Anyone else make bow's free hand (no measurements or layout)?

[CrescentWalk]

Some bowyers use exact measurements down to very small increments of measure and lay out everything beforehand (and there's nothing wrong with this) but does anyone else build their bow's "free hand" (for lack of a better term) and just let the wood become the bow it want's to become? I watched Ed Scott's video and he said that he very rarely take's measurements himself and the bow that he built during his video had no layout on it. I tried doing the whole layout thing and it not only seemed extremely difficult, but it also killed the joy of building a bow (for me). Does anyone else build bow's free hand and let the stave naturally become a bow as you work on it?

[bushboy]

I measure the length,center and free hand from there using a pencil!pearl made post one a while back in the manner that you speak!some designs I stay faithful to the rule.

[Badger]

       The only measure I take is the center and the overall length.

[Limbit]

That's how I was taught by my native instructor. I messed up a lot of bows trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. I only started measuring things out once I located usable board wood. It is a lot quicker measuring things out. I think on a really wonky stave like the aboriginals here use, you kind of have to adapt as you go into the wood. None of their bows are high performers, but their system isn't as much about performance as accuracy. Short range, long bows, heavy arrows. They actually laughed at me the first time I brought a teak pyramid bow I made that was a sharp and fast shooter to the village. They said it sounded wrong and the arrow went too straight and quick into the target. They kind of sink and drop an arrow into the spot they are aiming at rather than aiming right for a spot due to the low draw weight of their bows and heavy weight of their arrows. In a system like that, you don't need much of a bow, so you don't need much of a plan when making it. Definitely feel and looks primitive when you are finished with one.

[Del the cat]

I have on occasion, one of 'em is a fave' bow and a great performer.
Del

[bjrogg]

Welcome to PA  CrescentWalk. I do like Badger. Measure center and overall length. Also handle and fade roughly measured out. After that it's what my eyes and draw knife like. The bow usually seems to know where it is.
Bjrogg

[PatM]

   I do.  Sometimes I'll measure after the bow is done for reference.  It's not hard to get basic dimensions by just using your height and arm span.

 I have trouble keeping track of a measuring tape.
 
  Certainly calipers and the like are never used.

[Bob Barnes]

I love watching guys like Terry Hughes, DVS, and Robert Powell makes bows that way...it always reminds me of Chevy Chase in Caddyshack... "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-plunk"   

[CrescentWalk]

Thanks for the response guys and thanks for the welcome! I always thought bow's were supposed to be made without a layout so that's how I started.

I do the same as you guys and just measure my center line (where to place my handle) and length. If the bow has a taper point (like a mollegabet) I will also place a reference line on both limb's so that I know where to begin the taper if I want my taper to start at the same point on both limb's.

If someone was feeling really primitive they could just cut a stick and place it on the centerline and use that as a reference of where to place the taper on both limbs.

The current bow that I'm working on is a mollegabet made out of Honey Locust and it is coming out quite good.

[bookworm]

Interesting question. I've never made a wood bow just "freehand"; always measured something. In the beginning, I measured EVERYTHING, but now measurements are to get me in the ballpark and then I let the wood tell me what it will or will not do. The measuring aids the "scientific" aspect of making a bow. I now know that a bow between 65 and 70 inches in length seems to work best for me, that I prefer a handle about 4 1/2 inches long and about 1 and 1/2 inches wide. I don't NEED to measure so much now, but, as an aid to my eye, I do it.

[FilipT]

I am not doing this, I even use sometimes AutoCAD to help me regarding some tapers. We engineers don't like doing bows free handed. Except snaky profiles of course.

Now regarding past, I don't think people didn't use references or even simple measuring tools when constructing bows. They definitely did in medieval Europe but I think they even did in prehistory. You know, "go for three fingers wide there", "initial thickness like width of thumb" and so on.

[RandyN]

I measure the center line and go from there. The wood usually tells me the rest of the lay out. I only use hand tools so it makes following the grain easier.

[Eric Krewson]

I layout a center line, the bow width with a circle template on the center line and the side profile with a shrinking pencil line. I free hand the final taper to the skinny tips but that is about except for free form shaping of the handle.

My bows are very distinctive, I can recognize one from 50 yards away.

I call my method "Eric's goof proof method of bow making" it works for me.

[BowEd]

Made a number of them in the beginning on hot days holding them my arms length span then tilt my head forward to put a drop of sweat on the center off my nose with that being center.Mark that.Grip it and mark my handle.Three fingers for each fade.Then draw the center line and go from there by eyeball width wise and taper.Thickness marking a fat tapered 3/8" line.Just using hand tools of a hatchet,draw knife,pocket knife and a pencil.
I do a little more measuring nowadays and have a band saw also.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I do only on sapling or sucker bows that are small diameter. Full staves get a full, accurate layout. I do the same as Eric mentioned above.