Hi Everybody!
My first ever attempt at a flatbow ( and bow #3 every attempted, others being the 50lb Osage/bamboo longbow, and the ash/hickory longbow that is midway through tillering, sat in the corner ) is almost finished!
I've been working on this during any free time i've had during the last few weeks, with a family, fulltime job and dark evenings, free time has been at a premium!!!
I ordered the laminates from Flybowshop to begin this project. I already had some Osage laying around that i was going to use for the handle, and a nice chunky strip of maple that was going to be the belly of the bow, so i ordered a thin planed strip of quality maple for the core, and a Padauk laminate to go on the back of it to give it a really vibrant colour, here are the pieces.
Once they had all been cleaned up and sanded smooth, they were laminated up sandwiched between 2 long pieces of wood and held in place with an army of clamps.
It had a few days to cure, and then came out of the clamps and the design was marked out on the stave, and then cut out roughly with a jigsaw, and then taken down a little closer to the desired dimensions by hand.
Now this was done, i laminated the Osage handle piece into place, using some offcuts to keep it under pressure.
Time to go to the tillering tree!
It was a bit stiff at the tips, with most of the work being done close to the handle so this was gradually tillered down slowly to get a nice even bend and its now a nice smooth curve, and pulls approximately 25lb. Lower than i was hoping for, but this was an experiment really and its the ideal draw weight for the wife, so this bow is going to Mrs V when its finished!
Once it was tillered properly, i set to work on rounding off the handle and thinning it in the middle.
you can see here the colours of the Padauk, Maple and Osage.
Once i was happy with the shape of the handle. and the tips has been shaped, It was time for final finishing. Everything was sanded down thoroughly with a low grit paper to remove toolmarks and get everything even. There are a few litle dinks and gouges, but nothing serious that were a little too deep to get at but hey, im a novice :raspberry It was then sanded with progressively finer grades to get it smooth as can be in preparation for varnishing.
i didnt want to stain the woods as they already have a lovely colour and contrast, so i put 2 coats of Yacht varnish on it and the finish has come out like glass. It is so reflective i'm impressed with how it looks.
I put a cord binding either side of the grip for decoration, and fitted a leather handle. I thought it could do with spicing up, so i painted on a design i saw on bowstickarchery on youtube for the Army Bow on each limb in citadel minatures Shining Gold, and then edged it in black to make it really stand out. These designs have had a thin coat of varnish over them to protect them, and its currently drying out now.
Here are some pictures showing the various areas, and highlighting the finish and painted design.
So there was have it!
All thats left to do is make a string for it. I'm going to get the jig down from the attic tomorrow and make a string ready for its debut on Wednesday at the club. I have shot it using the heavy tillering string and for a low poundage bow, it isn't half snappy!
With my 5/16 heavy Medieval style arrows i use with my Longbow and Hun ( modbods, large triangle cut feathers ) It alright, but with Mrs V's 1/4" arrows which are just long enough for me to shoot by about an inch, it performs very well!
Once its had its outing at the club, ill get some full draw pictures to show what she looks like in action...
Oh and she has a name, 'Luna', on the bottom limb along with <blank> Lbs @ 28" ready to fill in once its been measured.
Thanks for looking!
My first ever attempt at a flatbow ( and bow #3 every attempted, others being the 50lb Osage/bamboo longbow, and the ash/hickory longbow that is midway through tillering, sat in the corner ) is almost finished!
I've been working on this during any free time i've had during the last few weeks, with a family, fulltime job and dark evenings, free time has been at a premium!!!
I ordered the laminates from Flybowshop to begin this project. I already had some Osage laying around that i was going to use for the handle, and a nice chunky strip of maple that was going to be the belly of the bow, so i ordered a thin planed strip of quality maple for the core, and a Padauk laminate to go on the back of it to give it a really vibrant colour, here are the pieces.
Once they had all been cleaned up and sanded smooth, they were laminated up sandwiched between 2 long pieces of wood and held in place with an army of clamps.
It had a few days to cure, and then came out of the clamps and the design was marked out on the stave, and then cut out roughly with a jigsaw, and then taken down a little closer to the desired dimensions by hand.
Now this was done, i laminated the Osage handle piece into place, using some offcuts to keep it under pressure.
Time to go to the tillering tree!
It was a bit stiff at the tips, with most of the work being done close to the handle so this was gradually tillered down slowly to get a nice even bend and its now a nice smooth curve, and pulls approximately 25lb. Lower than i was hoping for, but this was an experiment really and its the ideal draw weight for the wife, so this bow is going to Mrs V when its finished!
Once it was tillered properly, i set to work on rounding off the handle and thinning it in the middle.
you can see here the colours of the Padauk, Maple and Osage.
Once i was happy with the shape of the handle. and the tips has been shaped, It was time for final finishing. Everything was sanded down thoroughly with a low grit paper to remove toolmarks and get everything even. There are a few litle dinks and gouges, but nothing serious that were a little too deep to get at but hey, im a novice :raspberry It was then sanded with progressively finer grades to get it smooth as can be in preparation for varnishing.
i didnt want to stain the woods as they already have a lovely colour and contrast, so i put 2 coats of Yacht varnish on it and the finish has come out like glass. It is so reflective i'm impressed with how it looks.
I put a cord binding either side of the grip for decoration, and fitted a leather handle. I thought it could do with spicing up, so i painted on a design i saw on bowstickarchery on youtube for the Army Bow on each limb in citadel minatures Shining Gold, and then edged it in black to make it really stand out. These designs have had a thin coat of varnish over them to protect them, and its currently drying out now.
Here are some pictures showing the various areas, and highlighting the finish and painted design.
So there was have it!
All thats left to do is make a string for it. I'm going to get the jig down from the attic tomorrow and make a string ready for its debut on Wednesday at the club. I have shot it using the heavy tillering string and for a low poundage bow, it isn't half snappy!
With my 5/16 heavy Medieval style arrows i use with my Longbow and Hun ( modbods, large triangle cut feathers ) It alright, but with Mrs V's 1/4" arrows which are just long enough for me to shoot by about an inch, it performs very well!
Once its had its outing at the club, ill get some full draw pictures to show what she looks like in action...
Oh and she has a name, 'Luna', on the bottom limb along with <blank> Lbs @ 28" ready to fill in once its been measured.
Thanks for looking!