New Ash English warbow - tillering stage

[doggonemess]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to put up pics of the Ash warbow I'm working on. I made a few before this, all of which came out very underweight or broke during tillering. I have a very good feeling about this one. The wood is strong and sound, and I've been more patient and careful with this one than the others I've made.

It's way too heavy to draw yet, but I know that the weight will drop during tillering. Just to string it to a 1/2 inch brace, I had to stand on the center with almost my full weight. I'm not trying to make a bow with a 200 lb draw. Not yet, at least.



Here it is with my little tillering marks. What I see is a slight stiffness on the right side. It's pretty darn close considering that this was all eyeballed and I haven't started tillering yet.

[RobertofGwent]

Looking good. Where did you source the ash - in the wild or did you buy a stave? What sort of weight would be your ideal? I've heard Ash needs a different profile from the classic longbow, or is that just for heavier bows?
R

[adb]

Is it an ash stave, or board?

[Yeomanbowman]

Looking good.
Ash will crysal if you don't get the the depth tapering just right and around any pins or knots that are left proud, and sometimes even if you do all of those things right!-)
Like Robert said about going for a more rectangular section and I'd keep it nice and long if possible.

Jeremy

[doggonemess]

It's a board that I got from a hardwood place nearby. I've made several longbows from it, and most have been great. It was the nicest, straightest grained board I've ever seen. I'm sad because this is the last piece. But - I have a bunch of branches cut from the ashes in my front yard, (one of which is large enough to make one bow for sure) that have been drying since last summer. They should be just about right now.

I was thinking of backing it to prevent an accidental blow-out. I have a long piece of of hickory (board, from the same place, almost my last piece) that I was considering. I've had success with hickory backed lightweight longbows. Is it necessary if the back is fairly even but has a few grain violations?

I am working it to a rounded rectangular cross section. When I tried to make one in a pure d-bow shape, it shattered. That also could have been due to not being careful and patient as well. I am definitely going to keep it long - right now it's 76 inches and I'm going to try to leave it there, then put tips on the ends. I don't have horn, but I have some antler that should do nicely. Stuff is hard as bone, though.

Weight-wise I'm aiming for 80 to 100 pounds. I'll aim high, then work it down as I tiller. Right now, It's probably 150 lbs or so just to brace the bow. I'm certain it would break long before it reached draw, and there's no way I could even apply that much force, I'm sure! But it's great because the profile is looking good, and I know that I have a lot of wiggle room to keep it even while I work it down. Slow and steady and all that.

Thanks for the advice - I'll definitely heed it!

[mikekeswick]

1st tip is don't 'aim for 80 -100lbs'.....
Proper tillering requires the bow to be pulled to the same weight each time once it's bending correctly.
If it is too heavy to brace - DON'T brace it! You are simply over-straining the bow with no benefit.
If the grain is slightly dodgy then you should back it. However hickory is not the best choice in this case.
Rawhide would be my choice.

[doggonemess]

1st tip is don't 'aim for 80 -100lbs'.....
Proper tillering requires the bow to be pulled to the same weight each time once it's bending correctly.
If it is too heavy to brace - DON'T brace it! You are simply over-straining the bow with no benefit.
If the grain is slightly dodgy then you should back it. However hickory is not the best choice in this case.
Rawhide would be my choice.

Wow, thanks for the tip. I have always worked the bow measuring the weight as I go, and some juvenile part of me always wants to see how much it pulls before it's worked to the correct thickness.

I don't have any rawhide handy, but what do you think about linen? I've got a bunch of that, and canvas, too. And how does one finish the bow when it's backed with fabric? The ones I've done always come out looking like they have fabric on them, and I'd rather have a nice finish. Lacquer?

Thanks very much!

[doggonemess]

Here's the latest tillering work. It's coming along nicely!

[Newindian]

Right mid limb looks kinda stiff

[Del the cat]

Right mid limb looks kinda stiff

+1
Left limb looks V good, right isn't working much in its outer 2/3.
Del

[doggonemess]

You guys confirmed my analysis, thanks!

And, I wasn't entirely sure that the left was working right, but it's nice to get some positive feedback. I think a lot of my failures are due to me trimming when it wasn't needed.

Jamie