Newbie First Self Bow~HELP PLEASE

[Orben]

Hey everyone. I will be attempting to make my first ever self bow and I would very much like to draw some wisdom from the many very talented people who post in these forums.
  My initial idea was to make a bow of osage orange (revered for its beauty and longevity) for my fiance, along with 3 arrows and a leather quiver. The bow is for her birthday, the quiver is a going away gift (I am in the air force and ship off in six months) and the arrows represent our three years together.
  However I have been given to understand that osage orange is not a good wood for beginners so I decided to make a bow or two for practice. I understand getting myself to that level in the short time I have will be difficult, so any help or advice will be greatly apreciated.

[Orben]

A few details for discussion:
   I would prefer to use only natural materials for the entire process, including all adhesives or finishes or waxes.
   I would also prefer to do all the crafting myself. I may decide to purchase a pre-seasoned good quality osage orange staff (Im sure some of you can help me determin 'good quality')  But otherwise I would want to craft everything myself beginning to end. I have access to large wooded areas and many plants and animals.
   Lastly I am on somewhat of a budget. I know many things will need to be purchased (Tools and materials and such) but I would prefer to keep the costs in the hundreds.

[huisme]

I learned very fast with black locust. It's a classroom in itself, fretting everywhere the tiller is imperfect. I would suggest getting a good stave of the stuff and focusing on perfecting the tiller. I'd also get some red oak boards just for practice. You don't have to do finish work on all of them, you'd just be trying to get down the basics of making a bow. Go slow on each one and do your best to squeeze as much knowledge out of each build as you can.

Work up to the final osage bow. Chase a ring and treat it like the gold it is.

Make sure you work the outer limbs and get the tips nice and light. Ring size is nothing in importance compared to ring cleanliness; any violations will spell disaster. Don't ever draw a bow past the intended draw weight.

[Orben]

Thank you huisme! I will certainly heed that advice. Ill try to keep my rings nice and clean (a term that will hopefully make more sense after I get more hands on). Might there be any specific directions on how to accomplish a good tillering? A link or a book reference would be fine. I learn alot from reading. Also could I get some advice on what tools would be most helpfull and good places to shop?

[SLIMBOB]

I may give you advice that some disagree with, nothing wrong at all with starting with a good Osage stave, in fact I believe it to be your best choice as a beginner.  It is the most tolerant of poor(ish) tiller and most any other type of mistake.  It will tolerate some dings and violations on the back.  The reason I believe some will say avoid it for your first bow, is either an unfamiliarity with it or the belief that you will screw it up anyway so screw up a cheaper board first.  Some merit in that, I however say use the best material early on you have available to you.  If that is Osage, then you've started with the best odds of getting a finished shootable bow at the end of your efforts.  Many on here will walk you thru it what ever you decide.  Good luck with it.

[Ink]

I may give you advice that some disagree with, nothing wrong at all with starting with a good Osage stave, in fact I believe it to be your best choice as a beginner.  It is the most tolerant of poor(ish) tiller and most any other type of mistake.  It will tolerate some dings and violations on the back.  The reason I believe some will say avoid it for your first bow, is either an unfamiliarity with it or the belief that you will screw it up anyway so screw up a cheaper board first.  Some merit in that, I however say use the best material early on you have available to you.  If that is Osage, then you've started with the best odds of getting a finished shootable bow at the end of your efforts.  Many on here will walk you thru it what ever you decide.  Good luck with it.

+1

Osage has shown many a new bowyer the ropes.

[koan]

Where ya from? One of us may be close enuff to give ya hands on help... That will greatly help your learning curve.... Brian

[Parnell]

Osage is a tremendous wood to learn on.  It's forgiving.

[adb]

If you have easy access to osage, it makes an excellent first bow. Very forgiving and tough wood. Get your hands on the Trad Bowyers Bibles. Great resource.

[Joec123able]

Osage is perfect to learn on and as to your budget you can easily have plenty of hand tools for less than a 100 dollars I only use a few tools myself for the whole process

[PAHunter]

Wood you cut down now will take some time to dry, perhaps an inch a year.  So unless you have some thats been cut for awhile it may be hard to use freshly cut wood in your timeframe.  So I suggest getting a seasoned osage stave off of someone on here or get a nice hickory board or red oak if necessary from your local lumber yard or home improvement store for red oak.  You can check out poor folk bow's read oak build along online for a great guide and youtube for some video in addition to this site of course. 

Here are some arrows I made from bamboo from K-mart.  Not very hard once you get the hang of heating them over a heat gun.  You could do the same with some saplings you cut locally.  Just give them some time to dry some in a warm location.  Wet wood will crack and warp. 
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,32152.msg424957.html#msg424957

Here is my first osage (not first bow).  If you scroll you will see some pics of the process I went through. 
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,32365.msg427907.html#msg427907

Hope some of that helps!  Good luck man and thanks for your service!!

[Thesquirrelslinger]

To make a bow-
drawknife($20 off ebay)
rasp(another $15-20 off ebay)
knife(moraknive is what I use... pretty much anything sturdy without serrations works)

Thats it
a hatchet or machete is helpful roughing out.

[BOWMAN53]

if your on a budget then pick up a hickory board, they are usually $20 for 6"x10'  and 3/4" thick. if its for your fiance then 35-40# @ 26" should do. 64" long 1 1/4" wide and taper the last 15" to 1/2" tips.  get the whole thing to 1/2" thick then thillering should be very easy from there. all you need is a jig saw to cut the board($40) a farriers rasp($20) and sand paper($10). $90 total and you can get atlease three bows.

[Stickhead]

To make a bow-
drawknife($20 off ebay)
rasp(another $15-20 off ebay)
knife(moraknive is what I use... pretty much anything sturdy without serrations works)

Thats it
a hatchet or machete is helpful roughing out.

Don't forget a vise of some sort.

I made my first bow from Osage, and it was a shooter.  If you can find a seasoned Osage stave, I'd go for it.  Another good option is to start with a Red Oak board.  Look for straight grain.  There's plenty of advice about board bows on this site and George's.

[Orben]

Thank you so much everyone. I will order my tools very soon and pick up a good straight grain board from lowes to practice on. My confidence in osage orange has increased and hopefully it will forgive my mistakes if any. The book refrerral will not go un-employed however I will try to bargain hunt on it for awhile. Also the prices for a good osage orange stave can be high and I wondered who here could offer a good quality product for a bargain.
   I live in ridgeway virginia, so if there are any experienced bowers in my area I woul be honored to take some lessons.
   It has been recommend that I use a heat gun for my arrow making but is there maybe another method. Very open minded. I do plan on making arrowheads from bone (I have a dremel) because I think they are more attractive and I have enough to learn in such a short time without flint napping lol.
   Lastly I planed on using racoon hide and fur for my quiver, and real bird feathers for the fletching. Could someone offer some tips on tanning and stretching my skins into leather as well as offer tips on leather stiching a quiver? What kind of bird should I go for or should I try to just buy feathers?