by admin on October 19, 2010
There are many reasons to make your own bow and arrows. Maybe you want to save money, or you prefer the ability to personalize your hunting gear, or maybe you just enjoy making the things you use. Whatever the reason, I wish you luck in your endeavor. Below I will try to give you some good information on how to accomplish making a bow and arrow.
Please be forewarned that I will not be discussing how to make a survival bow in this text. The survival bow is a primitive bow made under survival conditions suitable for close range survivalist hunting. I will be discussing techniques for making bows meant for long term use which take much more time and effort to create, but offer superior performance and individual customization.
There are numerous ways to make a bow and arrows, and you may choose to incorporate multiple styles and techniques into your bow. I will try to highlight some of the more common bow types and building techniques.
I have made numerous different bows over the years. Through trial and error, and taking into account different hunting styles, varying terrain and weather, and many other variables I have been able to create a bow that best suits me. I hope that with my help, you too will be able to make a start toward finding your ideal bow and arrows.
In this text I will cover the long bow, also called the self bow or straight bow, and the recurved bow. I will describe the materials, preparation, and techniques, how to make arrows to fit these bows, and how to fine tune your creations to fit your particular style and needs.
When making a bow and arrow, nothing teaches better than experience so lets jump in and get started.
by admin on October 18, 2010
When making a bow and arrow there are many different woods that can make a dependable bow. I prefer to use yew, ash, Osage orange, or hickory. There are many others, including honey locust, mountain mahogany, and others. You can always order wood from a hardwood dealer if your area has no suitable woods, but almost all areas have some native wood that is suitable.
As you are ranging through the woods looking to harvest a piece of wood for your bow stave try to find a piece of wood about 5 ½ foot long. If you cut a tree try to find one at least 2 ½ to 3 ¼ inches in diameter, and as free of knots and blemishes as possible, and of course as straight as possible. If you cut a sapling it will need to be 5 ½ foot long 1 inch in diameter and again as free of knots and blemishes as possible, and absolutely as straight as possible. The best time to cut a sapling is in the winter when the sap is down.
Once you have your bow staves cut you will need to season them to let the wood dry out. Keep them in a wood shed or some other sheltered place that is outside for a month or so. Once the stave has dried for a bit you will want to move them inside to season for as much as a year, keeping them in a cool dry place. The reason you begin the process outside is because you don’t want to bring them inside right away because it is too dry and may cause the wood to split or weaken.
Next you must remove the bark. Hold your knife at a 90 degree angle to the wood to avoid cutting into the wood. Next if you are using a sapling you will want to split very carefully down its middle. If you are lucky both halves will be usable and you can make two staves from the single sapling.
If you chose to use a small tree split it once down the middle and then in half again. If careful you can get four staves from a single 3 inch tree.
All further shaping will be done with abraders, scrapers, and sanders. Any carving may weaken the bow in unforeseen ways and make the bow prone to split.
Now the bow staves are ready to begin making the bow. Before you begin you will want to make a close inspection of the wood. Look closely at the wood grain, its quality, and what pattern it grew to help decide how it would best be shaped.
If using softwood I find that a wide thin bow is best to prevent cracking, as softwood tends to splinter easier than hardwood. If using hardwood you will do well to make a bit narrower and thicker bow because they are not as brittle as softwood. If you decide to back your bow with sinew, which we will discuss later, it will make little difference which you choose as the backing will help prevent splitting.
