hello all , new member. been lurking a few weeks reading everything that looks simple. i was finally able to convince the wife to let me spend a few bucks on wood. i somehow managed to tell her i could build her a bow for less than 20$ including a string...soooo....
my dilemma is that i first read the oak bow build along (yes the great one) , and i figured i could try that. while at the lumber depot , the 1x4's were all very porous , or they were all outer cuts with shallow grain.
the 1x2's however looked decently grained and not too warped at all. i saw there were some people who had some luck with 1x2 bows , but i havent seen a whole lot on here as for builds. i know its kind of a newbie thing to do , but it looks like the simplest to whittle out with the minimal tools i can make or modify. i do have some woodworking stuff , but its all mostly just handmade blades from fire extinguisher breakers.
i could probably pick up a small pocket plane , and some sandpaper obviously would be needed , but im trying to make a bow minimal outset cost. im even going to hold off to make a tillering tree .
forgot to mention some things are out of the question as im on crutches for a little while still...
any tips or builds to look at , let me know. im going to go do some searching...
-hov
I find a rasp a very helpful.
A 1x2 will built a very serviceable bow. Visit George's site here:
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/archer.html
I built some of my first board bows using his instructions. Also, Sam Harper's site has some good buildalongs using 1x2 stock. You can visit it by click here:
http://www.oocities.com/salampsio/
Finally, here's a third online tutorial worth checking out:
http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm
Best of luck, and post lots of pictures.
thanks guys for the replies. i am surprised too see you posting on my lowly newb thread , 4est. your oak bow was the longest and most educational thread ive read in a long time. it actually is what inspired me.
so i was doing a little google windowshopping last night and found the sur-form and a small pocket plane that arent too expensive. i may even have a rasp somewhere in all my tools.
ive decided im going to go and pick up a couple 1x2's , and get my hatchet , and a few blades out of storage , and im going to get to work on em.
im currently living with my in laws , due to the lovely car accident i was in , that broke my femur in 2 places. so i have to keep everything to a minimum.
i have seen george and sam's builds , and learned a lot. the only thing im still not clear on , is the whole grain situation. im sure a couple sticks and ill figure it out...
thanks guys
-hov
Here's another board bow instruction Ferret\\'s Board Bow Instructions (http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm) Just make sure the grain lines runs straight from one end to the other of your board. No runups allowed.
I went through my tools a couple weeks ago and found some extras. Get me your address and I'll send you something.
i build most of my bows out of 1x2'sand have had good success. my first one followed sam harpers on his site. get the best straight grain you can find, back it with some brown paper or whatever you have handy that will work. if you have questions about backings post a question and we'll try to answer them. by the way my first few were made with only a surform, theyre a good investment on a budget. fine scraping can be done with one half of a pair of scissors.
I like most of the builds by dutchwarbow on this sight but I haven't seen any recently!
wow lots of support here. very glad i registered.
went today to lowes , and looked at their red oak and my jaw dropped. at homey depot , the 1x2's were a little off , but they were only 1.05 ... at lowes they were 6' , and almost 6$ , but a lot of them looked lots nicer than the ones at home depot. so i picked the nicest straightest one ,over the one with a little thicker latewood , but it had a little wavey-er grain , but it was a little heavier , so i probably should have gotten that one. the one i have is very even in ring size , with probably 2/3 latewood , and 1/3 earlywood.
needless to say , the denser piece was a little darker , but had a bit of bend in the board. there also seemed to be a bit of a split in it , and i just wasnt that happy with it...
this piece is almost perfectly flat back to belly , but side to side there is an almost perfect bend that is about a half inch in from the middle to the tips. when held in the hand as it would be , once done , i like the tips arching away from me , so as a left handed shooter , if palm=$ , then $( is how it feels good. when turned the other way , even though it seems to make a little more sense , it feels awkward to me.
so im going to work out some measuremenwts with my honey bunny , draw length mostly , and im going to have her give the ol fred bear whitetail hunter compound , to see what kind of weight she can get back , and what she would like to try. im thinking aim for 40# , and probably end up around 30# if my tillering sucks. she could do 30 im sure.
let me know what you all think , ill try to get some pics up tomorrow. probably going off your build 4est...
well that would make a little more sense. they looked a little chincy , so i held off. if this goes even remotely well , ill probably just call around and see if someone can match me up somethaing a little better. im sure the pictures will help anyone give me some advice.
meh, for all i know , i bought the exact opposite...
checking out ferrets build now , looks like some good info...
-hov
just rough measured the wife , and she is 2 and a third hands . roughly 21-22 inches draw length. so im thinking for a first timer bow , made from a red oak 1x2 , im thinking no less than 60" , about 25-30# @ 22". im wondering if a bendy in the handle is simpler to tiller. i definitely want it to last. if i make her a bow and it hits her in the face , i most likely wont be heard from again...
a side note , i was looking at flemish strings , and it looks very similar to what i used to use in fly fishing , called a furled leader. i am going to have to wait a week or two to get some dacron from a short string , but i should have some para laying around i can use to long string it up.
another question i have been having , even though it says not to break the back of the bow surface , i see a lot of nocks are through the backing. is this just because these bows dont bend at the nocks , or is it something specific to each bow.
thanks guys , pictures to come tomorrow.
just did a little on it , with my tiny swiss army knife. was going to do 65" tip to tip , but with no saw handy here at the in laws (go figure) , i figured id just start on it at 72" and see what i end up with. im pretty sure theres too much earlywood , but i guess ill figure that out soon enough.
i did get some pics but left the camera upstairs , and as i thought , maybe the arc side to side will mess me up.
as of now im working it rough to:
handle : 5" x 1"
tips 1/2" x 1/2"
with the arc in it , its kind of iffy on how much runout im going to have to deal with , but i think this is just going to be some testing and a proof of concept to the wife. if it even comes close to flinging an arrow , im sure that will help the coffers a little.
and im going to try to get back to the hardware store tonight pick up a rasp. this knife work is going to take forever. not that i dont have patience , i just believe there is a point where things stop being interesting , usually when they become tedious , like removing 1/2" of wood with a 3" pocket knife ...
anyways , ill get some pics up later and see how much you guys laugh.
john : i really appreciate the offer. im not sure if i can pm yet or not , but ill give it a shot later. you made me feel all tingly , i bet those tools have a lot of good mojo left in them...id be honored.
-hov
so heres some pics...
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150406.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150406.jpg)
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150407.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150407.jpg)
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150408.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150408.jpg)
ok so how about some criticism on my wood...lol..
but seriously , did i buy the exact wrong piece?
ill get some more pics tomorrow of what i have gotten accomplished. this stuff sure is hardwood...
I've certainly made some good things happen with stock crappier than that, so remember, have fun, see the bow for what it wants to be, and go at it. When it comes time to clean your bow up from scrapes, rasps, and cuts, try a belt sander clamped on it's side. Helps me clean things up right away, and to tiller. It was easier for me than scraping...
Good luck!
yeah ive done some woodcarving , so other than some basic widths , im going to sort of experiment.
old indian bowyers guide:
1.get stick
2.remove wood that is not part of the bow
-hov
I think I'd get a different piece. Lot's of runups and steep ones at that.
Hova PM sent.
ok so after four hours today ,i got a good bit more done. wore out the victorinox though.
going to pick up a rasp i have at my moms house today , if its still there...
needless to say i respect anyone doing this , especially the old timers using stones...that had to suck..
pics later tonight
-hov
edit : saw your post just now after posting john. while i know theres a good few runups , and the probability of breaking it is around 96.2% ...
so far using the pen knife , ive got most of it roughed out to shape , or pretty close , but i need something with a little backbone to it that doesnt make my hand feel like a claw..
im not really expecting a family heirloom , long as i learn something from it.
-hov
I would get a roll of that paper that looks like grocery sack material and glue it on the back with some wood glue. That'll decrease your probability of having it break. However, that will increase your final cost to $22. ;-)
~John
so far my cost is about 7$ ... i think i have some linen around , but im waiting to see what it does when i start tillering...
still gotta square up the sides of it before i mess with till...
pics shortly...
-hov
Tell me what your bow will be from nock to nock and I'll build you a string and send it to ya. Paul<><
i have some work to do , but im at 72" tip to tip right now , but i still have some work to do till i figure out where the weight will be...
im thinking maybe 70 or 71" .
i appreciate the offer so much. i was looking around for linen cause im sure i can find it locally , where the dacron just isnt around for some reason. im sure i could pick it up at gander mountain for twice what i could buy it online for...
i guess with all this generosity coming my way i need to come up with something wonderful , and deserving of all your time and effort. hopefully one day i can pay it back (or forward).
-hov
When you're closer to knowing for sure let me know and i'll have a string to ya in a couple of days.
that would be awesome. i have to wait a few days till i can pick up something to get the side profiles a little closer to what i marked out , but based on the fact that i marked this like you would a straight piece of lumber , instead of using the bow in it as a side , its going to be a little skewed , but i think it shouldnt be too much of an issue.
do you all leave the handles square until after tillering? i already rounded some edges , but havent really taken any meat off the handle area. just tapering the sides of it so far , its able to take a good floor tiller bend. i was really surprised . i figured id put a little pressure and it would snap , but it really stood up well.
all i have to do , is square them up , then work on the belly. im going to try to pick up a pocket plane , because i had a devil of a time squaring up the end of one side , using a chisel sort of method to remove the excess , where on hte other side , i just shaved the wood down , but i dont want to go too far. im thinking the plane might not like a semi-flat surface , but we'll see what happens.
thanks so much guys , ill get those pics on here today once the baby wakes up.
-hov
ok so three days later heres another update for anyone looking (i know)...
played around with the rasp i have , im pretty sure this was a drywall rasp. very very coarse pointed teeth , they dont really take the wood off , unless i really push , but one side has a chisel point , so i cant really get anything to grip there.
throw in the fact that my vice is a piece of cordage and the chair im sitting in , i cant really get good pressure on the blank.
so this weekends hopes are to hit a couple garage sales and try to pick up a vice or at least some clamps, and if i really luck out i might find something with an edge on it.
anyways , heres some pics. theres a few of my workshop , dont mind those. in the last one you can see the side to side bow in my...bow. im shaping it now as it is , and im going to see how it reacts to some light tillering once i get it worked a little more. if it give me hassle , ill probably try clamping it to the bench , with a 1/2" dowel under the middle , so that it bends it just a bit past even. i tried flexing it side to side to see how far it will go , and it might need steamed.
anyways im rambling , heres the pics...
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150419.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150419.jpg)
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150415.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150415.jpg)
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/th_P1150416.jpg) (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt60/thezinks/?action=view¤t=P1150416.jpg)
let me know how you think im doing. i know theres some humps still , i tried using the pocket knife , but my hand cramped immediately. im going to wait till some of the donations get here from the generous people here , cause i dont want carpal tunnel , and i dont want to needlessly waste a blank.
cant wait to get it shaped up. i was intending to do a bend handle , but im not sure how to tackle it from where i am. i may have overlooked some things , like having actual fades , how big teh handle should end up , what kind of tiller to try , and i was wondering if when you file knocks , you put them through the back of the bow. the reg fiberglass bow i had as a child was just basically notched , but i really dont have a clue what im really doing , other than making shavings and sweat...
im done rambling for now...
-hov
-hov
meant to say as well ,i expected to go with around 1" , rounded , for the handle. with 1/2" tips , what would the weight be ...too much , or would i just need to thin the belly out towards the tips?
-hov
meant to say as well ,i expected to go with around 1" , rounded , for the handle. with 1/2" tips , what would the weight be ...too much , or would i just need to thin the belly out towards the tips?
-hov