Ozbow

Wow! That is a really beautiful, and beautifully made bow, showcasing fine Aussie timbers and craftsmanship. You really have an eye for combining timbers, decoration, and detail.
Hamish.

Gee's Mika you are a bow making machine! I bet your son is happy. Nice work once again.

Despite what I said before, I wouldn't do anything too drastic on this one, because of the cut out centre shot. Try modifications on the next bow you do. Better to have a nice shooting bow, than one broken at the cut out.
Hamish.

The bow turned out really well. Craftsmanship looks great too. Not a fan of the look of the handle shape, but that's more of an aesthetic thing rather than function or craftsmanship. Do have have Dean Torges book or dvd on bows? His style of handle really flows in a streamlined shape, with no excess...

What type of longbow are you talking about? Fibreglassed backed with wood cores, modern but traditional; selfbow- one piece of wood straight from the tree, flat bellied or English longbow?
Hamish.

Yep you can make an elb from billets. I haven't made one that bends through the handle from billets but a good z or w splice with techniglue should work on any mortal weight(or even hunting weight ) bow. (I would wrap the join after tillering). Like Len said most of the target and hunting weight elb...

They look to be nice sized billets. What are the width /depth and approx ring count? I'm thinking like Yeoman, that there is more wood than for just one bow, depending on the type you want to make. At least some excess wood that could be used for belly slats. I made a heat treated yew elb 1" at...

Dense timbers can be hard to dry without checking. I usually seal the entire surface with a couple of coats of PVA glue, then leave them in a cool, dry spot, indoors. Even then you can still get checks. Breaking them down into quarter logs really helps to relieve stress and stops the timber from tea...

Hi Rob, I've seen that site and have wondered about getting some stuff too, I think they had a min 500kg order. I'd be surprised if most of that stuff wouldn't make sweet all wood bows, either self or laminated, backed with hickory or boo, providing it is straightgrained and free of defect. I'd try ...

Yep, Lookin good! I hope you are using techniglue or something similar to glue the riser on. A really good rigid glueline is necessary to stop the fades lifting when the bow is around 5/8" thick.

Hey Guy, That's another neat, highly professional batch of arrows. Great work.

If you have a straight grained piece of oak, you won't need to back it. The only reasons for backing is if the belly timber is not quite straight grained enough for a self bow, or if you want to glue in a bit of reflex to counteract set. Backing material must be straight grained and clear. Just beca...

Like Rod said you need a really rigid handle for a 1-2" long angled lap slice, especially with titebond 3, it can start to peel apart if there is flex. TB3 is an excellent glue, especially for full length laminations, but I prefer Techniglues rigid glue line for splices. Don't use a butt join a...

The Toelke's are really nice bows. Smooth and very fast.

Hi Tom, I've seen them in ironbark, just visual. I don't think there is anything to be worried about, as you said you cant feel any cracks.

I'm surprised they haven't gone yet, as they look like good bows, good value for money. Is everyone on here a bowyer?

Never tried linen. I would only bother backing red oak if the grain wasn't straight enough. Then I might use rawhide.

Just got my first bow shipped via these guys. Ebay vintage English longbow, 76" long. It was pretty painful for a couple of weeks, due to the forwarders being worried about the nature of the horn nocks. I have never had this problem before with any other antique or new bow sent from overseas be...

Hi Grahame, I respectfully disagree with your opinion on dry heat, especially with northern hemisphere timbers like ash. I have seen numerous bows that were carefully tillered yet still end up with a little more stringfollow than the bowyers would have liked. Dry heat and a little reflexing improved...

Looks pretty cool. As its ash it should respond well to a heat gun and mild reflexing if you wont to go to the trouble(but I would sand off the shellac first as it traps the heat in the cells to well, can result in tiny fissures).
Hamish.

Ditto. West Systems is also corrosive, and will leak out of the container if you don't use it all up, and leave it in storage. Good glue for many other applications, but not bow laminations. Techniglue awesome: Long shelf life;Its one of the few epoxies that handles glued on risers for self bows. Ha...

Thanks, that sounds like a real winner, for us Aussies. We usually get ripped off massively.

I'm from Sydney, but any local furniture timber place should have jarrah,etc. Djarlimari timber products Denmark WA is probably an ideal place. I haven't dealt with them but they look pretty fancy, so the won't be cheap.Look for straight grain on both the face and edge of the board, avoid knots. I w...

I don't think you will have too much trouble with any hardwood. Jarrah, or ironbark, or one of the hard desert acacias from WA would be ideal. From the photo's I have seen the instrument looks like an archery bow, strung only to brace height but it doesn't need to actually be drawn any further than ...

Lookin good! Wenge is a visually nice choice for a core lam. Just used some in a flatbow. What made you decide to try Malas for a warbow, have you used it on normal weight bows before? It obviously hasn't taken much set. What's the width and depth at the handle? Keep up the good work. Hamish.

I'm with yeoman, in that I use 3mm finished strips, even thinner if its a really wide flatbow. Thick backing strips can be good though, because you can shape the edges into a bit of a crown, effectively trapping the back a little, but mainly looks good, and stylish. Be careful of pin knots and rejec...

Yep, that's lookin pretty darn good.
Hamish.

Longevity of wooden bows. If a bow is made of straight grained, proven wood, properly designed and tillered then there are reports of them lasting for hundreds of thousands of shots, years of continual shooting. They are said to lose a bit of performance, show increased string follow, the more use t...

Hi Steve, If you haven't seen Black Robe its really good. It may even have some penobscot bows in it from memory.
H

Hi Guy, I saw that one just before he delivered it to you. I didn't see it braced but it was finely made, and didn't have any string follow, which is great for such a short bow. Looks good braced and at full draw too. Nice work Steve.
Hamish.