Building a bow

[Greg Krause]

Ok guys, I am already thinking of building a bow. I want to start getting the tools/supplies/info I will need. can you guys help me out. I am working on getting my workshop cleaned out so I will have room.........now just for the time.
I am told that I am now in the "method" stage of hunting, so I might as well start acting the part

[BT]

First.....your gonna need a piece of wood and some tools.

That's about it for me.

F.C.!?.....SMJ?~!.....Flatbow?! ........... HELP!!!

[Greg Krause]

you're so helpful BT.........I just thought I'd plant some bow seeds and hoped a good hunting weights were ripe in time for season

[BT]

Look on the members sale board.
There are staves for sale there

[Greg Krause]

I see that but I still have no idea what to do with them. I know someone here will stumble upon this and help me out. we have so many great and knowledgeable people here.

[BT]

I know that there is a plan for a thread on building a bow so perhaps with enough lead time you will be able to have supply's on hand and follow along.

[smj]

Hi ya skip! I feel that I must warn you, bow building is a hazard! Once you make one, you'll have to make another, and another, and another... It just never ends!

OK. Let's assume that you are good with that aspect of bow building - let's see if we can get you started. (If you look in Stick and String under Bamboo Hickory R/D you will see the style bow I make.) I've made a few longbows, but I am still in the "joy of discovery" stage some times!

My first question is what type of bow do you want to build? Do you know? If not, can you explain what you want to shoot?
1 - Make a longbow or recurve?
2 - If a longbow, flat bow style or english style?
3 - Laminations or not?
4 - Fiberglass or bamboo or other?
5 - Do you want any reflex in it?
6 - If 5, do you want any deflex in it?
7 - For the grip, center shot or not?
8 - Almost forgot! You want to build one from a log or a board?

The type of bow you want to make can change the tool list a little bit and there is no point in buying tools you don't need! Tell us what you want to make and we'll start on tools!

In general - a bandsaw is great, a sander is great, a table saw is great, but none are required to make a bow. They just save some time... Or allow you spend a lot of additional money if you use them wrong!

A couple of great resources are the Bowyers Bibles - vol 1, 2, and 3. These books take you to the basic core of making a bow. Dean Torges has a good DVD called Hunting the Bamboo Backed Osage Bow. He takes you through the steps at a high level, yet enough detail to get you in the ball park! To cover his details more, Dean has, of course, two more publications that are probably worth while. To get his tillering tips, you have to buy all three of his publications!

To me, the frustrating part was trying to get a good taper in the limb, cutting those stupid little nocks, and getting a grip that I felt really fit the hand well. (Most folks have issues trying to tiller the bow... Silly me!)

Which ever style, or type, of bow you want to make - I suggest that you go buy a couple of 1.5 inch wide by 72 inch long pine slats and make a pattern for the bow you want to build first. Once you have a good pattern, you will be ready to make a bow. (Unless you wish to make a bow from a log...) I make my patterns in AutoCad, print them out, and transfer them to the pine slat... Then cut away anything that does not look like the pattern! I found that making a couple patterns out of pine helped me understand the woodworking part of this endevour. Better to make a couple errors on a cheap pine slat than a nice clean bow stave or board. By the way, if you do pick up a couple pine slats... Take a string and a weight with you, like a fishing sinker. Tie the sinker to the string, set the slat flat and pass the sinker off the far end of the slat in the middle of the slat. Pull the string to the opposite end of the slat and check the center line, make certain that the slat is straight! Often times they are bent to the side. You will want yours straight.

You will want to have something to breath through to keep the dust out of your lungs. Depending on the wood, fiberglass and bamboo most certainly, you can have serious health issues if you don't.

At the most simple level, take a limb and string it up. Done. At the highest level of making bows, the process involves a bit more...

Tell us what you want to make, and we'll get you set for tools next!

[smj]

By the way, I have a host of online resources I have learned from in the past. There are build alongs and details well worth reading. Actually, if you send me your home email, I'll just send them to you. I have a bunch, it would take pages and pages to print them all here! Most have a tool listing associated with them. Just like hunting, you will find that time spent in research pays off big!

[BT]

I'll just watch and learn

Thanks for being here smj

[Greg Krause]

Ok, I just had time to really go through your post. I really have no idea of what to build. I don't want to get too compicated on my first one though. I was thinking of a longbow, backed, not laminated and from a board. I just assumed that would be "easier" to start with. I really have little experience even shooting trad bow, let alone telling the differences between them or building them.

I have a band saw, table saw, radial arm saw, belt sanders, occilating sanders as well as other power tools and hand tools such as chisels, draw knives, plains, rasps........