cheap homemade bow

[colt.45]

i saw this article in my dads backwoodsman magazine about how to make a homemade fiberglass bow. i spent about $15 on it and it works!!! and it even has about a 40 lb pull (measured with a dowel and a bathroom scale). i used 4 fiberglass rods that are used for marking driveway demolitions, they use them because you can drive over em and they wont break. you can find them near the hardware section with all the other signaling equipment. i took 2 rods and cut off their pointy tips, shortened it 2-3" (both the same length) and taped a layer of electrical tape where i thought the grip should go (below the middle) and did 3-4 wraps at the ends. i then shortened another stick another 3 inches shorter, centered it and taped it the same waybut with a lot more at the tip. then i took the last stick and only cut off the pointy tip, and centered it and tape it with the grip and i then covered the whole tip with tape. i used paracord for for the bowstring and wraped the handle with it the way you would whip the end of a rope.

you now have a verry cheap bow that can probably take a deer, and defanitely a rabbit or other small animal. this bow has lots of snap and not that much cast, but it will still go trough a foam filled box and still have enough juice to splinter the back of some 1/2" plywood. i made it in about 10 minutes and took another 20 fine tuning it making knocks with tape on te ends and making it more comfortable to shoot. it would be great for survival situations

i bought another fiberglass rod just incase and it makes a verry effective spear, i wraped some para cord about 3/4 the back and it is one of the verry few things comfortable to throw. it hits hard too because it is kinda dense.

CAUTION: when cutting the fiberglass wear a resporator, the little shards will cut your lungs to ???? and hurt. also when cutting the fiberglass you cant use a conventional wood saw or it will splitner and split when you bend it. use an abrasive cuttig tool like a hacksaw or a dremel and cutoff wheels.


have fun... i did

 

[mole]

Any pictures? I wonder what a few refinements could do. I want to get into selfbows. My first attempt met with failure due to twisted grain in the wood. I haven't attempted another yet. I might try something like this first.

 

[colt.45]

i dont think this is the best method of making a bow, but its fun and good to know how to do. and i agree that tape probably isnt the best way of securing it, but in the article he said that he diped cordage in glue and tied it.

 

[1911JMB]

There are many ways to make bows. When I was younger, I made a bow out of kynex (I think thats how you spell it) that could drive a long rod clear through .5" drywall. I have also made bows out of ironwood, and yew. Additionaly, you can always come up with clever improvised designs involving bungee cords, or ever thick rubber band chains combined with a stiff shaft or pipe.

All of this is really just a fun hobby as far as I'm concerned, because a fairly good recurve can always be had for about 150 bucks.

 

[Otony]

I read that article as well (love that funky Backwoodsman magazine, BTW).

It seemed like an interesting idea, I'm glad to see someone tried it out. You might want to experiement with wrapping the rods with something like artificial sinew, or the type of cord used for fishing rod guides. A little bit of varnish (or guide dope), and you would have something assembled a bit more like some ancient composite bows.

In any case, enjoy and be careful!

 

[mole]

I've got the three volumes of "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible." One part of them speaks about bows made by tying small bambo stakes from a garden supply together to make a bow. That would probably be cheaper and easier, but much more likely to break. I've currently got my eye on a certain maple tree. I'm just waiting for the right amount of time and better weather.