Bamboo five curve 57lbs 32"

[Bamboo-Bows]

Hi Primitive Archers

Some pictures of a new bamboo five curve I recently made. The bow draws 57lbs at 32 inches and is made from bamboo and hardwood. After all these lockdowns the past years I have to get back and train to be able to shoot these bows in properly.

Build with a bamboo back and belly, the core is made from laminated strips of bamboo, greenheart and black locust. The bamboo is fire hardened over a coal fire. I love combining a good BBQ and bamboo roast! I twisted multiple colours dyneema into a 12 strand string.

The bow is stained to a dark brown finish with a homemade stain from Osage scraps put into some water and ammonia. After that I applied some rattan decorations and a handle of hemp rope. This rattan is very thin and is brittle but becomes a little more pliant to work with once you let it soak in water. After the rattan is placed and dried, it shrinks to a tight fit. The arrowpass is a strip of stingray leather, it is very durable and always makes it easy to spot the top limb.

During sanding and polishing of the horn nocks a nice surprise came up that was unexpected. The horn shows a slight white/transparent layer. Really cool how natural stuff like this can still surprise you.
I wonder how that came to be, anybody got ideas about that?

Thank you for watching, cheers!


South indian brace by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

Foto 25-07-2021 14 46 33 by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

Top nock by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

Side view by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

Handle south indian by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

5 curve details by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

Bamboo 5 curve by Bamboo Bows, on Flickr

[Aussie Yeoman]

Absolutely gorgeous bow!

[superdav95]

Stunning bow.  Very nice work

[bownarra]

Sweet bow Any idea what speed you get out of it?
Your bow has got me intrigued enough to have a go at making one...boo back and belly bow umm been wanting to do one for a while now.

[Del the cat]

Great work
Del

[bownarra]

What taper rate did you use on this one? what sort of form do you use for glue-up?

[Aussie Yeoman]

I'm sure you get this a lot, but: how does the tillering on these work?

AY

[Bamboo-Bows]

Sweet bow Any idea what speed you get out of it?
Your bow has got me intrigued enough to have a go at making one...boo back and belly bow umm been wanting to do one for a while now.

     

Thanks Bownarra! I did not measure the speed simply because my chrono was with another bowyer haha! But previous builds shot above 175fps with 10gpp and some higher.

What taper rate did you use on this one? what sort of form do you use for glue-up?

   

The taper is something that I did not plan ahead with a regular taper rate but by trying different things and see what works best. Making many bows and trying out tapers and placed at different places, so I honestly don’t know the taper rate.     It also depends on the shape when you glue it. I don’t use a form but ropes and wedges. I would try to start like that because there is no need to make multiple moulds, you can adjust the shape easily on the next build.

I'm sure you get this a lot, but: how does the tillering on these work?

AY

Hi Aussie Yeoman. I do get this question often hah! You can predict the tiller by the taper in the core and the form you glue it in. After that there are the sides where you can remove wood but not too much. I always regard it a little bit like a fiberglass bow where form and taper are important for the shape. Making minor adjustments to the side and only a little sanding if necessary on the fiberglass.