogspot.com/2008/11/selfbow.html

 

[Leon]

heres how i made mine http://gabushcraft.blogspot.com/2008/11/selfbow.html

I enjoyed reading this. Thanks!
I harvested some Hazel yesterday and will be de-barking it later today. I think I've been bitten by the bug.
Enjoyable thread, this one

 

[Diligence]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php

Trust me...this site contains answers to what you ask. Bow Section and great Build-a-long section.

D

 

[Leon]

Having roughed out a nice piece of hazel, I'm a little worried about the amount of curvature in the top limb:

Although I think it points in the right direction I'm worried that it might be too curved and will eventually be unworkable. I'd be grateful for a little advice from our resident bowyers
Is it possible to correct such like by using steam or might that adversely affect the eventual performance of the bow?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[traderran]

I have a friend who makes American Indian bow,s I will see if he will join and post some pic,s

 

[jojo]

Having roughed out a nice piece of hazel, I'm a little worried about the amount of curvature in the top limb:

Although I think it points in the right direction I'm worried that it might be too curved and will eventually be unworkable. I'd be grateful for a little advice from our resident bowyers
Is it possible to correct such like by using steam or might that adversely affect the eventual performance of the bow?
Thanks,
Dave

Yes you should be able to correct the curve: wrap a towel around the limb you want to correct and pour boiling water on it, and you'll be able to bend to limb, either straighten the bent one or instead, give the straight one the same curve, that should increase the strength of the bow by providing some recurve. You could also use dry heat, using a hot air gun. If you have not done it before, have a practice on another bit of wood, same section if possible, just to get the feel of what happens to the wood, that's will give you confidence with doing it to your bow.

If you need to bend a lot of of wood, you could need a steamer box, which for that size of wood would not need to be anything more than a length of plastic pipe closed at one end, with a hole in the middle to let some steam in and that you close at the other end with a rag, (so that steam can escape through the rag).

Mind you the plastic pipe softens easily, so I tied it to a bit of 2X2 to keep it straight! When I need to steam a bit of wood I use that set up and one of those electric steamers made to remove wallpaper from wall.

With the right type of wood, Oak or Ash, you can do that and soften the wood enough to tie a knot in it!

 

[Leon]

Jojo: Thanks fro taking the time to post. It's a reflief to know I can carry on with this piece.
For the moment, I have it strapped to a board in such a way that recurve is being added to the straight limb and a little bit of it reduced on the upper limb.
I've used both steam and dry heat methods to straighten thinner hazel rods for hand drills but nothing as large as this. I'll have a practice.
Thanks again.

 

[ForgeCorvus]

Be all means carry on
If it works out, you've learnt something
If it breaks, you've learnt something
The only way not to learn is to stop

Keep us in the loop

 

[Treeclipper]

Hi, since the start of this thread , I've been working on a small hazel bow for my eldest daughter. I've almost finished it, just need to tiller it a bit more to get desired draw and weight for her. The question I have is once finished do I coat the bow with anything to preserve it ie : oil , wax , varnish or other substance ?

I'll post a pic when I get home tonight. This bow is a practice and prelude to making my own white ash longbow.

ta , Tree