Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Horn Bows => Topic started by: superdav95 on January 25, 2025, 09:42:27 pm
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Ok so here we go! Im getting the pieces together for 2 horn bows of similar dimensions. both are going to be on the larger side around 50-52". both have the same 5 Pieces glued with v notches with animal glue or sturgeon glue or mixture of both. both will have water buffalo horn on the belly and bamboo as the core limb wood. The The bend profile of the siyahs and kasan sections will be the same however the wood use for those will be different. the one will be heartwood hickory siyahs and the other will be 2 thinner hard maple slats with a 1/8" core of horn slat running through it in middle as seen in pics. this section after drying a week or so will be cut down the middle for 2 identical siyahs. Just testing out this idea for siyahs to see how they turn out. The main reason im building 2 of these at the same time is to test out some glue up theories. I will be using matching groves on the dished out horn lamination for the one and the other just a slight dished out horn and core wood belly glue up. Ive seen others do this sucuessfully so we shall see what happens. both horn lams will get the typical 10-12 size coats prior to glue up. I will be using the japenese Yumi bow method of string and wedges on them both for the horn glue up. both bows will get 60 grams sinew. as far as a finish goes it will likley be a goat skin covering and then pigment and shelack paint. My theory is that the non grooved glue up will do just fine. Many say that the turkis, ottomans and asiatic horn bow builders and others mostly did not use grooves in their glue up of the horns. Others say that it was done but not often. I have only built horn bows with grooves, Some matching and some nonmatching. Ive heard that some builders are doing it and figured i might as well try it. I will frequent back to this post to update with some pics but this will be a long haul with lots of dry time and curing. Patients patients and more patients! I will have other projects on the go so that i dont loose my mind of course. cheers. thanks for following along.
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Your bending those on a caul first and then the stick and string?
I've watched some youtubes like that.
What radius on the caul?
:)
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Your bending those on a caul first and then the stick and string?
I've watched some youtubes like that.
What radius on the caul?
:)
yes a bending jig. one for the siyahs and another for the limbs. the one for the limbs is about 150 degrees and the siyah jig is 130 degrees.
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thanks Dave! This will be fun to watch... :OK You're string jigs are interesting.
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Oooooo, these are so fun to follow along with. Don't ever plan to try one myself but sure do enjoy watching the process. It still blows my mind that the Tukudeka built bows like this under primitive conditions.
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Thanks guys! Yes I should be ready soon and dry enough cut in my v notches to assemble my core.
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ok so Ive cut all my v notches and gto them fitting pretty tight. everything look pretty well lined up and straight. ive got my hide glue warmed up and ready to glue them. you will notice that the one bow has more of an early bend then the other. They are both otherwise similar dimensions. Once they get glued up i will shape them a bit and prep them for the horn glue up. for this I will be using my sturgeon glue. Stay tuned.
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looking good :)
How thick is your Boo slat?
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looking good :)
How thick is your Boo slat?
thanks man. ya its about 3/16" approx. the width is around 1 3/4". it will be reduced in width during shaping before horn glue up. closer to 1 1/2" wide.
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let the scraping begin... here im concaving and convexing the core and the horn. it will take a while and a steady hand. the one bow will be getting nonmatching grooves and the other will be just roughed up with 36 grit sandpaper. I will be sure to sand with the length of the core and horn strip. both will be sized with thin sturgeon glue prior to glueing down.
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Did the void in front of you thumb clean up?
Looking good :)
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Thanks. Yes I did. I have lots of thickness to work with.
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im enjoying watching this one! quite inspiring
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Thanks James. I’ve posted a YouTube video of my modified card scraper set up for those interested. It’s a crude tool but seems to work well to get the contours I need.
https://youtube.com/shorts/QIctq2VD3II?si=Hnq_3rQb8QoukfGS
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Ok so I decided to do a set of matching groove scrapers. I used my repurposed card scrapers that I reshaped to a 6” radius. This took a while and I had to use needle files and a set of magnifying goggles for detailed work. It took a few tries to get right. I went with 12 tpi grooving. I’m hoping this will be sufficient grippage and surface area. The teeth are about 1.5mm deep and about 2mm apart. Let me know if you think these will work. My plan is to do one of these bows with these matching grooves and the other with non-matching grooves that are about 20tpi. My original plan and test intent was to done one bow with the grooving and the other with no grooving. I have since decided against this as I’m using bamboo as my core wood and know that good adhesion is more of a concern with bamboo. Don’t want to take any chances.
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Nice job ;), I'm going to make mine too. I have a set of needle files I have used a lot but need to get a new set.
Why the 6" Radius, what is the benefit for a flatter radius?
My book is saying 50 to 70mm (1.9" to 2.75")
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I can’t recall why the 6” radius but it looked closer to the radius I’ve seen on some original horn bows. I’m also keeping some width on my builds too a minimum of 30-35mm wide. The 3” radius I’ve seen others suggest are likley more for narrow horn bows. Just my observations anyway.