Help!!!!!!!!!!! I've Been Bitten

[Lorren68]

I think I have been bitten by the primitive bug and I would like to make a long bow, but don't have a clue where to begin any help or sugestions would be appreciated

 

[Nugefan]

here are a few to git ya started .......

WARNING I ain't responsible fer yer new addiction ......

http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/default.htm
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http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/index.html

http://www.murraygaskins.com/abw.html

http://www.bowyersedge.com/articles.html

http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

good luck and take some pix fer us .....

 

[choctawlb]

The Bowyers Bible, Volumes 1, 2, 3, and now recently off the press 4 are excellent reads. The sites Nugefan gave you are good as well. Best case is to watch somebody make one as that puts a lot of questions into perspective. Just to let you know , there is no cure to the addiction. It only grows and multiplies, but is never cured.
Ken

 

[Lorren68]

Thats what I was afraid of now I have 3 addictions hunting fishing and now primitive skills my wifes gona KILL me

 

[Nugefan]

Thats what I was afraid of now I have 3 addictions hunting fishing and now primitive skills my wifes gona KILL me

you bring her to Chehaw next Jan. and she'll be hooked on Frontier life too .....

 

[Lorren68]

Are you kidding her idea of camping is tent shower house stove radio, she has never primitive camped in her life Me i grew up in a time that when you went camping you had quilt to lay on and if you wanted to eat you either caught it or killed it

 

[Redbow]

Lorren get you a good sapling to make your long bow out of, or go to Lowes lumber yard and buy a good piece of red oak board for your longbow project! If you use a sapling cut it and let it dry for two months or so with the bark on before you start on it! Make sure you seal the ends of the sapling with spray paint or wax so it doesn't crack on the ends. The drier the wood the better it will rasp off for you while tillering your new bow!

Eastern Red Cedar makes a fairly good longbow, I have made a few out of it, makes a very pretty bow too! Cedar is easy to work with and saplings grow in many places in the southeastern USA! Choose one about one and one half inches in diameter for your bow, like I said let it dry for a while before working with it! In the meantime read all you can online or in a bowyers book before starting on your bow!

I use a stanley sureform rasp to remove the wood from the bows I make, with lots of sandpaper and patience! Take your time and don't get in a hurry with your project!

There are several sites online where you can order a bow already roughed out for you and all you have to do is finish it, put a string on it and go cast some arrows!

Don't be discouraged if your first attempt at bow making ends up in failure, the first bow I made broke, and so have several since then! Just use the broken bow for firewood and start over! Only by trial and error and good reading by others that make their own traditional archery equipment will a man ever become a fairly good bowyer! When you think you have mastered the art of bow making,,the wood will show you that you are wrong!

Good luck--

 

[Lorren68]

Thanks Red Bow for the info I just picked up a recurve the other day and I am trying to learn on it but I am still going to make me a bow when time permits

 

[Muddyfoots]

Lorren, you need to plan on being at Chehaw next January. I promise, you'll have a blast.

 

[Lorren68]

where is Chehaw

 

[choctawlb]

Chehaw Park is in Albany , GA, and we have the Frontier Festival the second weekend in January , every year.

Ken

 

[Lorren68]

OK I was thinking about Chehaw mountain in Alabama near where I grew up

 

[jbailey]

hickory wood is a good wood to make your first bow with.you can work it to shape while it is still green;but dont do any bending until it is dried out. you can tell by weighing your stave 'when you see it stay about the same weight , the floor tillering can begin .hickory wood is easy to find also. pig nut hickory , and mockernut hickory.,;;i think i spelled them'; right are good wood to start with'.good luck when get started on your bow lorren68

 

[jbailey]

hey redbow tried my hand at a beer bottle bottom yesterday,done pretty good at my first attempt.and not knowing a thing about it, used a 20 penny nail to get basic shape one side looked better than the other. got a bunch to learn. but found out about the blood trails ,ouch;/;.