Haven't built a bow in 2 years now

[sailordad]

   Most likely for tillering I would make a taper jig and run it through a planer.The limbs will probably be like 3 bows side by side and joined at the tips and several places along the limbs. I am actually hoping a tv show picks it up to help off set the costs. One team would build the firing platform and release I would just concentrate on the bow.
Richard, we could launch your gliders with this thing!

man if that didnt give ya whip lash when ya launched nothing would.wouldnt want to be thefirst to try and get flight off of that
that would be so cool if you get a show to pick it up.something like ancient weapons or even modern marvels

[Justin Snyder]

I hear what you are saying Steve. Sometimes the way things work out it makes it difficult to pick up a bow and get busy. Sometimes I don't want to build at all. Lately I have had a little motivation to build, but not to shoot. I haven't had any opportunity to hunt and it robs me of my desire.

I thought the 7 1/2' Osage bow I started was big. This sounds like an interesting project. Getting a permit to build it in the desert might be the hard part, unless you have access to private land.

George is all about safety, I wonder if he has a tillering tree you can use so you don't have to stand next to the monster while you are tillering. 

[Dane]

      I can't believe how time flys. I went from being a bow making machine t not making any bows at all. Just suddenly stopped. I still pull some of the old bows out of the garage and rework them here and there. I think I just ran out of things to try. I think mentaly I am gearing up for my next project I plan to start next year. I won't go into detail but it will be a giant flight bow, maybe 50 ft long. This is my retirement project, plan to have about a 20ft draw and rig it to shoot 12 ft long poles. This year I plan to go down south and find the hickory trees I will need, figure I will build it in the desert somewhere very dry. Hoping for a 1/2 mile long shot. Steve

I'm not the only one then, Steve. I manage maybe 2 bows a year, maybe. I marvel sometimes at the guys who churn out bow after bow, but each person is motivated by whatever motivates them, and while I wish I could be more productive and prolific, I need balance in my life that includes a lot of other things. Burning out on something tells me I need to walk away for a while.

One thing I noticed about myself is that I need a bow design that speaks to me very strongly. I'd be a much better bow maker if I kept busy making bows, perfecting techniques, eliminating things like excessive set, improving heat treating, etc, but the desire has to be there. Right now, I've manged to begin tillering a Sarnate bow over the past few days, a neolithic bow design I found on Paleoplanet. The other bows that are partially done I will get to one day, or not, but they don't touch that nerve I need to be interested in them.

The 50 foot bow sounds dangerous, so take care. I have this 4 hour tape of a Korean bowyer, and I understand that his attempt at building a giant court bow of some kind contributed to his death, but I am not sure of the details. It sounds more like a catapult then a bow you are thinking of making. The Greeks did built huge tension machines featuring a bow, but after a certain size, torsion springs were developed to realize greater and greater power for stone and arrow shooting machines, so there may be a limit to how big a bow can get. Some of the Da Vinci designs were enormous, but they were theoretical, and probably never built.

You may want to look into the pumkin' chuckers. http://www.punkinchunkin.com/ The big goal with them is to build a machine to fling a pumpkin 1 mile. It is an amazing culture of people, and some of the machines are based on bows, while others are something like trebochets, catapults, and other types of machines. I can introduce you to some of the folks, including Team Tormenta, a group based here in MA. I have a buddy who is invovled with them on some research projects. I'm sure they would recognize you from that TV show you appeared on, the Da Vinci show.

Probably you are busy with other projects, though. If you are creative, you will find outlets. I'm building a NW Trade Gun, making furniture, messing with slings, making atlatls, and developing historic shoots for my club. For this coming April I'm developing a historic timeline shoot, and am inviting ancient and medieval through WWII reenactors and living history people. Combined with a ISAC atlatls event and perhaps at least a few catapults, some top Native American living history guys and some early colonial living history guys, and a few small artillary pieces and crews, it ought to be a lot of fun. Almost all of it springs though from the skills I have developed with archery, so even if I dont pick up a draw knife for a while, the benefits of primtive bows keeps my life interesting.

Dane

[Hrothgar]

Badger, welcome back. I know what you're saying. I've found I can have a bow finished and shooting and look at it 6 months or 2 years later and see something that can be narrowed, piked, or even sanded a little smoother, and re-work that bow instead of starting the next. But its quality not quantity, right?

[Badger]

     Last year I did some work for the discovery channel, a series called " Doing DaVinci" one of my assignments was to build the giant bows that DaVinci had layed out in his plans for a large catapult. The bow was shaped in a 3/4 circle and worked as a torsion machine. I had to build it much thinner than da vinci had indicated or it would not have bent. The machine actually worked pretty well but on future builds they insisted that I build it just as DaVinci drew it. The last one had a bending section about 20 ft long and was too stiff to bend, I think we cranked about #12,000# on it and it was stiff as a rock as I knew it would be. I wanted to make it 2" thick and they insisted on 8" thick, go figure. My 50' bow will be scaled up from a 5ft bow in both width and thickness. Finding good lumber long enough will be the biggest challenge, I will need around 15,000# stored energy which shouldnt be too bad for a bow this size.

[Dane]

Steve, what were the those guys like to work with? Especially the artist guy, can't recall his name but he came across as very volitile in the show.

There was another similar show, Surviving History, which featured these fabricators from Ohio making all kinds of torture devices and weapons, similar premise, though. They seemed like a much nicer crew of guys, had fun, and made some intersting toys.

[adb]

     Last year I did some work for the discovery channel, a series called " Doing DaVinci" one of my assignments was to build the giant bows that DaVinci had layed out in his plans for a large catapult. The bow was shaped in a 3/4 circle and worked as a torsion machine. I had to build it much thinner than da vinci had indicated or it would not have bent. The machine actually worked pretty well but on future builds they insisted that I build it just as DaVinci drew it. The last one had a bending section about 20 ft long and was too stiff to bend, I think we cranked about #12,000# on it and it was stiff as a rock as I knew it would be. I wanted to make it 2" thick and they insisted on 8" thick, go figure. My 50' bow will be scaled up from a 5ft bow in both width and thickness. Finding good lumber long enough will be the biggest challenge, I will need around 15,000# stored energy which shouldnt be too bad for a bow this size.

What kind of wood do you think you're going to use?

[Badger]

  Very possibly white oak as straight grained white oak planks of 20 ft long are not too extremely difficult to find. Hickory will be my first choice if I can find a straight enough tree. Steve

[lowell]

I have really slowed up in my buiding too.  I originally wanted to build a bow or two that I could hunt with.  I have built more than a couple hunting bows now so have slowed too.

  But.... since I hurt my shoulder and have not been able to hunt this fall/winter I have been studying the Orcbow crossbow build- along and think that may be my next project.  My Dr. has already said he would write a letter to the affect that I should qualify to hunt with a crossbow.  Really have never had an interest in hunting with a crossbow but if that is the only way I'm able I will!!

 Seems like one way or another I have to be making saw dust and wood chips in the shop too!!

[Kviljo]

Sounds like an awesome project, Badger! Keep us updated if you carry it out some day! You will be building it quite overbuilt, I suppose? A 50 foot near-destruction flight bow would be scary as heck!

My bow building interest has been re-newed by horn bows. I could recommend it to anyone

[George Tsoukalas]

Hey, Badger. I'm starting an osage bow this week. Lord willing. Last one done is a rotten egg! I mean done. Not just full draw. Jawge

[Badger]

   Jawge, when was it you were out here? That was my last bow I believe. Kvillo, I have been following your progress, they are tempting. Steve

[aznboi3644]

funny thinking.

You would be using and actual tillering TREE for this lol...not just a stick with some cuts in it...a 50Ft tree with steel rods inserted instead of wooden pegs lol

[David Long]

Badger, build that huge bow and bring it to Burningman in late August. Shoot a FLAMING arrow every night for a week, with 50,000 people in the midst of "extreme self expression" watching over you. If you can "think it up" and do things such that no one is killed, at Burningman you can do it. I am certain you will return from that desert fest with a new outlook on everything, not just archery.

[Badger]

David, one of the guys I am working with is one of the founders of burning man I believe. Flash Hopkins, cool guy. Steve