Del and Marc, can you post your "Care of Self Bows" sheets here, love to see 'em!
Care of Self wood bows. DH 2012
The biggest danger to a self wood bow is other people!
Don’t let others draw your bow, with or without an arrow in case some macho guy over draws it, shoots it upside down or looses without an arrow etc.
Even an unstrung bow is at risk of being flexed the wrong way by someone who doesn’t know any better
Always string it yourself . Using a stringer or the push pull method is best.
Some primitives need a different method if they are wide tipped and the string loop can’t slide up the limb. I string these by putting the lower tip on the (soft) ground with the string on the bottom nock, I stick out my left knee and pull up the upper tip with my right hand with my knee pressing against the handle and slipping the string on with my left. This is fine as the only forces are on the tips and the grip. I’ve had people give me a withering stare and say ‘You don’t string a bow like that!’
To which I reply ‘You do if you made it!’
Once the bow is strung, check each nock to make sure the string is fitted snuggly; trust me I’ve had a string slip out of its nock. Flex it a few times to a short draw first to get you and the bow warmed up.
If you really must let someone else shoot it, then be sure they use arrows which are only as long as the permitted draw length.
My bows are usually tillered to 1” over the specified length to allow a little margin of error, but this can get exceeded if the wrong string is put on or over twisted. That’s why I shoot arrows of the right length. It would be easy to get carried away at a flight or clout shoot and use an extra few inches of draw. This could be fatal to a character bow, especially a primitive, longbows are a little more forgiving, but can take extra set and loose power if over drawn.
Enough doom and gloom!
Keep an eye on you bow run your hands over it look at every knot and ripple, get to know how it looks and feels, watch out for any knocks and bumps. Small dents aren’t a problem (the back of a spoon heated in boiling water rubbed on the surface can draw out the dent), but any damage which cuts into the fibres of the wood may need repair.
Similarly watch out for wear on the string.
Measure the bracing height and string length in case you need to make or buy another string.
I fit a continuous loop string but a traditional string with a bowyer's knot at one end is fine as long as it doesn’t over brace the bow.
My bows are finished with Danish Oil and then wiped over with a Beeswax based polish (Lord Sheratons Furniture Balsam is stocked in Sainsburys and doubtless other shops).
The occasional wipe over is all it needs, but if it gets wet, wipe it dry and then wax it in a few hours when it’s really dried out.
Storage:- You want somewhere that doesn’t get too hot and dry or freezing and damp. My garage isn’t heated , but has some hot water pipes running through it, the doors are ill fitting so it’s nice and draughty, it has a bedroom above it and only 2 short outside walls. It is cool in summer and doesn’t get much below 10C in winter, perfect! Ideally a bow should be lying flat, but I have mine standing near vertical. What you don’t want is it slouched at steep angle with piles of junk resting on it.
