Ozbow

Hi,
If the supplier is willing get him to send you 'twin' billets at 40" and 'Z' splice at the handle. You need to allow 4" on each limb for the splice.

Daryl.

The D section bow shown was spliced at the handle.

It is indeed a work of art along with the other magnificent bows that were on the site. This is a bench mark that we can all work toward. With modern adhesives and glass laminations we can attain these standards. All it takes is time, commitment and a bit of spare cash to buy the tools. I guess that...

Hi Dave, You did not mention the timber you have used, looks a bit like American Oak or Victorian Ash. I prefer to have the grain running edge to edge rather than back to belly but as you know every piece of timber is different. This is why I prefer to make self bows from bush billets but having sai...

Hi Daniel, 2 cm off centre will make arrow matching a lot more difficult. If you can reduce this without comprising the integrity of the bow this would be preferable. Also reduce the thickness on the belly side of the window so that the arrow makes contact to the side of the bow closer to the back. ...

Hi Daniel, I think you misunderstood my message. I was meaning left to right not up or down. Forget shooting carbons, go to woods mayby around 450 to 500 on the spine jig. Make a few arrows around this reading shoot them and then go up or down depending on performance. The lower the reading on the s...

Hi, It would appear that you all agree to disagree. In all the debate nobody has mentioned how much positive, negative or even zero tiller a bow should have. What is the tiller difference one should aim for from the fadeouts to the tips at say 6 inch intervals? I have found that self bows have their...

Hi Daniel, Regarding the arrow flight from your new bow you did not mention how far past centre the arrow shelf or knuckle is. The further the arrow is past centre the more it has to flex around the handle once you loose the arrow. Once loosed the arrow is still in contact with the string until the ...

Hi Daniel, I have found that it is better to cut the bamboo back the same as the plan of the bow and then remove the softer inner until you have an almost knife edge on the bamboo. You will find that this will give you a taper on the bamboo. The thickness of your spotted gum from handle to tip is no...

Hi, Daniel, You mentioned that you have bought some more boards. If they are spotted gum or some other hardwood you may be better off making a flat bow rather than a full'D' section bow. I have found that full 'D' section bows are better if cut from air dried bush billets.If you would like a copy of...

Hi! RBEE, I have tried to put into words the way I make a self bow. It is not the only way to make a bow but it works for me. The following text is from one of my worksheets for flat bows but the basic principles apply to all styles of self bows. Once you have cut out the basic shape try floor tille...

Hi RBEE,
The bow will be fine, training the horse will be the problem.
Daryl.

Hi RBEE, You mentioned that the limbs fail at about a 20 inch draw. How much time do you spend on the tiller board? With self bows never draw them past the desired draw weight while making them and once ready for shooting never take them to full draw with the first arrow. I normally shoot over 100 a...

RBEE, I tend to agree with Danceswithdingoes that it is a profile problem. From experience 'D' section bows aren't conducive to hardwoods unless you can get a healthy piece of late growth on the back. A flatter 'D' section could help solve the problem and maybe lighten off more from mid limb to tip....

Hi, RBEE,

If you were to cut through the limb mid way would the cross section be oval, flat or 'D' section?

Daryl.

Hi, Oliver,
The last address I have is;
Townsville Indoor Archery Centre
P.O. Box 190
Garbutt East 4814

Email; frajen@bigpond.com

Ph. 07 4724 0400

Hope the info helps.

Daryl.

RBEE, Silk backing can be ok but it won't help if you have a major failure on the back of the bow. Japanese jockey silk is supposed to be better than the silk used for suits. PVA glues work well with silk but at times you have to smoothe out air bubles with a moist finger. Also apply glue to the dul...

Hi Ed,
I you are contemplating backing the spotted gum with bamboo a lot can be learnt from Dean Torges book or video 'Hunting The Bamboo Backed Bow'. If you can't get a full length stave out of the post take twins out of the post and 'Z' splice at the handle.

Daryl.

Hi! Graeme, The pail has survived six steamings so far. You could use a metal container which is probably a lot better but at the time I only had a plastic one available. Test steam scrap timber to work out steaming times. I had to give red ash 1 1/2 hours. You can lose up to 50% of the curve once d...

Has your wooden bow run out of steam? Some flat bows that I made needed that little bit of extra grunt for the longer targets. To overcome this problem I decided to recurve the tips. I had seen photos of bows being steamed over the stove using pots, pipe and aluminium foil but this seemed too cumber...

Dave,
I will keep you up to date with photos etc but it will be a bit like the shampoo advert 'it may not happen overnight, but it will happen.'
Daryl.

Archangel, The fadeouts in the picture are of the handle for my new bow. After gluing the handle to the belly lamination I hand sand the fadeouts so that when the back lamination is glued there is a nice transition from handle to laminations. I also do this with the siyahs. The handle is 9" lo...

Hi! I have included a picture of the finished rock maple and iron bark siyah as well as a useful tool to help shape the string grooves in the siyah that can't be done with a standard round file. This tool/blade is used by ceramic tilers to cut shapes in wall tiles. It can be bent to shape to get int...

Hi! The shape of the taper depends on the width and length of the limbs. The core laminations are 35mm wide and where they meet the siyahs is about 18mm. The core (between the handle fadeout and siyah fadeout) was 21 inches. Once evaluating the dried core laminations by gently pulling the tips back ...

Hi! I have received several enquiries regarding certain details on the "Asian" style bow. The methods I use are by no means the only way to make the bow but more so what I have found what works for me. Don't be afraid to experiment. All core laminations are parallel and I cut mine from the...

Hi! Dave, The following refers to the static tip 'Asian' type bow. I am neither scientifically nor mathematically inclined. Yes I have experimented with moving the end posts in, not out during the glue ups the theory being that by pushing the tips further forward this is where their memory will be s...

Hi!
The siyahs are hard rock maple and ironbark. The grain direction is slightly offset for more strength. The fadeout in the siyahs could have been a little finer.
Daryl.

Hi! Norman, The poles I get are bleached (dried by the sun, I think and are yellow gold in colour) as poles also come in green from Asia. From memory I think I am using Mosso (not sure if the spelling is correct). I get the poles from; Bamboo Australia Pty. Ltd. 1171 Kenilworth Road Belli Park Qld (...

Hi! Dave, For ease of glue up all my centre laminations are the same width, about 35mm. On the top core lamination I have a plan of the bow marked out so I can remove the excess before gluing the final laminations. If you have a template of the plan you can use this to shape the back and belly lamin...

How many times do you hear that 'longbows are too cumbersome in the bush?' The challenge was to make a shorter one that would be effective. To achieve this goal I used a Dean Torges type of adjustable form because this allows you to make all styles of bow on a single platform. With solid forms you n...

Hi! In my last posting I neglected to mention the little string bridges that stop the string going around the siyahs or limb depending on their width once you loose the arrow. I have found that the best way to determine the position is to draw the bow (using the tiller string) to the braced position...