her first wooden bow!

[shamus]

After getting my True Love started on an Pearson All American recurve, I made her a white oak selfbow. The bow is 62" long, 23# @26". Cane grip. 4 coats of helmsman spar urethane. She likes the selfbow a lot better than the recurve. I went for a more elliptical tiller in order to eke some extra performance from the lighter draw weight.

More details here.

 

[shamus]

The handle:

 

[mole]

Excellant work. I've been wanting to try white oak, but haven't found a decent peice of wood yet.

I sanded and started applying the finish (Tru-Oil) to my neice's pecan bow just a few hours ago. I'm giving it to her Friday. If we keep this up the gals will outnumber the guys.

 

[Voodoochile]

Beautiful bow you have there & you are a very lucky man to have a True Love that also like Archery & shooting like you do.

 

[Jason_G]

Nice. Have you ever done Osage? If so, how does the white oak compare in terms of workability?

Jason

 

[Mikke]

Very nice. Almost makes me thinking about making another bow even though I have barely tried the one I made almost 12 years ago (ouch, can it really be that long ago ).

 

[JCT]

I've been thinking of making a long bow this summer. I have these hard woods around here; Hornbeam, Red and White Oak, Ash, Elm, Black Cherry, Birch, basswood. Which would be the best choice for the bow? I'm thinking that Hornbeam would be good, but I don't yet know much about bow making.

 

[sixgunner455]

Just about any wood can be used, or so I've heard from some who do this. Look for something with no knots.

Ash is a very traditional bowyer's wood.

http://nativeskills.madduckoutdoors.com/bow_making.htm

My father makes bows all the time, when he isn't making knives or plinking at nutria in the pond. Retirement must be fun. He nags at me to give it a try. Maybe someday.

 

[shamus]

Have you ever done Osage? If so, how does the white oak compare in terms of workability?

Osage is one of the primary woods I use. The oak is less dense, and works a little easier.

A lot of woods can make a bow. It depends on matching the right design to the species of wood.

I have these hard woods around here; Hornbeam, Red and White Oak, Ash, Elm, Black Cherry, Birch, basswood. Which would be the best choice for the bow?

short answer: all of them. If the hornbeam is hop hornbeam, then that's is a good, dense wood for bows. Black cherry is excellent in compression, but needs a backing usually. Birch works well. Elm is great, as is ash. You can go here for more info on bow-making, and I also have some links/info on my website.

 

[give]

you made that?thats awsome,love wooden bows

 

[wheelgunslinger]

that's a great looking bow.

I'm actually gearing up to start making more bows and wooden boats (canoes and small sailers) this year since I can't afford hotrods anymore (fuel). It's neat to see just how many people are into making their own stuff.

 

[telomerase]

Very nice. Next, you can introduce her to Fire and the Wheel.

 

[shamus]

Thanks for the compliments. Really, there's people out there more talented than me. I can make decently tillered bow, but there are real artists out there.

Very nice. Next, you can introduce her to Fire and the Wheel

Ha ha ha! I introduced here to handguns first, then moved to archery. She likes the ruger .22 (click link for the thread)

 

[alemonkey]

Very nice...I have a similar oak bow with a 45# draw that I've never shot. I need to get some arrows for it. Is there anywhere you guys recommend for buying wood arrows for a bow like this? No place local to me has anything other than carbon and aluminum

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I've been thinking of making a long bow this summer. I have these hard woods around here; Hornbeam, Red and White Oak, Ash, Elm, Black Cherry, Birch, basswood. Which would be the best choice for the bow? I'm thinking that Hornbeam would be good, but I don't yet know much about bow making.

I'm FAR from an expert, but according to my neighbor who has made bows for many decades of his life, some of your best woods that are indigenous to the New World are:

-- Osage Orange (sometimes known as B'ois D'arc - pronounced "Bow-Dark"). This tree is in the Mulberry family
-- Lemonwood (native to Cuba)

Of those two, Lemonwood is preferred by most bow makers, as I understand things.

Yew wood and Bamboo are also great bow woods, and are now grown in the U.S., but IIRC they are both native to the old world originally.

There's a couple other woods that are supposed to make *decent* bows: One is called "Hop Hornbeam" (which you refer to in your post) and the other is Red Elm (aka "Slippery Elm").

Beyond that, here's a quote I found on a self bow site:

Ash, hickory, black walnut, sassafras, ironwood, mulberry, apple and many other native woods have been made into bows. These woods are not true bow woods, but have been used only because nothing better was at hand. They produce bows that shoot fairly well in the beginning, but they soon lose cast and become flabby and weak. When they dry out thoroughly they become brittle and break.

So I'd probably run with the Hornbeam, among those options.



*********************************
Fine job, shamus - nice work!

 

[shamus]

Osage and pacific yew are very traditional woods. They make a good, narrow bow. Lemonwood also makes a good bow. It was preferred back in the 30s-50s because it was readily available in board stock, inexpensive, and lent itself to mass produced wooden bows. Once fiberglass came on the scene, mass produced wooden bows fell out of favor.

Other good woods: hickory, hornbeam, maple, white oak, red and white elm, walnut, mulberry, sassafras, juniper, birch, hackberry, ash, etc.

The list is too big to include here. If the wood has a specific gravity of .50+, then odds are it can be good bow wood. Sometimes a specific species has certain properties that have to be accounted for in design (hickory retains moisture, black locust can fret, cherry is lightly weak in tension, etc).

Match the right design to the wood species and lots of woods can make a bow.

Check out the previously mentioned links I posted and you'll see there are countless species of wood that can be turned into a bow.

 

[Jason_G]

Osage Orange (sometimes known as B'ois D'arc - pronounced "Bow-Dark"). This tree is in the Mulberry family

Just wanted to add that these trees are also called "horse apple trees" in the South. For the longest time I was into traditional archery, and wondered what the hell an osage orange tree looked like. I just figured they didn't grow in the South. It wasn't 'till later, after seeing a picture of the actual tree, that I finally realized what they are. Very common around here, just under a different name.

Jason

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Yep, they drop those giant "horse apples" - look like softball/grapefruit sized fruits, but green and bumpy.