Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: TolkienFan on July 02, 2015, 08:07:59 pm

Title: New here... My first bow
Post by: TolkienFan on July 02, 2015, 08:07:59 pm
Hi all, I am one week old on here and already am extremely impressed by you all.  Impressed with your bows, knowledge, but mostly kindness and generosity. 

Thought I would add my first bow on here.  This is the 2nd bow I have made.  The first was a mollegabet style after Mike from barrior bows youtube video. I made it from red oak board but it splintered bc I rushed it. 

This one is made from a Pine board (I now know it is a bad wood and the grain was also not great, but I knew nothing a month ago haha). It is 72" about #32 @ 28 inches and actually shoots pretty well to me.  I know now the tillering isn't great and the handle I glued on the back looks awkward, but I don't want to mess it will almost certainly break if I shoot it a lot.  It has formed chrysalis on most of the belly, so I will be careful with it bc I want to keep it for sentimental purposes. 

It was really fun to make a bow and shoot it in less than a week and I am now completely hooked! 

Since making this I have: watched hundreds of youtube vids, scoured this website and others, read a lot of the Bowyers Bible and started harvesting some wood on my own (which I was posting about and you guys have helped me a lot on).  You can see a couple of the maple staves in the background, which we were working on splitting today. I am working on two trial bamboo backed ones right now and just glued them up today.

Thanks!
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: Drewster on July 03, 2015, 12:04:54 am
Keep at it.  You'll learn something new from every bow.......you're making progress already.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: bubby on July 03, 2015, 12:44:43 am
Oh you got it bad, real bad, there's no known cure for the bowyers bug  >:D, seriously welcome and enjoy the ride
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: mikekeswick on July 03, 2015, 03:43:11 am
Darn good effort for a pine bow!!Well done!
Get that maple roughed out to floor tiller next and it'll be dry very soon.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: Del the cat on July 03, 2015, 04:38:16 am
Excellent. I like the way you have critiqued the bow, it shows how much you have learned.
Good to have you on board.
Del
(Google Bowyers Diary to see what I'm doing, I show the mistakes problems and fixes as well as the pretty stuff! So it's a useful resource)
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: Pappy on July 03, 2015, 04:59:57 am
Keep up the good work,very well done for you first shooter, nothing like the first one.Looking forward to see more. :)
   Pappy
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: simson on July 03, 2015, 07:04:56 am
Yep, you've got the virus!
I detroyed a lot of bows in the beginning because I couldn't wait the seasoning. So grap every stave / wood you can get, it is so good to have a pile of nice staves in garage.
And I'm with Del and others  - you have already learned a lot. Keep it on!
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: TolkienFan on July 03, 2015, 10:34:46 am
Thanks guys! Appreciate the encouragement and Del The Cat, I will check that out right now.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: vtbow on July 03, 2015, 01:05:43 pm
You're way ahead of me, so congratulations, and thanks very much for showing it! I'm sure it must be great to shoot an arrow for the first time from something you made yourself!  ;D
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: Chief RID on July 03, 2015, 04:21:32 pm
Welcome. You have found the best bow making site on the www. Look forward to your pics and updates.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: Aries on July 03, 2015, 05:30:48 pm
Good job man! I look forward to seeing your progress! I bet you Can't wait till that maple is dry ;D
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: George Tsoukalas on July 03, 2015, 06:40:02 pm
Welcome to PA. Congratulations on your first bow. Jawge
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: TolkienFan on July 03, 2015, 08:23:00 pm
Thanks guys.  Aries, haha us it is brutal waiting. I'm going to get some good practice making a few board bows in the meantime.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: alwayslookin on July 03, 2015, 09:27:06 pm
Welcome to the addicting world of bow making. Nice work for making a shooting pine bow. Lots of info and great helpful people on here.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: bubby on July 03, 2015, 11:49:12 pm
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,15690.0.html
Check jawge's site lot's of great info
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: bubby on July 03, 2015, 11:50:54 pm
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html
Here's my board bow build a long too
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: JW_Halverson on July 03, 2015, 11:57:41 pm
I am laughing at myself right now so hard the tears are pouring down my face. 

I ran into a perfect grain pine 1x4 last winter and bought it thinking for giggles I would make a pyramid pine bow and post it with the intent of putting it in the bow of the month competition. 
 
Now here comes a newby and shows me up before I ever so much as put a tool to the wood!!! And pretty respectable tiller, to boot.  Well played, my new friend, well played!  Please continue posting, I look forward to watching your skills grow. 
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: TolkienFan on July 04, 2015, 12:13:26 am
I am laughing at myself right now so hard the tears are pouring down my face. 

I ran into a perfect grain pine 1x4 last winter and bought it thinking for giggles I would make a pyramid pine bow and post it with the intent of putting it in the bow of the month competition. 
 
Now here comes a newby and shows me up before I ever so much as put a tool to the wood!!! And pretty respectable tiller, to boot.  Well played, my new friend, well played!  Please continue posting, I look forward to watching your skills grow. 

Haha you should still do it. I would love to see what you could do with a pine board. This one was NOT perfect at all. Lots of run offs and really really soft. I didn't realize it was so soft till I tried working an another type of wood and it felt like stone after the pine.
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: JW_Halverson on July 04, 2015, 10:34:31 pm
Yeah, but you stole my thunder and really really set the bar pretty high when your bow not only had decent tiller, but survived. 

Think of it as picking a fight with an old guy.  If you win, there is no glory in it.  And if you lose, you look like a wet fart feels!

Aw heck, I will make it.  And it will look like my usual work, pretty middling stuff at best!
Title: Re: New here... My first bow
Post by: TolkienFan on July 22, 2015, 09:13:21 pm
Haha just now seeing your post. I can't wait to see it!