First Bow

[blackhawk]

When first starting out building wooden bows it is best to use the kiss method.."keep it simple stupid"...and one of the easiest (if not the easiest) to build is a long bend in the handle bow...and since your wanting to steer in the direction of making long bend in the handle bows,then start there but with way less weight at first to learn how to tiller(which will be your biggest obstacle to learn)...no stiff handles yet for now.... we can tell you good dimensions,but you your self will have to make the bend smooth without any hinges or flat spots....find a good clean straight grained tree or board that's suitable for bows and have at it....you can also quick dry any trees you cut,and be bending it and shooting it a month later easy as well...get ahold of the traditional bowyers bibles and read read read...Tim bakers your first wooden bow is a good place to start as well...he describes and gets ya building exactly what I described


Oh,and thank you for your service in both fields

[scp]

Blackwawk is correct about the hinge. But the point I'm making is that wood is rather forgiving so long as you keep it long and wide enough. I can make a bending stick in half an hour on my band saw. After that you just go rear slow with scrapers. Long even strokes all the way form the handle to the tips. I often just use a block plane if the grain is straight enough. Just do it. And wear safety glasses if you are pulling over 15 inches or so, please. At least for the first ten bows.

[taccovert4]

Looks like I've got a reading list.  Which is fine... if it was easy it wouldn't be rewarding.  And thanks for the advice on glasses......unfortunately I have to wear them all the time anyway.

I'm going to presume that the bowyers bibles will have tables for various woods to get rough dimensions needed to make bows of a specific weight? 

[taccovert4]

Close wooden spring.  Greenville.  So about two hours by truck to Beaufort.  I will definitely keep them in mind.  Would any of you guys happen to live remotely close by?   

[Wooden Spring]

Close wooden spring.  Greenville.  So about two hours by truck to Beaufort.  I will definitely keep them in mind.  Would any of you guys happen to live remotely close by?

Greenville, hey I went to school there! I can still taste the 5 pound burritos at the Flying Salsa...  Mmmmmm... *drool*

[wizardgoat]

when i first started building bows (6month ago), i had alot of questions. I ordered a few "cheap" staves, watched a bunch of youtube videos (clay hayes vids are great), bought a draw knife, rasp, and scrapers, but more importantly i ordered all 4 editions of the bowyer bibles. the first one is key. after that, i still had some questions, but they were a little more specific.
guys here a very patient for beginners which is awesome, but you should spend some time reading and youtube vid watching.
basicially, all the  questions youve asked are answered in great detail in TBB1. welcome!

[taccovert4]

WG that's what I intend on doing.  I had watched a lot of videos, but those and the individual blogs can be a bit dodgy when it comes to advice and such.  So I wanted to get pointed in the right direction by a group since reasonably the consensus would be correct.  I have no problems with studying....

[wizardgoat]

ya ive only read TBBs, but i recently ordered a few other books that guys on here mention often.  Like you, i was first drawn to english warbows and really wanted to make and shoot heavy weights. the deeper i dig into this craft, the more interested i become in native american bows, and the first nations bows of my area, as well as asiatic composites. I recently made a 80#32" warbow just to cross it off the list, but have i once brought it out to our spot we shoot at in the mountains? not yet... i can shoot my 50-60# shorties all day.
for you, id suggest making a few longbows at reasonable weights, to learn how to tiller and to get a few bows under your belt.  thats when it gets addicting, youve been warned!

[taccovert4]

Ok, all 4 bowyer's bibles on order.....ETA the 19th.  Which is fine, I have one sewing table to make out of red oak before then.  If I neglect to do that, I could go from a supportive fiancee to a irritable one, so somehow I think it's in my best interest there...

[taccovert4]

Thanks everyone for the friendly advice.  Volumes I-IV of the Bowyer's Bibles should be here first of next week.  And found one gentleman that's willing to give me some instruction....and he's not far away.

[Wiley]

A few of those species you might not of thought of. Flowering dogwood, american persimmon, hickories with preference towards pignut and shagbark species along with pecans, red and white mulberry, maybe american hophornbeam, american hornbeam, witch hazel, southern hackberry/sugarberry, various ornamentals like crepe myrtle, black cherry might qualify but it's very temperamental, most of the fruit/nut trees that may of been planted should be considered for potential. Sassafras is borderline bow wood but probably around where you are as well.

Along with various species of oak and the other trees you mentioned, these trees probably make up the majority of your forest over-story and understory trees if you throw some poplar and pines in there. Bow making is a good hobby when you live in the southeastern woods. Not much osage around, but we have such wonderful hardwood forest full of so many straight growing trees.