Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: 15yearold.archer on July 19, 2010, 12:51:28 am
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hello i just recently finished my first bow wanted to use it for deer hunting this fall but it came out way to light and would leave only a wounded deer in the forest, i live in pembroke,ontario about an hour to ottawa but here i only have limited supplies ,all ive been able to make are boardbows cause thats whats at homedepot any suggestions or ideas on how i can come out with a nice laminated bow to have for deer hunting, and just to let you know im still pretty new to this stuff so try and make it understandable also like i said supplies are limited but im willing to use any combonations of wood or fiberglass to come out with a nice 50+ pound bow , pleease help me
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find your self i nice hick board,1/4 sawn
back it with fabric
i do this and dont have problemd making 50-55lb bows
i keep it 1.75" wide at the fades,with a straight taper to 1/2" tips,68"long
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were do i get a hickory board ? im just really new to this but i understand the building part of it an how much will you usually pay for one?
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well i never have had luck finding them at the box stores
some guys find it ther,but not me
i go to sawmills here in minnesota and get it
i call them first to save a trip if they dont have any
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okay thank you , and if i cant find any what else do you think i can try? , is it possible to make a red oak board bow strong enough to take a deer easily? all depending on the backing and stuff , what about a a red oak board laminted with maple backing and fiberglass
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You can make a very good hunting bow with Home Depot red oak. You have only made one. Each one you make from now on will be better than the last. If you are a fast learner, one or 2 more bows and you will have what you need to hunt with.
Have you read George's web site? If not, do your self a favor and read it twice. You will find George's site at the top of the "How To" section.
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There is no reason that you can not make a hunt worthy weight Bow from a Red Oak Board....and if you really want...go back to Home Depot....Lowes....or any other Box Store ...and ask where they keep their Veneer Wood...and look through them and find one with good grain....and back it .....if you have any Saw Mills around...thats where I would go...or Google Hardwood Dealers near you.....if you want Fiberglass....try Tradgang.com.... ;D
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Hi Fifteen!
Don't let these guys bother you with their wacky suggestions. You told them all you have access to was a Big Box. It is true, however that you can order bow woods like Hickory, Red Elm, and Osage from some places on line.
One thing you do have to understand about this site - we don't use the "F" word here - fiberglass. :o ;) ::)! Folks here build bows from wood sometimes combined with other "natural" materials like sinew, snake or fish skins, natural fiber cloth, etc. But almost no one admits to using that "f-stuff"
You can certainly make a hunting weight bow from HomeDepot Red Oak. You'll want at least a 1x2 (actually 3/4" thick x 1.5" wide) plank that is 6ft long and as straight as possible;and then a shorter piece to make the add-on riser/handle.
This is the address for "George's Site" mentioned above. It has some easy to follow building instructions:
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/
Here's another site with easy to follow bow-building instructions:
http://poorfolkbows.com/
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ok thanks alot guys the tutorial really helped me out , but still i am always more convinced that hunting with a laminated bow will really pack the punch when i hit that deer because they seem to hold there shape more and are less sluggish any ideas about that , and il post some pictures of my bow as soon as i figure it out
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if ya really want a lam bow ya might buy a stave from one of the sponsers on PA, my first backed bow was boo backed epe, was kind a leary about the glue up then so I bought a floor tillered stave from rudderbows.com and Jim at rudderbows was a lot of help. And trust me, a boo backed epe is anything but slugish. Any of the sponsers should give ya good products, I just don't have any personal experiance with the others, you can also contact a cabinet shop, the can get ya hooked up with a hardwood dealer.
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If you're lucky, Marc St. Louis will chime in, he's from your general area and would have some pointers on locally available woods. I'm sure if you talked to an arborist, or a tree service/removal guy, he could put you into any one of many stave woods, like elm or ash. Or you could go tramping through the woods near where you live and find some chokecherry, or serviceberry, or hazelnut, or what have you. You should be lousy with sugar maple, too. If you've already made a successful (if light) board bow, you're probably ready to try a sapling bow. Just a few more things to consider.
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First ...The "F" Word......now all wood bows ...are generally sluggish.....does this Boy want a Bow...or a battle......wholly-huh....eh....... ;D...... ;)
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Fifteen;
I'm not sure where you're getting your information - except perhaps from F-bow manufacturers' marketing hype. You said "i am always more convinced ...a laminated bow will really pack the punch...they seem to hold their shape more and are less sluggish..." most of which is totally inaccurate if you really look around.
Better to do a little more research, than to make statements that are not totally true and accurate.
"a laminated bow will really pack the punch" - true. You must understand that "laminating" with F is just a modern attempt to equal the quality of "laminated" bows that were developed over a thousand years ago in China and the Asian Steppes. We "laminate" all-wood bows all the time - combining the best of several woods to optimize a wood that is strong when compressed (stiff wood for the belly) with a wood that is strong in tension (stringy wood for the back). We just don't call it "laminate". Laminate is what you do when you make plywood. We call it making compound bows. Some of us glue together 3 or more strips of wood together for beauty and strength. The point is that there is no "pack a punch" magic in F - you can get the same effect naturally.
"...they seem to hold their shape more..." - we sure would like to know where you got that information. Are you talking about Set? Every bow subtly changes its shape during the shooting in process - even bows made with F. Every bow, if left strung for days or weeks, will change it's shape - even bows made with F - which is why we don't leave them strung.
"...they...are less sluggish..." - again, where did you get this blatantly biased and not true information? From some F-word manufacturers' marketing hype? Sluggish compared to what? All bows are sluggish compared to even a .22 rifle. Compared to some metal-and-wheel compound bow? So What? What does that have to do with hunting? Stalking ability and accuracy are much more important in bringing home Bambi. Have you actually fired an F-word bow in side by side comparison with a well made composite wood bow to see what differences there might be? There are a lot of wooden bow builders here who would love to show you how sluggish F-word bows can be compared to wheat they can make. I know from personal experience that one of the most sluggish bows I ever shot was a commercially-made composed of nothing but F-word.
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I'm about 2 hours west of you and there is Ironwood, Elm, Rock Maple and White Ash growing here so it must grow in your area as well. Elm is certainly abundant around here and makes an excellent bow. I may be going to a Pow Wow in your area next month so perhaps we can meet up
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Hey, Mr. KenH, Do a little research before you make a blanket statement. ;) One of the worse things you can do to a 'glass bow is to string and unstring one. It doesen't hurt to leave a laminated 'glass bow strung all the time. I have some that have been strung for months at a time and they aren't sluggish. :)
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i dont normally stir the poop pot on here but this post ticked me off. on one post its great to get youngsters started but on another we get a little self righteous and jump on someone just because in frustration over not having a hunt worthy bow they reach for a known substitute like fiberglass ("the f word"). i realize this is Primitive Archery ,i just didnt realize it was snooty archery !
15yearold.archer i know Marc is closer and more qualified and keep in mind i have no experience with fiberglass but if i can help in any way my email is on my profile i would be glad to assist if possible
moderators it is not my intent to start an argument if this offends yall delete it
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okay thank you for the ideas and when i mean sluggish i guess its just mine everytime i shoot it it gets less and less heavy i just want a bow thats will really snap back maybe i just need alot more weight and marc st.louis im guessing the pow wows in golden lake? .. if so ya that would be great ive heard of people using ironwood to make bows and it is around here but i dont know were and what it looks like
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okay thank you for the ideas and when i mean sluggish i guess its just mine everytime i shoot it it gets less and less heavy i just want a bow thats will really snap back maybe i just need alot more weight and marc st.louis im guessing the pow wows in golden lake? .. if so ya that would be great ive heard of people using ironwood to make bows and it is around here but i dont know were and what it looks like
That sluggishness and weight loss is from not building it properly. I actually built a 50# red oak board bow that, side by side with a 50# fiberglass laminated longbow, out shot it with the same arrows. I later gave the bow away. I've also built red oak bows pulling 60-70#, and have a made a couple bows from hickory that outshoot glass laminated bows with the same grains per pound arrows- and I'm not really that careful :D!
What you want to do is make your red oak bows wide or long. Try one of these:
D bow without wooden built up handle: 66-68" nock to nock, 1 3/8" wide in the middle 20" (no difference in handle), tapering to 3/8" tips. Thickness should be about 3/4" in the middle 4" tapering to 3/8" at the tips.
Pyramid flatbow: 66" or so nock to nock, 2 1/2" wide from the ends of the fades for about 10", tapering straight to 3/8" nocks. Thickness should be about 7/16" over the entire limb, with the section under the handle left thicker to prevent it form popping off. Handle can be whatever you want, I like 1" wide, 4 1/2" long, about 1 1/2" thick, with 2 1/2" long fades.
Those dimensions and slow, careful tillering should yield a good, hunting weight bow. Pictures from past bows here should give you an idea what to shoot for, no pun intended.
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Hey 15,
I'm with Ken, if I can help ya build some self bows my email is on the profile also. There is no reason why ya cant build a hunting bow with what ya have, and do it without waiting a year either......glad to help if I can.
rich
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kegan i like the pyramid bow idea a little better but with it being 66 inches will it be able to be pulled to full daw , 26/27 " is mine, also im kinda confused like i said im really new to this i have no doubt i can do it i just need a little more detail if you can also do i back it ? and do i just glue another piece of redoak on for the handle then shape a riser and arrow rest? and half eye im sure ill be talking to you on some more advice about this thanks alot !
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omg.....
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Wat
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I will keep in touch and let you know if/when we go down.
In any case, if you need help feel free to contact me
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Ok that's great thanks alot
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I've built bows 66" nock to nock pulling 70+# at my 29.5" draw. Yes, it will be enough ;)
You can back it if you'd like, I like using cotton cloth (the stuff like you'd find on a table cloth, not thin like a bed sheet or thick blue jeans), but if the grain is straight you don't have to.
Yes, a second piece of red oak from the end of the board will work perfectly for a handle. I'd avoid cutting a deep arrow shelf though, you seem to be having enough trouble as it is (no offense :-X!!!)
Search for pyramid bows here in the bow forum. Pay close attention to the fades and tiller. Oh, and forthe thickness I lied, at 2 1/2" wide it should be 3/8" thick over the entire limb.
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ok thats good but i actualy started a different kinda of bow kinda based off dimensions you had told me for the D bow only its actualy a bow with handle and an 8 inch riser overall ive kept the limbs wide so far right till about 16 inches from the tips then a straight and kinda rounded taper to 1/2 inch at the tips its looking really good as for thickness im going to drop to about 3/4 and after the fades and try and keep a fairly smooth taper about 3/8 at the tips does that sound good? and ill back it with some veneir what kinda poundage might i have
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If it's holding together, then it sounds good! As for poundage, only you can determine that. Wood density plays a big role, and you didn't mention the width or length or draw. There's no way for us to give you exact dimensions for a bow and you get an exact weight.
Personally, if you're looking for weight then don't bother with fancy. Just make a D bow (no handle) as wide as you can hold and shoot, and tiller it out. You can make a pretty hefty bow like that, I've made bows from 60#-over 70# without any issue in just an afternoon. Simple is good ;)