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Primitive Archer Monthly Newsletter Archives |
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Primitive Archer Magazine | April Newsletter In this issue of our newsletter we bring you:
by Mike Grace Many years after Hercules was gone, it was the youngest son who could string the bow. Not a few generations later, the Sythian Bow and the battle axe cleared the path for the Sythian march into our history books. The Sythians were only one group of people who lived by their skill with the composite bow. Other nations using the composite bow are too numerous to mention. One nation thought to have brought such a bow to its highest state of craftsmanship were the Turkish archers. They were legendary in both the power of their bows and their skill in using them. When I first began to read about the Synthians, Avars, Hittites, Cimmerians, Turks and Mongols, I was struck with a taxophilite lust for the kind of bows they used. I attempted several times to make Asian composites, but met with frustration. It took too long to make one; the horn for the belly was difficult to work and cracked easily, not to mention the cost for horn. They were also very difficult to string. I finally gave up such ventures and opted for the lazy man’s way out. I tried making a composite bow without the horn and added some string follow to withstand the long draw. My first attempt was a complete success. Since I abandoned using horn for bellies, I can produce these bows faster, cheaper and more reliable. They have proven themselves durable, compact, hard hitting and very alluring with their intoxicating curves. To illustrate just how durable this method is, I’ve chosen for this article the Turkish bow design. This bow will be 48 inches long and can safely be drawn thirty inches. The key to making this work is deflex at early limb. A bow of a very short can be made safely to draw sixty to sixty-five
percent of its total length. To keep the The instructions go as follows: start with a strip of straight grained bow wood, bias or edge ringed. I prefer black locust myself, but birch, mulberry and maple are usable also. This wooden strip should be cut and planed to these dimensions: 50" x 13/8” x 3/8”. This will finish around fifty to seventy pound pull. I would advise a wider limb for heavier bows. The tips should then be recurved with steam and some bending form. The length of the recurve should be 8 to 10 inches. A crucial point is that the limb width remain uniform from end to end except for the rigid Siyahs or “ears”. The width of the limb prevents limb twist, serves as a string bridge and causes more energy to be stored in the limb. The at about mid-limb, steam bend a very gentle deflex that smoothly blends from mid-limb into the recurve. At this point, the string follow should be three inches, but not any more. More thn three inches will leave you with a slow shooter. The next step is gluing the handle section and the ears on. The handle section is 6 inches to 6 1/2" by 1 3/8" by 1". Glue the wood handle block to the back of the bow. The bow can be made symmetrical (both limbs equal in length) or asymmetrical (with one limb longer than the other) either way works, just as long as the weaker limb is on top. Then steam bend two pieces of wood 8" by 3/4" wide by 1/2" thick to match the back of the recurves. Once the recurves and handle have been cured for at least twenty four to thirty six hours, then begin to carve out the ears and handle. The ears should be cut 1/2" wide and 3/4" thick and leave a little extra mound of wood to carve the nock into. The length of the ear should be 3 1/2" from the lap joint that terminates at a point on the limb. The handle should be carved to gently taper into the limbs. The middle three inches of the handle joint should be carved narrower to form the rigid grip. I carve all my bow handles to swell at the very center, to create a ball-like shape to rest in the palm of my bow hand. To prepare the bow for sinewing, cut the nocks on the ears for the string. The depth should be two times the thickness of the string. Wrap the ear just below the nock sinew. This prevents the nock from splitting when stressed. Next, round the edges of the limb so that it makes the edge into a half circle. When you sinew the bow, it will lap over the sides and on to the edge of the belly. This is absolutely essential to keep the sinew from peeling off at full draw. This bow in particular will peel up at the handle and recurves if the sinew doesn’t lap onto the belly. Now before we go to sinewing, the limb thickness should have remained uniform from handle to recurve. This bow distributes the work load differently than conventional bows that you are accustomed to. This bow is meant to hinge slightly and bend very near the handle. For this reason, you can taper the limb thickness only on the recurve and only with moderation. Now, we are ready to sinew. I will not restate the already accepted method of shredding, gluing and application of sinew. Others have already done an excellent job of instructing us about that in other articles and books. I will only add the steps that are unique and essential to the success of sinewing the Turkish style bow. First of all, we never apply the entire sinew layer all at once. I apply it in three layers; each layer having a week to ten days to dry. Between sinew layers, be sure to thoroughly the previous course of sinew to get a smooth fit without voids in the sinew matrix. During the application and drying of each layer of sinew, have a string tied from ear to ear and tighten it moderately ever so often. This pulls the belly into some tension and keeps the limbs from warping and twisting. The sinew thickness should be half the total thickness of the finished
bow. For this bow that would be 3/16” thick. The sinew should be
slightly thicker near the handle and thinner on the recurves. Once the
sinew is dry, sinew wrap the handle fade outs and the recurves to help
keep the sinew backing on. You can leave the sinew bare or cover it with
snake skin rawhide or other various materials to protect the sinew. Birch After the sinew has cured at least fourteen days, you may string it. The brace height should be eight to nine inches, not more. The string should have a loop as long as the ear that comes together at the beginning of the string bridge. The manufacture of the string is a whole article in itself, so I can’t go into much detail about it in this article. It should be about eighty-six to eighty-nine percent of the length of the bow if the radius of the recurve is correct. If you follow these steps, you should end up with a bow that looks virtually identical to the Turkish bow and should be able to slay any man or beast foolish enough to step into the path of your arrows. Enjoy the legendary beauty and power of the Turkish bow. Bow
of the Month Congratulations to Herbert "March Bow of The Month" for this
outstanding osage recurve with cherry bark backing.
Here are some comments about this bow when it was first posted: Subscription Gene Langston .."during the last five years, we have added color,
increased the number of pages, enlarged the Features pages, provided a
detailed events calendar, opened and maintained a web site which is very
popular and extremely active and we have transformed a good magazine into
the most informative and highest quality magazine available in our field.
I think we've provided the finest source of If you are a current subscriber the price increase will not effect you until your subscription is up for renewal. We are also implementing a log in process as of April 19, 2004,for the message boards that provides Primitive Archer Magazine subscribers free access to all parts of the web site but limits access for nonsubscribers. We feel this is a service for subscribers. We hope nonsubscribers understand and join the Primitive Archer Magazine team. In additon, Marvin Garrish and Marc St. Louishave agreed to serve as the Primitive Archer Web Site Monitors. This should certainly strengthen the site to everyone's benefit. We plan to add a third Monitor in the near future. We appreciate everyone's contributions to the website in the past and hope you continue with us in the future. How Do I Subscribe? Just click here Shoots,
Knap-Ins & Rendezvous Dixie Bowmen/Virginia Traditional Bowhunters Assoc. Traditional only
Rendezvous April 30 8th Annual Buckhorn Traditional Archery Rendezvous RMM Spring Rendezvous 3 Rivers Muzzleloaders Spring Rendezvous MAY 2004 May 1 May 1-2 Oregon Ridge (Maryland) Nature Center's 16th Annual Primitive Technology
Workshop May 8 May 12 Goldendale K/I and Bowyers Jamboree Ed Thomas May 14 Southeastern Traditional Championships John Hood Washintgon Selfbow Jamboree for more info: Steve Meyer Friendship College Rendezvous May 27 Diablo Buckskinners 30th Annual Rendezvous May 28 Lakes Crossing Sweet Lips Memorial May 29 11th Annual Primitive Archery Rendezvous Gregory Jolin Annual Chichaqua Rendezvous For additional information contact me at colfore@aol.com
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Copyright
©2004 Primitive Archer Magazine.
All rights reserved.
The
Sythians had a legend that the Geek hero Hercules was their ancestor.
On one of his journeys, he wandered north and was forced into a bargain
that required him to have an encounter with a woman who was a serpent
from the waist downward. Thus, from this encounter, descended the Sythian
race. When Hercules has stayed for some time, and was preparing to leave,
the woman asked what she was to do with the three sons she bore him. His
reply was to unstring a bow that had been slung around his chest and for
her to instruct the sons to string it. The son who could string it first
was to be king over all their descendants. 