Super-simple bow

[sam_acw]

Having read a fair bit in various websites and books about archery and having a longbowman for a father i've often wondered about just how technical a bow really is.

I decided a souple of weeks ago to see if i could make a very very simple bow with the minimum of work.

To make the bow I simply cut down a green sapling about 7ft long. It was a little over an inch and half circumference. The most important part of selection is choosing a piece of wood which already bends. If it doesn't already bend then you'll have to cut it in someway to make it do so which sort of defeats the point. I had a go at bending it to see which plane it wished to go in. it seemed that de-barking the stick was helpful as it shows the true size of the knots and kinks. I then cut knocks into it and borrowed a bowstring and arrows from my Dad's quiver.

This might not sound all that wonderful but bear in mind there were only 5 cuts made for the entire bow - top and bottom with a saw, 2 notches for knocks (cheatily backed up with a panel pin at 1 end;-) and a split in the bark so i oculd get my fingers under it.

It shot straight and would definitely be a lunch getter punching clean through boxes/plastic bins (faux rabbit) at 10m. The main problems were the arrows which where intended for a 50lb bow and only about 28" - My dad is some 7 inches shorter than I am.

I've loaded 1 pic here
Just thought you'd all like to see it. has anyone done anything similar?

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Very nicely done my friend! Seems much more simple than tillering and everything else if you're in a real situation where you need a bow NOW

 

[dommyracer]

Nice work, I can't imagine the first bows were much different.

 

[Singeblister]

that reminds of when i was a lad , i used to make bows from sticks and had a great time with them . well done

 

[C_Claycomb]

Good experiment.

What sort of sapling is it, and did you leave it to dry, or string it while still green?

 

[KIMBOKO]

The Japanese bow is of a similar size and is asymetric, the top limb longer than the bottom limb the handle being about a third the way up. Although they are made of laminated bamboo and mulberry wood (i think) I had always believed that they had derived from the proportions of a simple stick just like you have. The bottom part of a simple stick is generally thicker than the top so in order for the bottom limb to store energy equally, rather than the top overbending, the handle position is about a third of the way up.
Good Luck

 

[sam_acw]

The wood came from a small sapling tree and i've no idea what it was. I'm ignorant of woods!
It was used as is without drying as the idea was to make the bow pretty quickly. This meant that even after only a couple of hours strung it was beginning to have a permanet bend - I believe this is called "following the string".
Singeblister has much the same view as me - I remember making bows and arrows out of sticks as a kid and saw no reason why it shouldn't work still.
A lot of inspiration came from the society of primitive technologies' books.
I think it's the arrow which would be the difficult part to make

 

[Singeblister]

The wood came from a small sapling tree and i've no idea what it was. I'm ignorant of woods!
It was used as is without drying as the idea was to make the bow pretty quickly. This meant that even after only a couple of hours strung it was beginning to have a permanet bend - I believe this is called "following the string".
Singeblister has much the same view as me - I remember making bows and arrows out of sticks as a kid and saw no reason why it shouldn't work still.
A lot of inspiration came from the society of primitive technologies' books.
I think it's the arrow which would be the difficult part to make

Get a small pocket guide to trees and find hazel I think the small shoots would make great arrows , as for the point , sharpen with a knife and then harden them over a flame or hot coals, the flight would be the hard part , I have seen Ray Mears fit flights made from feathers but i have never tried it ,,,,, i will one day

 

[sam_acw]

The books I've read all think flights should be main feathers from the same wing of a bird - scrounging wouldn;t be likely to supply this. I'll have to have a go at arrow making at some point - hopefully with better photos!

 

[redcollective]

Ahh that brings back memories... made lots of that type of bow as a kid - they used to last a couple of weeks - I was forever pestering the local butcher for string to string them. Have fun!... My local sports store as a lad even sold me a far too dangerous hunting arrow (they really shouldn't have - I think I was about 13!). made a mess of a lot of trees with that one.

 

[stovie]

Ahh that brings back memories... made lots of that type of bow as a kid - they used to last a couple of weeks - I was forever pestering the local butcher for string to string them. Have fun!... My local sports store as a lad even sold me a far too dangerous hunting arrow (they really shouldn't have - I think I was about 13!). made a mess of a lot of trees with that one.

Stu

My Grandad WAS the butcher that I scrounged string from As you say happy memories.

Arrows rarely had filights on them in those halcyion days, but they had triangular bits of glass for heads

For simple flights on your arrows Sam, get a pheasant tail feather and cut out two 5 inch lengths and attach on opposite sides of the shaft. Just wrap thread on the front and rear of the fletch to hold them in place.