Bundle Bows -now with pic

[wolfsire]

Sorry, no pics.

I also posted this this over at instructables, as this link was my inspiration.  http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/

FWIW,

I made two bundle bows this weekend.  I bought 3 packs each of 25 3’ bamboo garden stakes from a garden center.  At $1.99 each, not a bad deal.  I sorted them largest to smallest.  All but about 5 had the wide ends about twice as large as the small.  Very few were straight.  I took the 10 straightest from the large side to save for arrows.  (Still working on those and only 5 have survived.)

While sorting, I set aside those that were cracked and I flex tested them.  About a quarter broke along the way.

Some of the lager ones had pin holes, so I figured they had been previously heat treated so I did not do that.  While sorting them my hands turned green.  Yuck, so I cleaned all but the smallest with wipes.  That turned out to take forever.  The die just kept coming off.

Then I picked 13 of the best based on size and straightness.  I used a clothes iron to heat and straighten them.  Four broke in the process, but I had plenty for replacements. 13 was a determined number.  7 in a bundle give a tight hex:  one in the middle surrounded by six.  13 gives you six rods of two pieces joined together with varying lengths, plus one at 3’.  I duck taped the longest with 6” overlap and increased the overlap from there by about 1-2” for each of the others.

Before I finished that, I figured I’d try the version in this instructable.  (see the link above) 18 pre-sorted.  6 thin ends for tips, woven wide ends and an overlay of 6.  Bound and covered in duck tape.  It was pretty weak and cracked on one side.  Turned out 2 of 6 broke.  Still shot, though.

Back to the other one.  I was not sure how it would affect the bow, but for each rod, I taped the small ends together, so the thick ends would go to the tips of the bow.  I did not want the handle to be too wide.  Recall I was using the largest of 3 bags.  I taped the wide end of the rods, each about 1-2” closer in from the last working in from the bow tips.  It ended up 5’6”  Then I wrapped the tape in hemp twine and put a leather handle and cordage backing on it.  The cordage slipped off one side, requiring a fix to hold it in place, but over all it turned into a very nice bow.  I do not know the poundage.  I’d guess 40-50 lbs based on my experience with my crossbow.

I took apart the other one and re-assembled it almost the same way: doubled up overlapping rods, thick ends toward tips.  I used more than 13, probably closer to twenty.  I even used two that broke from the first version for the shorted rods.  I didn’t bother straightening any.  I did not stick with the hex, but just kept putting on shorter ones in places that looked right.  My increments were 0.5-1”.  I had more overlap on the longest rod.  The bow is 5’.  Again covered the whole think in duck tape (brown tape with black bands, so it looks fair).  It also turned out very well.  It feels the same weight as the other one, but the poundage is much higher.  I can pull it to full draw, but I cannot hold it there.  60 lbs?  Not bad for some crooked sticks and duct tape.

Now I just need to finish some arrows.

[Auggie]

Reminds me of Arnold inPredator.......cool,but my last resort tactic.

[wolfsire]

Reminds me of Arnold inPredator.......cool,but my last resort tactic.

Might be mine too.  I'm not yet into wood carving and short of that, these provide quite a bit fun in the making.  Hopefully in the shooting too.  If it was a survival situation, i might use a bundle bow, but to get good poundage and more than a couple of days life, I think you would need a lot of tape or cordage to hold it tight, not just a couple of strings at the ends.  If all you have is your shoe laces and a choice of wood, I think a self bow might be the way to go.  Making cordage is time consuming with out very long strands and a dremel. 

[carpespasm]

I was inspired by the same instructable a couple months ago and wound up with this:



This was my first semi-serious attempt at making a working bow, and as such it was pretty poor, I think it drew to maybe 15 pounds and shot an arrow about 20ft with a high arc. That went down more once the bamboo dried out and my bundle ties loosened up. I still use it as wall decoration though since it still looks as good.
The arrow on the other hand I was mighty proud of, as it flew straight and when shot from my cheapo compound bow would make it 100yrds without much bobbing around.

[wolfsire]

Thanks for posting the photo.  I hope my arrows turn out ok.  I put 8 inch 2 sided duck tape fletching on last night and bought a bunch of butter knives from a thrift store to cut out some points.  I chose butter knives because I think they would require less shaping.  Although the steel is not the best, I think it will suffice.

Bows should get stronger as they dry, so I would guess if you tightened up the binding it would pull harder.  I very well could have over estimated my poundage, but it is far from easy to pull those things back something like 27".  The taller one is a gift.  I'll keep the shorter one and I'm sure I will have to work up to full draw, assuming the bow last that long.

[wolfsire]

Some more notes:  My bundles bows have changed a little.  They have some set, 3" on the long, 2" on the short.  The long one is not as straight as it was.  I assue the tension has cause the overlapping small ends in the handles to settle.  The short one does not have a much poundage as it did.  For a more accurate comparison to my crossbow, I put my foot on the handle and pulled up.  It feels more like 40#, now.  But I think it has gotten weaker as I can keep it held drawn longer.  I can also feel the small ends in the handles move when I draw.  Looks like it is time to add a stout cordage handle wrap.  My hand are still aching from wrapping the long, but the blisters are gone.

[wolfsire]

Finally figured out out to put pics on my computer.   

Four strand cotton string broke on the duck tape bow.  Nylon corage backing on the hemp bound bow slipped of the back on one side.  Kept it mostly on back with branching twig set bound in with dark hemp seen where you would expect green.

[makete]

These bows are so interesting looking. Is it hard to keep all the pieces in line while putting it all together?

[a finnish native]

interesting. whta pownage do they pull? and what is the material on the arrow heads? looks like bone.

[wolfsire]

These bows are so interesting looking. Is it hard to keep all the pieces in line while putting it all together?

Not at all.  I attach one at a time, taping each end.  You could use cordage, but I think one at a time is the trick.

[wolfsire]

interesting. whta pownage do they pull? and what is the material on the arrow heads? looks like bone.

I addressed that in my first post, but I would have to revise my figures.  I would guess the long is about 30 and the short about 40, but both are easier to pull after some use.  The shorter is wrapped with rawhide as a test.  I'll pull that off and cordage wrap the middle third.  I think that would bump the draw back up to about 45.  Still considering putting a cordage backing on it, which, it it stays in place better than the other, I think will put it over 50 lbs.

Yeah, the arrowheads are bone, bleached from a pet store.  Broke several.  Still experimenting.

The tiny bows are make with 12" bamboo skewers.  No idea what the poundage is, but they are not that wimpy.

[wolfsire]

Well so much for my ability to estimate draw.  I just measured the two bows on a scale.  The long pulled 40# at 29 inches, the short a whopping 70# at 29 inches.  No wonder it was not so easy!  Still hard to believe of reject boo and duck tape.

[white wood]

neat looking bows guys! way to use what you have available, -whitewood

[kitetsu]

Hello! Once again I apologize for bumping such an old topic, but I bring relevance to this thread, especially when I seem to have been able to make my own bundle bow. Unlike my previous attempt at a Bhutanese bow, this one has been able to withstand at least 10 full draws and countless stringing and unstringing without any indication of the bow itself cracking (this was mostly due to me having to constantly readjust the string length), and that, to me, is a huge breakthrough, and I am in higher spirits than last time.

Here's a cameraphone picture of my newest attempt in all its glory:



Well... It's not exactly a candidate in the good looks department. I lost my patience when I was applying the strings to bind the bamboo sticks, having nearly spent one whole bundle just for the grip and some notable spots and using jute twine to bind one side of the bow's limbs before using duct tape to bind the other side. I may rectify this cosmetic error by re-layering the bow limbs, first by applying duct tape and then bind it with jute twine. The thing is also pretty long, about 180cm, and my height is 175cm, so it's probably too long.

The bowstring nocks are pretty uneven. One of them is plump and looks very reassuring, but the other one is much smaller, has the nocking lump on the wrong side and has its strings loose. The latter has been covered by duct tape, and it looks slightly more reassuring, but i am still nervous that the string might slip off mid-draw and hit me on my foot.

Another thing I may have botched on are the distribution of the sticks' thicknesses. I rushed through the whole process and didn't see to it that I turn some sticks upside down as all of them were thick on one end and thin on the other, so the thick end looks like it's barely bending and the other end bends more. I did, however, use a triangular formation for the sticks: The single shortest one is the closest to my palm and is the main point of the triangle, 2 middle sticks overlapped that, followed by 3 of the longest sticks being the main flat side of the triangle.

The bowstring I used was originally going to be jute twine, but I decided to use jungle-colored polypropylene string. It's strong enough to withstand the full draws, so I'm willing to bet that it's also good enough for it to shoot arrows with. I'll have to make my arrows before confirming this and before I refine the string itself.

So what have I learnt from this so far?

- Sticks need size distribution.

- Know which side the bowstring nocks go with the chosen stick formation.

- Plan the bow's aesthetic design in advance.

- I really need kneepads and shinpads. Stringing the bow using my legs gets very painful after a few times. +_+

- Having the triangle formation's main point to be pointing at my palm may not be a good idea. I'll have to experiment with other shapes of formations or variations thereof.


I still haven't had the chance to make the arrows, and I'm still nervous about the results for that, but now I know that the bow at least works for it to survive this long!

[wolfsire]

It looks like your are off to a good start.  Gotta break a few even of bundle bows before you get them right.  Lets see your bow with a full draw pic.

Here is one I'll still  working on to get it to look right, but I think the tiller by stick placement is right.   I'd guess 50-60#@32"