Longbow Kits - Worth It?

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Jimbo

New member
I'm seriously considering switching from recurve to longbow and was wondering if someone could give me some advice regarding the longbow kits you can get from Bickerstaffe Bows and elsewhere.

  • What do you actually get in this kits? (I know what it says on the site, but this doesn't mean an awful lot to me)
  • On Pip's site it mentions a laminated 'stave', does this need shaping at all or is it all finished?
  • Are there any specialist tools or skills would be required to complete one of these? (I have basic woodworking tools and very basic skills)
  • When the longbow's all finished (assuming to a reasonble standard), how would it compare to a similar ready-made one (i.e. in terms of usage & life-span)?
  • Any other tips/suggestions?

Many thanks
 

Tarkwin

Prince Of Dorkness
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
American Shoot
having seen one of these in a retail outlet, what you get is the laminated wood, the basic shape is there in that it is thicker in the centre than at the tips. This shaping has been done with machine tools, leaving plenty for the would-be-bowyer to do.
 

Greenman

New member
Fonz Awardee
A venerable member of our club (retired carpenter) being "careful with his money " bought a kit. We followed the development of the bow over the weeks, with the tiller altering by the week, originally he wanted a bow of 40-50lbs but with constant adjustment ended up about 20lbs and with a caste of about 10yds. I suppose the moral of the story is be careful how much wood you take off, you can't put it back. Personally I would give it a go ,the worst case scenario would leave you appreciating the skills of the Bowyer.
 

dtalbot

New member
I've seen some nice bows made from those kits but it does take some skill and knowledge to do it! If you can wait till next summer when doubtless the longbow course will run again you can have proper instruction on how to make a longbow and come away with a nice ash bow as well from these folks:
http://www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk/GeneralCourseInformation.htm
It will give you the skills you need to suceed with a kit like you are talking about and when I did it a couple of years ago all but one of us managed to produce a bow of about 60lb draw. The one failure was caused by a chap slipping while trying to string his bow and ending up standing on and snapping about 8" off the lower limb!
If you are coming this way pop in and have a look at the bow or I'll try and remember to bring it to the next EMCCU meetup.
Cheers
David
 

Jimbo

New member
I've seen some nice bows made from those kits but it does take some skill and knowledge to do it! If you can wait till next summer when doubtless the longbow course will run again you can have proper instruction on how to make a longbow and come away with a nice ash bow as well from these folks:
http://www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk/GeneralCourseInformation.htm
It will give you the skills you need to suceed with a kit like you are talking about and when I did it a couple of years ago all but one of us managed to produce a bow of about 60lb draw. The one failure was caused by a chap slipping while trying to string his bow and ending up standing on and snapping about 8" off the lower limb!
If you are coming this way pop in and have a look at the bow or I'll try and remember to bring it to the next EMCCU meetup.
Cheers
David
Cheers. I've seen that course mentioned elsewhere, but I reallydon't think I'm going to be able to wait that long :)

When I do nip over your way, it's normally on a fairly ad-hoc basis but if something can be organised I'd certainly be interested in seeing your bow.
 

wingate_52

Active member
If you have the cramps/clamps and the ability to plane and glue up your laminates, go for it. If not, buy a laminated stave, read all you can and proceed carefully. You will ge a lot of satisfaction from making your own bow.
 

dtalbot

New member
Cheers. I've seen that course mentioned elsewhere, but I reallydon't think I'm going to be able to wait that long :)

When I do nip over your way, it's normally on a fairly ad-hoc basis but if something can be organised I'd certainly be interested in seeing your bow.
Probably by me on BCUK or BB! Even if you buy a bow now I think you'd enjoy the course. Drop me a PM on BB if you think you'll be passing.
Cheers
David
 

gino

New member
...If you can wait till next summer when doubtless the longbow course will run again you can have proper instruction on how to make a longbow and come away with a nice ash bow as well from these folks:
http://www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk/GeneralCourseInformation.htm
It will give you the skills you need to suceed with a kit like you are talking about ...
David
As someone who always wants to know how everything works I'm desperate to try a longbow course. I've just spent a week making a set of medieval arrows from scratch with various specialist arrowheads (armour piercing, hunter, fire, etc) and I intend to make a photodiary if anyone wants a look but I've been trying to find a reliable bow-making course. Has anyone else been on the course at this place? how did you find it?

Cheers,

Gino.
 

Toxopholist

New member
Hi

I've just made a couple of self longbows from ash and oak. The ash was cut from a 2" plank, but the oak was from a plank just 3/4" thick. This only cost ?10. Both have suffered from more string follow than would a laminated bow, but they shoot extremely well. The ash bow draws around 40lb at 27" and gave 130 fps on the chronograph. The oak bow is even faster.

These were both great fun to make and it is very satisfying to shoot what you made. Especially if it only used ?5 worth of timber!

I also made a bow from a Bickerstaffe kit, which gives 150 fps on the chronograph. This draws 45lb at 27". I think these kits are excellent as I've found it extremely difficult to source appropriate timber. The advice in the manual is very helpful too.

A tillering stick is essential. You need to be able to draw the bow and stand back from it to assess the shape. If you can mount this stick to a wall with horizontal lines marked every 2" or so that would be even better.

There's some useful advice at this link:
http://www.thebeckoning.com/medieval/longbow/longbow-manual.html

and dimensions here:
http://www.thebeckoning.com/medieval/longbow/longbow-design.gif

I tried several tools, but a flat bottomed spoke shave seemed to work best for me. Fine adjustments are then made with a cabinet scraper. These are both available from Axminster:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/lkid/441/product-Axminster-Spokeshaves-453690.htm

Enjoy and please let me know if you find a useful supply of ash/lemonwood etc.

Regards, Dave
 

Flying Whale

New member
Hi

I've just made a couple of self longbows from ash and oak. The ash was cut from a 2" plank, but the oak was from a plank just 3/4" thick. This only cost ?10. Both have suffered from more string follow than would a laminated bow, but they shoot extremely well. The ash bow draws around 40lb at 27" and gave 130 fps on the chronograph. The oak bow is even faster.

These were both great fun to make and it is very satisfying to shoot what you made. Especially if it only used ?5 worth of timber!

I also made a bow from a Bickerstaffe kit, which gives 150 fps on the chronograph. This draws 45lb at 27". I think these kits are excellent as I've found it extremely difficult to source appropriate timber. The advice in the manual is very helpful too.

A tillering stick is essential. You need to be able to draw the bow and stand back from it to assess the shape. If you can mount this stick to a wall with horizontal lines marked every 2" or so that would be even better.

There's some useful advice at this link:
http://www.thebeckoning.com/medieval/longbow/longbow-manual.html

and dimensions here:
http://www.thebeckoning.com/medieval/longbow/longbow-design.gif

I tried several tools, but a flat bottomed spoke shave seemed to work best for me. Fine adjustments are then made with a cabinet scraper. These are both available from Axminster:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/lkid/441/product-Axminster-Spokeshaves-453690.htm

Enjoy and please let me know if you find a useful supply of ash/lemonwood etc.

Regards, Dave
Good to catch up again the other night. I really will make the effort to get up there and have a stroll around your woodland. You might yet get me converted to longbow, though not yet full time.

FW
 

Macbow

New member
I'm no bowyer but I have hacked out a couple of decent selfbows from a load of yew limbs that came down in a storm last year. I'd recommend getting The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1 & 2 as they demystify the whole process. TBB 2 has a great section on building bows from lumber yard timber. Let the piece of wood determine what the bow design will be. Because there isn't a lot of sapwood on my yew, some awkward knots and a likelihood of violating the growth rings on the back, I have made a flatbow and a pyramid bow using a hand axe, a draw knife and a pocket knife. Make/break a few bows before spending money on a bow kit. Every failure is a learning process and will give you a genuine appreciation for the workmanship of a successful bowyer. My first attempts didn't make it past the tillering stage. Take your time and good luck.
 

dtalbot

New member
As someone who always wants to know how everything works I'm desperate to try a longbow course. I've just spent a week making a set of medieval arrows from scratch with various specialist arrowheads (armour piercing, hunter, fire, etc) and I intend to make a photodiary if anyone wants a look but I've been trying to find a reliable bow-making course. Has anyone else been on the course at this place? how did you find it?

Cheers,

Gino.
I've been plugging it on the forums on www.britishblades.com and http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/ ever since I did it so you may find some other people who have done it over there.
Cheers
david
 

djthompson

New member
Yandles / Lemonwood

Jim,

I know exactly where you are coming from.

This is a more slender copy of a short book sold by Quicks: http://www.zetatalk.com/food/tfood41y.htm

I've talked to some great bowyers - and heard lots of different tips etc.

Went to Yandles in Sommerset at the weekend - bought a 6"x2"x76" piece of lemonwood for ?18 (sale on) - enough to make 2 bows (there is a little knot in the middle). Might get a third bow with an offcut and a piece of ash as a back (glued with extramite).

This will be my first attemt at making a bow - so for ?10 a stave - that can't be bad.

The kits are lovely, but I'd rather play arround with the cheapest wood I can for now. Bow prob won't be great (even if it works) - but it's a start.

Dave
 

djthompson

New member
Lemonwood

Oops - forgot to say - the bow I'm going to make will be purely out of lemonwood - so It will be 1 1/2" wide/deep to start as opposed to 1 1/8" with a laminate stave (hickory is the ususal back for this sort of bow).

Prob have loads of string follow & hand shock!!!!
 

Orinoco

New member
I love the idea of making my own bow. I'm sure everyone has early childhood memories of bamboo cane bows, and I clearly remember my grandad making one for me. I am a fairly skilled DIYer and can follow instructions. I looked at toxopholist's links above (thank you!) but am still a little dazed about starting point... and that mass of diagrams!!!, suppliers of wood etc. What are the minimum tools you need for the job (budget budget budget, hence self-build idea!) What about horn nocks (necessary?), strings, leather etc. Had a look at the kits but they seem pretty close to built cost and as djthompson said I would rather not spend much to see it in bits on the floor!
TA
 

Toxopholist

New member
Minimum tools required

Hi

You don't need too much in the way of tools to get started. If you start with a decent piece of ash, which is friendly to work with, the main tool required is a flat bottomed spoke shave. Axminster do one for ?10 and I recently found an old Record one for ?2 at a wood fair. It does need to be shaving sharp though!

A block plane is handy also. I saw one today in Wilkinsons for ?4.

This assumes you already have the tools to rough out the blank. A jigsaw will do it if you don't have access to a bandsaw.

Work out from a centre line formed by a stretched piece of string and check this after roughing out the blank. The wood can move all over the place one you've cut large chunks off and released the internal stresses. Make sure it's thoroughly dry also. I had pieces warp badly after getting them home from the woodyard. Even though they claimed they were seasoned fully.

I'll try and simplify the outline drawing and post it soon

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regards, Dave
 

BowSurfer

New member
Ironman
I would recomend lemonwood with a hickory backing strip. Gluing the two together only needs some cascamite and an old car inner tube cut into a single long strip to bind the parts together while the glue dries.
It can take a while, but is a very rewarding process in the end. You will probably find that you will then want tomake another, better one afterwards - and after that - and after that - ...
 
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