Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Slaughter on January 09, 2008, 09:39:35 am
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I started building our house 3 years ago from recycled barn wood so I have quite a pile of antique lumber (most at least 65yrs old) beside the house. Reading about board bows from red oak etc and starting my first bow from the same has got me thinking about trying to find a board in my pile to make a bow out of.It also has me wondering if this is plausible or just fantasy. Has anyone tried such a thing or does anyone have any advise about this? Other than the obvious (nothing ventured nothing gained).
Thanks in advance for any input or advise. Tony
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My Dad was a woodworker and I've made bows from 30 year old red oak. I think you should try to make a bow from that wood provided you can find a straight grained piece with no nail holes or knots. Jawge
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Thanks Jawge,
I was thinking the same....Most of this stuff is at least 65 yrs like I said alot is more like 75 to 100- yrs.....and its alot of big lumber 2x6s and bigger. How would you go about cutting something like that?
Tony
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Try to identify the species of wood if you can .A lot of the old barn wood here in Tennessee is chestnut ,not a good candidate chestnut.
Big boards.I would try to chase a ring ,and go from there.. When I use old wood or try to rejuvenate a old bow, I work oil into the stave every time I work on it ,right through tillering.
Ralph
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Thanks Ralph.......Alot of this I have is some species of oak or locust..I'm not sure I understand the process of chasing a ring and what kind of oil do you recommend?
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Cooking oil will work,and try and find a board with rings like youd see in the tree its self,you dont want the grain runnin off the sides,grain that runs the length is best but it wouldnt hurt to put a backing on it either.
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With big older boards like that , chances are some of them were plane sawn. Chasing a ring , is removing wood ,so that a single growth ring becomes the back of the bow.
I use a thin oil while building ,the idea is to get it to soak into the wood (old wood can be very dry and brittle).wd40 works if you want to go petroleum based and if thats what I use I finish the bow with a boned in finish of vasoline (also petroleum based).Going thin oil to thick
Or I use rendered pork fat and bacon grease .Or vegy oil and chrisco etc.
Ralph
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Personally I'd just find a board with straight grain (judeged from all four sides) and make a board bow. Rip your 2x6 into 2"x1" strips, glue on an 8" handle in the center and tiller.
A fellow I know made some hickory backing strips from some old hickory boards, they've worked great for me so far.
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Well it sounds as though I should definitely try it......I'll pick a board and then try to post some pics for more advice. Thank you all for the advice so far and please keep it coming.
Tony
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Ok here are a couple of pics of a piece I cut that looks to be red oak. Let Me have it guys.
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Its rift sawn, and from the bit of grain showing in the top pic it looks straight over that section. But you have to evaluate grain on all four sides and not just the wide side, especially with rift or quartersawn wood. This is because the annual rings will look fine on rift/quqartersawn wood, but if its cut at an angle to the length you'll not have continuous fibers running on the back of the bow which is a must. Oak has some very pronounced little flecks/checks running along the grain, look on the side of the board to tell whether your grain is running parallel for the length of the board or at leat each limb. It doesn't have to be perfect, especially if you choose a conservative design, but it needs to be pretty straight for you to have a high probability of success.
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The grain runs fairly straight on the sides. a few run offs mainly towards the tips, but no real checks anywhere, and no knots at all (that I can see yet) I think from all Ive read that its worth a shot but was thinking maybe I should rough it out and back it BEFORE I start tillering. Would a simple cherokee style D bow work as a conservative design? If not then what would you suggest? I got 62" out of the board and I dont think I'll need to lose any of that length. I wouldn't be upset if I could make it a bit shorter but as I understand it the longer bows are easier for the beginner.
Tony
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I see all kinds of good bow wood in the background of your picture. Steve
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200 plus acres of it Badger ;D come on down.
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Ok I've got a blank roughed out of this peice. Should I oil it before I back it or vice versa? or does it really matter as I'll be oiling all through the process?
Tony
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I wouldn't oil it at all whiile you are working on it. Oil will clog the teeth of your tools. It will interfere with adhesion of your backing. The wood is good and dry, it will be fine as you work it. You only put a finish on it when you are through, you can use an oil-based finish at that point or something else.
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One thing I would do is exercise this wood more than normal as you reduce the stave. The wood has been static for years and will need a bit more education in the bending process. It is liable to be very hard also. I have seen popular barn boards that you could hardly drive a nail into or even pull a nail out of...and poplar is a soft wood...until it seasons for 50 years. ;) Pat
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Slaughter, you have a good start. That looks like a good one. There are some buildalongs on my site and some that deal with board bows. Jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html
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Yep ,Lennie is right if you are going to make a board bow and back it ,instead of chasing a ring and basically making a stave bow from a board. You shouldn't oil it ,oil will interfere with the glue for the back.
Good point Pat. It may still be very dry ,and hard. Do you have a moisture meter? You could also bend a small piece and see how bendy or brittle or mushy it is . If it's very hard and a brittle ,you can keep to bow in the bathroom for a few days as you work it to get the moisture content up a bit.
Ralph
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I forgot to add . In the first picture the white streaks on the right side look like dry rot ,check these spots with a finger nail and see if they are soft.
In the second picture, you could probably chase one of those rings ,and end up with a d bow.
Ralph
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Badger: Like Pine? :D :D :D hahahah
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Thank you all,
Ralph' The white spots in the picture are just a weird color variation no dry rot at all..I saw them right away and checked them first. I don't have a moisture meter but it is very dry wood indeed,
it has been very wet here recently though and it has been soaked through for several days. I'm going to try backing it with a cotton backing (like khaki) and treat it as a board bow.
Jawge Thank you I'm using your board bow method as a guide at hand all the time.
Pat I know all about how hard it gets I've built my whole house from it and other woods like it and have hand driven about 350lbs of 16 penny nails by hand with the help of ALOT of bars of soap ;D
I'll be sure to exercise it carefully and alot.
Lennie Thank you for all the advice and support.
Well here goes nothin, I'll try to keep pics up as I go crossing my fingers.
Tony
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Well..........That didn't take long..... she blew in the floor tillering stage while I was exercising it.
not sure if it was just to old or what but Iv'e got a nice goose egg for my efforts and some great kindling. >:(
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Thanks. My boardbows are 1.5 inches wide until just past midlimb and narrow to 1/2 inch nocks. The handle is 1.5 wide to ad 3/4 thick. Your boards may be thicker. Could you let me know? I'll suggest a handle measurement. Also what is your draw length and what weight do you want? Jawge
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Jawge, Your welcome your building tutorial on board bows is easy to read and follow (the best I found). As soon as I cut another board for the next attempt Ill let you know about dimensions.
as in my post above this one was a failure(due at least in part I THINK to a pinhole running all the way through the limb exactly where it blew out) but a lesson I think.
Tony
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I've never had that happen. Could be the wood has decomposed. I assume it is a hardwood-oak, etc. You don;t want to use pine. Jawge