Rookie Ash Bow Build

[AndrewH]

I've poured over these forums in search of information but there's not substitute for trial and error I believe so here we go....

First off, I got a recurve to shoot. I figured it would be more difficult to figure out how to actually build a bow if I didn't re-train myself on it and be in tune with the nuances and whatnot. I had a compound a few years back but this is different to say the least.

I'm sorta following the board bow build along posted by Bubby.

Two huge ash trees in from of my late grandmother's house on some property we have died and needed to be cut down so I grabbed some of the wood but none of it was cut to any decent length. In fact, I've got tons of different wood scattered out back but none of it is more than 48" or so...all cut to work with in my wood turning.

But, seeing as how I've got something to shoot and how psyched up my 2 daughters were about the whole business, I decided my first attempts would be aimed at them.

So, this is the ash milled with the chain saw and cut down with a band saw. Both pieces were supposed to be 40" but cracking on one end of the smaller one meant it had to be cut down. The grain is tight but not really aligned correctly for what I have seen. Eh, trial and error. And that knot in the top piece is going to be an issue. I need the practice working with the tools.







From here, I've got glue ups going overnight....chunks of mesquite for the handle. Now I'm going to go out and start hacking away, drawing out the tapers and whatnot.

[AndrewH]

Got a little more done......heh, this is going to be a disaster but you gotta fail a few times in order to succeed...I keep telling myself that at least.






And playing with my new recurve...PSE Talon. cheap


 

[AndrewH]

Lots of grinding down the handle with a file. So far, its just been basic woodworking. Now it gets into the actual bow making part.




That would be my 8 yr old daughter's hand.

[richardzane]

Andrew,
next time you might just try split the wood for staves , don't mill it.... and see which works better.

[AndrewH]

Ok, I'll do that. I'm sorta making it up as I go so any suggestions are welcome.

[Newindian]

It looks like you have some serious runoff below the handle. And you should of split it, but it dose give you the opportunity to try doing some laminations, not sure what pairs well with ash though

[AndrewH]

It has some uglyness to it, that's for sure. I'm going to keep going just to practice and see how it turns out anyway, though. I bought the Delta band saw off Craig's list months ago but just got the parts to get it running correctly recently so that too is a learning process and I had some 'mistakes' in cutting the board.

Next attempt, I'll just begin with a hackberry stave as I've got a ton of them growing along the ditch next to my house and the empty lot behind me. Aside from getting more advanced and laminating and whatnot, is a stave the best way to make a primitive bow? Heh, like I said, learning experience.

Thanks for the replies.

One question though: moving forward with tillering, what length string should I use? The bow is 40" tip to tip and I still have to construct a tree. I saw on another thread here someone said they just used some heavy duty paracord. I might try that.

[Newindian]

40" is very short and with a nonbinding handle its even worse, you are probably looking at a 15" draw length, for now paracord won't be that bad but you should look into getting something else, modern materials include b-50, fastflight,D97, artificial sinew, the list goes on. More historical materials linen, rawhide,sinew,flax, animal gut, silk, nettle, milkweed,dogbane, and more.

[Newindian]

Also this wood is seasoned right?

And you could improve your length by splicing two pieces togethe

[AndrewH]

At this stage, its more just to keep going and keep practicing than anything else. I ant to assemble a tree and work on tillering even considering how this first attempt is going.

The wood is fairly well seasoned but its too far along to splice at this point.

[adb]

Next time, maybe try to avoid such a short handle grip with abrupt vertical fades. You want to taper and smooth out your fades for good tiller. The handle is much more likely to pop off if it's so short.

[bubby]

you took the words right out of my mouth adb, and it's way to short, at 40" ttt your lookin' at 38" ntn and on a bendy handle bow your only loookin' at 20" draw with a good board, not trying to rain on your parade, just stating fact, Bub

[AndrewH]

Well, I was hoping it would be the right size for my daughter who are 8 and 11 but virtually the same size. That said,  its not a big deal to start over. I have a lot of wood cut for turning as I said and none of it of a decent length but there's plenty more to go cut.

Ive got some nice straight hackberrys about 6-8" diameter in the empty lot behind me and in a few spots out on the ranch. That will be the next attempt I suppose.

[richardzane]

you'll like the hackberry, its forgiving on the tiller , just have to be careful not to take off too much too soon
or you can create a "hinge" a weak spot where it wants to take all the bend.

make sure to split it, not mill it. :-)

once the sap starts flowing, after winter, the bark will almost pop off. cut and split it. get that bark off and
be careful not to nick or bung up the surface of that sap wood which makes a great back. (any nicks can be a future problem)
remove the inner core with a bandsaw or just a good sharp hatchet.
seal em good and putt em up somewhere to season for a year ....atleast!

[AndrewH]

Well, when I get some time later in the week, I'll cut some hackberry, split it and put it away in the workshop for a while.

That said, if indeed I need to allow it time to cure, I'm not sure how to proceed with another project. I don't have any long staves laying around and I would like to practice. Having this one (the small ash bow) universally panned by the experts thus far is not unexpected but I'm left with using wood that's very green or, yuck, buying a piece of wood.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. I've been searching the build alongs and looking for a very basic, beginners bow I can go out, find some wood and work through it. 

As for the ash bow, I'm going to "complete" it. It will be fatally flawed, I'm sure but oh well. It is, after all, a very first attempt. Some of the first things I turned on the lathe were ugly as well and I've become pretty adept at that. Everyone has to start somewhere. In the meantime, I have my PSE Talon to play with and I'm already getting better with it. Maybe spring turkey season, I'll feel confident enough to give it a go.