Building a Self Bow.

[Jacob Parnell]

My friend and I want to build a self bow each. But I have a couple problems.

1. I don't know what wood to use. We have:
-Tonnes of White Cedar
-Tonnes of Hemlock
-Tonnes of Aspen
-Oak
-Birch
-Maple
-Some Beech

I'm not sure which are good for bows.

2. Should I buy a bow string, or can I make one? If so, how do I?

3. How long should it dry?

4. How long should the bow be un-strung?
(I'm 5'6" and my friend is 5'9")
 
If You know the answer to any of these questions please input some advice!:)

[bow101]

If the maple is Eastern it's good. Don't use hemlock or cedar. Oak is good even better if it's white oak. Not sure about Beech. Let 'er dry for about 4-6- months. Build it about 64-68 NTN. Go to the hardware store and buy some para cord or good nylon 1/8 plenty strong.

[Josh B]

Any oak will do.  The maple depends on the species.  Hard maple is a fine bow wood.  The lighter maples like silver and red, not as good but possible.  As far as length, depends on your draw length and the style of bow you want to build.  And your wood choose as well.  Most will tell you that a pyramid bow is the easiest to start with.  I prefer to start folks on a bend through the handle d-bow.  Either way is a good choice.  Since your asking about drying time, I assume you are intending to use staves and not boards.  If you rough the stave out to floor tiller, you can be tillering in a month or two. Depending on climate and wood species.  You might consider  trading for a seasoned stave if you want to get started right away.  I hope that helps a little.  Josh

[Joec123able]

 Oak maple beech birch all can work. oak being your best bet

[Del the cat]

Google 'Delsbows' or my 'Bowyers Diary', the search engine on the blog is pretty good and over the few years it's been running I've covered pretty much everything from spotting a stave 'in the tree' to making horn nocks.
The good thing about my Bowyers Diary is I blog the mistakes and failures as well as the good stuff.
Start with a good long stave and aim fopr about 40# draw weight.
There is plenty of build alongs and stuff right here.
If you ask questions here BEFORE you get in trouble, there are plenty of people to help you out.
When in doubt... stop!
Good luck, and enjoy.
Del

[DarkSoul]

Welcome!
That's a lot of questions in one topic...

Cut an oak tree of 5 to 8 inches in diameter. Split to quarters. Remove bark. Seal the ends. Put to dry indoors for four months.
Go to a hardware store or lumberyard and buy an ash/oak/elm/maple board. In contrast to the freshly cut tree, this wood will be dry and ready to work with. It'll allow you to make a bow straight away.
In the meantime, spend every hour of spare time on READING! I think - but I could be mistaken here - that you've actually read very little. This message board is actually a very poor start for a beginner to start. It presents all kinds of stuff in an unorganized and overwhelming way. I would highly, HIGHLY advice you to buy the first volume of the book The Traditional Bowyers Bible. Also read all the internet build alongs you can find (these, and these to start with).

Buy a spool of Dacron B50 and learn how to twist a flemish string (google that term) from YouTube tutorials. Takes one day, saves you many dollars.

Unstrung bow length depends on many factors, draw length being the most important factor. For a stiff handled flatbow with your length, I'd advice you to start with 66" overall length.

Any specific questions? Please ask!

[Jacob Parnell]

Welcome!
That's a lot of questions in one topic...

Cut an oak tree of 5 to 8 inches in diameter. Split to quarters. Remove bark. Seal the ends. Put to dry indoors for four months.
Go to a hardware store or lumberyard and buy an ash/oak/elm/maple board. In contrast to the freshly cut tree, this wood will be dry and ready to work with. It'll allow you to make a bow straight away.
In the meantime, spend every hour of spare time on READING! I think - but I could be mistaken here - that you've actually read very little. This message board is actually a very poor start for a beginner to start. It presents all kinds of stuff in an unorganized and overwhelming way. I would highly, HIGHLY advice you to buy the first volume of the book The Traditional Bowyers Bible. Also read all the internet build alongs you can find (these, and these to start with).

Buy a spool of Dacron B50 and learn how to twist a flemish string (google that term) from YouTube tutorials. Takes one day, saves you many dollars.

Unstrung bow length depends on many factors, draw length being the most important factor. For a stiff handled flatbow with your length, I'd advice you to start with 66" overall length.

Any specific questions? Please ask!

Thank you! This has helped me a lot.
What would you recommend? Cutting the tree down or buying wood?
(And I have been reading and watching a lot of videos on the internet the only problem is everyones ideas are different )
This is a fantastic video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWDgNrLYps