Didn't know about Holly but I had heard of the others. Hawthorn must be a nuisance as it seems one very prone to checking.
Bowmaking oak?
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Didn't know about Holly but I had heard of the others. Hawthorn must be a nuisance as it seems one very prone to checking.
OK, a flatbow is a safe bet but safer (and very paleo) is a modified Meare Heath design.
You can make these with limbs down to a little over 1 and 1/2" wide but you have to know what you're doing or you'll break the bow during tillering.
Better to stick with 2" wide limbs tapering to 1/2" wide/thick tips.
I have bows in this design ranging from 1 and 1/2" wide limbs to 2 and 1/4", but 2" is a good starting point and leaves you some room to move if you need to. IF you go straight in for 1 and 1/2" or 1 and 3/4" wide you will probably come unstuck during tillering until you've made a few.
There's an image on this page that also gives rough dimensions but the taper in the limbs from the widest point to the tips should be more gradual.
The wider you make the limbs the shorter the bow can safely be (within reason) and some pyramid bow designs where the limbs are up to four inches wide just above and below the handle area can taper very quickly to fine, super-fast tips. Broadly speaking you are using the same amount of material just distributed and working in a different way. So if your chosen design/draw length dictates a 72" long bow but you can only find good timber up to 64", make a pyramid bow instead and have fun
If we said 68" from tip to tip, 1/2" wide at the nocks, 2" wide for a little over half the length of each limb tapering down to the narrower tips, the limbs should be around 5/8" thick just above and below the handle area tapering straight to 3/8" thick at the tips; that should give you a good starter for ten.
The problem areas to look out for are the handle fades where the thickness has to overlap the width taper to prevent breakage. Provided you have no sudden dips or areas where both thickness and width suddenly narrow you should get a shootable bow fairly easily following those rough dimensions.
Work slowly, check often
You can make these with limbs down to a little over 1 and 1/2" wide but you have to know what you're doing or you'll break the bow during tillering.
Better to stick with 2" wide limbs tapering to 1/2" wide/thick tips.
I have bows in this design ranging from 1 and 1/2" wide limbs to 2 and 1/4", but 2" is a good starting point and leaves you some room to move if you need to. IF you go straight in for 1 and 1/2" or 1 and 3/4" wide you will probably come unstuck during tillering until you've made a few.
There's an image on this page that also gives rough dimensions but the taper in the limbs from the widest point to the tips should be more gradual.
The wider you make the limbs the shorter the bow can safely be (within reason) and some pyramid bow designs where the limbs are up to four inches wide just above and below the handle area can taper very quickly to fine, super-fast tips. Broadly speaking you are using the same amount of material just distributed and working in a different way. So if your chosen design/draw length dictates a 72" long bow but you can only find good timber up to 64", make a pyramid bow instead and have fun
If we said 68" from tip to tip, 1/2" wide at the nocks, 2" wide for a little over half the length of each limb tapering down to the narrower tips, the limbs should be around 5/8" thick just above and below the handle area tapering straight to 3/8" thick at the tips; that should give you a good starter for ten.
The problem areas to look out for are the handle fades where the thickness has to overlap the width taper to prevent breakage. Provided you have no sudden dips or areas where both thickness and width suddenly narrow you should get a shootable bow fairly easily following those rough dimensions.
Work slowly, check often
I have successfully made bows from Oak, and with a decent draw weight. The secret is to keep them long and fairly wide. 2" at the fades to 1/4" at the tips. Example below draws 50# after three years of good service...Interestingly this one is ELB in dimensions... Just luck of the draw in the quality of wood... nice straight grain and all that...
This is my favourite "primitive". Hazel, draws 45# at 28"...put your mind to it and you can get away with anything...
This is my favourite "primitive". Hazel, draws 45# at 28"...put your mind to it and you can get away with anything...
Some more info on the elb would be nice stovie
The hazel i am trying is short and recurved but hey you learn more from a ceiling full of splinters than a successful bow lol
The hazel i am trying is short and recurved but hey you learn more from a ceiling full of splinters than a successful bow
lol
Some more info on the elb would be nice stovie
The hazel i am trying is short and recurved but hey you learn more from a ceiling full of splinters than a successful bow
Not wishing to hijackthe thread, but Oak ELB dimensions: 72" tip to tip, 70" nock to nock. 1/4" tips and 1 1/2" at handle. Thickness at handle 1 1/2" gradually tapering to 1/2" at nocks. Gentle rounding on the belly to give the traditional D cross section, with a full tiller through the handle. Very smooth cast, no stacking, and a pleasure to shoot. Makes a good target bow with minimal hand shock.
That said, I've made others that burst into splinters for lack of a backing...
Thanks I can never remember the proper dimensions for a ELB. Should also have horn knocks. Yours looks considerably nicer than the ropey bit of Yew you saw me working at Amberley.
Hi Wayne. Thanks for your hospitality at the weekend, it was good to meet up. As for dimensions, not sure mine would fit the stringent BLBS dimensions...they look for a ratio of limb thickness to width of 5:8 which is far too prescriptive for my simple mind...I just try and make it shoot...
One archer in our club made a flatbow from a old whisky barrel stave draws around 35lbs, shoots and smells real nice to.Try to keep the limbs wide holmegarrd style.
I've seen some very nice bows made in Canada with ash or oak. My buddy made an oak bow that was over 3" wide in some spots, it looked goofy but dang could that thing shoot! We put some arrows through the cronograph with it and they were hitting 170 Feet per second that's very good speed for a bow like that, considering that a laminated fiberglass bow about the same weight would be doing close to the same speed. He was poor and just bought some boards from the lumber store and with skillful hands produced good bows.
One archer in our club made a flatbow from a old whisky barrel stave draws around 35lbs, shoots and smells real nice to.Try to keep the limbs wide holmegarrd style.
booze and bows, dont need much more lol.
DWARDO.
Booze, bows and broad's
Thats a fine set of sharps there! Never tried shooting a broad before, must order some oneday.
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