Materials used were a four foot long by three inch wide off cut of pole bamboo with bad nodes, a section of spotted gum beam from the old laundry roof and a small off cut of black bean.
Method of construction;
Cut the bamboo length wise to yield two by 1 ½ “strips. Work out the node placement; draw the limb plan [upper and lower] on the two pieces and cut slightly oversize to plan. Flatten the belly side of the bamboo with whatever suitable tools you have available.
Next cut the spotted to the required width and length but leave the depth oversize. If the timber is deep enough you can incorporate a handle section. Mark the side profile of the bow and remove excess material. Draw a centreline down the back of the timber and mark out the limb plan and cut to shape.
Glue and clamp the bamboo to the timber and allow it to dry over night. If you want to build in some reflex set up a simple adjustable form. When the glued up stave has cured clean up the rough edges.
Tiller the bow in the usual manner until you are about five pounds over the desired draw weight. When you are satisfied with the bow you can add the tip overlays, file string nocks and shape.
The bow in the photo requires a bit of fine tillering but I will wait until I put about a hundred arrows through it before making any adjustments. A leather handle wrap will add the finishing touch.
Although I had all the power tools on hand a bow such as this can be made using hand tools and a little extra elbow grease.
- Unbraced Bow.jpg (25.45 KiB) Viewed 3991 times
- Braced Bow.jpg (41.26 KiB) Viewed 3991 times
- Handle Belly.jpg (40.11 KiB) Viewed 3991 times
- Queensland Black Bean Tip Overlay.jpg (59.68 KiB) Viewed 3991 times
[I was aiming for 50 to 55# draw weight to test the spotted gum but the belt sander with a 60 grit paper removed timber quicker than expected. The bow finished up being 45# at 28”.]
