Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: MtDent on April 25, 2012, 12:54:44 am
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I know there have been countless posts of people asking if there are people willing to teach them near to where they are but from my searching (in my limited amount of time), I haven't come across anybody in south east PA or thereabouts. So, I pose my question: is there a bowyer willing to teach me, an inexperienced teenager, the craft in the southeast area or within a 2 or so hour drive? Much appreciated. I'm 17 and I have shot bows before but I'm probably one of the most inexperienced guys in the forums here. Thanks again for your time and good shooting! :)
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Good luck on your search,should be someone around that area,I would be glad to ,but a little far away. ;) Buy some books and get at it,that is how a lot of us learned before these type forums were around. :)Some of us before books were around. ;) ;D ;D ;D
pappy
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Your on the wrong side of the state....besides,im no pro anyways
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Ya right. ;) ;D ;D
Pappy
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Art Butner is in W Va.
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Honestly I just need someone to teach me the basics and I can work from there. I could branch out and get more experience from there by myself. But thanks y'all!
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I agree with Pappy. I don't really have anyone near me to teach or tutor me, but there is plenty of knowledge to be learned on this and other sites with plenty of great folks willing to help when you run into a problem. I just started doing this last fall by making bows from boards and have learned a lot. Everything I know about bow building (which is not a lot :) ), I learned from reading build-a-longs and asking questions. I'm currently waiting on some staves to dry, and hopefully by the time they are, I will have enough experience to be ready to work on a stave.
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Not sure how far it is, but I am in Northern Westchester - NY - I would be happy to show you the ropes - although I am not a pro by any measure.
Russ
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I read the books to get started. But there is nothing like spending a day or two with someone who can bring what you read to life. Wish you were closer to Twin Oaks. We do that stuff all the time.
Big A
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Youtube is free, Its almost as good as having someone teach you...Its how I got started...just spent hours watching vids of guys making them and found one I wanted to build and built it.
Don't think about it too much, keep it light, and go slow.
my first bow was boarriorbows' "longbow for under $10", Billy Berger(primitivepathways) makes a simple osage with only a rasp, johnjayrambo uses only a knife to make some of his bows, You can make it as simple or complicated as you want.
Here's a list of a few guys who do build alongs....
Boarriorbows, Paleoaleo, wildernessoutfitters, primitivepathways. jackcrafty, trapperjacksurvival, BCGROVER does awesome bows, turbodog061188, mxred91
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As a suggestion, instead of just looking for a 'PRO', look for anyone. Sometimes getting a 'bow buddy' at the same level is all you need. You can discuss (argue), console, help each other.
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i built my first bow useing an old Outdoor Sports article i found online, then the tradgang forum for a bit till i found p.a., witch was the perfect site for me, you'll make shooters and make firewood also, but ton's 'o fun doing it, Bub
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Sorry, maybe "pro" wasn't the best way to word that :P apologies. I just wanted someone to be able to teach me the basics of it. ie finding and preparing wood, basic shape and wood working, etc. But thanks for the advice from everybody! I wanted to get a book (or a thousand :P ) but I don't have any money as of right now. I'm working on it though!
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Most libraries have the TBB books. Or check on inter-library loan.
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The Traditional Bowyer's Bibles volume 1 and 2, Youtube, and this website should give you enough information to build your first bow. Good luck. Stick with Primitive Archer! This site is blessed with some real artisans who are happy to help.
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start with a board, preferablly hickory, and in the how to's there is a build a long, ranger b i think, also there is a good boardbow build a long on you tube, you can build a board bow cheap, learning without a high cost, and get a good shooter to boot. also jawges link is at the top of the how to page, all the info you need for a board bow, Bub
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Can someone give me a good place to start with to get tools, etc? The extent of my tool collection pretty much covers cars, not wood working of any sort beyond the basic cross-cut saw.
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Start checking flea markets, garage sales, estate auctions. You can watch ebay for some things. I just bought a new farrier rasp from a local farm supply for $20. Check for farriers in your area and pick up a used one.
A small hatchet is handy. I perfer a smaller drawknife 4" to 7" blade. Others like bigger ones. I know Dron makes some nice looking ones.
Depending on what you are making your bow out of, you do not need a ton of equipment.
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Hmm.....there aren't too many farm supply stores, flea markets or the like out around here. We have Home Depot and Sears Hardware.... :) I've looked online for drawknives and hatchets but I really don't have that much money to spend. I have a couple of small pocket knives..... I'm not sure that they would work out too well though. On eBay I just keep seeing "vintage this" and "old that". Should I risk buying an old drawknife or go with a new one? Sorry for all the questions! :D
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All but 1 of my drawknifes are 'old' or 'vintage'. Usually they are the best. If you decide to bid on the auction, you want to look at the blade. The color is not what you are looking for, look for chips out of the edge and the back of the knife. Has it been beaten a lot with a hammer ( forcing it to do stuff it was not designed to do).
Also look at the handle. Are they tight looking or busted and loose.
In eastern Penn you should have some Amish stores around somewhere.
You might start looking around for trade items. Stuff you can offer here on the board to people as trade for tools and such. No cash but look at the trade thread. Lots of non primitive stuff has been traded for tools, wood, feathers, you name it.
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I get down to the Harrisburg area quite often( Like every couple of months or so) Where ya at exactly?
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Thanks for the info Bev! Very helpful! I'll probably head up to Lancaster and check it out seeing as it's pretty much Amish territory. And Bill, I live near West Chester, PA. It's about 45 mins to an hour west of center city. It's pretty much as "City" as you'll get without going to Philly. It's about an hour and a half, two hours away from Harrisburg according to google maps. I've never actually driven to Harrisburg so I wouldn't know exactly.
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It would be worth the extra money to get your hand tools from a good Amish supply. They will last you a lifetime!!
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They do make some quality stuff! I'll have to do that though because eBay won't work for me.... I have to be 18 in order to join eBay :P I'm 17 for another 3 and a half months! I'll plan on going to Lancaster this weekend or sometime soon!
So, from all the comments I've received, a good set of tools would be:
1) a drawknife
2) a small hatchet
3) a rasp
Is there anything I should add or remove?
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You can still look at stuff on ebay. see what it is selling for. It will give you an idea of some of the cost/value of things.
Some type of scrapper will be usefull. Lots of guys make there own out of scrap metal. I buy cabnet scrapers from a woodworking shop. But you will need someone to show you how to sharpen them. A good pocket knife can be used instead, but if you get used to using a good SHARP cabnet scrapper, you will never go back to a knife blade.
For a rasp, my first was a 4 in 1. They are relatively inexpensive. ( I just looked at home depot on line and they have it). They have curved and flat rasp and file parts. The first several bows I did used it.
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for a scraper i still use a couple of pocket knives, they work fine, if your short on cash buy a 4 in 1 rasp, like $7 at HD, Bub
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I knew all you guys were nice but I didn't think I'd get so much help! On other forums (on other subjects), I'd never get this much help. Thanks a bunch! I'll go to my local Lowe's and pick up some boards and any other tools I can get cheap there and start myself a board bow. Hopefully I'll have the patience to get this to work well!
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Take your time. Ask questions. Post pics if you can. You will get lots of advice. Good Luck.
I would recommend one other thing. Paul Comstocks 'little' book called "The Bent Stick". You can order it on line. After I got that, my confidence and the quality of my bows really shot up. I still reread it.
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I'll try my best to get pictures and information up as soon as I start. I would like to go to Lowe's tonight and pick it up but we'll see how much time I have tonight!
One more question though. In the build alongs and instruction pages I've found, they say to glue the riser block to the bow. One build along in specific mentioned using Titebond II or III. What would you suggest I use?
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TB II is a little less expensive and will do what you need. for your first bow, I might suggest a bend in the handle type that does not have a glued on riser. That would take out another point of failure that can happen.
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Okay. I will try for one without a riser first.