The stave for this little bow came half from the trunk and half from a branch (see sketch). I found the whole little tree in the bio chunk container and couldn’t resist to take that golden chain tree with me. All the corrections and curving was done with the heatgun. The deflex of the upperRead more
Bows
This little sapling with only 1” diameter at handle came from my garden while clearing the hedge. It was cut last autumn. Two huge knots, one I could layout in the handle the other is lower midlimb. Some minor knots are on the upper limb. I let the knotted areas stiffer and accepted a shorterRead more
A little boy came to me asking for making a bow out of his “spear”. It was an elder sapling just one inch in diameter at the thicker end. I split in halves and on the belly you can see pith channel. I didn’t hollow out anything – it is the natural furrow. The bowRead more
This was a super nice stave from dark osage, very dense wood. Nearly flawless, only some marginal pin knots. Bad thing was it was very crooked and twisted, so it needed some time and several sessions to bring it line and balance. At handle section an additionally ring allows a nicer curve and more comfortRead more
Nothing much to say, she is a low weight English Longbow (for a Lady?). The stave was a split off from a regular, fumed for 5 days. Only little heat corrections were necessary. Tip are very narrow, tough overlay and arrow pass inlay is green dyed stabilized maple. Handle is hemp cord (with green earthRead more
This one caused some problems, it didn’t take good with heat bending. Finally I could bring the limbs in line and balanced to a mild 5 curve design. The curves flatten out nearly completely at fulldraw. The flat belly tapers the last 5” into 5edge shaped tips. She got simple triangular pin nocks. The backRead more
I found this sliver of yew in the bio – junk container at the recycling yard. Someone had thrown it away, it was obviously from a dead standing tree. It has a violation from a chain saw on the back I couldn’t avoid – I “repaired” it with dyed glue and some sawdust. The barkRead more
dw/dl: 43#/27” ntn: 62” bh: 6¼” max. w.: 1⅝“ reflexn: 1⅝“ mass: 562 gram asymmetric 10”: 07,8 12”: 13,0 (+5,2) 14”: 17,2 (+4,2) 16”: 21,2 (+4,0) 18”: 24,7 (+3,5) 20”: 28,5 (+3,8) 22”: 32,5 (+4,0) 24”: 36,6 (+4,1) 26”: 41,0 (+4,4) 27”: 43,3 (+2,3) The stave for this bow was very clean and needed onlyRead more
This bow was fumed after an alum treatment. The side profile and some minor corrections are done with dry heat. The narrowed handle got a hemp wrap; tips are buffalo; silencers from muscrat fur. This design allows a long draw from this relative short stick. Maybe good for flight shooting. dw/dl: 46#/26” ntn: 49” bh:Read more
Nothing special – just a common flattie. A natural grown grain narrowing is used as arrow pass. The selftips have also a natural grown ‚overlay‘ – just an additional ring on the back (see the last pic). The pattern on the back is painted with earth pigments (burnt umbra). No heat, no steam, no fume.Read more