Backwards Bow Build-a-Long - Mollegabet Style

[JackCrafty]

Volume 2 of the Traditional Bowyer's Bible has a chapter on "Ancient European Bows" by Paul Comstock.  When I first read it, I didn't pay much attention to it...  just kind of scanned it and said, "Cool. "  I have a feeling I'm not the only one.  Anyway, I've been building ancient European bows lately and I'd like to share this one with you.  It may be an eye opener for some of you...  which is part of the fun.  For me, anyway.   

It will be a mollegabet style bow:  wide limbs, stiff tips, and built "backwards".  What I mean by backwards is that the bow's back is NOT the outside of the tree and one ring is NOT followed on the back.  The inside of the tree will become the back and growth rings will be violated.  And yes, ancient European bows were built this way:  the mollegabet style being one of them.  The name "holmegaard" has also been assigned to this style but this bow will NOT be built like the bows found at the Holmegaard site in Denmark.

The stave has been seasoned for almost a year.  I harvested it last June.  It was a log from the middle portion of the tree and about 4" in diameter and 62" inches long.  I cut the log in half lengthwise and trimmed some material off the bark-side of the stave.  I could have left some extra material for the handle but it dries better when the stave is thin. I will add a handle riser later.  The heartwood always has a little moisture left no matter how long it's seasoned, so I apply a heavy coat of pine tar to the wood and let it sit for a couple weeks to finish drying enough to begin the work.

As I said before, the inside of the log will become the back of the bow.  The bark side will become the belly.






The stave is Ashe juniper.  The stave on the left is the actual top of the tree.  As you can see, the heartwood is minimal.  That's good.  Ashe juniper heartwood is very brittle and weak.  The closer to the roots you go, the worse it gets.  The sapwood, however, is very elastic.

[JackCrafty]

As far as archaeologists can tell, these backwards bows were not backed.  I will not back my bow either.  If this stave fails during tillering, I will use a different stave.  I have a thinner stave that is the sister to this one.

[Peacebow_Coos]

Cool man, I built my first bow like this out of myrtle and it worked really well until I overdrew it....:/  I'll be watching this one

[JackCrafty]

Crape myrtle?  Sounds interesting

I'm using one of the last pieces of juniper I have.  After this build-a-long and the Classic, I'll be cleaned out.  I love juniper but I'm looking for an easier wood to deal with.  It's kind of a love-hate relationship.   

[heartrnurse]

I'll be following too! I have a trailer load of high altitude rocky mountain juniper waiting to be cut as soon as the road is opened again from the snows. This will be my first attempt with juniper....so I'm anxious to see how your design does!!  Why the pine tar? Just for sealing or does it serve another purpose?

[heartrnurse]

I guess I should better ask...why do you choose pine tar rather than other sealents?

[JackCrafty]

The pine tar is for sealing, yes, and also because it was probably available to early Europeans dating as far back as the use of birch bark tar.  Pine tar was known in ancient Greece and Otzi used birch bark tar as glue on his arrows.  The tar was produced in stone kilns covered and sealed with dirt, with large fires set on top.

At this early stage, I use straight pine tar.  When the bow is ready to be finished, I will mix the pine tar with boiled linseed oil and apply it over the entire bow.

[JackCrafty]

Just some links that I don't want to loose track of... so, I'm posting them here.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,22820.0.html
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,23766.0.html
---http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/27645#.UXH4zYLrkZ0
---http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=125;t=005951
---http://www.forum.arcus-lucznictwo.pl/viewtopic.php?p=40310
---http://what-when-how.com/ancient-europe/the-mesolithic-of-northern-europe-postglacial-foragers-80004000-b-c/

http://www.lwl.org/pressemitteilungen/mitteilung.php?urlID=16181#.UXH6U4LrkZ0
http://www.fletchers-corner.de/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13728&start=15
http://www.fletchers-corner.de/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16998
http://www.bueogpil.dk/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=9&page=6

I'm also assuming that the cross sections in the picture below are looking from the tip toward the handle.  If that is indeed the case, the growth rings show that the back of the bow is the interior of the tree.  I also assume standard drafting/illustrating rules were followed:  middle view is "front", left view is "left side", and cross sections are "top" views.  With this in mind, the stiff part at the end of the limb tip is actually "trapped" on the back with the widest part on the belly.

All this assumes that the fragment is actually part of a bow and that the fragment is oriented properly in the reconstruction.  Very speculative, I know.  I'm going to assume that the edges of the wood are rounded because of decay and I will build my bow with a more rectangular cross section than the piece illustrated.  It will still be bi-convex, however, like the original.

[JackCrafty]

This is NOT going to be the type of bow found in at the Holmegaard site in Denmark.

---http://mgavri.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-holmegaard-bow.html

[Newindian]

I have started to use only heart wood with my ash juniper and I can't tell the difference,besides the color

[JackCrafty]

Do a bend test when fully dry.     Heart wood takes a while to dry out but when it does, you'll see a difference in the way it breaks.

[JackCrafty]

While the heartwood of the stave is drying, I'm going to be working on other staves, arrows, and the arrowheads for this time period.

I split a log that had some insect damage and, luckily, got a stave out of it.  The rest of the long probably has too many knots and insect damage, so I'll use it for something other than bows.

[JackCrafty]

OK, so the build-a-long stave on is the one furthest way.  The one in the middle I saved from the bug-damaged log (shown sealed with a fresh coat of pine tar), and the closest one is the sister to the build-a-long stave.  I haven't done much trimming yet on the build-along stave because I want to show the trimming and shaping as much as I can.






Side note: One added benefit of working with juniper is that the bark makes a good smudge or incense.

[bobnewboy]

I'll be watching with interest!

[Peacebow_Coos]

regular myrtle, bay laurel, pepperwood, it's all over the place in southern Oregon.  Wasn't a Molle though, good luck man looks like you're doing your research!