more bow stuff - I'm on a roll

[spidey]

I was so psyked about getting that hornbow to work, I went right out and cut up another set of horns. I also have another wood-horn core made for another bow.


The first 2 pics is of how the strips are cut from the raw horns. The others are just pics of the wood-horn core showing the splices. The handle wood is Yellowheart and the limbs are TarTar Maple. The siyahs (the curved ears on the ends) are Oak. I will upload a picture of a siyah to show you the shape.

[spidey]

Here is a siyah.

[Puddles]

Very cool! You should share this stuff in the general chat section too!

[spidey]

Here is another bow I made. This is a plains Indian style hornbow. Now, only a few tribes made hornbows and they were usually from sheep horn but I couldn't get any sheep horn. I actually used baleen (from a whale). It turned out to be softer and not as durable as horn. The lower limb actually failed after several months of shooting. The baleen buckled but the wood core did not crack. I will strip off the baleen and replace with buffalo horn to repair this bow. It has a heavy sinew backing and the sinew is covered (and protected) with copperhead skin.

This bow is all one piece of wood (Black Locust). Unlike the oriental style hornbows, there are no siyahs as such. The tips are strongly reflexed by the sinew. As it dries, it shortens and pulls the limbs into a reflex like that. This has the effect of making the bow more powerful. This is one of my best sinew jobs. Note that the limbs are evenly reflexed and balanced. The bow is 51" long nock to nock and drew 52 lbs at a 27" draw before that baleen buckled. It shot my 460 grain hunting arrows at 182 ft/sec. It remains to be seen what the poundage will be when I replace the baleen with horn.

[Puddles]

I'd like a pair of shoes made from that copperskin!

I don't know how you have the patience for this stuff. It would drive me batty!

[spidey]

Very cool! You should share this stuff in the general chat section too!

You think so?

OK, I will move this thread to chat along with the first thread.

[babyblues]

Dude! That's friggin awesome!!!! I love that stuff! I've been wanting to try to make a self-bow for a while now. I have some deer leg tendons, some hide glue and some ash staves that I want to use to make a sinew backed bow. Have you tried to make a sinew backed bow?

How did you get started? What resources would you recommend to learn more about bow making? I have "Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans" by Jim Hamm. I know that he's written "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible" vol 1 and 2 also and I saw another book on Amazon, "Making Indian Bows and Arrows, The Old Way". Have you read any of these? If so what do you think?

[spidey]

Dude! That's friggin awesome!!!! I love that stuff! I've been wanting to try to make a self-bow for a while now. I have some deer leg tendons, some hide glue and some ash staves that I want to use to make a sinew backed bow. Have you tried to make a sinew backed bow?

How did you get started? What resources would you recommend to learn more about bow making? I have "Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans" by Jim Hamm. I know that he's written "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible" vol 1 and 2 also and I saw another book on Amazon, "Making Indian Bows and Arrows, The Old Way". Have you read any of these? If so what do you think?

Ash makes a fine long bow. I would definitely start with that or some other white wood like Hickory as those are more forgiving of the inevitable little mistakes you will make on your first few bows. Woods like Yew, Osage or Mulberry I would save until later when you have worked out the kinks. Those woods are harder to work and are more finicky but they yield superior bows.

For a self bow, the only tools you REALLY need are a draw knife and a bench vice. Things like a band saw and a good scraper make the work much easier though. Make sure the draw knife is shaving sharp so you can make delicate shavings and get around pin knots, etc.

I would recommend "hunting the Osage Bow" by Dean Torgeson and a few others I can't think of from the top of my head. I will come back tomorrow and list another one or two.

Yes, I have made sinew backed bows. There are a few tricks to learn about that process. I will go more into detail tomorrow. For a short "long bow" of 62" to 64", you will need probably 8 or 10 decent sized leg tendons or 10 to 15 back strap tendons. The back tendons are easier to shred and process but some think leg tendons are superior for strength. I myself have not noticed any real difference in the quality of the finished bow so I always get back sinew now. They are a little more expensive but the saving in time and effort is worth it.

[NYCmitch25]

thats pretty wild bro... i like the copperhead.

[spidey]

I have just been swamped this past few weeks. Sorry I didn't come back like I said I would.

Yes, I have read "Making Indian Bows and Arrows, The Old Way" though I can't name the author off-hand; good book. There is also a book called "Making Cherokee Bows and Arrows" that is very instructional. I got this book because I have Cherokee blood (though not much I admit) and I thought it would be cool to make an authentic Cherokee bow. The book by Dean Torges has his email in the back and he will often answer simple questions if you get stuck. I have also called the author of the cherokee book and he seems friendly and willing to answer questions on bow-making as well.

Other little things of interest: There is a good recipe for hide glue in the book you mentioned ("Making Indian Bows and Arrows, The Old Way". ) so you can make your own glue.

If you have any other specific questions, let me know and I will attempt to answer them.

[babyblues]

Where do you get your hide glue? You had mentioned that you were able to get some good stuff that was stronger than most commercially available stuff. I have a bag of the grain stuff that you add water to. I guess it will work well enough for starters, but I want to use the good stuff when I have a couple of bows under my belt.

[spidey]

I get mine from a bowyer in Gastonia, NC. His name is Vinson Miner and his website is www.bowsofwood.com . His contact info is on his site.

[house1]

thats awesome spidey