New Bow How To

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Habitres · #1 Post by **Habitres** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:07 am

Hey everyone
As you probably know (or dont know) i got a new "stave" and it has dried, and i have started the process of making a new bow for myself. I will post some pictures when i get the chance as all the materials and tools are at school. This will be a how to. My bow is 41' long (i know quite short but i dont have a very large draw length) and it will be a flat bow with a rectangular cross section.
More pictures soon

-Tim

M.Hogan · #2 Post by **M.Hogan** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:11 am

Looking forward to seeing it...
Hope all goes well

longbow steve · #3 Post by **longbow steve** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:16 am

Cant wait Tim

. Steve

Gringa Bows · #4 Post by **Gringa Bows** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:43 am

good onya Tim,keen to see the results mate.......................Rod

#5 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:49 am

Yep, that is a very short bow; what is your draw length? I look forward to seeing your progress.

Jeff

Habitres · #6 Post by **Habitres** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:53 pm

hey jeff
my draw length is 22 - 23 inches. But yea im not sure on what poundage ill set it at yet, but it will probably be in the top 20- 30s. Thanks for the support

-Tim

#7 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 3:44 pm

Thank, all the best with it.

Jeff

ichiban · #8 Post by **ichiban** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:39 pm

sounds like a fun 1 to watch, gotta love stick bows

Habitres · #9 Post by **Habitres** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:31 pm

Hey guys,
did some work on my bow today, wroughted out the stave.
Here is a picture of the stave b4 any work

: bow before anything; Pic_0623_008.jpg (120.82 KiB) Viewed 4673 times

Now i made some markings on the wood, research what type of bow you want before you do this, i ahve decided to make a semiflat bow. Ill see how it turns out and try not to snap it.

: Pic_0623_010.jpg (128.39 KiB) Viewed 4673 times

Now with the markings right, i remembered some advice i read somewhere, that you can put tape on bow to make it easier to see where to cut, and thats exactly what i did

: Pic_0623_011.jpg (191.5 KiB) Viewed 4673 times

The bow was different right? You have to cut about 0.5cm away from the edge otherwise you wont have any room for rasping/sanding it smooth and the shape you want.

: Pic_0623_012.jpg (158.03 KiB) Viewed 4673 times

And that is where i am up to. Im about to go and rasp out the basic shape. Will post some more pictures later.

-Tim

ichiban · #10 Post by **ichiban** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:45 pm

im looking forward 2 it

M.Hogan · #11 Post by **M.Hogan** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:57 pm

Hope every thing goes well...looking good so far

#12 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:10 pm

Looking like a challenge mate.

Jeff

Habitres · #13 Post by **Habitres** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:37 pm

hey
some more pics
better quality too
accidently rasped too far on an angle in one side but it wont matter as it is still way to thick. Tomorrow i will finish the rought work and start seeing how it bends.

: IMG_0824.JPG (185.33 KiB) Viewed 4655 times

: IMG_0820.JPG (108.85 KiB) Viewed 4655 times

: IMG_0829.JPG (181.11 KiB) Viewed 4655 times

There is a knot but its in a good place. Im going to work the handle around it so it wont be there

: IMG_0826.JPG (194.73 KiB) Viewed 4655 times

thats it for now.
-TIM

M.Hogan · #14 Post by **M.Hogan** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:44 pm

What wood is this stick bow??

Habitres · #15 Post by **Habitres** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 7:28 pm

umm
its a type of local gum, which bark peels off b4 the winter.
If you want to know more detail, I live in the Snowy Mountains, round 1000m and there are heaps of those gums round here. I know what ur thinking, there is a madd colour change between the sapwood and heartwood. I realised this too and thats why im making a flatbow.

-TIM

ichiban · #16 Post by **ichiban** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:12 pm

looks like it will be a tricky one judging from the pictures looks like there will be a high crown

Habitres · #17 Post by **Habitres** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:40 pm

high crown?

ichiban · #18 Post by **ichiban** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:59 am

a high crown is when a bow is taken from a small diamiter tree the back is rounded, they can be an iussue but if everything goes ok then there nice 2 grip

Habitres · #19 Post by **Habitres** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:06 am

oo ok i see
haha yea it has one then
hopefully it will be ok

-TIM

ichiban · #20 Post by **ichiban** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 12:11 pm

yeah they can be a problem sometimes as alot of force is being spread over a small aria, but fingers crossed and if it dosent work out could always decrown the next

Habitres · #21 Post by **Habitres** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:56 pm

Today i finished rasping down the sides of my bow, and got it the right width (approximately) down each end and each side of the bow. Once that was complete I drew out the shape of the belly using a marking gauge. Then i cut out the shape of the bow (sorry about having no pictures of this my camera was at home). Halfway through cutting the belly i realised that i had not drawn in the handle

so i just kept on going an i have decided i will have a laminated handle - fun.

: IMG_0835.JPG (109.94 KiB) Viewed 4554 times

I cut this at an angle so i wouldnt cut too deep, and then once that was done i rasped the ridge flat.

: IMG_0837.JPG (76.36 KiB) Viewed 4554 times

It is bending reasonably well, maybe 5 inches or so

There is a knot near the handle which i sawed into, hopefully there wont be much trouble.

: IMG_0834.JPG (98.21 KiB) Viewed 4554 times

Next thing to do is to bend it and see where the weak and strong spots are, and rasp off or destory the strong spots, and then make the handle. I am also making tip overlays out of the same wood which i am making the handle out of, which is a type of indonesian wood, nice looking, very hard and resonably dark (will get a picture soon)

Thats it for me now.

-TIM

M.Hogan · #22 Post by **M.Hogan** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:02 pm

Looking Good

Habitres · #23 Post by **Habitres** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:58 am

hey guys,
sorry i havent posted in a while camera has run out of batteries and needs new ones.
Ill post some more pictures the savo but ill tell you what i have done.

I steam bended the ends using a setup with a pot, water and aluminium foil. All you have to do is heat up the water until it is bubbling/boiling and steaming, then get the bow, put the part where you want to bend over the pot so it is sitting on it and it is suppored at the other end aswell. Then put the foil over the bow and pot and crimp the edges, so that no steam can escape. Then poke some holes in the foil to let some of the steam come throught.

I am going to have to steam one of the ends again as it is not recurving enough.

Now i have to make the handle. I did this by getting a piece of maple from my local hardware store, for free cause i know the people, and it also was a preety small bit. Then i measured it against the bow, and cut it out on the bandsaw. Measured it again and did the final adjustments. Now it is time to glue. I couldnt find any titabond 3 in the hardware store so i got some selleys urethane bond, which works really well, but it aint cheep round 20 bucks, but you only need a little bit. I glues on the handle, then clamped it in place.
I let the glue dry and now i am going to shape it and smooth it.

-Tim

pdccr · #24 Post by **pdccr** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:22 pm

Looking good mate

Habitres · #25 Post by **Habitres** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:37 pm

hello all again.
sorry about the long wait, i have been busy and been relaxing and haven't been doing much work on the bow as it has been holidays. the camera is up and running now so i can give you some more pictures. I make myself a tiller tree, and the bow is bending on the long string to 14-15 inches. Yes i have done quiet a bit since my last post and ill tell you what i have done. I finished off the handle and rounded and smoothed it, but i need to glue down one side again once if find the glue ha ha. i have cut notches in the ends and have started to tiller process. it is bending a bit better then before, and i am still taking out the stiff bits. I have gotten both ends in re-curve the same thanks to the steaming, and it makes it a bit better looking and hopefully better performing.

made myself a long string too which was nice, and good practice for the short sting. I think the bow is coming along nicely and the handle is quite nice to hold. Anyway here is a picture of it:

: IMG_0268a.JPG (71.95 KiB) Viewed 4427 times

More pictures tomorrow because it is getting dark and you cannot see it properly.

-Tim

M.Hogan · #26 Post by **M.Hogan** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:55 pm

Can't wait to see the finally product, hope it turns out good.
Mine usually break in the tillering process

, next time I need to take more time tillering mine

Habitres · #27 Post by **Habitres** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:41 am

hey
I haven't done much work on the bow except for the handle. What happened is that when i fist glued on the handle i didnt put enough glue on, so the handle was half popping off. I fixed this problem yesterday after i finally found the glue. I kept it clamped shut overnight as to allow maximum strength.

: handle; IMG_0275.JPG (67.04 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

I have done a little bit of tillering but have not pulled it past the 15 inch mark, and i am going to get a spring ballance/fish weigher to test the poundage before i get anymore.

: IMG_0277.JPG (58.02 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

Here is a picture of the bow at the 15 inch mark

: IMG_0278.JPG (62.03 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

Here are some close ups

: IMG_0279.JPG (74.84 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

: IMG_0280.JPG (70.72 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

: IMG_0282.JPG (61.51 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

see you all later
-Tim

M.Hogan · #28 Post by **M.Hogan** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:27 am

Looking Good!!!

#29 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 1:17 pm

Slowly slowly does it - keep it going.

Jeff

pdccr · #30 Post by **pdccr** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:10 pm

Thats really coming along mate, i like the recurved tips aswell. Full credit to you bud, now do as jeff did and put the effort in and it will be better in the long run. No pressure

Ozbow

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