Tri Laminate Carriage Bow.

How to make a Bow, a String or a Set of Arrows. Making equipment & tools for use in Traditional Archery and Bowhunting.

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greybeard
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Tri Laminate Carriage Bow.

#1 Post by greybeard » Mon Nov 30, 2020 11:17 am

From; https://www.archerylibrary.com/books/

https://www.archerylibrary.com/books/ford/

Archery, its theory and practice by H. A. Ford, 2nd Edition, 1859.

“As regards backed-bows other than yew, it has already been observed that they are inferior to the two sorts just treated of. But it must not be supposed from this that it is intended to affirm that they are bad or unfit for the Archer's use—on the contrary, if properly made, they are good and serviceable weapons, only less to be recommended than the two kinds of yew-bows; neither must the idea be adopted from what has been said respecting the superiority of yew as a wood for bows, that therefore all yew-bows are necessarily good or better than those of other woods; such is far from being the case, for a backed-bow, well made of a good piece of Fustic, Washaba, or Lance, is decidedly better than either a self or backed one made of inferior yew. It is only to the best samples of yew-bows of either kind that the foregoing remarks are intended to apply.”

“There is a bow called the "carriage-bow," which here requires some notice. It is made to divide, in the centre by means of an iron or brass socket fixed to the lower limb of the bow—something similar to the joint of a fishing-rod, in fact. The only object attained, however, is that it enables the Archer when travelling to carry his bow in a smaller compass: but to obtain this, much additional weight is added to the bow, rendering it heavy in hand, and unpleasant in use. The remedy here, therefore, is worse than the disease.”

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I had some shorter lengths of various bow woods that did not lend themselves to splicing so they became the ideal candidate for a carriage bow.

The back of the bow is Hickory, the core is of some dubious Osage and the belly is Degame.

The tip overlays are black wood and hopefully give the appearance of being fashioned from buffalo horn.

Fitting the brass sleeves is reasonably easy, just a little time consuming.
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The glued up limbs are left full width in case the fitted sleeves a little out of alignment. When both limbs have their fitting they can be brought together in the outer sleeve and a true centreline can be obtained and the bows limb plan marked out.

In essence the bow can now be finished in a similar manner to a one piece bow.

N to N is 70” and the bow draws 40# @ 28” and unfortunately I missed the target weight of 45#.

Tiller has moved a bit but I will wait until more arrows are loosed to see how much it changes and then make the appropriate adjustment.
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To preserve the integrity of the tip overlays a double loop bow stringer is needed hence the second string groove in the upper tip.
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Tip Compilation.jpg
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A leather handle wrap has to be applied.

Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

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Stickbow Hunter
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Re: Tri Laminate Carriage Bow.

#2 Post by Stickbow Hunter » Mon Nov 30, 2020 12:14 pm

Nice work Daryl. The limbs have a nice bend to them.

Jeff

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Re: Tri Laminate Carriage Bow.

#3 Post by Rhino1 » Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:42 am

Well done Daryl that sleeve and bow build is so slick, looks really good mate
"As far as I can tell my place is right here, on the smart end of this rifle" H.Glass-Revenant.

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greybeard
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Re: Tri Laminate Carriage Bow.

#4 Post by greybeard » Tue Dec 08, 2020 3:46 pm

The sleeve system works well when you need to use every inch of the billet.

Usually I like to make self longbows 68” n to n. With sleeves I can use 2 x 35” pieces, if splicing it requires a minimum of 2 x 37” pieces of wood.

It may not sound like much but it can make a difference in bow design.

Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

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