Where to get wood?

[bradywadywoo]

I'd like to try my hand at making a bow and have searched through past posts on this forum and have found a few tip for what woods to use, such as Red Ash wood, spotted gum. But the problem im having is where to get these woods. I'm guessing I cant just go down to bunnings and pick up a plank. I also don't want to wait years so I would rather not have to cut it myself and dry it.

Also out of the options I have seen on this forum which would be easiest for a beginner?

Thanks a bunch,

Brad

Edit: I'm right next to Brisbane's CBD

[little arrows]

hello and welcome. It would be helpful if you mentioned the area you are in, then people can direct you from there.

cheers
sue

[bradywadywoo]

Ah true that would be useful wouldn't it thanks added the location to the original post

[little arrows]

then why don't you see if you can get to the Hinterland Trad shoot at Gavin over this weekend and you can have a yarn to Greybeard, gazza and a few other bowyers there. They can give you some pointers, and also let you know where they source their timbers from.

that sounds like a plan.

cheers
sue

[bradywadywoo]

Yeah I saw that as-well looks like a great time, but unfortunately I have 1 birthday and 3 assignments for uni. If only I had seen the event earlier I would have been able to go and speak to them. Hopefull

[hunterguy1991]

G'day Brad,

Firstly welcome to the forum

I'm located near Woodford, hour or so north of Brisbane. What style of bow are you wanting to make, what draw weight are you looking for, budget for materials, access to tools?

I have been having a good deal of success with "English style" longbows made from boards that I have picked up at Masters and backed with 100% linen cloth from Spotlight... Masters often has good stocks of Spotted gum decking boards in their trade section and Red Oak in the dressed timbers section, both of which are great materials to start off with. Just try to find one with the straightest grain possible. These were what my first bows came from, and the best bit, they're pretty cheap!! Masters also stock the Titebond lll glue that's used to glue the linen backing on.

These bows can be made for less than 50 bucks (plus a good bit of elbow grease depending what tools you've got) and in a relatively short time frame.

Check out my thread entitled "Basic English longbow for beginners" for some templates by Dennis and some of the bows I've made.

Hope that helps you out.

Colin

[Nezwin]

I'd like to try my hand at making a bow and have searched through past posts on this forum and have found a few tip for what woods to use, such as Red Ash wood, spotted gum. But the problem im having is where to get these woods. I'm guessing I cant just go down to bunnings and pick up a plank. I also don't want to wait years so I would rather not have to cut it myself and dry it.

Also out of the options I have seen on this forum which would be easiest for a beginner?

Thanks a bunch,

Brad

Edit: I'm right next to Brisbane's CBD

Brad,

I'm a great advocate for www.poorfolkbows.com. Although he's American, Sam Harper does a great job of explaining simple ways of doing things. A great place to start for a beginner. Replace American Red Oak with Spotted Gum, Balau, Blackbean or Ironbark, and you should be able to put together a fairly decent flatbow from a board without great expense.

When I lived in Brisbane I was able to source timbers from any number of timber mills & agents on Sandgate Road, up near Geebung & Virginia. I'm sure there's plenty about elsewhere in the city.

Good luck and, always remember, be patient! Your first bow won't be your best and you'll find reason to make more and more as time goes on...

Neil

[bradywadywoo]

Thanks for the quick replies

Had a look at your English bow Colin looks like a whole heap of fun, So I guess I can just go down to bunnings or masters and get a board. As for budget I could go ahead and say $200(but Cheapest is best) I'm not to sure on what's reasonable I have a shed full of all sorts of tools so I'm sure I'd be able to find something to help me. As for draw weight and style of bow these are things I haven't even thought of, but to be honest as this is the first one I'm going to say easiest type of bow which seems like the type of bow which the site Neil posted refers to. Back to the draw weight I'm not sure I've done a bit of googling and it says for a 20 year old beginner it should be 26 pounds, does that sound right?

Cheers,
Brad

[hunterguy1991]

Brad,

I would recommend getting a red oak board from masters... It is a pretty versatile timber and can be used in quite a few different designs. A dressed board 40mm wide by 19mm thick and 1.8m long is what you want.

As for bow designs, have a look through the posts on here and you'll get an idea of different designs, but flat bows are a basic design that's fairly simple to make.

As far as draw weight for a beginner, something around 30-35lbs would be a good fit I reckon.

keep us posted on your progress.

Colin

[bigjimaus]

If you are looking for more fancy stuff http://www.lazaridestimber.com.au they have a good selection of imported and native timber. They are located in Banyo just north of Brisbane airport and open half days on Saturday . wow how did i find this old thread lol.