Tips on making a bow for beginners?
- Thread starter hawkeye b
- Start date
D
Deleted member 7654
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Google Delsbows, and Bowyers Diary where I blog everything I do from cutting wood to tillering the bow.
This is the time of year when local conservation groups and councils will be doing copicing work, so there is lots of Hazel, Ash and other wood to be had for free, (or maybe a day's work helping out in the fresh air)
IMO It is cheaper and easier to find your own good quality wood rather than trying to buy it.
Cut some Hazel Split or saw one bit, while the best half is seasoning you can reduce the worse bit to bow dimensions while keeping it somewhere warm and well ventilated to get it seasoned with a month!
Just have a go... even a badly tillered bow of 20 pounds draw weight that breaks after a week or two will teach you plenty and be a joy to shoot while it lasts. Even if the first one or two don't make it you will learn. Make it long and wide and you have a fighting chance.
Say 68" long 2" wide. Aim for a 40# bow and you'll probably end up with a 20# one
Or just cut a Hazel stick about about 1.5" dia and chop away the belly side to make a 'longbow' unseasoned... it will take a load of set but it will shoot an arrow, and that is an acheivment.
You'll learn more in a day with an axe, and a spokeshve than you will in a week of reading.
A little reading first will help, but it will make a lot more sense after you've tried.
Del
This is the time of year when local conservation groups and councils will be doing copicing work, so there is lots of Hazel, Ash and other wood to be had for free, (or maybe a day's work helping out in the fresh air)
IMO It is cheaper and easier to find your own good quality wood rather than trying to buy it.
Cut some Hazel Split or saw one bit, while the best half is seasoning you can reduce the worse bit to bow dimensions while keeping it somewhere warm and well ventilated to get it seasoned with a month!
Just have a go... even a badly tillered bow of 20 pounds draw weight that breaks after a week or two will teach you plenty and be a joy to shoot while it lasts. Even if the first one or two don't make it you will learn. Make it long and wide and you have a fighting chance.
Say 68" long 2" wide. Aim for a 40# bow and you'll probably end up with a 20# one
Or just cut a Hazel stick about about 1.5" dia and chop away the belly side to make a 'longbow' unseasoned... it will take a load of set but it will shoot an arrow, and that is an acheivment.
You'll learn more in a day with an axe, and a spokeshve than you will in a week of reading.
A little reading first will help, but it will make a lot more sense after you've tried.
Del
bearded bowyer
New member
Hello and welcome!
Del is absolutely right. You just need to get on with it, read/watch what you can, and then just build bows.
My best advice for a beginner is try not to be disheartened when they break, and they will. We all go through stages where bow after bow blows up on the tiller. Always ask for advice here and on the other forums, there are many very experienced people out there who love to help.
Just keep going!
cheapest wood to by from a dealer is probably american ash, but it can be a PIG to work. Check out Dels blog. there is a lot there so take your time.
Best of luck
Matt
Del is absolutely right. You just need to get on with it, read/watch what you can, and then just build bows.
My best advice for a beginner is try not to be disheartened when they break, and they will. We all go through stages where bow after bow blows up on the tiller. Always ask for advice here and on the other forums, there are many very experienced people out there who love to help.
Just keep going!
cheapest wood to by from a dealer is probably american ash, but it can be a PIG to work. Check out Dels blog. there is a lot there so take your time.
Best of luck
Matt
WillS
New member
Its a clich? I know, but making mistakes is the best way to learn - I recently had a 120# Pacific yew warbow crack and break on the tiller the other day. Not the most enjoyable moment of my life, but because it happened I've learned a few more things that I hadn't tried before, so it's all beneficial!
Just to echo and reinforce the other guys' statements - there is definitely a point where you should stop reading, and just crack on with it. Reading/videos is fantastic - there's also nothing like being shown by somebody who really knows, but when all is said and done, it has to be your hands that learn it for real, and that just means getting on with it and inevitably making horrific mistakes, so that you can use the lessons next time.
Del's blog is excellent, as is Alan Blackham's DIY PDF "the back street bowyer" so have a flick through those, perhaps go as far as getting The Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1, and that should see you through.
As for materials - I started with ash, and promptly wished I didn't. It's awful to work, and may well put you off as it's so unforgiving and needs quite a deep understanding of techniques such as trapping, heat treating and perfect tillering to make a really good bow - it will make a poor/mediocre bow, and will of course teach you lots about the tools and techniques, but starting with something like hazel or yew (not too hard to find if you have some patience!) will probably make it more enjoyable from the beginning. That being said, I'm talking purely from the perspective of making English longbows - ash doesn't really like that design, whereas it's pretty damn good for flatbows or pyramid bows.
Another option is laminated bows - you can either buy very good laminated staves online or through a dealer, or just make up your own - all the materials can be easily bought from a timber/hardware shop (you want something like elm, ash or maple for the backing layer, and lemonwood, yew, oak, ipe, osage etc etc for the belly) and you just glue them together with a good quality resin/URAC glue and from there, you can almost make a bow by numbers, especially if you have access to tools like a linisher or bandsaw.
As a personal preference, I would suggest you start with a good quality board of hickory, red oak or ash from a timber supplier (make sure the grain is as straight as possible, with no knots or flaws that you can see) and lay out a good pyramid design (tonnes of pyramid bow dimensions and build-a-longs can be found online) as this style of bow is the most forgiving in terms of tillering, and is very easy to adjust to your own personal draw weight. You should have a nice bow before you know it, and then you can apply your newly learned skills to more challenging staves or bow types.
Just to echo and reinforce the other guys' statements - there is definitely a point where you should stop reading, and just crack on with it. Reading/videos is fantastic - there's also nothing like being shown by somebody who really knows, but when all is said and done, it has to be your hands that learn it for real, and that just means getting on with it and inevitably making horrific mistakes, so that you can use the lessons next time.
Del's blog is excellent, as is Alan Blackham's DIY PDF "the back street bowyer" so have a flick through those, perhaps go as far as getting The Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1, and that should see you through.
As for materials - I started with ash, and promptly wished I didn't. It's awful to work, and may well put you off as it's so unforgiving and needs quite a deep understanding of techniques such as trapping, heat treating and perfect tillering to make a really good bow - it will make a poor/mediocre bow, and will of course teach you lots about the tools and techniques, but starting with something like hazel or yew (not too hard to find if you have some patience!) will probably make it more enjoyable from the beginning. That being said, I'm talking purely from the perspective of making English longbows - ash doesn't really like that design, whereas it's pretty damn good for flatbows or pyramid bows.
Another option is laminated bows - you can either buy very good laminated staves online or through a dealer, or just make up your own - all the materials can be easily bought from a timber/hardware shop (you want something like elm, ash or maple for the backing layer, and lemonwood, yew, oak, ipe, osage etc etc for the belly) and you just glue them together with a good quality resin/URAC glue and from there, you can almost make a bow by numbers, especially if you have access to tools like a linisher or bandsaw.
As a personal preference, I would suggest you start with a good quality board of hickory, red oak or ash from a timber supplier (make sure the grain is as straight as possible, with no knots or flaws that you can see) and lay out a good pyramid design (tonnes of pyramid bow dimensions and build-a-longs can be found online) as this style of bow is the most forgiving in terms of tillering, and is very easy to adjust to your own personal draw weight. You should have a nice bow before you know it, and then you can apply your newly learned skills to more challenging staves or bow types.
Egstonvonbrick
New member
All of the above...
But i can't more highly recommend Hazel... cheap, plentiful and a pleasure to work with (if you keep wider then all the better)
I started on Ash... again plentiful and relatively cheap, but your elbows will take a pounding (its harsh) hacking away at it if working from a log!
Although if you can find a decent Ash board and chop to shape (linky below) with a circular saw you can round the belly side a wee bit and be practising your tillering in no time at all.... managed a decent Ash longbow in a couple of hours using this method.
(started with boards - but have not gone back after logs)
Good luck and keep us posted!
Oh... the link below was mentioned above and is well worth a shufty - distils the BS to a good succinct dose of learning:
http://www.alanesq.com/longbow/bsb/The-Back-Street-Bowyer-b2.pdf
Oh... some more advice: don't rush... stop before you did and drink tea!
Cheers
Ev
But i can't more highly recommend Hazel... cheap, plentiful and a pleasure to work with (if you keep wider then all the better)
I started on Ash... again plentiful and relatively cheap, but your elbows will take a pounding (its harsh) hacking away at it if working from a log!
Although if you can find a decent Ash board and chop to shape (linky below) with a circular saw you can round the belly side a wee bit and be practising your tillering in no time at all.... managed a decent Ash longbow in a couple of hours using this method.
(started with boards - but have not gone back after logs)
Good luck and keep us posted!
Oh... the link below was mentioned above and is well worth a shufty - distils the BS to a good succinct dose of learning:
http://www.alanesq.com/longbow/bsb/The-Back-Street-Bowyer-b2.pdf
Oh... some more advice: don't rush... stop before you did and drink tea!
Cheers
Ev
Egstonvonbrick
New member
Sorry will now answer your questions!
>>Does it cost much?
Wood:
Varies hugely from:
8' of decent kiln dried Ash will cost ~?20.
Hazel/Ash logs can be found/bartered for
Yew staves like any wood can be free up to hundreds of pounds
If you live in the US Osage is used as fence posts!
Pre-laminated staves can vary... or layup your own
Plastic...
Sorry no idea (and no interest)
Tools:
Again variable... can use just an axe upto professional bandsaws....
My 'kit' is a collections of rasps/files, scrapers, spokeshave, drawknife, saws, sandpaper... i'm a sucker for manual labour and foolishly (since moving back to the Mesolithic) tend to stay away from electric stuff.
>>What materials do you need?
See above... oh and elbow grease and patience... pragmatism and acceptance of fate!
Don't fight the wood! I tried and failed... i now 'coax' she prefers it this way!
>>And is plastic any better than wood?
Depends on your requirements! I have no interest in plastic, started with longbows and gradually moved back in time for older bows (all selfbows).
To help direct your energies you may want to define your requirement... i.e. do you want to make 'traditional' selfbows, laminates or 'modern' recurve like things?
As noted above 6' of Hazel is a crackingplace to start.
Cheers
Ev
>>Does it cost much?
Wood:
Varies hugely from:
8' of decent kiln dried Ash will cost ~?20.
Hazel/Ash logs can be found/bartered for
Yew staves like any wood can be free up to hundreds of pounds
If you live in the US Osage is used as fence posts!
Pre-laminated staves can vary... or layup your own
Plastic...
Sorry no idea (and no interest)
Tools:
Again variable... can use just an axe upto professional bandsaws....
My 'kit' is a collections of rasps/files, scrapers, spokeshave, drawknife, saws, sandpaper... i'm a sucker for manual labour and foolishly (since moving back to the Mesolithic) tend to stay away from electric stuff.
>>What materials do you need?
See above... oh and elbow grease and patience... pragmatism and acceptance of fate!
Don't fight the wood! I tried and failed... i now 'coax' she prefers it this way!
>>And is plastic any better than wood?
Depends on your requirements! I have no interest in plastic, started with longbows and gradually moved back in time for older bows (all selfbows).
To help direct your energies you may want to define your requirement... i.e. do you want to make 'traditional' selfbows, laminates or 'modern' recurve like things?
As noted above 6' of Hazel is a crackingplace to start.
Cheers
Ev