Ozbow

I don't use modern shafts for my medieval arrows, I make them all by hand, as they would have been. Especially for use with warbows!! But it is quite surprising how round you can make a shaft using medieval techniques ie, a shooting board and plane. We may not have any examples of medieval arrows bu...

Looking very nice so far mate! Very tidy work on the profile

Thanks guys. Very well aware of the process of footing shafts. I have done it before but used very mediocre timbers so didn't work very well. I will be trying some again soon after I finish a few other projects off. Second thoughts, if footed shafts are period correct maybe I need to get one made up...

Took a few weeks but I finally got this thing done! Very happy with how its turned out so I'm a happy little bowyer at the moment :biggrin: I ended up shortening it by 2 inches from original length so its finished up at 80"ntn and 105lbs @30" and I think I could have taken another 2 inches...

Shes a beauty mate! Great photos as well!

Thanks lads! Modkin = Modern Bodkin... they're a machined head for a standard taper but look close to a medieval point. I've been playing around with footing shafts Grahame, but its quite tricky doing it all by hand. Seen plenty of folks do them with router tables and what not but I don't have acces...

Morning all, Just finished up binding what have probably been the most over the top set of target arrows I've ever made. They are a barrelled 11/32 POC shaft (5/16 at the nock and point). They have hand cut horn inserts to strengthen the nocks and have self nocks cut and filed. Fletchings are 6"...

Thanks lads!!

Lots of searching through timber Cadet!! Took a while to get the boards for them. Definitely do look a treat I think

Evening all, Just wanted to share a few pics of a set of bows Ive been working on for sale at the 2016 Abbey medieval festival. They are Ash backed Cypress English longbows. Draw weight ranges from 28lbs to 43lbs in the set of 8 and all are 70"ntn. All are still holding reflex after shooting th...

I agree with what you already know, mid limbs need a bit of a scrape, other than that shes a shooter and on the money! I have made several Elb's from spotty (laminates to up performance a bit but to a safe point) and its a great timber for bows. Easy to obtain and lasts ages if you look after it. De...

Thanks mate! Blokes in the UK tend to argue that side nocks were the norm in the middle ages because they are quicker to cut than a Victorian nock, im not 100% convinced myself. I order my horn from the Longbowshop in the UK, buff horn tips are about 5 dollars or so and you can usually get 2 out of ...

Evening all, Had a bow I wanted to work on at the Abbey medieval festival last year but never got a chance, too busy talking to all the folks interested in the work I had on display and asking questions about making them. I am determined to make one there this year but as for the one I had intended ...

I do make self bows as well using Aussie timbers or imported timbers and always keen to make something for someone to enjoy.

What style of bow are you after?

Colin

So sorry to hear of his passing!! Thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

His work was second to none and absolutely inspiring.

May you rest in peace mate!

Very much looking forward to making an Aussie Yew warbow Neil!! :biggrin: I dare say that will be a one of a kind for a while too!! Always interested to see what I can make into a warbow! haha definitely keen to give the CTP a crack and see what happens with it. Still waiting to see some ELB's from ...

Something light but stiff makes a good arrow. Straight grain doesn't hurt either.

Cheers Perry! Hold a straight edge up between the tips and have a look at the shape under the limbs. Seemed pretty close to me, thought the picture isn't the greatest. Haha I will have some in action at the Abbey mate! Main field at 2:45 on the Sunday :biggrin: I'll have all my bows with me at the e...

Hope to see you there Bob! We need to shake hands and have a good old chin wag!

Hoping the weathers stays good and I can drop by on the Sunday... might fling a few arrows but more than happy to just meet and talk to all you pleasant folks

Might bring a big bow along for show and tell

Colin

G'day Daryl,

Just tried that link and got the same message...

Hi all,

Just tried accessing the new tradbits website and cant seem to get it at all. just comes up with "page cannot be displayed"... Has anyone else had the same problem?

Colin

Finally managed to get a few shots of it on video and have taken a full draw one out of them. Here she is!
Not a bad bend I reckon! Tad short in the draw tho Need more practise I think!

Thanks for the kind words Bob! I owe it all to Dennis really tho, he got me started into warbows and elbs and he guided me and motivated me to perfect them. Still learning with every one I make, and this one was definitely no exception. Come along to the Abbey medieval festival and you'll see me sho...

Evening Gents, Well I got an early mark today from work so decided to spend the arvo working on the warbow, and I have a successful result! I managed to get 107# at 30 inches out of it, bang on where I wanted it between 110 and 100lbs. I was very surprised at how easy the bow was to shape and tiller...

This one is 2 boards glued together... just straight up glued, now cutting at all so the stave is 45 or so mm thick at the moment. When I cut the belly taper I will have a glue run out on the belly but it wont matter at all. It will be interesting to see how far it will go and could be a big surprise!

Hit and miss mate... some boards will make a bow, others that look the same have bad soft spots in them, though thinking about it now I was pushing the wood pretty hard

It should go ok for bows up to 50lb or so and keep them fairly long to keep the strain down a little.

Evening all, Just wanted to share a little experiment Im currently working on. I have recently been working on a set of bows that I'm making for sale at the Abbey Medieval festival in July. I have chosen ash backed cypress for the bows since it resembles Yew for the re enactors and also performs adm...

Thanks mate!! Will definitely keep you in mind when I need more!! and I will definitely be needing more down the track

Thanks for the thoughts on the prod Dave. I will need to do a few calcs to see how the composite affects the stiffness and deflection. Even if the taper is close but the tips get a bit stiff I can still tiller the horn as normal to get them moving a bit more. Interesting thoughts on the glue up tho!...

As I said, I'd ideally like to do a horn and sinew version but cant get the sinew for it, so im experimenting and improvising

I will be making a steel one one day tho!