Longbow Tech Question

[Prarie Bowyer]

It's sold as plantation grown "Lyptus".  What is this resource ?  Perhaps I could save myself some frustration by checking it in the future.  I went from loving the wood, to hating it and am coming back around. 

It bends nice, and is light weight but rigid.  I think there will be little memory.  I'm considering using it as a core.  I'm attempting  slavaging the bow by splitting it, shaving the Lyptus down to a thin lamination between bamboo.  One limb tip literaly twists when drawn in both previous attempts.  I think it's a grain thing.  I shaved it thin and made a hickory splice to add in to the tip.  Between that and the two layers of bamboo the tip should stop rotating.  I'm also considering flipping the tip on glue up this time.  Not alot obviously.

[CraigMBeckett]

Plantation grown "Lyptus" means nothing to me, Where is it grown? I believe that very few Eucalyptus species were taken abroad for planting. I believe one of the favorites for such was Blue Gum or Sydney Blue gum because it grows fairly rapidly and straight. If it is this wood I have heard of people successfully making bows out of it. Its figures (density, Modulus of rupture and Modulus of elasticity, at 850 Kg/m³, 149 Mpa and 18 Gpa are similar to Pignut Hickory 817, 139 and 16 but, and its a big but, most Australian species are known to vary as to usability based on where they were grown and the local micro-climate.

If the bow is working why change it?

Craig.

[Prarie Bowyer]

Well I had two fail on the tree.  It SEEMS to be ok for some applications.  Thin laminations that are gently flexed and trapped between other layers (trying that now).  Heat bending.  NO, won't do it.   

I was liking the feeling and action of the bows right up to the point where they broke.  they didn't so much break as they developed this sort of crushed crack looking thing completely cross grain all the way to the bamboo backing.

[CraigMBeckett]

Sorry to hear of the failure.

Craig.

[Prarie Bowyer]

It wont stand up to being a core either turns out.  I did a sandwich of it between bamboo backings and belly.  It broke right down it's length.  There was Lyptus stuck to both pieces of boo.  I went back to the store to get a different wood and spoke to the "guy".  He said he dosent use it either.  It's supposed to be a replacement for mahogany but not as good.  It's grown fast on plantations and aparently is only just slower than bamboo.

Starting over with hickory.

[Hawkeye1974]

I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech.  But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly

[CraigMBeckett]

I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech.  But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly

This is a question asked a thousand times and one that raises differing opinions.

The following is my own opinion, others will differ.

Minimum required for a stave bow is a hand axe/machete and some form of scraper, the latter could be could be a knife.
Then to make things easier add:
1, A vice or something to help hold the stave while you work on it such a superjaws etc.
2, Better scrapers,
3, Draw knife
4, a decent rasp or two,
5, small scraper plane with toothing blade.
6, Chain saw to make gathering more staves quicker and easier 
Then start to mechanise!
1, palm sander;
2, a band saw:
If going to laminate a stave/bow
1, Bow Jig, (if only making straight bows this could be a straight piece of say 2 by 4)
2, clamps/cramps etc.
2, decent hand plane or 2
3, thickness planer
Then whatever takes your fancy.

Others will had different opinions and for your sake I hope they post them.

Best of luck

Craig.

[toomanyknots]

I always think like this on this issue. If I was a bowyer "for fun", or a hobby in the medivael era or earlier, exc, and I had access to boiling water and something round I would surely recurve my bows as I do now sometimes... Now if I was a bowyer by trade, there is no way in hell I am going to recuvre 100 bows when I could just make them without all the trouble. I am sure I could sell them without the recurve. Of course the billions of mass produced bows that would have been used by the military would not of had little flipped tips. It would be a pain keeping the water boiling and dealing with the tip flip failures on the wood breaking when that was money down the drain that would of put food in my mouth. And there is a billion times more of a chance to find evidence of a bow that there were billions of, when there would probably be slim to none that you would find the couple here and there that someone flipped the tips on, for themselves of for fun/taste or whatever. So when I flip the tips on a longbow I am making, to get rid of set of for whatever reason, I don't feel like I am commiting that bad of a sin. As I know I would not be going to war with anyone with a 50# @ 28" anything anyway, . But that is just me.

[toomanyknots]

I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech.  But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly

This is a question asked a thousand times and one that raises differing opinions.

The following is my own opinion, others will differ.

Minimum required for a stave bow is a hand axe/machete and some form of scraper, the latter could be could be a knife.
Then to make things easier add:
1, A vice or something to help hold the stave while you work on it such a superjaws etc.
2, Better scrapers,
3, Draw knife
4, a decent rasp or two,
5, small scraper plane with toothing blade.
6, Chain saw to make gathering more staves quicker and easier 
Then start to mechanise!
1, palm sander;
2, a band saw:
If going to laminate a stave/bow
1, Bow Jig, (if only making straight bows this could be a straight piece of say 2 by 4)
2, clamps/cramps etc.
2, decent hand plane or 2
3, thickness planer
Then whatever takes your fancy.

Others will had different opinions and for your sake I hope they post them.

Best of luck

Craig.

Shoot, this is all I use from start to finish:

-30 dollar Handsaw for collecting the staves,
-Hacket for spliting (wedges are wooden, beaten in with other pieces of wood), and also roughing out
-Butcher knife for finer roughing out
-Farriers rasp for almost all the rest
-Finer rasps for knick removin
-Sandpaper
-Glass bottle for burnishing
-Done.