5 piece bamboo Mongolian/horse bow

[superdav95]

Hey all.  Looking for some advice on this latest bow build I’m doing.  I’ve done some research online on basic dimensions and materials and have come down to bamboo limbs 25” long and hickory handle which is left over scrap from another bow and maple tips/syas.  Tit to tip it’s about 57” I’m hoping to get 40-50lbs draw but will see.   I’ve been intrigued by some of the speeds that guys like Dave mead gets out of his bows.  He seems to assemble them very quickly too.  I figured I’d take a shot at making one anyway with my own tweaks.  I used epoxy to glue up and plan to use some sort of wrap in addition to secure everything and make it look good.  Any suggestions on this??? Also I used a shorter fire hardening method on the limbs while clamped in a jig to induce a reflex in limbs.  I’ll post a few pics of my progress thus far.  Let me know what you think. 

[bassman211]

Nice so far. I have made quite a few of that style bow, and they perform well for such a simple design. I did break the limbs on a couple were the lmbs join the riser. Relieve the riser from the limbs in that area. I used hot glue as Dave Mead does for the glue ,and wrap thread over top. If you need to take one a part to make a correction you can remove the thread, heat the hot glue up ,and take the bow apart again, and it works fine to hold things together. Good luck with yours.

[superdav95]

Thanks bassman.  What sort of speeds were you able to get out of yours?  Also when you say relief did you mean at the top of the riser where it meets the limb.  I rounded it a bit to account for some slight bending there if that’s what you meant.  If not let me know.  I do have some hot glue stick but was worried about it holding together.  Would you recommend a higher heat melt glue or regular hot glue.  I have some construction grade stuff but was never brave enough to try it.  Yours held up ok even after several shots?   Sorry for all the questions but just trying to pick your brain a bit 😎

[bassman211]

Yes, the bows are holding up fine. I used regular hot glue. Nothing special. Yes rounding the ends of the riser. The speeds out of those bows are typical of the speeds I get out of all my bows. No matter the design, or wood used. I only draw 25 inches so your numbers should be better if you draw 28. Build it correctly, and I think you will be happy with it.

[superdav95]

Thanks bassman!  Just a quick update…   I took your advise and decided to use the hot glue.  I pulled apart my epoxy joints decided I would go for it!   Worked better then I expected.  I tillered and built two of these suckers today.  Went together pretty quick actually once I got going.  I made both to as close as 40lbs draw at 28”.  Bow number 1 has the heat/ fire hardening treatment with induced reflex baked in.  The control/test bow number 2 is also 40 at 28” but no heat treatment just air dried mosso bamboo poles split and shaped into 25” limbs.   Bow 2 I used oak for the tips as opposed to the maple as I ran out of maple.  Similar shape and tiller on both but very different results on the chrono.   Bow 1 averaged 173fps with 450grain arrow.   Bow 2 averaged 150 FPS with 450 grain arrow.  Wow what a difference!   I was amazed actually.  I’d take these bows hunting without a problem or worry.  These test bows were equally nice to shoot and accurate but speed was the difference.  The other difference I noticed too was the set that they took acted shooting them in.  I’ll post some pics of the set each took pretty drastic really.  Let me know what you think!  Haven fun here anyway. 

[superdav95]

Well those pics are no good.  Gonna post a link here…

Try these…

https://www.flickr.com/photos/193575471@N05/shares/3779S1

[bownarra]

You could proabaly pick up some more speed as the tips look quite big. As a comparison a Turkish hornbow I made 110#@28" had tips 80mm long, 11mm wide and 17mm deep.
Another thing you could look up is the Buhtanese bows and how they make them. Generally to get the best performance out of boo you would use the outer surface as the belly. Pre tiller the strips and any tweaking that needs doing is done by removing material from the sides of the limbs.

[bassman211]

superdav95, their you go, easy to build, smooth shooting, good speed, cheap to build, short, light, and handy in the woods etc.  I cut arrow shelves in all that I built. My best to date is a 40 pounder with a 400 gr arrow with 25 inches of draw shooting 153fps through a chrony. 173 fps is good speed, you did an excellent job on that one. Should give you years of use as a hunting  bow. Break a limb ,take it off ,and replace it. Congrads.

[bassman211]

I read were Buhtanese bamboo is unique to their area. Special so to speak, so they build their limbs belly out, and it works. I doubt  Mosso  bamboo would be up to the task of building that way.In any event you can do some tweaking here, and,  their to get a little more performance, but a 450 gr arrow at 173 fps will dispatch a white tail with no problem. I have done it with a lot less over the years.

[superdav95]

Thanks bassman!  I really think we are onto something here with heat treatment on bamboo limbs.   Makes a huge difference as far as I can tell.  The poles that I got last year have been sitting in my garage 7-8 months or so now.  They were moso 5” round poles that I quarter them and shape them and thin them down to close to dimensions then heat bake to golden brown on belly.  I also baked them while clamped in a reflex form.  I think the moso bamboo is stronger on its outer layer/ back.  So I think this stuff would suit well using a hardwood belly glue up with reflex induced.  Would be interesting to try anyway. 

[bassman211]

I went through the pain of backing floor board bamboo ,and made some bamboo backed bamboo limbs, and still got set. I put a sharper angle set of siyahs on those bows. I did heat treat a couple of sets of limbs on a form, and made them wide  that ended up with a little more than an inch of set. I have no idea what kind of bamboo it is. I bought it on ebay ,and they were 24 inch pieces. I quit hunting, so speed is no longer my top priority. I still like making bows ,and shooting them in the back yard, and indoors in the winter time. Compound shooters get a charge out of every different bow I show them. Some even shoot them, and I have sold them a few.

[superdav95]

Huh. Interesting.  I wonder if the difference in set is due to clamping into a reflex form while somewhat dry yet still raw bamboo then heat baking them to shape.  I have a cheap moisture meter with probes and out of curiosity I tested the moisture content at raw stage and it was around anywhere from 11-13%.  After heat treatment it wouldn’t even register a reading. Not sure exactly what that means but would figure it’s too low to measure.   I knew white woods took to hardening with heat well but never figured bamboo to take to it so well.  At least this moso pole stuff.  It wasn’t too bad in price either if I recall I got it in Toronto from a bamboo supplier for around 80$ for 2 - 5”half round splits about 10feet long and Still have lots left over.   

That’s great that you can find some joy in just making bows.  Not everything has to be for a hunting purpose.  I do hunt but I also just enjoy shooting my bows too.  Cheers!

[superdav95]

You could proabaly pick up some more speed as the tips look quite big. As a comparison a Turkish hornbow I made 110#@28" had tips 80mm long, 11mm wide and 17mm deep.
Another thing you could look up is the Buhtanese bows and how they make them. Generally to get the best performance out of boo you would use the outer surface as the belly. Pre tiller the strips and any tweaking that needs doing is done by removing material from the sides of the limbs.

I’ll have to measure mine.  I really made these quickly and just eye balled it and made all 4 of the tips same dimensions.  That’s some serious draw weight out of your horn bow. Wow.  I’d pull my shoulder out trying to shoot that one.  Horn bows are a complete other level then my little bamboo bows.  Thanks for the tip. 

[bassman211]

Yes, horn bows are amazing. The time that it takes to complete one from beginning to end, and the skill set it takes to make a successful one, and then the way they draw, and shoot is awesome. The Turks were shooting 8 to 900 meters with them centuries ago. The guys that make them today are an elite group. Hats off to them.

[Aussie Yeoman]

They look great!

What's the brace height?

AY