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Author Topic: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)  (Read 6475 times)

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Offline Easternarcher

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I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« on: September 10, 2009, 08:43:58 am »
I know this is simply an experiment to see if I can accomplish this task. These bows are highly labour intensive and I may have to cut a few corners, since the genuine naterials are scarce in these parts.

Typically they are composite bows made with horn on the belly(nearly impossible to get here), wood core (that I can do) and sinew for the back (also near impossible to find).  I'm thinking I could substitute rawhide for the sinew and use ipe as the belly lam making a lightweight core of bamboo or maple.

Question comes to mind....how strong is rawhide in relation to sinew and can it hold up to the high R/D of an Asian horsebow?
Also, the tips are reinforced with bone slats on the sides...what glue could I use to hold them on? epoxy? or other???
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Offline Pat B

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2009, 11:05:17 am »
I would say the rawhide and sinew have two dofferent purposes and properties. Rawhide will make a good covering for the sinew but won't add performance.  It will help to hold an unassisted back together but it will not add anything else. The sinew on the back and the horn on the belly , along with the highly reflexed profile is where you get the performance from a horn bow.
  If you use hide glue for the rest of the bow it should work fine with the bone also.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Easternarcher

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2009, 11:22:27 am »
Quote from: Pat B on September 10, 2009, 11:05:17 am
I would say the rawhide and sinew have two dofferent purposes and properties. Rawhide will make a good covering for the sinew but won't add performance.  It will help to hold an unassisted back together but it will not add anything else. The sinew on the back and the horn on the belly , along with the highly reflexed profile is where you get the performance from a horn bow.
  If you use hide glue for the rest of the bow it should work fine with the bone also.

Thanks Pat. I knew that about rawhide already. ::) Why didn't I think before I typed? DUH!!!! Too focused on construction I guess.

If there's any Canucks reading this, is there any Canadian sources for horn and sinew????
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Offline kylerprochaska

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2009, 11:53:46 am »
Ive also been wanting to make one...but I lack the experience to know the steps....If you're having a hard time finding horn though...ebay has a nice selection of gemsbock horns...but it looks pretty tough to find a matching pair...

-Ky
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GBR!

Offline shikari

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2009, 12:46:54 pm »
I bought some horn from a company called chisterine inc based out of buffalo,N Y,they have a canadian warehouse also I think as they have a 416 tel number listed for ordering in canada,the horhs i ordered cost 100 U.S and seem worth it to me,you could get sinew pretty easily in canada,If you have trouble finding deer or moose sinew use cow back sinew.
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Offline bootboy

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2009, 02:40:51 pm »
china town
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radius

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2009, 02:58:21 pm »
sounds more like you wanna make a recurve with spliced-on tips
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Offline Easternarcher

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2009, 03:52:43 pm »
Quote from: bootboy on September 10, 2009, 02:40:51 pm
china town


We don't have a "Chinatown" in this town or province for that matter. ;D
Pretty integrated up here I guess.
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Offline shikari

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2009, 04:37:39 pm »
which area do you live in?
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Offline Easternarcher

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2009, 05:54:57 pm »
Quote from: shikari on September 10, 2009, 04:37:39 pm
which area do you live in?


New Brunswick, Canada
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Offline Dauntless

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2009, 06:27:08 pm »
If you know anyone who hunts you can haggle for some sinew maybe.  As for horn: cow farms?
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The starving grad student with too many hobbies.

Offline Easternarcher

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2009, 07:15:18 pm »
Quote from: Dauntless on September 10, 2009, 06:27:08 pm
If you know anyone who hunts you can haggle for some sinew maybe.  As for horn: cow farms?

Problem is, cow horn will not work in this application they say. Also, You'd be hard pressed to find a cow on any farm here that hasn't had the horns nibbed off when they were calves. I'll keep looking into it I guess.
Thanks for the suggestions tho.
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Offline Barrage

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2009, 07:27:01 pm »
You can find bison or ibex horn on ebay.  And you should have some butchers around in NB that you could get sinew from.
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Travis

Offline PatM

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2009, 07:45:46 pm »
Adam Karpowicz lives in NB and he gets his hands on horn and sinew.
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Offline JustAim

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Re: I wanna make a horse bow(I think)
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2009, 08:04:23 pm »
Cow horns wont work....they crack to easy. Heres another site you can buy horns from
http://www.boonetrading.com/Horns.html ....alittle expensive but well worth it. l'm not going to tell you what to do with your bow, but dont cut corners when making horn bows. Get the best materials you can find, even if it means you have to spend alittle more. l've bought horns off ebay to save money and when l received them in the mail l wasnt too happy but l'm gonna work with them anyway, so l'll see how it goes. Good luck with your bow. :)  
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