Hi all, I'm fairly new to bow making.I'm from Australia.
I've made one successful bamboo backed board which is a great shooter.
I'm finding it hard to track done quality bow woods.
I've been reading online about splicing hickory pick handles together to use as a stave.
Has anybody on here done it?
Has anyone made a bamboo backed bow out of pick handles?
Can they be steamed into a recurve?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Cheers
James
I am working on a hickory wheelbarrow handle bow, these handles are 60" long, so no need for splicing. I have seen a thread or 2 either on here, or at PA where guys have done the deal with axe or pick handles. I will try to find it again for ya.
Mike
Ok, no luck on my search, I just keep finding mentions of doing it, no real detailed threads. I do recall it being mentioned in the Bowyer's Bible, vol. 1. Yup, page 91- but, it is just a picture of two handles with the w splices inked out on each limb.
Mike
The best way to lay out your splices is to draw them on a piece of paper, cut out your drawing and glue the pattern to the wood you want to splice, lining up your patterns with a centerline on your wood. This way you can have a perfect pattern on any shape wood.
I use this method when I have to replace a limb on a completed bow. In the picture below I drew a 7" pattern, cut it in half and glued each halve on the wood I wanted to splice. Be sure to mark the part you want to cut out, accidents happen.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/bow%20making/limbreplacement3.jpg)
There is an article in the Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012 Primitive Archer mag that is about making a pickaxe handle bow. It's pretty interesting. He uses a boxed joint pinned with a couple hardwood dowels. Works for him.
Mark Baker told me he made some bows using pick handles when he first started making selfbows.
I have made one out of a wheel barrow handle and I just bought a pick axe handle today that I am going saw in half and splice back together to try for a bow.