Another Crazy Badger Idea

[Eric Garza]

I think this is a sweet idea. I'd be happy to contribute, either by helping someone who needs help honing their writing skills, as an editor overall, or by writing a chapter (or some combination thereof). Since most of the bows I make are on the shorter side, I'd be inclined to a focus a chapter I write on bows that fit that description. Alternatively, I've been doing a lot of thinking about people's connection to their food supplies, so I'd also be happy to write about how the art of making bows and arrows (and other food gathering tools) can fit into the food (re)localization movements that are springing up around the US and Europe. If anyone wants to see some writing samples, feel free to read through the essays I have on my website that are related to the latter of the two ideas.

[Badger]

  I wonder how primitive archer feels about this topic?

        I think once the contributors are selected the next step would be for the contributors to have a round table discussion on what they would like to talk about. Once we estabish and assign the topics we can begain to lay out the format for the book. I think a good photo editor and advisor on board would be very important also. .

      I was talking with a proffessional writer internet friend of mine who suggested a posssibility. If we can find a very good writer here in out midst assign him the task of being a narrator of sorts and carrying the character of the book from one author to another with a smoother transition than what we might get as purely individual authors.

    If our goal is to produce an archery book of the highest quality we may also find the need to establish some basic procedures to substantiate any claims we make as fact rather than opinion, that being said I have no problem with opinions I have a hole bunch of them.

  Should we start the nomination process? Don't feel shy about nomiating yourself with maybe a brief description of what you would like to focus on. How many should each member nominate?

[George Tsoukalas]

Good idea, Badger. Jawge

[mullet]

Steve, I wouldn't mind contributing. I thought it might be fun to relate how this addiction for me started out by trying to make a bent hickory sapling shootable to eventually trying different style bows and pushing different designs to the breaking point, evolving to making pretty ones, then you had to have arrows beside aluminum and then stone points, you understand where it goes.

[Badger]

  Your kind of where I am at Eddie, I hope the human interest aspects play a big part in the book and individual chapters. I personally would like to write a chapter on "exploring the bend" Focus on how design and tillering tecniques can have such dramatic affects on the performance of our bows and try to illustrate methods an archer can incorporate into his building process that keeps him more in tune to the condition of the wood. Things he can just do by feel and sight or if he chooses a bow scale and tape measure.

[JW_Halverson]

  Your kind of where I am at Eddie, I hope the human interest aspects play a big part in the book and individual chapters. I personally would like to write a chapter on "exploring the bend" Focus on how design and tillering tecniques can have such dramatic affects on the performance of our bows and try to illustrate methods an archer can incorporate into his building process that keeps him more in tune to the condition of the wood. Things he can just do by feel and sight or if he chooses a bow scale and tape measure.

Then mullet's chapter should be titled "Around the Bend"!   

George Tsoukalas really needs to write the chapter on how lumber bows are now mainstream, along with some of his great tips and philosophy. 

Having Eric write about phood philosophy and pharming would be phantastic!  His writing is clear, concise, and thought provoking. 

Sounds like Bryce's chapter is nearly finished.  Nuff said.

And as far as a chapter for just plain comedy, I think we should lay seige to Primitive Archery's office until they relent and allow the reprinting of the "Booger and the Ghillie Suit" article!!!

What's the one subject virtually every raw bowyer wannabe asks about?  "_________ an English Warbow?".  Mike Keswick and Del need to co-author that one!  Del can add a few paragraphs about haunting graveyards and churchyards skulking about in the middle of the night to "liberate" yew.

And BowsandRoses idea about "tricks" is great.  I have been kicking around the idea of compiling a bunch of tips and tricks to turn into a series of articles for P. A.  Just a short half page article with a photo or two.  Muzzleloading Magazine does this and it is always the first thing I turn to. 

Yup, this book could be really invaluable. 

Now as for the person that claimed that The Bowyers Bible was not handed down from on high, I believe we need to convene a secret inquisition to discuss this heretic.  Once we have tried them in absentia and found them guilty, we can hold a public trial where the can recant and be burned at the stave.

[ErictheViking]

Now as for the person that claimed that The Bowyers Bible was not handed down from on high, I believe we need to convene a secret inquisition to discuss this heretic.  Once we have tried them in absentia and found them guilty, we can hold a public trial where the can recant and be burned at the stave.

You talking about a Bowyer's Inquisition JW?

[JW_Halverson]

Now as for the person that claimed that The Bowyers Bible was not handed down from on high, I believe we need to convene a secret inquisition to discuss this heretic.  Once we have tried them in absentia and found them guilty, we can hold a public trial where the can recant and be burned at the stave.

You talking about a Bowyer's Inquisition JW?

You betcha! Robes, chanting in gibberish, torches, and frightened peasantry!  Only this time we use Vikings as the booted missionaries.  Are you with us or against us?

[Poggins]

I like the idea of chapters covering different bow designs , more than one author per chapter covering slightly different methods .
This book could be too big for just one volume .

As said earlier , there is going to be someone that disagrees with what someone suggest one method over another , but books like this is to help people that do not have the experience or want to expand their skills , what is said is not written in stone , and if they don't like the book don't buy it , there are plenty of people out there that will .

[JW_Halverson]

If no one published a book because they were afraid someone somewhere might disagree, we'd never have written anything more complex than an alphabet.  But you nailed it right on the head, Pog!  This book's purpose should be to help people move to the next level using the latest experiences to build on what was already known.

[mullet]

  Your kind of where I am at Eddie, I hope the human interest aspects play a big part in the book and individual chapters. I personally would like to write a chapter on "exploring the bend" Focus on how design and tillering tecniques can have such dramatic affects on the performance of our bows and try to illustrate methods an archer can incorporate into his building process that keeps him more in tune to the condition of the wood. Things he can just do by feel and sight or if he chooses a bow scale and tape measure.

Steve that is what I was kinda getting at also. I've had so many people show up at the house and wanted to build a bow in one day but wanted to discuss theory and mathamatical equations, and I'd keep telling them to scrape the wood and feel it bend. All wood is different and you can't attach a precise measurement, or design untill you feel what the wood is going to want to do. "Just take the hatchet and form it out, scrape it till it starts to bend and lets get on with it". I try to let them know that,"After we build you a shooter and you get an idea of what the wood does, then we can play'.

I'd love to be a part of this.

[Badger]

  Eddie, yesterday I poored myself a bowl of cereal and then went to the icebox for some milk. The instant I picked up the milk I could feel I had exactly the amount I need to cover my cereal. Same way with bows, once we become aware of what we are feeling for we can rely on our sense of weight and touch. I used to play a lot of pool, I used a 20 oz cue, I may go years inbetween picking up a pool cue now but if the cue is 1 oz heavy or light I know instantly. We do have senses we can trust besides eyesight.

[JW_Halverson]

Emperical experience versus rationalism.  The empericist knows how to build a bow because he has built other bows and has an accumulation of experience that tells him what he needs to know.  The rationalist has no experience, but instead tries to apply a formula to the process, a recipe - so to speak. 

Both mindsets have their values.  With a limited or known number of variables, rationalism works great.  With so many variables out of our control, emperical experience allows us to fudge numbers, make guesses, bend rules, and turn out sweet little shooters that leave us with red arrows and full bellies. 

Mullet hefts a stave in his hand, eyes the grain and scrapes a bow. Badger totes a carton of milk to the table and has breakfast.  Let's hope some editor out there uses his emperical knowledge to tiller out this book, and I can't wait to read it.

[mullet]

  I know exactly what you mean. I'm a driller and haven't shot pool in bars in years. Usually it seems like by the time it's getting dark and the bow is still not shooting and the guys wife is ready to go home, I grab it and finish it real quick, we get a string on it and it's shooting. I love that feeling. I did the same with Steve Parnel the first time I showed him how to bend recurves without a form using your knee, a heat gun and a wet towel, fast and simple.

[StickMan47]

I would definitely purchase a book such as this! I have all 4 TBB's but I think I have gleaned more knowledge from PA than I have from TBB.

I'd like to see the bow building chapters laid out so that a beginner such as myself could follow along step by step through the entire process from raw stave to a shooting bow, (i.e. when to bend with heat, whether to use dry heat or steam; if heat treating is good for a particular design or wood, etc.) but still detail the author(s) of that particular chapter own personal experiences with his/her "tricks" so that experienced bowyers can learn new methods too.

As was previously mentioned, definitely include the other types of wood people are using these days.

Perhaps at the beginning of each chapter it could state the type of wood and the style of bow being written about. But also include the other types of wood that lend itself to that same design according to the authors own experiences. One of the most often asked questions from new guys on the forum is whether to chase a ring or not! This question, for me, really wasn't answered in any of the books I have so I came here. Man I hope this thing takes off!