New Bowyer In Need of Help (Pictures Added)

[JustWondering]

Hi all,

This is my first post here.  I've been lurking here and have been inspired to try making a bow. 

I've been working free hand (with out a bench or clamps) with a wood rasp on a board bow.  I've got it bending and floor tillered.  However, I feel that I'm at the end of what I can do on my own, knowledge and facilities-wise.

I was wondering if there was anyone in the Triangle area of NC that would be willing to help me finish my bow and build a string and some arrows for it.

Thanks!

Brad

Edit:  I've added pictures.

[Brent.Mac.]

Hey, welcome to PA!  I just finished my first bow, and let me say it feels awesome to make a shooter!   And yes its tough without clamps and equipment but it's totally worth the time once you see the final product.
Good luck, hopefully someone can help, I live in Canada so kinda out of reach.  Can't wait to see the pictures.  Just take your time and she'll turn out awesome! Always nice to see new members!

Cheers,
Brent

[fishfinder401]

i wish you the best of luck, and i actually think that sometimes working without clamps is easier, i am currently working on a yew warbow, i have around 15hours or more into it, but only 10-15 minutes in a clamp( partially because making bows is pulling ym work bench apart ).
i would offer to help you in person except the whole me living in Rhode Island thing
good luck and welcome
noel

[mikekeswick]

Noel - triangles!!!!
You can make a bench for not much money at all, try reclaimation yards for the wood and a sheet of ply for the top can be picked up where building work is going on as scrap if you hang around and ask someone. If you don't ask you won't get! I enjoy going into the woods and making a bow with just a knife evey now and again but I must say you can't beat having a stave clamped solid - it just speeds everything up and it's easier to be accurate.

[JustWondering]

Hi all,

Here are some pictures of my bow as it stands.  It's essentially floor tillered.  It's also very short, only 48".  Since I'm working with rasps, I wasn't sure how fast wood removal would go, so I opted for a short test bow.  Actually, I'm quite pleased with how it's progressing.

My plan is to reduce the tips a bit more (especially in profile) and cut deeper nocks.  I just left them wide as an expedient.

C&C welcome.

Brad

[aaron]

what's your draw length?
because your bow is only 48, you may need to reduce the handle so it bends a little and the tips as well. In general a bow will draw twice it's working limb. So 48 inches minus 6 (at least) for the handle minus 4 for each non-bending tip leaves 38 inches. divide by two and each limb has 19 inches working. So this bow could be drawn to 19 inches. If you make it bend throughout its whole length, it could draw 24. If you back it it MIGHT draw 28, but that would be pushin' it , especially for a first bow. My advice would be to narrow the whole bow to match the current handle width. Then make the tips thinner, like the rest of the limb. Then tiller so every part of the bow bends the same.
good luck

[fishfinder401]

with lighter bows i do have to use a clamp, but the warbow is so stiff, i rested it on my shoulder and clamped it down with my overly thick  leg, i was abe to get reel close and see xactly what i was doing. i alo mostly used a scraper after roughing it out with a raps and hatchet as i wanted to make sure i made mistake
noel

[Matt S.]

When I first started making bows I was a poor high school kid who didn't have a workshop or any fancy tools. I had a rasp and a pocket knife. There were two basic ways I would secure the bow while scraping/rasping on it:
1) I would sit on the bow (straddle it) so one limb would stick out in front of me. A chair, stool, or in my case, the stairs of the back deck worked well.
2) put a rag (an old sock works great) over one tip and put that tip in a corner. Then lean against the other tip (while standing up), using your weight to hold the bow tight while you work on the limb. Some sort of cushion between the bow and your body will make it more comfortable.

[JustWondering]

Hi,

Thanks all for the welcome.

Aaron, my intended draw for this bow is 20".  I knew coming into this that a 48" bow with a 5" non-working handle (7" with fades) and stiff tips wasn't going to draw even close to 1/2 length.  The bow does work a bit in the handle as it is not deep enough to be completely non-working, so I think I can push the draw to 20".

My criteria for this bow was that is shoot arrows and not blow up, beyond that, well, that's for the next bow.  I'll be happy if I get more than five arrows off of it (and perhaps one of the pesky squirrels on my balcony that nibble on my plants).

I'm doing all of this by feel, so I have no idea what the finished draw weight will be, but my guess is somewhere around 30#.

Thanks,
Brad

[Ifrit617]

20" sounds good especially for a first attempt. Good luck and thin thos tips some.

[Jimbob]

Hi Brad What part of the Triangle do you live in?  I live east of Fayetteville, around exit 58 on I-95.  I dont have any experience building bows but two minds gotta be better than one.  I am a flintknapper though.  I also would like to find more people around this area that like archery and we could all get together and shoot.  There is another flintknapper that I work with and he lives in Fay. and Im sure that he would be down for somthin like that.

[Strongbow]

48" is actually a great length for a kids bow, I made 2 lightweight bows that length for my kids.  If it comes out of tillering shooting, you might make some kids day with an awesome present.

[JustWondering]

How thin can I push the tips?  Can they be the same profile as the bow?  The tips are only a 1/4" wide.

[Cameroo]

Just by glancing at your pics, I would say you could bring the width taper from the tips quite a bit further down the limb, and also take a lot of the thickness off at the tips.  The way it is now, the outer limbs have a lot more mass than what's needed.  Experience will help you learn how thin you can go, but if you are unsure, just leave that until later in the tillering process and then just slowly remove wood while checking the tiller until you see them just starting to flex.

Happy bowyering!!