Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Ansio on March 31, 2016, 12:48:22 pm
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Where does everyone buy the wood to make your bows? Are you buying blanks or just lumber?
Thanks
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That's a really broad questions. You could buy lumber, staves, or blanks. Or, you could cut your own wood.
Mostly, it depends on where you live and $$$.
The wood sold at super stores is basically all trash.
What are you looking to accomplish?
P.s. Also, where are you and...welcome to PA!
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I wanted to try my hand at making a bow. I saw a place that sells hickory and other
types of wood as 2x4 i wasnt sure if the would work or not.
when you say cut your own wood, do you mean from a tree? if that is the case wouldn't you have to cut and store the wood for like a year before you could use it?
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Hi and welcome to PA.You've come tp the right place of you want to build a bow.
First of all, the best option is to cut your own wood from a live tree. You'll have to seal the end to prevent cracks and split it, then let it season from a few months to a year (or many years). You can go to YouTube and search for "making a primitive bow" by 'primitive pathways' or by 'primitive tim'. These are great tutorials. Clay Hayes also have an excellent video series on bow building.
If you don't want to wait, you can make a board bow. Especially if you'r a first timer. It's better to ruin a 6$ worth board then a 200$ worth stave. Serch in the "How to's and build a longs" section of the forum. Tons of info there.
Good luck.
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If you have permission to cut trees for bow wood, that is the way to go, if not you buy boards or staves where ever you can.
Once you start making bows it is very hard to stop so stockpiling wood is part of the progression.
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I would suggest you to make a sapling bow. Cut a small diameter sapling preferably from tension strong woods like hickory and then make that into bow. It is fairly simple if the stave is clean and it takes a short time for it to season.
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The hickory should work just fine, Find a board with the best grain it dosn't have to be perfect, then rip a 1/8 thick board off of it, flip it around backwards and glue it on then build your bow the 1/8 inch strip will be your backing just incase you grain isn't perfect , you can use Tite-Bond 3 to glue it together.
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Thanks guys!
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I just cut two hazel branches from a nearby thicket. You can always contact the people who trim and cut down trees for a living. They might get their hands on some nice woods.
I've already built a bow from hazel and I'm going to start on a elb type bow with a high crowned back and a flat belly.
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Here's a good board bow tutorial that is on my website. It was originally written by Mickey "The Ferret" Lotz.
http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm (http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm)
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I started out making bows by buying cheap red oak from Lowe's - just make sure that the grain runs mostly straight from one end to the other, and you'll be good to go.
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I have never had good luck with lumber. Except IPE from flooring stores. I think the kiln drying process is not as good as natural drying. Just an opinion. Hickory is plentiful around here in MD, so getting your hands on some in the woods legally isn't a problem. I also developed a relationship with some small mills around here. Most loggers around here harvest hickory for pallets and such, and keep the oak for furniture, and flooring. I also keep my eyes peeled on craigslist for osage because most firewood sellers just cut it up, and that's a crying shame. Fleabay is also an option for staves.
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I with big country on the mill idea. It you contact your state or fed agency forest service reps, ask a logger or consultant, they will tell you where you can find the nearest specialty hardwood mill. Every one I've been to has a bin of wood you can walk in off the street and look through at decent prices. But it's based on the local market and what trees grow there for 100 miles in every direction.
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My site may help you too.
Red oak, provided you choose straight grained stock will do fine.
You could build some board bows while waiting for wood yo cut to dry.
Jawge
http://traditionalarchery101.com/
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PM ME WELL WORK SOMETHING OUT.
I have HICKORY, AMERICAN ELM, SUGUR BERRY, MULLBERRY STAVES. ALL SEASONED 8 TO 12 YEARS.
I ALSO HAVE A COUPLE FLOWERING DOGWOOD. THEY'VE BEEN SEASONING 16 YEARS.
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I steal most of it. I just cut a bunch of mulberry growing in a ditch beside a road. It was outside the fence, so I assume it belongs to the city. They have also cut it back repeatedly, so it won't grow out into the road, thus, I assume they don't care.
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Good advice above BUT the grain on any board should be next to flawless if you plan on making it unbacked. Beginners rarely choose great boards as reading grain isn't the easiest thing to do with no experience of what to look for. The only thing holding any unbacked bow together is unbroken wood fibers running the full length of your bow. If you can't find a perfectly straight grained board find some rawhide and plan on backing it from the start.
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Saplings with a bendy handle are easiest and fastest IMO, unless you happen to find a very good board right away.
But wrong time of year to cut saplings as the under bark surface now only has weaker early wood. Leaving that aside saplings are my first choice for beginners.
Cut a branch 150 to 180 cm (5-6'), rough out a thickness profile (leave full width), debark the back (leaving till here protected it against accidents), seal it with a thin layer of carpenter's glue (two coats at the ends) and let it dry for a few weeks in the driest place you can find (not full sunlight).
Wheigh the stave regularly to monitor moisture losses. When it stops losing moisture you gave what you need.
Better start with a handful of staves, some may warp or split nonetheless.
Branches or saplings: as few lateral shoots as possible on the back. There are dozens (hundreds) of species you can use for this, but avoid conifers other than yew as well as the poplar family (cottonwood, willow, poplar, aspen, ...) and alder.