Making My Longbow

[Tom Alker]

Hey guys,

As a few of you guys know, forum member Perry has been teaching me to make a wooden self bow using only hand tools. So far we've spent 20+ hours on it, As I'm learning and new to all this It's taking us quite some time but so far I'm really enjoying the experience. I am fairly sure the wood is Blood Wood and was difficult to work with using a Tomahawk that i had no skill with, After a while i really got the hang of it and was taking off nice shavings each hit. The bow is currently 78", This is to allow for mistakes on my part.

Also, The explanation parts are just for people who may not know what I'm on about, I know a lot of you guys are skilled in this so this will just be noob chatter on my part





At this stage i still couldn't "see" the bow in the timber, It was still a hunk of wood to me but Perry insisted there was a bow laying in the stave i just had to learn to see it.
But after a few more hours i really started to see the bow, It was a really rough bow, But i saw it!





After some more work i could feel the wood becoming much lighter, It felt closer to a bow now instead of a log or stave. We erased the old guide lines and Perry penciled on a rough bow design on the back of the bow/stave, I used these lines as a guide and worked the wood down to the pencil marks. Note: The stave has some kind of paint on the back of it, It will be scraped off eventually.





Now we're getting down to the fun part - Tillering.
This has been the most exciting part for me as I'm now seeing the limbs bend and the bow is taking shape. It's quite tedious, I'll scrape some, Bend test, Scrape some, Bend test and I repeat that to find stiff points and points that are bending too much. I have to "Follow the Feathering/Growth Rings" Which is exposing growth rings in the bow and feathering/tapering them down the stave, I'm still learning to do this and I do find it quite difficult being color deficient (Somewhat color blind, Colors that are similar are very difficult for me to separate, They tend to Blend into one color)







Still have a lot of work to go, But here is a pic of the bow and a bend test



I will try to keep this up to date, Some more bend tests then we hope to put string nocks in, Thanks for reading if you made it this far, All help is appreciated and encouraged.

Thanks people,
Tom.

"Edit: Changed wood type to Blood Wood from Blue Gum"

"Edit: MORE PICS DOWN BELOW!"

[GrahameA]

Morning Tom.

Good for you. You will learn lots of things making the bow.

When you shoot the first arrow out of it it will seem like the greatest bow ever made and getting that far is a huge accomplishment.

[bigbob]

Congratulations on your efforts so far Tom! From a distance it is looking very good., and you have a great mentor in Perry [ Keep him away from Gazza's barrel of port!] As Grahame says once you accomplish your task successfully you will have the best bow in the world!

[Gringa Bows]

Looking good so far

[Stickbow Hunter]

All going great by the looks of things. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Jeff

[Tom Alker]

Thanks all.

[daniel boon]

Well done Tom, looks good so far

[The Hunt]

Good stuff Tom I will be sure to follow future posts

[Tom Alker]

Cheers lads.

[Peregrine]

Wicked! Keep the pics coming -looking good!

[yeoman]

I may have missed this detail: what kind of wood is it?

[Goatchaser]

from what I read he is pretty sure it is blue gum.

[Tom Alker]

I think its blue gum

[gazza]

i,m pretty sure its blood wood ,gazza.

[Tom Alker]

Gazza would be the one to know fellas he supplied the stave, must be blood wood then

cheers.

[Keith Lee]

Good ona Tom looking good.

[Ronster]

Onya Tom, looking good. Keep the progress updates coming.

Ronster

[Tom Alker]

Hope to have it shooting by the hinterland trad shoot, thanks fellas

[perry]

Morning Folks, when Tom started chipping out this Stave he had zero experience with Hand Tools and it has been great to see him develop some Skills as he uses them. I was a little cruel to him in the dimensions of the Stave I presented him as it was about 4" wide and 4" deep, there was a lot of Timber to remove and as Gary had Sawn it there where a few places I could see were going to be a little problematic.

He was a little Freaked at using the Tomahawk, especially as it was scary Sharp but by the end of day One he was delivering neat controlled Blows. Lots of talking Archery and explaining this and that has slowed progress some but once he switched from the Hawk to a Farriers Rasp and Scraper it has been a pleasure watching his Face and the Wonder in his eyes as the Bow has began to emerge from the Stave.

One good thing to come out of presenting Tom with such a large Stave has been the volume of wood chips and shavings we've cleaned up after each Visit. I have been using the Chips and Shavings in my Firebox Wood Stove http://amtcgear.com.au/products_detail. ... ductID=255 [ TOP piece of Kit ] to Cook my Breaky and Brew a Coffee each Saturday Morning, still got a couple of months supply of Firewood and were not done yet

The last visit did test his resolve some, had to stop him and suggest he take Stock and steady up a few times and to Toms credit he Listened [ very refreshing for a Young Fella ] and persevered with Chasing the Growth Rings. I'll let you into a Clue Tom, if establishing the Thickness Taper by chasing and ensuring the Growth Rings are Centred got Tedious, wait for the real Tillering to begin

Toms coming around after Lunch today, I need at get to the Optometrist as I lost my Glasses. I'd love to devote more time to Toms Selfbow as it is dragging on some but reality's of Family Life are getting in the way. We'll get a few more Hours in with the Rasp and Cabinet Scraper this arvo. Hoping to get a string on it early and keep him Calm enough to at least get the Tillering perfect at Brace, no Rush Mate, we'll see how we go ! and sooner than later you'll be chopping them out in 8 Hours instead of 28

Little does he know but the hard work is soon to begin - we'll be Crafting a set of Primitive Arrows, from Bamboo or some Pine Saplings!!!!!

regards Jacko

[Ronster]

Onya too Perry, mate it is really good to see! Give yourself a big pat on the back for the time and knowledge you are extending to Tom.

Oh by the way, I can put you up if you want to spend some time teaching me

Ronster

[perry]

Ron, sorry Mate not a Yes / No Answer - I would love to see a Traditional Archery and associated Skills Rendezvous held in conjunction with an established Trad Shoot. A long weekend TRad Shoot would mean a 3 or 4 Day event could be held and the Comp and the Schooling would compliment the entire Shoot and draw Archers from all over. There is a gaping hole in this regard. There is a lot of knowledgeable Folks out there who would jump at an opportunity like this to hand on their Knowledge in Crafting all manor of Traditional Archery Equipment.

When I win Lotto I will buy my own Rural Block and hold such a Rendezvous

I am very happy to attend any Trad Shoot I am able too and spend my time teaching anyone who would listen to what I have learned instead of having a Shot. If someone is prepared to wait for me to have time as Tom graciously has, I will share what Time I can afford and share what I know at my place between Trad Shoots the odd Hunting Trip and my Family time

regards Jacko

[Tom Alker]

If someone is prepared to wait for me to have time as Tom graciously has, I will share what Time I can afford and share what I know at my place between Trad Shoots the odd Hunting Trip and my Family time

regards Jacko

Perry,

Can't thank you enough for the time spent you've spent teaching me so far mate, Really appreciate it.

Sorry i couldn't make it today, Went suit shopping for the big interview

Thanks mate,

Tom.

[bigbob]

Have to give us any updates tom or Perry.I would like to add my thanks to you Perry for the time and experience you are donating to young Tom. Good to see and really hope he gets a good bow out of the 'hunk of wood'.

[Tom Alker]

hey bob,

Going over to perrys tomorrow after lunch, If i can get a string on the twig ill post pics for sure Any luck finding your replacement sander?

[bigbob]

Good to hear Tom, I'll be away for a while but look forward to seeing some photos once I get back. Re the sander , yep all good and up and running now.

[Tom Alker]

Got a string on it guys, Check out the pics

This was the first time we braced the bow lightly with a long string.




This was after a few Scrapes off the stiffer limb, Evening up nicely.




After a few more scrapes..






A ground shot, At this point guys im getting excited. I want to fling arrows!




This photo demonstrates the propeller twist in the limb, It's exaggerated due to the string being thrown forward by the tillering tree thus tilting the bow on an angle.




This picture shows markings on the bow in 2 inch increments. The idea is to try to maintain the same distance from string to belly at the same points on the Top and Bottom Limb. Measuring is the safest way as just eye balling it is risky and not as precise.





Also guys just a quick snap of the bow perry has been working on while i am working on mine, It's an awesome seagull in flight shape when unstrung.


Thanks guys. Hope you can follow the drawing i made, Not the best at explaining things. Next steps are to continue tillering then Perrys going to teach me to make a bowstring for it.
Take it easy.

[bigbob]

looking great Tom but its always best if possible to take your shots on the tiller tree front on, so we can get a good look at the tiller.i know with Perry guiding you things will be as they should be but just for us to cast a critical eye over.

[Tom Alker]

Roger that bob, will have a pic front on tomorrow. cheers

[yeoman]

Coming along great!

[KellyG]

Well it is looking good for sure. And that is a nice straight stick to start with for sure.