Welcome To The Bowyer's Journal Message Board (bowyer topics only please)

hickory recurve

dbcoopersurvivd — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:40:11 GMT

hi. im making my first bow, and i know recurving isnt what i should be worrying about with my first, but, i was wondering if its possible to recurve a hickory bow without it taking too much set? im making a 57in bow (flat bow) and was wondering about how wide and how thick i should try to make it?

Forum: Bow Crafting

Matereals

Shadowwolf78 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:52:52 GMT

I live in central florida about 20 miles away from orlando. My family owns property in georga, just over the state line in fargo, 500 acres of swamp land and former pine plantation country. Here's my problem. I'm reading the traditional bowyers bible, great book I must say, and while so far the author has gone on and on about osage and occassionally yew, since I live in the extreme south east, we have neither of those. We have access to lots and lots, and I stress LOTS of pine, a few smattering of oaks (not sure what specific species), cyprus, myrtle, and a few other things. Now, what would be a good tree for me to be on the look out for for making my first stave? Looking for probibly just a simple straight stave, not going to make anything complicated for my first attempt. Also looking for something that I could possibly hunt with so no 150lb draw war bows. lol

Any and all suggestions are welcome and apprecieated. Thank you for your time.

Forum: Ask The Bowyer's Journal with Charlie Lamb

New guy

Mike — Thur, 01 Oct 2009 00:08:55 GMT

Hey guys. I am new to this and looking forward to talking with you. I started this past winter on a project that has taken me by storm. BOW BUILDING. I have made 3 longbows for my family. They turned out o.k. but not the best.The 1st one took about 65 hrs, the last about 20. I am getting better at it, but have lots of questions. I"ll start with my first. Do they make an epoxy finish that comes in a spray can. Thunderbird make good epoxy I heard but you need a spray gun and compressor. I have neither. Can you help?
Mike

Forum: Bow Crafting

building a recurve

dbcoopersurvivd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:38:53 GMT

i have cut a well seasoned stave of hickory fro a massive tree in my back yard. it measures about (usable length) 60 - 70in. it is about 4.5in high ( with bottom surface closest to heartwood) and tapers from about 4.5in at the top to about 3.5 at the bottom. there are a few good growth rings inside, better ones are closest to the top. im attempting to make a recurve selfbow. i was wondering , for about a 28in draw, how long and about how wide should i make the bow in order for it to be sturdy at my full draw? furthermore, if i didnt want to back it with anything, how should i consider to make it?

Forum: Bow Crafting

Where to get good staves?

Mitchell — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:05:33 GMT

I've been searching for hours on the internet but have'nt found a source for a good stave. I'm pretty new to bow making and want to try starting a bow from scratch instead of pre-roughed out bows. any suggestions on where to get a stave, and what kind for a longbow?

Forum: Bow Crafting

Can kiln dried White Oak boards be used...?

Dknowswd — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:45:38 GMT

I work in a moulding shop, and we are making 56000' of white oak mouldings. I am wandering if the 1' to 1 1/2" strips of drop could be used for a longbow.

I have tried bending a few pieces and they seam to bend OK. I could make hundreds of tries to make a bow, but I know you guys can save a ton of trouble.

Thanks for any help,
Dean

Forum: Bow Crafting

On making a Junior sized bow.

Bladesmith — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:30:41 GMT

I'm making a 60" self bow for my next door neighbors son, and ran myself into a question....

Do I keep all the dimensions (grip, tip width, etc.) the same as a full size longbow, or do I have to scale everything down?

He's an average sized kid, wiry, and 8 years old. What kind of draw weight should I be shooting for? I can't really tap the kid for information, since it's a surprise birthday gift.

Forum: Bow Crafting

New Message Boards!

TradGuy1976 — Thur, 16 Apr 2009 13:58:04 GMT

Go to TradArchers' World and visit our new forum.

We are in the process of figuring out how to move the wealth of information on this forum to the new one!

TradGuy

Forum: Bow Crafting

Starting my first bow project

Glen — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:35:38 GMT

Alright I got me a new camera. so I'll take pictures as soon as I get it started. I bought some wood today; though I know it isn't an ideal bow wood I got a 1-1/4"X 2"X58" oak (kinda short I know), a small slab of purpleheart for a laminated riser and also a small scrap of brazilian cherry also for riser/handle lamination. however the oak may get replaced before I am through with the project.
Wish me luck guys

Forum: Bow Crafting

Composite Questions...HELP!

jtbluefeather — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:41:31 GMT

Knowing how much knowledge is out there, I'd like to tap into your experience for this.

Is there a way to know how thick to make lamination's to get certain draw weights when building composite bows?

I just finished a test bow of Red Oak around a Maple core with a Butternut riser, very plain, and built mainly to test the bow form and my technique. Worked out pretty well, but the bow will go to my son, as the final draw weight will be around #15. (and the riser is too big, but that's an easy fix) I already know most of how I want to tweak the next bow, but was wondering how to get a nice 50-60# draw weight. Is there a certain thickness I should be aiming for with my lams? I'm going to be doing a bamboo core with maple back and belly, all pressed between glass.

Having worked with many kinds of wood over the years, I know that different woods have different characteristics when it comes to bending and such. But has anybody come up with some general guidelines?

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

John

Forum: Bow Crafting

new forum

TheGopher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:56:43 GMT

Hey Guys you should check out the new forum at http://www.tradarchersworld.com

Forum: Bow Crafting

Broke my first bow today.

Bladesmith — Thur, 19 Mar 2009 17:05:27 GMT

Trying to steam a recurve bend into it, and it either wasn't softened enough, or I bent it too hard, but I snapped off the last 8 inches of wood.

Man, I haven't used language like that since my Navy days. All the cat's hair fell out, and I'm pretty sure the birds are now flying upside down and laying purple eggs.

Aggravating, that is.

Forum: Bow Crafting

New Bow

TheWildCat — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:52:03 GMT

Here is a couple of pics of my new bow.Bamboo Backed Osage...50#@28". Shoots a 500 grain arrow at 155 fps.

Forum: Bow Crafting

Some Scifi archery...

Bladesmith — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:13:08 GMT

Author S.M. Stirling, known for his scifi scribblings on alternative histories, has a post apocolyptic series wherein longbows, and a sudden need for oldworld skills like bowmaking and blademaking, figure in highly.

The first in the "Emberverse" series, "Dies the Fire" is a highly entertaining read with a very diverse cast of excellent characters, and action galore.

It's the book that actually inspired me to take up the mantle of bowyer.

Perfect for those times when it's too cold or rainy to work or shoot.

http://www.amazon.com/Dies-Fire-Change-S-M-Stirling/dp/0451460413/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237000194&sr=8-1

Forum: Bowyer Library

Tennesee bowshots

Bladesmith — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:29:42 GMT

Are there any organized bow makers and shooting enthusiasts in the Tennesee region?

Just curious.

Forum: Rendezvous