First shot at horn bow, need some input.

[Cloudfeather]

I've been thinking of trying my hand at a horn bow. I'm just not sure what I should go for. I want something that's going to be able to have a 26-27 inch draw, so I was thinking gemsbok and sinew. Should I do a laminate with a core wood or just the horn and sinew. Also, what are some good approx. starting dimensions? Any input would be appreciated.

[Pat B]

I believe that building a "horn" bow is a little more complicated than you are thinking. You would better serve yourself by reading Karpowicz's book and everything else you can find to educate yourself on the complexities and nuances of building a "horn" bow.

[Cloudfeather]

I prefer to learn by doing. If I screw up a 40 dollar set of gemsbok horns and waste my time, no big deal. If posting this in the "horn" bow section(emphasis on the quotations) was a mistake, I apologize. There's a whole lot of unrelated info that comes up when I try to do google searchers for this.

[loefflerchuck]

Gemsbok horns once cut to bow specks will be thin. Best put in a wood core

[james parker]

no mistake in posting this in the hornbow forum sled,
there are two ways you can build hornbows,, successfully- and unsuccessfully
building these bows  within the tried and true perimeters is hard enough,, I know this because Ive tried.
don't be fooled,, any who attempts making the bows including seasoned horn bow makers do and will experience failures during and after the building process,even  the best hornbow builders, have failed bows  ,either at the first stages of the build,during the build, or at the very end, during tellering and shooting the bow in.. none of us are perfect..

that being said, free form horn bow building can be a more hit and miss experience,
 any and all modern horn bows that  you see here and other places may have been built using  either or both methods,, 
everyone has to start somewhere, all the info needed is  out there, it just takes a little searching.
 my suggestions are,,,, for a first horn bow- try for a lighter weight , to get the feel for the process in whole
don't use your best materials starting out
don't be disappointed when something during the procces goes wrong
don't get in any hurry,,and
and most importantly don't give up..
keep us posted with your progress
we are all here to learn and help one another

[Badger]

   I have a set of horns and sinew I have been meaning to start on. My first attempt several years ago failed miserably.

[Parnell]

My 2 cents...I tried starting with the sinew on horn American designs.  I don't know that I'm throwing in the towel...but, after having got a hold of the Karpowicz book and studying it, I feel like I have a better chance of actually making it through the process.

[duke3192]

Sled, try googling/ getting laminations from gemsbok horn, and also, constructing the asiatic composite bow, sorry I can't post links for you.

[loefflerchuck]

After making many horn bows I still reread Adams book on many steps along the way to dot my i's. Simple things like leaving my bow in a shop thats too cold have caused the glue in my splices to fail. Do everything the right way and don't take any shortcuts

[mikekeswick]

I'd stay away from the 'constructing the asiatic composite bow' route. That basically just skims the surface.
I agree with what has been said above. Without a good idea in your head of the process (before starting) you aren't exactly wasting your time but you're close.
Trying to learn how to make a hornbow through trial,error and google won't get you very far in my opinion. Google doesn't know everything......and trial and error will be painfully slow. Get Adam's book.

[Badger]

  Adams book is a good investment. Trial error with horn bows could take an awful long time as each bow takes a long time. You can trial and error all you want with wood board bows and really not waste much time.

[ravancroft]

The Bowyers Bible has some pretty good information on composite shooting and building, also there is a series of videos on youtube that was made in the 1990s named: How to Construct the Asiatic Bow - Part 1-8 - DIY BOW MAKING. GOOD LUCK!! I'm actually just about to make my first as well. I am starting with buffalo horn, a hickory wood core and sinew back, from what i have come to know that is the best form of composite.

[duke3192]

Everybody! says get Adams book! you can't get it, which one of you wants to loan yours out. You get info wherever you can and use it and learn.

[mikekeswick]

They probably say it for a reason then!! There are so many fine details that nobody is going to spend a long,long time writing it all in an internet forum. If you don't get everything dead right with these bows then you are destined to fail. Once you've made a few all this becomes apparent.
The internet is great for learning the basic idea but for the fine details....no.

[ravancroft]

though beeing able to actually see the process as you read about it really does help and that's where watching the videos comes in, i started off a broke kid with no way of getting lessons and did not know any bowyers, i had no possible way of learning but through the internet until my set of bowyers bible's came in. watching as you read on in the books helped me a lot.