Stovie Self Bow

[stovie]

Okay, so this week I was bitten by the need to produce a self bow, from the piece of Oak I aquired last weekend. Oak is not the best bow wood in the world, but it's by no means the worst either. Its main problem is its tendency to take on a set (ie: stay in the position you bend it to), but the grain is quite tight on this bit and so far I only have around 1" of set. It draws 45lbs @ 28" ( which is comfortable for me), and early indication is it has no handshock and no noticable string follow (but time will tell).

My only disapointment is that I did not take a little more wood off from the fades and pre-midlimb, as when drawn you can see that the central area is a little too straight, putting too much stress on the outer limbs, and if I take more off now I will lose quite a bit of draw weight. All it needs now is a handle and a new string, and some decent wheather over the weekend to try it out.

A very interesting learning experience...the next one will be better

 

[Tutchi]

Okay, so this week I was bitten by the need to produce a self bow, from the piece of Oak I aquired last weekend. Oak is not the best bow wood in the world, but it's by no means the worst either. Its main problem is its tendency to take on a set (ie: stay in the position you bend it to), but the grain is quite tight on this bit and so far I only have around 1" of set. It draws 45lbs @ 28" ( which is comfortable for me), and early indication is it has no handshock and no noticable string follow (but time will tell).

My only disapointment is that I did not take a little more wood off from the fades and pre-midlimb, as when drawn you can see that the central area is a little too straight, putting too much stress on the outer limbs, and if I take more off now I will lose quite a bit of draw weight. All it needs now is a handle and a new string, and some decent wheather over the weekend to try it out.

A very interesting learning experience...the next one will be better

Hi Stovie
where's the idiots guide? What tools did you use? Pretty pics is only half of it

Otherwise GREAT :You_Rock_
Rgds
Tutchi

 

[torjusg]

A good looking bow there.

Looks like it will do the job too. We don't have oak here, but I'd imagine that it should have to be a little wider to avoid set.

You will not loose draw weight by reducing stiff handle section so it bends. It will give you more working wood and a higher net efficiency. To take advantage of this new working wood you will either have to increase the drawlength or cut a little off the tips. It is probably only by increasing the draw length that you will gain efficiency, but eitherway the draw weight should stay the same (or increase) if you don't change any other factors.

Torjus Gaaren

 

[stovie]

Tutchi

this is where to start... First Bow . It's on the paleoplanet forum and is simple to follow (I should know its what I used), and you can tailor it to suit your needs.

IUsed the minimum of tools. Jig saw to reduce the stave to approx dimensions, then all the rest is done with a spokeshave and sandpaper. The nocks are put in using a round file. And that's it.

It took me a week of evenings to complete. The only thing I missed was a wood horse to clamp the stave while shaving. That is my next project, and then more bows

 

[stovie]

A good looking bow there.

Looks like it will do the job too. We don't have oak here, but I'd imagine that it should have to be a little wider to avoid set.

You will not loose draw weight by reducing stiff handle section so it bends. It will give you more working wood and a higher net efficiency. To take advantage of this new working wood you will either have to increase the drawlength or cut a little off the tips. It is probably only by increasing the draw length that you will gain efficiency, but eitherway the draw weight should stay the same (or increase) if you don't change any other factors.

Torjus Gaaren

You are probably right about the width issue around avoiding set, Torjus, as Oak is notorious for this. If I were to reduce the wood around the fades and limbs i would have to reduce the tips in order to keep the draw weight, as I cannot comfortably increase my draw length.

i have learnt from this first attempt, so will apply what I have learnt to my next bow.

Cheers

 

[Robbo]

Thats a fine looking Long Bow you've made there, an excellent first effort. Its better than my first wooden bow.

Any chance of a side on view of full draw for a better look at the tiller and an unstrung view of the bow. though from what I've seen it looks pretty good, have you posted it on paleoplanet?

Don't worry too much about set, anything under 3" is apparently OK after that efficency starts to suffer too much. Plus a little set indicates that the bow is working to maximum effiency, the reasoning behind this being, if there's no set then the bow isn't that strained and therefore some parts aren't working as hard as they could.

Though of course if the bow started off with 5" or so of reflex and after shooting in its settled down to say 2" of reflex then this is obviously better than starting with no reflex and finishing with 3" of set.

Also a little set makes a bow more accurate at the expense of raw arrow speed, the reason being the send off is a little more sedate and any minor errors in the release, etc, aren't exaggerated compared to say a recurve bow where even the most minor fault in release can cause the shot to stray wildly.

Essentially it doesn't matter how fast the arrow gets to the target as long as its hits where you want .

You could see if Oak can be heat treated on the belly to improve its compressive strength like Ash can.

How long is the bow? its looks at least 72" maybe a little longer?

And where did you get your Oak ? I seem to live in a veritable hard wood plank desert up here in Scotland

Andy

 

[Tutchi]

Tutchi
this is where to start...First Bow . It's on the paleoplanet forum and is simple to follow (I should know its what I used), and you can tailor it to suit your needs.
IUsed the minimum of tools. Jig saw to reduce the stave to approx dimensions, then all the rest is done with a spokeshave and sandpaper. The nocks are put in using a round file. And that's it.

Cheers M8
thats grand. Thank you.

Tutchi

 

[stovie]

Robbo

thanks for the tips. I've posted on paleoplanet, and I think the general thought is probably leave it alone for now...and I have to say I am loathe to go fiddling too much more. I can leave correcting my mistakes for the next one (my brother in law has already put in his order ).

It is 72" in length, and I aquired the stave from Timber World. Not sure if they are national, but they were very helpful, and understanding as I pulled out stave after stave and pronounced them no good. In the end i bought a 2"x2"x8ft for just under £20. and I will be able to get another bow out of the same piece, though it will be thinner at the handle, around 3/4"...we shall see.

Desperate to get out, but kids are not well, so stuck indoors

 

[stovie]

Added a handle this afternoon. Hope my wife doesn't look too hard

Unstrung shot