r/Bowyer

I finally got around to working on one of my last year's staves and started whittling my first test bow from it.

I have reached a point where it's starting to bend the way a bow should, though not quite there yet, and it has gotten me wondering, is there a point where the thickness is a liability rather than a way to increase the strength?

I'd assume yes, considering the difference in stretching/compression the cellulose on one end has to undergo vs the other, but where is it, and how to tell it?

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BTW: Not really asking for advice, but if you're curious or have any, the stave is from a young-ish(not quite a sapling) black locust tree, ~130cm long, ~3.5-4cm wide, with sapwood on one side and heartwood the another, it's slightly twisted(a few degrees) and curved(inner curve on sapwood side), so that the bowstring will be slightly to the side of the bow when strung. Any specific advice on this would also be welcome but is besides the point for the topic.

Planning on raw hide backing for the first time. I’m going with Rd Oak and Maple.

- both are long, re oak 69” ntn, 2”wide tapering at 14” to 1/2” tip.

Maple 70” ntn, 1 1/2 wide, tapering at 14” to 1/2” tip.

Both have a glued on handle section non bending 8” rise including fades.

Anyone who knows:

- how much do you / should you/ do you, round the edges of the back?

- how much would/should you round the edges of the belly?

Bit of an niche question but here's what I mean. You know how on a mollagabets type bow the limb ends fade into "fin" structures to add stiffness while keeping the weight down. Could you make that exact shape, but with a glued on piece of wood, faded down to fit, and have it perform the same as a solid limb that's carved to shape?

I have this idea for a fantasy style bow - often in fantasy art the limb tips have a kind of triangular flare that touches the string for a few inches and fills in the space between the limb tip and the bow. It would be good real estate for carving or other decoration. To make it more functional you could do it narrow and deep, mollagabets style, and just extend the flares a little bit. What do you guys think

How do you customise your bow?

I think I am nearly finished with my first bow, I need to shoot it few hundred times and sand it down before coating it. I am trying to think of something to cusomise it and make it look cooler, besides the handle wrap.

Any advice or experiences you could share? Thank you in advance

I was working on a short self bow 38" and got it shooting good at around 12" draw length. When I measured the string it was a bit under 34".

I know strings for finished bows should be 3-4" shorter than the bow. Did I finish the bow?

If I did, I will post a full bow after shooting it and adding finishing touches.

Thank you for any advice

I live in a dense Hemlock forest and I prefer to do this the traditional way where I don’t get any thing from a hardware store and beech likes to hang out around the Hemlock I know that pine is terrible. I’ve heard that beech is similar to White Oak provided you give it the right care. I plan on tiltering using the char and scrape method.

Hi...I asked my father if he could get me a black locust tree trunk, after all he told me that there were some trees in some areas where he works but in the end he got me a long branch of a olive tree, probably 1.90 m or a little more, smooth bark without knots on the affected part, and its thickness should be about 5 cm.

Obviously I don't have a caliper to make an accurate measurement , but what I know is that the olive tree can have slightly twisted and wide veins, obviously I have other materials that I can use

Well ok they are still trees like black locust, tree of heaven, pear and also laurel "Laurus nobilis"

I set aside several hours to work on my hickory selfbow over the weekend. My daughters had different plans. They decided half of the time that it was their turn with the draw knife.

Let's see, I lost time to invest in my hobby, but my kids are getting into it? Seems like the best possible outcome.

Note: For anyone concerned about the strength of the boards in the shave horse. First, you're absolutely right. It broke on the first use. What you see in the picture has more than twenty 3.5" lag screws running across every fracture plane like rebar. After the screws were added it withstood my full leg strength clamping down on the stave.