Help For My First Bow

[Angus J]

Hi Guys,

I am a keen archer and have decided to try to make my own bow. I was just wondering if anyone had any useful tips such as what Australian woods to use and the bows thickness ect ect. Any advice would be greatly apreicated.

I recently found this page online: http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/index.html if there is anyone out there who knows about building longbows this wooden backing could you tell me if this guys designs would work with any aussie timbers??.

[jape]

Angus, have a good look through previous threads and use the forum search engine (top row) with key words like buildalong and elb - there are diagrams, buildalongs and statistics and even mathematical formulas somewhere for flat bows, board bows and ELBs, and tool lists etc. with many examples and debates about woods and designs. Those who posted them will probably aim you at them but have a look first. Do you know what sort of bow you want to start with?

[Edwarddgrey]

Angus matey, only one post needed on the topic....Im sure you will get all the replies you need tomorrow when the guru's log on!!:) You have come to the right place, welcome to the forum...take the time to explore with these things as there are many secrets/helpful-facts to be gleaned from the archives.

Good luck with the bow!

[Len]

Angus, it depends a lot on what sort of bow you want to make but iron bark and spotted gum are popular aussie timbers.

[Steven J]

Angus,

You are about to embark on the addictive world of bow building. Beware

If you wish to be part of this very non-exclusive club there is a $25 entry fee. For this modest outlay you need to decide which fraternity you will initially join - Selfbows / all wood bows OR Laminated fiberglass bows.

For today only we have a special offer. Free Membership . So now that you have $25 dollars in your pocket that had previously been budgeted for I will help you spend it.

If you are joining the selfbow fraternity buy a copy of the Bowyers Bible 1. This is an outstanding book that will really help you decide on the best design for the materials you can source.

If you want to join the laminated bow makers buy a copy of John Clarkes book on longbow building (Google Ausbow Industries).

If $25 dollars is outside of your budget PM me you number and we will arrange a time to have a yarn on the phone.

Len has given good advice for selfbows. Keep them long (say 70" - although that depends on draw length) or wide (at least 2" at the fades) to begin with and you will have few troubles.

If you wish to make fiberglassed bows, almost any furniture grade timber under the glass will suffice. You can purchase all materials through John Clarke mentioned above.

The best advice I can give you is to start building and accept that mistakes / lessons will be learnt along the way.

Search this site extensively. Your question has been asked numerous times (also by me). Welcome to the site. I look forward to the contributions that you can make.

I started a post called 'Dimensions of a Lonbgbow' at the end of July this year (can someone show me how to make a link here). Dennis added some great drawings that you might find useful.

Best of luck,

Steve

[jape]

http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.p ... +a+longbow
try that

[yeoman]

If you're doing chemistry, you cn do physics. try this:

http://ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5450

Also:

http://ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f ... ong#p34971

In that thread there's a bit of maths too, but there's also a table giving some pretty comprehensive dimensions to start with most woods you might be able to get.

Where're you from? This will have a great bearing on what woods you might want to try. Do you have any tools? A budget?

Bow designs are made to work with wood. Thus, something which works in the northern hemisphere will work here too. Many, many woods from Aussie will make a great bow, even better than some used by our northern cousins.

If you're remotely near a big bunnings or mitre 10 megastore, they will probably have either spotted gum, ironbark, or both. They will also have some bamboo poles which will stand you in good stead. I highly recommend making the first few bows as backed longbows, as this type of bow is more forgiving in the manufacture stages for a beginner bowyer, and can perform every bit as good as a recurve made of similar materials. If you already have tools, then I reckon you could have a working bow for under $30. Plus time.

Best advice I can give is read a lot, ask questions, read some more, make some shavings, learn from your mistakes (there will be lots), and just keep at it.

Not much time to write at the moment, but do feel free to ask questions.

Dave