Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: recurve shooter on November 19, 2009, 09:47:32 pm
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redoak board bow. 72 inches, 6 inch non bending handle (hopefully)
all done with a drawknife. ( my bandsaw is a lemon. cant get it to cut a streight line.) wish me luck, and i'll get pics of either a broken bow or a functional one soon. ;D
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I don't own a bow grade bandsaw. :) Jawge
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good luck recurve!!! As much time as you spend conversing with such grand bowyers, surely some useful information has rubbed off on ya!!! ::) ;D Seriously though just take your time and tiller slowly. I think it will come out great! good luck man! -josh
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thanks guys. i got to the point where i was like "aw the heck with it im just gunna yank this tiller string to.......step away from the tools. time for bed." lol. i dont know if this one is gunna work or not, but i hope it will. i left the limbs wide, tips wide, to long, so on and so forth. gunna work some more on it tomorrow.
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$100 ryobi is all ya need...thing with a bandsaw is to cut CLOSE to the line, and then sand the rest of the way. A ryobi bandsaw and sander are an awesome combo for making bows, price probly under 400.
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Aww don't use a band saw! My first bows I took such short cuts with, and my end result suffered greatly. An old-school, two hand planer will do everything you need in relative short order. At most, a power sander with 80 grit paper. I don't think a saw is ever "needed".
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One trick with the bandsaws is to find where you can buy your blades custom made. I have a 9" ryobi I use for parquet flooring and it won't do anything with those brand name shrink wrap blades you get at the stores where you buy the saws. Look in the yellow pages for saw shops, call around and ask if they can repair broken bandsaw blades any shop that has the spot welding machine that I've ever seen also has bulk bands and can custom make you what you need the gauge is a lot better and the blades have a lot more set. I've reduced green black locust and hackberry with mine. Makes one huge difference.
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One trick with the bandsaws is to find where you can buy your blades custom made. I have a 9" ryobi I use for parquet flooring and it won't do anything with those brand name shrink wrap blades you get at the stores where you buy the saws. Look in the yellow pages for saw shops, call around and ask if they can repair broken bandsaw blades any shop that has the spot welding machine that I've ever seen also has bulk bands and can custom make you what you need the gauge is a lot better and the blades have a lot more set. I've reduced green black locust and hackberry with mine. Makes one huge difference.
Yeah applies to bow saws to, I got a cheap 30" bowsaw, it cut on the curve (I knew it wasn't me, 'cos the curve reversed when I turned the saw around), I bought a nice new Swedish blade...wow, cuts dead straight like a knife through butter.
Del
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I did a lot of my first bows with a draw knife and farrier's rasp,it just takes longer but every bit as good.The saw saves a lot of time on stave's but I have ruined a few also ,you really have to be careful. As far as a belt sander,I never use them except maybe on the tips,I am not very good with them and they will ruin one faster than a band saw in my experiences. Good luck and go slow,it ant
a race.Remember you can take wood off but you can't put it back. ;) :)
Pappy
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I agree with Pappy. Take your time and don't rush things. it will come. And refer to George's sight from time to time for reasurance. Happy Tillering!
Chasing Crow
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thanks guys. its five thirty in the morning, and it looks like im about to go work on it some cuz my grandpa's truck wont start to go hunting. >:(
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Recurve, would you quit being so bull headed and just bring your wood over to my shop or house ?......big, heavy bandsaw at each location......piper
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lol. i broke the one you sawed out for me to. :-\ if i break this one i'll get you to do the next one for me. ;D
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wow. it worked. i didnt break the thing. :o
came out light weight, between 30 and 40 pounds somwhere, and its long and slow and ugly, but it aint broke, so im thrilled! ;D ;D
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wow. it worked. i didnt break the thing. :o
came out light weight, between 30 and 40 pounds somwhere, and its long and slow and ugly, but it aint broke, so im thrilled! ;D ;D
Pics?
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mr. kieth (island piper) took some earlyer today, dont know when they'll be up though.
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The first 5 years I built bows I used a hatchet,farriers rasp,draw knife, a light rasp, and some sandpaper.It's all I needed.I still don't use a lot more than that. ;) God Bless
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thanks. im pleased with it, its not a bad bow. im just waitin on the piper to get pics up.
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congrats! can't wait to see it! ...now go start another ;D -josh
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lol. man my fingers are still hurting from that one. drawknife has no handles, just the mettal.
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Congratulations on finishing your first bow. Just finished my first one too. Its so nice when they don't break.
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Unless a band saw blade is so bad that it cuts hard to one side or the other, you can cut straight with it as long as you don't try to use a fence. Just mark the line with a soft pencil and angle the work piece so the saw cuts where you want it.
If the blade wanders back and forth sideways, then you need to adjust the guides. Cheapest saw there is can me made to cut where you want it to on freehand work.
Sharp blades are key.
I made several bows entirely with hand tools when I started in the late '90s. Would never do that again if my purpose in making a bow was to shoot it. If your purpose is to gain or hone primitive skills (as is probably true of the majority of us on this forum) then hand tools it is. Hatchet to get close, draw knife, spoke shave and scrapers after that. It's all rewarding.
Jim Davis--Reparrow man
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where are pics? ??? you know we all love pics here, especially full draw ones ;D ;D -josh
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Sorry for the delay on the pics...sometimes I have to do something besides play with bows...hmmm.
(http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/islandpiper51/Archery/DSCF0099.jpg)
(http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/islandpiper51/Archery/DSCF0100.jpg)
(http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/islandpiper51/Archery/DSCF0101.jpg)
(http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/islandpiper51/Archery/DSCF0102.jpg)
Tell them what they are seeing, Recurve.
piper
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wow man i never noticed how retarted i looked, lol
ok, simple enough. red oak board bow, we are guessin around 35 pound draw. decent tiller, looks like. im just glad one finally came out right. now for a fifty pounder! ;D
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Good Job Recurve! Glad you got a shooter!!!
Nate
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Good job, tiller looks good on that one. You'll be crankin' them out before you know it- The more you make, the more you learn.
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Congrats Recurve, looks great. Feels good to shoot your own doesn't it!
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Yep...You do look retarded too........... ;D......... >:D............but then look at every Picture I have Posted of Myself....and I feel the Same........ :-[....as for the Bow.....nice Job....and remember...they will only get better as You move forward.....JMO
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thanks guys. its really light poundage, but it didnt break , and thats what i was shootin for. so im thrilled. thanks for all the help.
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wow man i never noticed how retarted i looked, lol
Recurve, it's my camera buddy, you look fine.
How was deer camp? Is the freezer full? piper
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deer camp kinda sucked. spent 9 hours a day in a tree for six days. didnt see anything.
did pillage a deer hide though, so it should be getting smelly around here next weekend. ;D
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You're probably not using the right bait.......oops, never mind, this isn't Michigan. piper
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nice bow, Recurve!!! Glad you got a shooter! ...if your fingers don't hurt anymore, time to start another! :) -josh
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good arc, RS...you don't look retarded!!!! But is that a pack of chaw in ur pocket? or a hockey puck?
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Chaw....were the Heck are you from??? Or I forgot......... ;)......they call it Dip here....a chaw is a chunk of Chewing Tobacco...comes in a Brick....not a Can.......I was a Copenhagen Kid for 40 years...till my Jaw started to dissolve...and the Doctor told me it was either Dipping or eating....so I threw it away......cold turkey.......
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DISSOLVE????
i chewed copenhagen for about 6 months once, glad i gave that up. Gack.
we don't call it chaw, either, we say chew. But i was trying to speak like an american so's y'all'd know my meaning.
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Yep.Dissolved....the Bone was eroding away from My Teeth due to the Buildup of Tars from the Copenhagen getting between My teeth and the Gums....I had to have all my Teeth Scraped all the way down to my Jawbone to remove the Goop...So that was the beginning of Me Quitting...the Last Straw was my Bike Trip to Michigan ...with a Windshield on My Bike....You can not spit without hitting Yourself with a Windshield.....and I got pissed and tossed the Can...Pewter Lid and All... :P
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lol. thats dip in my pocket. bad habbit, started two years ago. chaw is redman or levi garret, etc. i like that to, but its expensive. shoulda thought bout takeing that out of my pocket before we took the pics. :-[ fingers quit hurting, but i got a deer hide and piper found a buckskin makeing book, so thts the next project. ;D
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Got your neat weapon all bookmarked for Nov Self BOM fun!
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Congrats on the bow! I'm encouraged my own *might* not break. I wanted to comment on the bandsaw issue. I just pulled out my cheapo jigsaw and stayed a good 1/8th away from the line. I went real slow, pulsing the trigger a second at a time. Totally lost my bandsaw envy. I'll use my $100 for something else.
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Good job Recurve, Congrats on making a shooter. I guess your going to have to come up with a different name. Or start flipping the tips on the next one. ;)
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well congratulation there young fellow. Red oak is sometimes hard to keep from breaking. I used a hatchet. ferring rasp and a pocket knife when I started, I got raped on my first draw knife, latter bought a used Bowyer's knife {Icall it) from a fellow at a rendezvous. I since have moved on in order, as I am lazy sometimes.I have found a 1/2 inch saw blade is best for stave cutting and the blades can be bought through grislier tools at about 11.00 each. Carpenters skip tooth 4 or 6 teeth /inch. If your saw can handle the power needed. However it has been said be careful it doesn't take much to error. I use a ridged with a 3/4 inch saw blade with a bout 1hp. I use a long belt sander to shape however they ain't no hurry, so I still use the draw shaves and rasps and spoke shaves and one of Bernie's Swank's hand blade scrappers. Sandpaper 100 to 200 or 220 to 600 or stillwool. Then I burnish the finish. O Heck I got carried away sorry, I almost had it built. ha. Denny
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Nice looking bow,well done and congrats on that one. :)
Pappy
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lol. thanks everyone. im gunna try to get some hickory soon and try again. maby get a better poundage.
about fliping the tips: Island Piper knows how to do it. might try it. ;D
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Yeah, that's a bad habit carrying a can of Copenhagen in your back pocket. It squarshes it when you sit down on it. It's a much better habit to carry your Cope in your front pocket where it stays safe. ;D ;D
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Yeah, that's a bad habit carrying a can of Copenhagen in your back pocket. It squarshes it when you sit down on it. It's a much better habit to carry your Cope in your front pocket where it stays safe. ;D ;D
lol ;D
only ever had one bust on me and that was on a roller coster. i smelled like wintergreen for the rest of the night. :-\
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Howdy Recurve Shooter and all others,
Regarding the bandsaw, I picked up a book on tuning my little, cheap, ol' bandsaw. The book is 'The Bandsaw Book' by Loone Bird. It does say that a higher quality, sharp blade is key. It also talks about balancing, tension, and blade guides, etc. I found it very helpful.
Since I have to carry the bandsaw up the basement stairs and outside each time I want to use it, I often opt to just go at it with my spoke shave instead.
All the Best,
Canoe
BTW, I had a coworker who used to chew a lot. Before he died, they removed his cheek, lip, jaw... (I'm not sure he actually died or they put him out of his misery!) But, good luck with that. ;)
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I've tried a couple of red oak board bows. My first was a success, but cam in very light (25# @26"). My second was a kids bow for my daughter that cracked just as I was stringing it after my last tiller adjustment removing a hinge.
I found a different online build-along for a pyramid bow that used a 1x4 red oak board and ended up with a 68" (67" ntn bow that draws 52lbs @ 26" and is a flat shooter, but it is bulky in that it is 3" wide at the fades and tapers to 1/2" at the tips. The limb thickness ended up being a uniform 13/32".) It also uses glued on recurves that worked out really well. It offeres a different soulution to the problem of building a durable bow that is heavy and is made from lumber that you can acquire readily and at a reasonable price. (Though not as elegant as a thin limbed longbow, pretty is as pretty does.)
A buddy made one on the same pattern but made his limbs thinner to get a 45 lb bow. We're 2 for two on success with this design.
It is a sweet shooter that puts arrows where I look and sends an arrow on a pretty flat trajectory.
Under $12 in lumber.
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Are you talking about this post by 4est Trekker at Trad Gang.com? I was tempted to try it myself except the tool requirements exceed my grasp at the moment.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=002064
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Yes, that is the thread. There are dimensions in there for other draw weights. My buddy has a bandsaw. The rest of ours was done with a ferriers rasp, or a sureform rasp, and sanding. The build along works out pretty well though. I was extra generous in leaving extra wood on my bow, because I doubt my skills with the bandsaw.
The glue on recurves were one of the more intriguing features of this build and they work out great. I need to work on my attention to detail, and I could probably get the ends to blend in better with the back of the limbs.
(http://i45.tinypic.com/28i5g28.jpg)
(http://i48.tinypic.com/1590e0.jpg)
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My hat is off to you sir! My hair is coming off too, but for reasons unrelated to your successful bow build.
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That's a fine looking bow SSG Doc! Good Job!
Nate