Hi! I wanna make a bow :D

[Primitive Boy]

So, the title says pretty much all of it :p, but I'm John, and I like the primitive weapons such as the sling and bow(not to offend anyone with the choice of wording ;D). At the moment, I have made a few self bows which were pretty much just branches cut from a tree with a string tied on, they either had a tiny draw weight or broke when I tried to draw Arrows were simply pieces of small cylindrical wood that you can buy in 3 metre lengths at the hardware shop. So, I really wanna make a shortbow, preferably a self bow as I think this would be easiest, and I like the look of selbows.

A few things though, I ahve no idea what bow glass is, or how it is used, what a lam is etc. I also have virtually no idea how to make a bow, and I don't have the tools required for a bow, like, I don't have a jig etc, I do have multiple drills, power tools, hand saws, and a handheld jigsaw. I also have a pair of handheld sanders, which I used to help my dad when we built a bar top.

Thanks in advance, and just for the record, I'm 14

John

Oh, I'm also in WA (Pilbara) and have no clue what wood to use. I spent about 8 hours cutting and filing a branch from a tree (filing because I couldn't work out how to thin it out otherwise) and then when I strung it, pulled it to half draw and fired, it snapped just above the handle :/ the tree was a fig tree btw, at least, a relative of a fig tree, its absolutely huge.

Ok this is fun, I keep editing this post with new info, and I just read the stikbow hunter magazine for May_June and realised that they visited the Pilbara! Specifically my town! Won't mention which for privacy reasons but thats pretty cool, I had no idea anyone ever travelled there!

[Dennis La Varenne]

John,

Welome to Ozbow and I hope you find it a good source of all the info you will need to become an accomplished bowyer. For starters, could I refer you to a cheap basic how-to bood for beginners written by one Paul Comstock and entitled 'The Bent Stick'. It is available from 3Rivers Archery in the US at a very modest price and has good instructions for somebody at your level. There is the 4-volume set of 'Traditional Bowyers' Bible' which is really for somebody with a good bit of experience under their belt and who wants to find out more about bowyery from the theoretical side of things, ie, how bows work, why and how to apply theoretical principles to improve a design. Stick to The Bent Stick for the time being.

So far as wood selection is concerned, we have a prodigious number of species in Australia with which to make very good bows. My suggestion is simply to try any kind of hardwood which is available locally after drying it very well. Your first attempt which failed was typical of someone using a very green (wet) bit of wood which was not tillered properly. Basically, tillering is the most fundamental skill in making a durable functioning bow by shaping the limbs in both thickness and width so that the limbs bend symmetrically and apply equal force to the arrow. Achieving good symmetry also indicates that the bending load on each limb is equal and that symmetry will also result in a durable bow less prone to breakage.

You are on a long road and you will need to learn to make your own arrows, the whole reason that the bow was invented. Arrows are the heart of archery. There is a saying which I repeat to all beginner bowyers (persons who make bows) which goes - 'You never make just the one selfbow' if your first one works. It is very very addictive.

PS: A selfbow is a bow made entirely from the one species of wood, and particularly the one piece of wood of that species. There is also a glossary of archery terms on this site at the following URL -
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.p ... hery+terms
which you can use to learn the jargon which you are going to encounter on Ozbow.

[Primitive Boy]

Thanks! Didn't expect such an in depth and helpful reply so quick! Bodes well for the future! And the shortbow I made had been left for about a year, I cut it and forgot about it :p But it was soft wood, and the stick itself was about 1.35 cm in diameter so it wasnt very good :p Would Jarrah be a good wood to start with? It's quite easy to get here in reasonable sizes and I have a little in the shed (too little to make a bow however, so possible good for a riser).

Thanks again! Will go have a look at The Bent Stick now, and look at that glossary.

[Dennis La Varenne]

John,

Read the book first and try a very simple selfbow first to get the hang of tillering. Any hardwood can be tried out. I cannot make any kind of prediction about Jarrah other than its mechanical properties, modulus of rupture and dry density indicate its suitablilty. However, growth ring and fibre structures will be deciders. There aren't any 'bow woods' as such in so much as somehow nature evolved species of tree to have qualities specific to bowmaking. The whole planet is covered in suitable bow woods, some better than others. It is up to us to find them in Australia. Quite often simply changing the design of a bow can make very good use of a less suitable bow and result in something perfectly suitable for your use. That comes with experience and much reading of the extensive literature on bowyery.

Because our aboriginal peoples were not archery people as such (they most probably came into contact and perhaps limited use of them in the far north with contact with Papuans), unlike the American Indians, we Australians of European descent did not walk into a land where all the hard work had been done by the natives. We had to start from scratch and many on Ozbow have done a considerable amount of experimentation with them. There are Ozbow members in WA, so you may get some advice from them in regard to suitable woods over there.

My advice is to try anything and see what happens, but find out as much as you can on the engineering principles behind the various designs of bow.

[Primitive Boy]

Ok, thanks again, I will get onto buying that book ASAP, looks pretty cheap, just have to find one in Aus

[Dennis La Varenne]

John,

I doubt you will find one here, but they are still quite cheap ordered direct from 3 Rivers.

[Primitive Boy]

Oh, I wasn't worried about the price, I'm impatient