Ozbow

Afternoon all,

About 2 weeks before Christmas I went to a timber yard and picked up a board of Hickory for backings. Wanting to put this new timber to the test I decided what better way to do it than on a heavy draw warbow.

A few friends of mine have gained some interest in shooting them but aren't up to pulling triple figures just yet so if it had come out over 100lbs draw weight I would have added it to my personal collection but this one I might be able to sell... If I can part with it that is haha

The bow is 84 inches long, 35mm wide at the handle and 30mm thick, tapering down to 15mm circle tips. The hickory backing was cut 6mm thick and has a 4mm crown.

This is the only decent photo I have of the bow at the moment but will get some of the back tomorrow since it has some beautiful colouration along its length. Cant wait to get a coat of varnish on it to really bring out the grain.
I may shorten it a little yet to up the weight slightly (if my mates are game enough to try it ) as the limbs have plenty left.

The arrow in the photo is 31.5 inches from nock to throat to back of the socket.

Second shot with it bettered my 80lb bows furthest shot on my home range and the last shot of the arvo beat that by 15 or so yards with more left yet I think.

Let me know what you guys think of it.

Colin

Top stuff

Cheers Rod!

Hickory on this one came from Watts Woods by the way mate

good stuff i've gotta get down there and have a look

Nice effort Colin, I've been thinking of making an ELB for myself. Maybe a bit lower in poundage though. I'd be very interested to see some more photos of it.

Good Job,
Ranger

Cheers Ranger.

What would you like to see of it in the photos? Its still pretty incomplete as I still have to put the horn nocks on and finish sand and seal coats.

Colin

Looks real good. Did it take much set?
Hamish.

Hamish,

Thanks mate. Its got a little bit but I haven't actually measured it to be honest. Id guess its probably around 1.5-2 inches at the tips maybe a little more.

Colin

I would love to see this thing shoot if your ever at a range and don't mind a spectator. Iv seen longbows out to 70lb befor but nothing that heavy.

Well done mate

Sigh!!! I just love 'em. Beautiful arcs there. Have you tried acetal rod for making horns. I bought some on ebay quite cheaply - black stuff 1" x 48" long. Real horn can be hard to get and this stuff looks very much like it on the pics I have seen.

Also, have a look at this bloke's site. He is a hardline vego, but loves his ELBs. I can live with his veganism if he continues to make ELBs. Go to http://www.alanesq.com/bsb.htm then click on 'the back street bowyer' banner. You can download a PDF of how he makes his REALLY BIG bows. His other pages are here - http://www.alanesq.com/longbow.htm. There is some good stuff here. He does really nice arcs on his bows too.

Thanks Dennis, very happy with the tiller and cast of this bow.

I will be getting some horn from over seas for this one I think but will look into the black acetal rod as well.

I think I have well and truly got the "recipe" for the English warbow down pat now.

Next things to try will be a heavy trilam version and a Hickory Backed American Ash version (the ash one I will be keeping if it works out)

Will have a look at the sites you suggested, cheers!

Colin

Colin,

If it is gettable, European Ash is a good bit stronger than American Ash. That may be worth a go too.

Dennis,

I would love to get my hands on some European ash but it near impossible to locate up here... even American ash is bad enough to locate lengths of but I do know a place that has some so I will give it a shot.

Reading through that website and pdf you linked me to was interesting.

I noticed that his dimensions for a 120lb ash bow were 38 wide and 28 thick in the handle. These are almost identical to my 115lber made with ironbark which is 35mm wide and 28mm thick however my bow is 4 inches longer. Nice to see some similarity in the sizes.

I would love to make a 140lber specially for shooting my sheaf arrows but I don't think the ash would hold up...

Colin

Dennis,

I finally got some tips on this sucker using the Acetal Plastic... And they came out really nice!!

Top nock... Bottom nock Yet to really polish them up but I think once I do they should take a nice gloss finish.

Colin

Colin,

Those have turned out rather well haven't they? I reckon they will be pretty schmicko with a bit of a polish.

Yes I'm stoked with how well they came up. Seemed to get a much neater join to the bow this time as well, though I'm not sure if it was the plastic of the new file I was using.

I think up to 360 grit should be fine and then a coat of poly to make them shine a little.

This could possibly be my best warbow to date (since the ash one isnt done yet haha)

Good job Colin!!!

Nice work my friend.

What I want to know is............ when are you gonna buy some shoes mate?

Cheers Mick!!

haha shoes?! What are they??...