Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: chrisdaggs on September 02, 2016, 05:46:39 pm
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I was wondering how to use a cable backing for a bow I am making. Do I glue it on loose and tie it for extra support or just tie it?
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tie on polyester/dacron, there's an article about anasazi cable backing in one of the PA issues. use a toggle to twist it into tension once tied. no idea how you'd use glue with one..
hmm maybe i should do this with my very long red oak bow. or make a shorter one..
people argue against nylon but maybe it would work too - you'd probably have to use much thicker cable however
I taught a survival bows class today, and I was super excited because I got the idea of trying out the Inuit cable-backing method with nylon cordage. I was showing the class how to make simple bows out of cedar, particularly branches which were nearly-dead, but not all-the-way dead. Well, some people inevitably picked a stave that was all-the-way dead. I could get maybe four inches of flex on it before it started to make cracking noises. So, I used 50ft of nylon cordage and backed it like an Inupiaq bow, really twisted the hell out of the cordage, and the result was astonishing. I made a roughly 50# @28" bow from a piece of rotten cedar and some cord. It has horrible cast, and it's ugly, but it didn't explode in my face! I basically felt like a primitive skills badass, especially since it was my first ever cordage-backed bow attempt. I'm definitely going to try to make a proper replica of an Inupiaq bow now though. I think I'm going to go to the National Museum of the American Indian, as I know the folks in the back rooms, and they'll let me take measurements. So the replica should turn out pretty nicely if I can find time in my schedule to make it.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WaIW8i7z2yY/VA7Ecn2il8I/AAAAAAAAB4M/10or_JMQZng/s1600/haidacable-backed-2.jpg)
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Never made a cable back bow but in the book N American bows,arrows, and quivers has a lot of info & pics on that type of bow .
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I've made a jute cable out of 4 strands of twisted jute twine making it about the same as the bow tip to tip. Just trying to find out how to attach it to the bow
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I just took a look in that book & all the cable backed bows where tied on in one fashion or another some of them pretty elaborately , they are tied to keep the cable dead down the center line ,you could probably use more jute to do it in a way to keep the cable centered & tight to the back ,looks like you have some experimenting to do ,good luck.
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Thanks will let you know how it goes
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Bow exploded all over the shop
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I might try two strands instead of four
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I've made 2 cable backed bows. It was a long time ago, so don't remember the details of them, like dimensions. One exploded, the other survived. But in both cases I added the cable after the bows were tillered. The one that broke, I probably tightened the cable way too much, actually induced a little reflex in the bow, and was re-tillering when it broke. Not sure what I did wrong or it may have been tillering issues before I even backed it with the cable. I would like to try and make another. Keep us posted if you work on another, I will too.
Tattoo Dave
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Here's a pic of a cable backed bow I did several years ago. A short hickory bow with 6 strands of artificial sinew as I recall. It shot well, the cable added a few pounds, Hickory is not the wood that needs cable backing though; I was just experimenting. I think a lot of the Innuit bows were made from birch or aspen, something not as tension strong as hickory.
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I think I'd try to build at least one bow that doesn't break before I tried exotic, high skilled bows.
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I have made three bows that did not break they all shoot very well. I am trying new things and looking for advice on the subject.
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Sorry, I read your other post and thought they were all blowing up.