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Bows / Fire hardened hickory
« Last post by East_tn_primitive_skills on February 01, 2026, 06:38:15 pm »Fire hardened hickory I made
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Bows / Re: Fire hardened hickory
« Last post by jameswoodmot on February 01, 2026, 05:42:20 pm »So I just joined this page and for the life of me can’t get a photo to upload just one picture of my bow I use the attachment option and select a photo and then click post and it won’t go through
If
You’re doing on your phone you can choose the size of the photo, “medium” works for me. On IPhone it’s the title blue slider looking icon in the bottom right when you go to select a photo
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Bows / Re: Unusual timber sources
« Last post by jameswoodmot on February 01, 2026, 05:39:58 pm »I once made (in 2013) a broomstick bow. I don’t know the wood species, but it was about 1700 mm long, 28 mm diameter, with good, straight grain and dense wood, so I decided to give it a try. The end result was 41 pounds at a 27-inch draw, and it is a hunting-legal weapon here in Finland. I even left the original sticker on it.
The first image shows it in its intended use as a broomstick, and then the finished bow (the sticker and full draw).
That’s fantastic! What kinda cross section, D?
My recent discovery of black locust being available as fence posts is as exiting as mine gets.
Hickory is nonexistent here, I’ve been keeping my eye out for pickaxe handles as it’s really the only source but I can’t being myself to spend £30 odd on two handles. Works out more expensive than Ipe and Bamboo!
I’ve got an Indian Laurel bow gluing up. It has a crushing strength of 8220lbs according to wood database. Found in a house clearance in a wood turners stash.
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Bows / Re: recurve or longbow tips
« Last post by Stickbow Felty on February 01, 2026, 05:33:59 pm »Thanks Dave and Hamish.
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Bows / Re: Is this a suitable way to attach siyah?
« Last post by jameswoodmot on February 01, 2026, 05:32:27 pm »wide? as in keeping just over the width of your thumbnail in the pic?
consider a v splice in the same plane as billets are often spliced at the handle that increases the glue joint area and subjects the glue joint to shear
can you find siyah materiel with a natural crook in the grain?
yes to the siyahs being inline at full draw
but its a test bow? so try what you like be shure to test with very light arrows
+1 on v notch. It can work the way it laid out if you use a strong glue and serving wrap to secure if the draw weight is 40lbs. I think anything over this may be a problem.
Fantastic, two votes for v notch that answers it!
Ipe is 50” long, z splice in the middle. 1 1/4” tapering to 7/8” wide (this is the side of the off cuts). Any rough estimate at the kinda draw weight/ length? 28” would be fantastic so I can thumb shoot it but I don’t know if that’s feasible with this material combo
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Bows / Re: Is this a suitable way to attach siyah?
« Last post by jameswoodmot on February 01, 2026, 05:28:27 pm » Ipe is 50” long and the tips are 7/8” wide so I would call that wide proptionally. I was imagining keeping the tips at 7/8” wide and thinning the Ipe to <1/4 “ to keep the width and keep the limbs more stable, bad idea?
At that thickness I think I’ll have more surface area as a flat interface than a v splice?
It’s the first bow of this type I’ve have done so I have no reference to draw on really. I don’t have a clue what kinda poundage and draw length I’ll get so can’t make much judgment as the forces the tips will be taking.
At that thickness I think I’ll have more surface area as a flat interface than a v splice?
It’s the first bow of this type I’ve have done so I have no reference to draw on really. I don’t have a clue what kinda poundage and draw length I’ll get so can’t make much judgment as the forces the tips will be taking.
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Bows / Re: Is this a suitable way to attach siyah?
« Last post by superdav95 on February 01, 2026, 05:21:04 pm »wide? as in keeping just over the width of your thumbnail in the pic?
consider a v splice in the same plane as billets are often spliced at the handle that increases the glue joint area and subjects the glue joint to shear
can you find siyah materiel with a natural crook in the grain?
yes to the siyahs being inline at full draw
but its a test bow? so try what you like be shure to test with very light arrows
+1 on v notch. It can work the way it laid out if you use a strong glue and serving wrap to secure if the draw weight is 40lbs. I think anything over this may be a problem.
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Bows / Re: Unusual timber sources
« Last post by superdav95 on February 01, 2026, 05:15:18 pm »Just goes to show if done right even a broomstick can bow! Well done. Very cool.
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Bows / Re: Fire hardened hickory
« Last post by bentstick54 on February 01, 2026, 05:09:37 pm »Photos can’t be any larger than 640 x 480. I have to use a ReSIZER app to downsize my photos to be able to post them.
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Bows / Re: Fire hardened hickory
« Last post by East_tn_primitive_skills on February 01, 2026, 04:48:14 pm »So I just joined this page and for the life of me can’t get a photo to upload just one picture of my bow I use the attachment option and select a photo and then click post and it won’t go through