Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: doggonemess on January 25, 2012, 06:02:54 pm
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Greetings,
I'm new here, and would like to share my accomplishment and get some feedback and suggestions. I finished my first bow after breaking two earlier attempts. It's a flat board bow, made of red oak. I built it using the build-along from poorfolkbows.com, which was very detailed and offered insight into my first two failures.
The first failed bow was layers of red oak, glued together, and recurved. It broke when I first started to tiller it. The second was a one-day bow made from a really long dowel. It broke before I ever got to the tillering step. I decided that it was the wood, and the lack of knowhow that was causing me to fail. Once I understood the process better, and learned how to pick the wood with care, I overcame those problems.
It probably took about 50 hours or so for everything. The bow is red oak with a strip of fiberglass tape on the back (for insurance, I didn't want to break another one). The bow is around 45# at 31", measuring 71" nock to nock. It has about 3 1/2 inches of set, which from what I've read, isn't too bad. The string is an endless loop, about 20 strands of nylon kite line, with mason line for the nock servings and more kite line for the arrow serving.
Here are a couple shots. Note that this is not the final string, I changed it since then.
(http://thatsmywebguy.com/hosted/images/photos/flatbow_1_draw_final.jpg)
My kitchen floor is really weird. The pattern on the roll of fake tile is about 9 inches wide.
(http://thatsmywebguy.com/hosted/images/photos/flatbow_1_strung_final.jpg)
I probably spent about three hours on the handle alone. It's just fun to look at. And hard to believe that I made it.
(http://thatsmywebguy.com/hosted/images/photos/flatbow_1_handle_angle.jpg)
This was before the handle was cut and final sanding was done. I have about a 29" draw, but I decided to push it past my draw to see if it would hold. It made it to 31" without a problem. With my draw, it's somewhere between 35# and 40#.
(http://thatsmywebguy.com/hosted/images/photos/flatbow_1_overdraw_weight_tiller.jpg)
I made an arrow for it just to test it. It worked well enough, and I even did fletching. I'll need to take a picture of it to share. It lasted about seven shots before it hit the target funny, went into the ground sideways and broke in half. I knew it would happen sooner or later, so I wasn't that disappointed. I glued it back together and I'll probably mount it somewhere.
I went to Bass Pro Shop and bought some alumnium arrows so I could properly test the bow. I know aluminium isn't exactly traditional, but the place didn't sell any wooden arrows. I thought that was weird. When I got home, I tested the bow, and found that it shot very well, it's nice and smooth. The target area needs improvement, though. One arrow went through the cardboard and skewered an old tin washbasin. I was shocked when I saw that it actually went partway through.
(http://thatsmywebguy.com/hosted/images/photos/arrow_hole_1_sm.jpg)
I plan to stain the wood dark and then seal it so it's nice and shiny. For the ugly fiberglass back, I'm going to paint and clearcoat it.
So I'd love to hear what people think, and share some plans. I hope to start my next bow this week. I plan on making a few for my family so we can shoot together. For my son, who turns five in March, I plan to make a very light short bow that I'll custom make some short blunt arrows for him to get the hang of it. My daughter I plan to make a scaled down version of my bow. For my wife, I picked out a really nice piece of white maple. I'm not sure how good it will be as a bow wood. It feels strong and bends well, but I didn't know if it is an appropriate wood. The grain is perfect, and the board couldn't be straighter.
I also have a question about the string - is the nock on the arrow supposed to 'grip' the string slightly? With the serving I made, the nock holds the string just enough that it takes a tiny effort to pull it off. I wasn't sure if there was supposed to be no resistance or if some was okay.
I can't wait to learn more, and look forward to hearing everyone else's experiences.
Thanks!
Jamie
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Looks good!! the first one is always very satisfying.Now shoot it a couple hundred times and start another one!!
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Looks very nice for a first bow... your set will decrease with practice and better bow design as you become more experienced. Glad to hear your planning another! as far as my serving goes I like the nock to grip the string so that it wont fall of when I hang an arrow from it, but if I tap it with my thumb it will come off the string.
Jon
P.S. just a heads up this will probably be moved to the campfire section because you used fiberglass to back the bow. Only natural materials are allowed in the bow section. ;D ;D
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Here is another reason for the amount of set your bow has. There is a lot of bend just out of the handle but the rest of the limbs do not curve in the ellipse.
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What Bevan said! You have a nice even tiller goin on, just needs to bend more in the outer 1/3 of each limb.
Looks like you are well on your way to a serious addiction there.
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Bevan can you please do me a favor and draw that same circle on his hand drawn pic? You did a fine job on your first bow.
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nice job! look forward to seeing more
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Here you are...
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Welcome! heck of a nice first bow! Great job and thanks for sharing! Looks like your gonna have to patch a whole in that bucket! :o hope you meant to do that ;D ;)
Josh
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"My Buckets got a hole in it" hmmmm...... sounds like a song I heard once.
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welcome aboard and great job on your bow.keep them coming,Steve
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The bow is red oak with a strip of fiberglass tape on the back (for insurance, I didn't want to break another one).
I understand that thinking completely. I have some of that stuff I keep on hand 'just in case'.
Good job in making a shooter. lessons learned on this one carry over to the next. it is a knowledge gaining process. welcome to the forum by the way. :D
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Welcome, congratulations !! Enjoy shooting that milestone...now on to the next ;)
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The bow is red oak with a strip of fiberglass tape on the back (for insurance, I didn't want to break another one).
I understand that thinking completely. I have some of that stuff I keep on hand 'just in case'.
Good job in making a shooter. lessons learned on this one carry over to the next. it is a knowledge gaining process. welcome to the forum by the way. :D
Well done on the first shooter. Great feeling eh?
Seriously though forget the fiber..... all you need to do is understand grain orientation in boards. Keep repeating to yourself - straight lines, straight lines, straight lines when you go and look for another. Wood doesn't break unless the grain is violated. Even if you can't find perfect boards then just buy some linen fabric or rawhide for backing.
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Nice job,looking good to me.Hope it don't offend that I moved the thread but the bow section is reserved for natural materials only. Nice work ,looks like a sweet shooter. :) :)
Pappy
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Dear lyza dear lyza....theres a hole in the bucket dear lyza a hole!!!
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Thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement. And that trick with the ellipse is excellent - I'm going to use it the next time I tiller a bow. I've heard that you can see more when you take a picture, since eyes can deceive. I did take a few at the end, but didn't check the curve, I checked that the limbs were symmetrical, which they were, perfectly. Now I know, and I can apply what I learned.
No worries about moving the post, I understand completely. Straight grain, got it. What is done when no backing is used? I'm just worried about breaking it, after having two break in my hands. Do you lightly sand the back, and keep it flat? Or should it be curved? I guess this all depends on the bow. I do know that you never, ever, want to see splinters lifting.
I got some more shooting in yesterday, and it's fantastic. I'm still rusty, it's been a while, but I managed to put every arrow in a 3 inch circle at 20 feet at full draw. And I don't have any sighting tool or even a technique. If I try to aim using points of reference, my arrows go all over the place. When I just hold the bow the way it feels natural, and pull the arrow to the place that feels right, it always seems to go where I want (roughly).
I was thinking the "hole in the bucket" song as well, I have to admit.
Thanks again, I'm looking forward to the next bow, and can't wait to share it.
Jamie
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You might also want to do a search on 'gizmo'. It is a handy tool for new bowmakers to use spotting flat spots. You make it yourself. You can also use a short straitedge, but the gizmo uses a pencil to mark areas.