Board bows.

[PitchyPine]

I made a few board bows from white oak a while back, they are sawed out with a band saw from a board. It`s important to find a board that when looking at its edge there are no grain that run out to the edge.

First pic is one freshly sawed out and the other sanded on a belt sander.
Also the grain isn`t very good in these bows but they haven`t broke yet.

Then you have to tiller it, sand one limb at a time until it draws down even and too the right poundage.

Then i cut a half a shelf in the bow.

Then i glued on the rest of the shelf.

Finished with a coat of tongue oil.

Do a search on building a board bow there are lots of good instructions out there.

 

[BillinOregon]

Pitchy: Nice bow. I got three staves out of a very nice piece of straight-grained white oak from the hardwood store. One broke on me while floor tillering, one -- silk-backed in Titebond II -- broke after a year of fairly heavy use, and the third needs tillering and finishing. Building your own bow is very satisfying, but I'll admit I wish I had your bandsaw!
Great spot for bowbuilders: Google up PaleoPlanet on EZ boards.

 

[tg]

That is the same band saw I have setting in my shop, I really like mine, I have not tried the board bow method. I took the wood down to a growth ring on one side and thinned the compression side to suit. I know of a guy who made the board type and sold them and had a lot of unhappy people as he paid no attention to the grain, I talked to him at a show and he did not know what I was talking about when I mentioned the traditional method of making a bow to a common growth ring and grain issues on the saw cut ones, I advised a few peole against his if they planned on shooting them, one ignored my advise bought 6 of my arrows and broke the bow on the second pull, and never heard back from the maker when he tried to get a refund.

 

[PitchyPine]

Thanks guys, one thing i found out was a board bow over 45 lbs about snaps your elbow when shooting, a 72 in bow has a lot of wood flinging forward.
I made one at 60 lbs and ended up sanding it down to a 45 lb.
I made a tillering board where ya put the bow on top strung and pull down on the string to a row of nails at different distance. I found ya could finish sand the bow to a good till right on the tiller.
The other thing about board bows is they have a compression point when near full draw, anything beyond that and you can expect a crack noise.
So far the band saw has worked good, no complaints.

 

[PitchyPine]

Bill that looks like a good site, i`ll have to read it over. thanks.

 

[PitchyPine]

Here`s a good site on tillering.
Tillering board bow

 

[Nifeman]

Pitchy, got ta give ya credit dude, that's a fine lookin bow...Bud :thumbsup:

 

[davy]

It is indeed .. Pitchey is a man of many talents it appears! :hatsoff:

Davy

 

[blacksmithman64]

Mighty neat!But after 20 years of carpenterin',The only saw I want to work is a chainsaw! Good Job! :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

Yes the gas powered finish saw does come in handy on the jobsite, customers occasionaly look a bit concerned and may question theri choice of contractors untill they see what can be done with one.

 

[PitchyPine]

It is indeed .. Pitchey is a man of many talents it appears! :hatsoff:

Davy

I appreciate it guys, i just seem to have to give everything a try at least once, someday it will probably get me in trouble. :youcrazy:
I one bought a old John Deere grain binder and a MC Cormick trashing machine, planted eight acres of oats, shocked them up then thrashed them just so i could experience it first hand.
Life is short, no better time than now to get started.

 

Thanks Pitchypine.
You must be a master carpenter.
Excellent work. :bow:

 

[jeepwj992002]

Pitchy Is there nothing you can't make?!? Nice bow! :bow: :bow:

 

[tom hargrove]

about the only thing ive see that he cant make is a mistake, some seriously wrong here i belive he be witched!!!! :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Minuteman]

Board bows don't have to have any more hand shock than any other bow . Try checkin' out PA

[url] http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php[/url]

Good folks there.

 

[PitchyPine]

Board bows don't have to have any more hand shock than any other bow . Try checkin' out PA

[url] http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php[/url]

Good folks there.

Thanks again, hows that saying go about being fair at things but master of none???

A six foot bow made out of oak has a lot of wood flying forward and if the poundage is high meaning the limbs are thicker yet it hurts.
If ya try tapering the limbs to lighten them up you lose poundage real fast.
That`s been my experience but i`m not by far a expert at bow making.
Laminated bows don`t have that problem because they`er strong without as much wood in the outer limb.
Thanks for the link it looks interesting.

 

[PitchyPine]

Thanks Pitchypine.
You must be a master carpenter.
Excellent work. :bow:

:rotf: :rotf: I am a chainsaw carpenter, can`t nail two 2x4`s together straight. :redface:
Thanks for the compliment, if i could make a metal bow i would have better luck. :winking:

 

[snagg]

Nice lookin bow, Pitchy. You are one busy fella. :grin:
Do you hunt with that bow also?? Or just plink with it?
Nice work.

snagg

 

[PitchyPine]

No i haven`t hunted with a longbow or my Chek-Mate recurve, the thought of wounding a deer bothers me so that i don`t feel confident enough to hunt with one.
I generaly can shoot four inch groups at 20 yards but every now and then i lose it and the groups open up.
My coumpound bow is a different story and don`t hesitate a second using it, one of these days i`ll give the long bow a try. One thing that bothers me is shooting out of a stand with a long bow, i`m going to make some ground blinds next year then i might give it a try at 20 yards or less.

 

[howdydoit]

well like Piney im not much of a wood butcher but I do have a stave in the closet that I really need to tiller and set up. Might have to post a few before and after pics when I start on it.

Very nice work, :thumbsup: