Wood bows, a little food for thought!

[Jesse]

After further review my advice is to listen to their advice

[sailordad]

i have personally ruined my firts two attempts at making a wood bow,and then my 4th and 5 th,then my ninth
so its still happening to me,but with each succesfull bow that i make i learn something new,with every failure of a bow i gain more knowledge
than from the ones that actually work out.
i am still learning with every attempt at a bow,i am now learning how small tips can really be,how narrow and thin a handle can be and still stay ridgid.
etc.
i have taken advise from virtually everyone one here at one point or antoher in my bow building.
i have found somethings that worked wel for me, and i keep using that,other that didnt work so well for me,those i quite using.
i personally have nver read a book on making bows.all the knowledge i have came from this web site(and a few other sites that belong to members of this one)
and the good knowledgable folks on here that are willing to share their knowledge and experieinces on bow building.
i have only been doing this about 1. 5yrs now.last summer i tried my hand at a boo/hick r/d bow,the tillering didnt work out to well for me.it was beyond my abilities at
that point in time,i may give it a try again this summer,but if i do i wil once again ask for advise from everyone on here.only becuase i value the opinions of
the folks on here when it comes to bow building,well that and  i have seen the caliber of r/d bows some of the folks on here turn out.
so why wouldnt someone want to seek the advise of such talented individuals.

i do agree with Pat also on the fact  that there does seem to be alot of newbies coming on and seeking advise for bows that really shouldnt be the first attempt at
making a wood bow.like he said, when that bow fails they blame the fact that it is a wood bow,they forget that their skill level may not have been up to the project at hand.
ok enough of my non caffienated rant,need to get some joe.

                                                                           peace,
                                                                                  tim

[Pappy]

Good thread Pat,I run into that a lot and especially at the Classic where we have so many,they all,well not all but most want to turn out a widow or something like that,and it just kills them when the first turn out but everything ant just prefect,All I can do is shake my head.If they only knew
how most of us started. Some stick with it and  get good at it [over time] others, that is there last.Like has been said it ant for everyone. Tahanks Pat ,this should help some to open there eyes on what it is all about.I am glad I ant the only that wakes up thinking of it and usually the last thoughts in my head at night.I thought I was just crazy and may be, but at least I ant alone.
   Pappy

[Pat B]

Yeh Pappy. We have to all stick together with our insanity.
  Looks like lots of folks have read this. I only hope it sunk in for some. Lots of good info out there these days. I wish we had it back when!

[TRACY]

Great thread Pat. This hobby(obsession for me) is not compatable with the fast pace of society today. The only shortcut in making a wooden bow are to be willing to make plenty of mistakes and learn from them. What if you made the ultimate wooden bow on your first go? Would you be driven to improve? I value the mistakes I've made, although I wish I had one or two back, because it has driven me to problem solve and improve at my bow making skills. I can relate to most replies and the one's that I can't , I will in time.Thanks Pat!

Tracy

[kiltedcelt]

Good points all around from all the posters. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool newbie to bowyering however, I had set my sights with some modesty and after I think three or four tries I ended up getting numbers 4 and 6 right, and my wife and I are shooting those to learn archery while I fiddle around with different ideas. One mistake I DID make was to only make two successful wood board bows and then think I was ready to tackle a wood and glass Asiatic composite design. Currently that project sits half finished, still needing some siyahs attached after the first attempt came unglued. In addition I think my form was off slightly and if I ever complete that bow and try to string it, I have a feeling it's going to have a really screwy looking profile. So, lesson learned was this - start slow, make simpler designs and learn to master those before simply jumping right in at the deep end by trying to tackle an advanced design. So, I went back to basics. I have more Red Oak, some Maple, and some Hickory all of which I plan to use to create simple design longbows in order to improve my skills and try different things like cut out arrow shelves, or contoured handles, or backing with different materials. I'm sure there are some guys out there who would be able to make a highly complex design right off the first try but for the majority of new bowyers I think the approach should be slow, steady, and measured with lots of reading, looking at what other people have done, asking questions when you get stumped, and hey, if you break some it's no big deal as long as you learn from it.

[Pat B]

Good attitude, Kilted.  I was one of those hard heads until others told me otherwise...
or until I listened!          I think it is difficult for some folks to slow down enough to be successful. They want it yesterday. I finally realized that patience is your most useful tool when it comes to wood bow building.

[hedgeapple]

Pat, thanks for this thread.  It has inspirited and reassured me that the path I'm on is the right one.  Oh, I'm sure I'm going to venture down the wrong trail on occassion.  And, I just as sure that the wood will humble me, setting my feet again on the righteous path of a bowyer.

My first near attempt to building was thwarted by my lack of knowledge on how to handle a green sapling.  It checked because, as I learned from you guys, I didn't seal it properly while I was waiting for it to dry.

My second attempt did produce a bow of the Sam Harper design boardbow.  But, it came in 15# under the weight I had hope for.  Again, you guys coached me--get it off the long string and on to brace soon.  I won't make that mistake, again.

Attempt three, a BL stave.  I spent 10 days trying to chase a ring.  It got one tiny check in the belly.  This time I was armed with knowledge most of which was gleaned from here.  I sealed and put it away to dry and to wait for me be better prepared for ring chasing.

My 4th attempt is a hickory stave sitting behind me as I type.  While cleaning the sap wood away so I could better see the vertical grain to lay out the bow, I realized that I was actually chasing a ring.  I spent 4 hours laying out the design of the bow on the stave yesterday, completely wearing out the errasor from my pencil.  But, I'm satified that I have one grain running through the center of my would be bow now.  Today, I would have loved to own a bandsaw to reduce this 6x6 inch wedge to something more managable, because I suck with a hatchet.  haha.  I was able to use my circular saw and handsaw to reduce the stave to a 2x3 piece.  Me and my shurform and draw knife have a lot to do in the week or 2.

I walked around my farm this afternoon roving with my first bow.  It was a good time.  I saw 3 rabbits and woodcock and managed to knock the bark off a couple stomps.  I found myself wishing it was autumn with rabbits, squirrels and deer to hunt.  Quickly a voice inside my head said "patience, your not ready.  You have a bow to build and archery skills to learn."

I'm glad it's spring and there's hickory stave sitting in my office.  And, I'm very appreciative of this website and all the talented bowyers who take time to answer questions they've answered 100's of time before.

[GregB]

I've been fortunate to have had some good teacher's...first was Mike Conkle who helped me make a kid's bow out of osage during the Tn. Classic how many years ago now...6 or 7?  Then there's this other gentleman you guys may have heard of...Pappy, who has been there giving me direction all along almost from the beginning. Although Pappy headed off some of my mistakes, I've still made a lot of mistakes along the way such as staying on the long string to long and missing weight..I guess that's a common one. I've been inspired by a lot of the bows and folks here on PA and what is possible in making a selfbow, still a work in progress we're all contributing too.

Pat had a lot of good advice for new bowyer's. With the wide range of woods out there capable of making a bow, ask questions before starting the design. Then, take it slow! Pay attention to what you're doing...you can't put that wood back on. One of the most common mistakes I see folks make during the Classic is thinning a limb to much on one edge of the belly then the other. It is one of the main things I stress and try to get newbies to pay attention to. There is a lot to pay attention to when making a bow for the first time without a lot of experience. All the more reason to ask questions as you go.

It's a fun journey, at least it has been for me. I guess the end of the journey will be when I'm no longer able to create shavings. I'm sure the learning will never end, there's always something new to try.

[John K]

Man how did i miss this one! Great post Pat ! I can relate to alot of whats been posted. I was one of those in the begining that was scared to jump in and start scraping on the stave....for fear of wrecking it ! But like a hear alot.

If you aren't breaking them, you ain't making them ! and one more i like. The only way to fail, is never to start !

This is a great journey i'm on, and i'm glad i'm not the only one going to bed thinking of building bows and waking up thinking of bows ! 

I might have to make an appointment with DR. Keenan 

[DustinDees]

Hi, my name is Dustin, and im a bow-aholic. wow im not crazy after all. I, like many others, have a background in woodworking. i figured i would make a bow, took a few quick instruction websites at face value, bought some poplar took my time only to have it blow up in my face (literally). but your right about learning, the most elementary mistakes are the ones you have already made. (and this continues) i only have about 8 3/4 bows under my belt, first 2 blew, next 3 worked two of them pretty well, 6th one was static recurve 57inches long, learned a lot with that one, lifted large pieces off the back from over stressing and having too high brace, 7 and 8 were kids bows with serious grain violations, learned how forgiving backing is. i am currently working on a (hopefully) 90lb-ish hickory flatbow w/ very wide limbs 2.25" to the fades. and a gemsbok selfbow that i could find almost no information on building until i someone here piped up on  a post i made asking for help. the problem with bow building is the more you do it, the more you want to do it, and for me at least, the more relaxing it is doing it.

to any new bowyer out there. dont expect a great looking great shooting bow on your first try, it is possible but not likely. ive only been making bows for 9 months, and im already on bow 9 and 10 (all but the gemsbok board bows) and im going to tackle my first stave next, from what i have researched its a completely different animal. DONT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS, ill bet any one of us had the same question at some time or maybe still do.

[d frana]

Wood is a contrary creature.  Arguing with it usually gets you nowhere.

[Pat B]

Well put, Gargetter!

[hawkbow]

Dang brother, makes me want to get out that IPE board and get after it... well said as usual bro.. Hawk. a/ho

[George Tsoukalas]

Beautifully put, Gargitter. Jawge