Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => English Warbow => Topic started by: mox1968 on July 26, 2010, 06:54:40 pm
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I found a nice straight ash sapling tonight about 8ft long and 2 1/2" wide would this be wide enough to make a D bellied longbow/warbow from or do you guys think too thin??
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I have never made a warbow but I think there is only one way to find out. Bill
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true, that decides it!!give it a few weeks to dry out and go for it then.
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Ash will make a warbow, but you will have to make it wider. Still deep, but wider than a narrow yew or osage bow. This is to reduce set that you will get if you make it a normal dimension warbow. Cut it, don't take the bark off just yet, but make sure to seal the ends. If you don't have shellac or anything, just some olive oil will do. Plus it's antibactirial, so I think it won't mold like normal veg oil. Anyway, I use olive oil ensted of shellac. Works for me. After a couple days to a week, take the bark off, split, and seal the backs. Now is the time it will warp if it's gonna warp. Oh, if it's too small, then nevermind the splitting. Ash is good wood. Excessive heat treating will make a narrow bow out of almost anything that can make a decent bow, but i wouldn't recommend it. Sometimes with ash it will take alot of wood to make a heavy bow, especially a d bow. As ash will take set more than osage or yew or hickery, exc.., be slow to take wood off the center of the bow, leave the main center third of the bow unbending entill it's shot in alot. NOT overstressed, just shot in. Then,if needed, start taking off wood just a little until it is the tiller profile you are looking for. Unless you just want a non bending handle profile warbow. A stiff center section bow will preform good. I ruined a beautiful ash longbow by not leaving the center thick enough and stiff enough. Ended up with about 5 inches set. Don't do what I did! :)
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The difference from one ash to another can vary from excellent to quite bad. I've made many warbows from ash, all of them deep, narrow, bending through the entire bow. Some of them are from quite narrow trees even less than 4" diameter. They're all heat treated though, and the finish needs to be as waterproof as possible. Ash likes to soak water, and when it does it really ends up following the string a lot.
I've read somewhere that Scandinavian ash has a higher average SG than what's normal for ash elsewhere, so I guess that may explain why it's considered such a good wood for warbows up here. The "bad" ash I've tried are all imported board ash.
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going offshore for a couple of weeks so will leave in the shed with the bark on till I get back.I sealed with white carpenters glue at ends hope that works ok?I also cut down a sycamore stave same length diameter how does that do as a bow wood any one try that?
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Mox, sorry for the hijack......toomanyknots, I'm surprised that a stiff handled Ash bow will take less set than a bend in the handle bow. I thought it would be the other way around? My first two bows are Ash with some bend in the handle, and right enough, they have both taken three inches of set. I didn't know about cooking them at that time though.
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nidrinr: Ya, if I ever utilized heat treating I would probably have better success with narrower bows. Without heat treating the ash around here will take set if narrow. I live is midwest america. Probably totally different wood. But if you treat it right, you can make a great bow out of it. You make awesome bows btw.
Stiff handled will always take less set then working handle. Most set comes from the middle area of the bow. If it takes just a little set in the middle, it's alot more than if it took set outer limb. I think so anyway. For one, the wood is usually thicker at the handle and I know thicker wood takes set and keeps it more than thinner wood, like on the outer limbs, which time to time with a bow make appear to take an inch of set but bend back after 5 minutes of being unstrung. All the power is on the middle of the bow.
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I found a nice straight ash sapling tonight about 8ft long and 2 1/2" wide would this be wide enough to make a D bellied longbow/warbow from or do you guys think too thin??
Nydam bows as well asViking bows from Sleswig were made from saplings of 1 3/4" to 2 1/4" in width. Of course they were yew, but your sapling seems wide enough.
Erik
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I'd heat treat the belly and keep the belly flat - pretty much rectangular in cross section. Use the under bark surface for the back. Some of the Mary Rose bows were this shape so it was used historically. The only ash I've used from young trees was very poor and chrysalled easily even in a flat bow, but I think it varies a lot. Denser wood is certainly preferable.
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Toomanyknots: -Thanks a lot :) -I'd be happy to send you a piece of good quality local ash if you want to compare it with your local ash. Would have been interesting to see what two bows of identical dimensions and equal toasting end up with..
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If U can find compression wood thats more denser than useally. Now I have three staves from the compression side of an ash log and they have near double weight than other same wood.
Hope will have a strongbow arround 90# a warbow over 130# and a strong flatbow from tham. My wood is flowering ash, fraxinus ornus.
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I cut some Ash staves back last year and they are smooth straight clear of defects....should I???
AA
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"Toomanyknots: -Thanks a lot Smiley -I'd be happy to send you a piece of good quality local ash if you want to compare it with your local ash. Would have been interesting to see what two bows of identical dimensions and equal toasting end up with.. "
Hehe, we might have to do that. Let me go cut a nice 3 - 4" diameter white ash to send you too first though. :)
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-Deal then. Let me know when you've got one ready, and I'll send you one I cut down to 2"2" so it's easier to send. I think we both have to remove the bark for some rules..
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hi guys ,back from offshore and going to layout the bow frofile to help the drying process along.I was wondering about dimensions for the bow any ideas for how wide and deep to make the profile.Im hoping for something around the 60lb mark for a first try at a english type longbow maybe a bit more if you think its possible.
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I cant say for sure but from what I have heard you shouldnt use saplings for bows. They dont have the same qualities as a mature wood and are too flexible with too much memory. Ive heard they can get stuck in the bent position. The literature I have found says you shouldnt use anything less than a 4 inch diameter tree. Im not saying dont do it but, personally, I would be considering this an experimental bow build and I would definitley heat temper. Good luck and let us know!!!
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I cant say for sure but from what I have heard you shouldnt use saplings for bows. They dont have the same qualities as a mature wood and are too flexible with too much memory.
Don't believe all you hear, plenty of good bows have been built from saplings.
Ive heard they can get stuck in the bent position.
I would suggest only if the sapling was too green.
Craig.