selfbow................

[bob1961]

i have a length of what looks like red oak 1" x 2" x 7' long....how do i tell if it's good enough to make a bow out of it from just this piece of wood :v ...............bob

 

Oak is not the best wood to consider when makeing a bow. Ash or hickory or a laminate of the two would be a much better choice.

 

[PitchyPine]

I`m no expert by no means, is that a sawn piece of wood or a stave. If sawn look at the grain, the straighter the grain the better.
Looking at will be the edge of the bow you want very few run outs of the grain. Also do a web search on self bows lots of good info out there.

 

[BRUN]

Check out the bowyers bibles or Pual Comstocks book The Bent Stick.Both are great sources.

 

Check the corners along the long edges for grain run out. It will for v's. Also look for places where the grain dips along the face. These will form circles or islands in the grain. If the grain is good you can probably get a 40-50#, man-tall, self bow out of it. If not, an easy way to make it shootable is to back it with hemp cord and tite-bond II glue. Varnish well to seal. Keep your tips as narrow as possible particularly if you back it. More weight at the tips really slows cast. These are great ways to practice your tillering skills. They're cheap so, if you end up with a 20#-er just buy another one and try again.

Sean

 

[RickD]

Go to[url] TradGang.com[/url] and ask them about oak as a selfbow,you might be surprised

 

[BillinOregon]

Also try googling up PaleoPlanet. The archery forums there are among the best, and regularly frequented by some of the bowyers who wrote the Bowyers Bibles. I build a bow from an Oregon white oak plank that I found at a hardwoods shop after sorting through dozens to find one with near perfect grain. After two years of moderate use, it let go on me. Backing was silk in TiteBond II. Oak would not be my choice for an unbacked selfbow, but a stick with the right grain will work in the hands of a good bowyer.

 

[bob1961]

thanks guys fer all yer help :bow: :hatsoff: :v ...............bob

 

[bob1961]

here's a picture and and a couple of videos of the piece of wood i was talking bout, from the color of it i think it is red oak....it looks like the grain is running good to me but i'm not sure if i can tell of any runout :v ..........bob

grrrrrr it's not showing my videos :cursing: ....

 

[bob1961]

lets try this again, grrrrr :v ..........bob

Link 1

Link 2

 

[bob1961]

hey they work this time....what's the best way to shape the bow, by sanding it to shape or bandsaw to close to shape then sanding it....the working lengh i will have after trimming the ends down will be 74" and i'm only going fer a 30" draw at max :v ...............bob

 

Get a book called The Traditional Bowyers Bible, Vol. I. by Hamm. It describes a procedure that will give the rough dimensions for a bow based on the amount of deflecton in a weighted piece of the wood that the bow is going to be made of.

I would reproduce it here but the description is lengthy and anyway, I don't want to run afoul of copyright laws. From Amazon, $15 new $12 used.

 

[PitchyPine]

The Bowyers Den

THE FERRET'S board building guide

Link

good link.

 

[Dale D]

Use a drawknife to shape the sides and the belly.Leave extra on the belly so you can switch to a cabinet scraper for tillering.You need to take just a little off each limb and test it frequently to make sure they bend evenly as you bring it down to the draw wieght you want. DALE

 

[bob1961]

thanks guys fer the links....did the videos show up good enough to see any grain strucksure or runout....i think i have some good info to start with :hatsoff: :bow: :v ..............bob

 

[d.thomson]

I have heard that "Yew" wood is the best . You use the hart wood and sap wood half and half, sap on the front hart faceing you. I don't know if it grows in North America, but it does grow in England.It is what they use for their famous long bows. F.K.

 

[PitchyPine]

I think we`re talking about two types of bows, the kind you mention are made from staves and carved out with a knife or draw knife. A board bow is made out of just that a board, the grain looks like it runs out in the first vidio but it`s hard too see. There are good pics and instructions in those links i posted.

 

[beardedhorse]

Yew does grow in Oregon, Washington, California (?). I have better luck with 60 /40 or 70/30 ratio heartwood to sapwood but the stave itself will dictate and tell you how it should be made. England over harvested it's own yew and had to import from Italy, Spain and recently United States. Yew bows do not survive well in very dry climates. John Strunk of Oregon is a well known Yew bowyer.