Making a Horsebow using bamboo and a coat hanger

Not my video, but I did particularly enjoy watching this video because it showed all the steps needing for making a horsebow using bamboo, glue, a coat hanger and a few other things.

Definitely helps to have a sander, a band saw and various other tools too. It isn't a very heavy poundage bow, but it looks nice and shoots well.

Interviews with Cherokee and Lakota Bowmakers

In the videos below two bowyers talk about their bow making methods, one from the Cherokee perspective of making flatbows and the other from the Lakota perspective of making short horsebows.

Cherokee Bowmaker Richard Fields



Lakota Bowmaker Richard Giago





Update

So I decided to add a 3rd video to this page, which shows a replica made by a bowyer of an Iroquois Shortbow from a museum, which ends up having some similarities to the Lakota horsebows. The bowyer is Donald Porta, who makes a variety of different bows and other items such as drums, war clubs, kayaks, various gardening projects and so forth.

How to make a simple Bushcraft Bow

The following video is by "Coalcracker Bushcraft" and demonstrates how to make a simple Bushcraft Bow that you could hunt with.

You will need:

• An axe or hatchet.
• A knife suitable for slicing wood.

How to make Dowels or Arrows using a Drill and a Vise

Note - To use this method the wood needs to be pretty straight in the first place. If the wood is not straight, it will not make a good arrow.

Thus the importance of cutting the wood in straight pieces is tantamount if your goal is to make arrows.

You will need:

• A nice tablesaw capable of making nice straight shafts of wood.
• A vise with serrated jaws. This method will not work otherwise.
• A hand drill.

Bow Scale for Tillering / Bow Making

Okay so one of the things I have done in the past with respect to bow making is that I would not use a bow scale for measuring poundage. Instead I would cheat and use 20, 25 or 30 lb dumbbells - which I admit, is not a very professional way of checking the poundage.

During the bow making course I took two winters ago I determined that having a bow scale is very handy to have - unfortunately they don't really sell bow scales in the vast majority of stores.

Finally, after much time and procrastination, I went online looking for a bow scale and found one on Amazon:

Bow Scale on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Allen-100-Pound-Digital-Scale-Black/dp/B00AU6I7J0

So I have finally put that on my To Buy List - and sent a link to my wife so that she can possibly buy it for Xmas. You know, because it is so hard to buy gifts for me... not really. Handtools or archery equipment = Happy Husband.

So if you are into bowmaking and your family is looking for gift ideas, this is a good thing to add to your Xmas List.

How to turn an one piece recurve bow into a takedown recurve bow

I found a broken recurve bow (a Stemmler Jaguar) at the archery range a few months ago. I have been planning to either fix it or turn it into a takedown recurve bow. Or if that fails, I have two backup plans.

The previous owner of this Stemmler Jaguar evidently thought it was beyond repair or salvaging.

Photos of the Broken Stemmler Jaguar

The bottom limb cracked and delaminated. I wrapped it in clear plastic hockey tape at the archery range for ease of transportation/storage (and to prevent splinters).

Some people might be tempted to epoxy the broken parts, and that could potentially work if it was just a case of delamination. But because the limb also cracked, epoxy would not be enough. The cracked section would need to be reinforced and retillered. That is a lot of extra work for a bow that will possibly never shoot properly ever again anyway.

45 lbs. It would have been a nice hunting bow before it broke.

How to turn a broken one piece recurve bow into a takedown...

1. Cut the limbs off...

2. Drill holes into the ends of the limbs. Glue washers on the front of the limbs to reinforce them.

3. Saw off the top and bottom parts of the riser so there is a flat angle suitable for attaching the limbs. (Be careful about measuring the angle and cutting it correctly.)

4. Drill holes into the flat angles for bolt inserts. (If you cannot find bolts / inserts, you may have to drill the hole right through and use washers / nuts on the belly of the riser.)

5. Glue the bolt inserts with Titebond 3.

6. Attach everything with the bolts.

7. Test to see how well it works.

No guarantees it will work perfectly.

1. Be careful your brace height doesn't end up being really low, so a sharper angle may be required if you want to have a more normal brace height and prevent wrist slap.
2. Poundage at 28" will have changed dramatically.
3. Bow will be more compact / less forgiving of mistakes. Pros and Cons.

The Backup Plans

 In the event that the above plan doesn't work, I have a backup plan. Remember, what you are doing is basically an experiment. Expect it to fail. Having a backup plan is handy.

Backup Plan #1

Make a crossbow stock with a front suitable for attaching recurve limbs to.

Voila, takedown recurve crossbow!

Backup Plan #2

Cut the widths of the limbs down so that they would fix a normal takedown riser and line up the holes to match where the holes on a takedown riser is. (I plan on lining this up during step 2 up above, that way if the first plan fails this part will already be ready.)

End result, new set of limbs for a takedown riser.

Backup Plan #3

Firewood. Last resort. I would prefer it doesn't come to this.

Future Note

I will update this page in the future when I have photos of the transformation process. Hopefully the first plan works so I don't need to resort to any of the backup plans.

Why you should NEVER use a PVC Bow

Within the sport of archery there are people who make their own bows and their own arrows.

Such is the norm with many sports, there is always going to be a percentage of people who are unhappy with their options available and think one of the following things:

• "I bet I could make my own equipment."
• "I don't like what I am seeing, I think I could make something better myself."

Unfortunately with the first category, there is also a percentage of people who are, for lack of a better word, LAZY.

They don't want to do the work or learn how to tiller a bow properly. They just want to make a bow as fast as possible with as little using their brain as possible.

Looks like a bow. Works like a bow. Breaks like PVC shattering.

Enter the homemade PVC bow...

To illustrate this problem lets discuss the pros and cons of making and using PVC bows.

Pros

1. Very cheap to make.
2. Very quick and easy to make.

Cons

1. Horribly inaccurate.
2. Break easily.
3. When they break, they shatter - possibly injuring the archer.
4. Aesthetically ugly (if that matters to you).
5. Very difficult to make a PVC bow that is over 40 lbs.
6. The poundage of the bow weakens quickly over time.
7. Sluggish arrow speed compared to normal bows.

Now lets not just take my word for it either. Here are some quotes from bowyers on Reddit who had tried making both PVC bows and wooden bows...

"Black locust is what I consider one of the three best bow woods and pwnd both PVC bows no matter what the design." - Huisme.

"With PVC you're pretty restricted to what you can cut out and then squish the remainder back together, but that naturally means the more stretchy material is going to bend in the area. With wood it's easy to make a narrow stiff area at the end of a bow like with a mollegabet to increase mass efficiency." - Huisme.

"It's like Russian roulette. Not always terrible, but always stressful, and at the end of the day it's probably best not to." - Unit712.

Basically with a PVC bow there is always going to be problems with it. It is inaccurate. It breaks easily.

And lets pretend for a moment someone was actually tempted to hunt with one. That means they need a minimum of 39.7 lbs for deer, or 48.5 lbs for elk/moose/black bear - and because PVC bows don't stay a constant poundage and become weaker very easily, the bow could end up being illegal to use for hunting if it becomes too weak to be able to make a kill.

Thus for a survivalist tool, a PVC bow is basically a hunk of junk. A kid's bow, and it should never be used by serious archers or bowhunters.

Part of the PVC problem is the emergence in recent years of so-called "Zombie Survivalist Clubs", fans of the TV show "The Walking Dead", who like to hang out and do various fun activities, talk about their favourite zombie movies / TV shows, etc.

And sometimes they make PVC bows that they believe would be useful during a Zombie Apocalypse, but would in reality would be utterly useless for hunting, during a zombie apocalypse, or even just a home invasion. Useless.

For the very simple reason that if your life is on the line, are you really going to trust your life that could break when you pull it back to shoot?

Zombie Survivalist Clubs are essentially people who are romanticizing the apocalypse. They not so secretly wish that it would happen because they think they could survive in that situation.

For example all you have to do is look at the group below from Toronto, Canada and you realize that Zombie Survivalist Clubs are basically a bunch of young Centennial/Millennial yuppies with too much time on their hands and are basically clueless.

"Oh look at us. We made PVC bows. We are so getting eaten by zombies."

 And what is worse is I almost never see these PVC zombie fanatics at the archery range practicing. Seriously, it is very rare to see them practicing. Which means that if they don't practice, then they guaranteed suck at shooting.

It would be like owning a rifle but never practicing with it or learning how to adjust the scope.

But they think because they own a PVC bow that they are suddenly awesome and don't need to practice. They hang their PVC bow on the wall next to their collection of beer bottles from Europe and whatever else Centennial/Millennial yuppies decorate their walls with.

In reality what they would be is easy pickings for anyone with:

• A gun.
• A sword and shield.
• A baseball bat and garbage can lid as a shield.
• A real bow.

Even modern compound bows wouldn't last that long in a situation involving wear and tear. It is an important aspect of compound bows that the risers are made typically of aluminum alloy or carbon fibre in an effort to save weight, but in a survival situation they could and would break easily. They don't make them like they used to... In contrast old compound bows from the 1970s and 1980s were made of steel and steel-alloy risers. Heavy. Durable. And many of those old compound bows still work today, which means they would be a better choice if someone wanted a "survivalist compound bow". At least a steel bow can take a fall and won't snap in two.

Now this doesn't mean that wooden bows are superior or are not breakable, simply that wood can take a fall, hit a rock, and doesn't break on impact.

During a life and death situation what people should be reaching for is a wood/fibreglass recurve. A nice sturdy one that presumably has already withstood the test of time.

Yes, they cost more - but they are so much more accurate and durable. And if a person is really serious about getting into bow making, they should start with wood. Don't even waste your time with PVC.

If a person has a modern compound bow, fine, but they should be careful to keep it in peak condition, never drop it, and never use it as a melee weapon because it is not meant for that - and doing so would dent the cams, at which point the compound bow would be useless once the cams get bent out of shape.

For any Zombie Survialists who read this, here is a movie tip for you. Stop watching zombie movies. Watch survival movies that are based on real life and not "romanticized zombie fantasy".

Maybe someday someone will make a gritty and realistic zombie film, but at present we are more likely to see "glitter zombies". eg. The 2013 film "Warm Bodies" is basically that, a glitter zombies film.

Is it so much to ask that Hollywood make more realistic and gritty survival films?

For example the 2013 film "Killing Season" stars Robert De Niro and John Travolta and has a good amount of archery in it, both longbows and compound bows. And is comparatively realistic.



More Gritty Survival Films Worth Watching:

The Grey



The Edge



Deliverance

New Compound Bow and my love of Vintage Compound Bows

On the right is a photo of my new compound bow:

It is a circa 1969-70 Black Hawk Chief Scout, 45 lbs, 50% let off.

So by "new" I mean I just purchased it three weeks ago and had it shipped to me. The bow itself is 46 years old.

It is my 2nd compound bow and also my 2nd Black Hawk bow, my first being a 1972 Black Hawk Avenger recurve.

One of the things I have discovered about Black Hawk is that they are very beautiful bows. The Avenger is downright exquisite.

This one here is by far one of the prettiest compound bows I have ever seen.

They're also a little tricky to date.

Fortunately I found this blog:

http://blackhawkbows.blogspot.com

The site is dedicated towards dating and tracking the history of Black Hawk bows, which were made by the Cravotta Bros. in McKeesport Pennsylvania between 1951 to 1975. The website also tracks the prices of Black Hawk bows being sold on eBay, and other similar auction websites.

The Black Hawk company president James Cravotta died in 1969. Then the factory burnt down in either 1973 or 1974, hastening the company and its workers into early retirement. (It is unclear what year the factory burnt down, but given the relatively small number of bows that were made in 1974 and 1975, I am guessing it burnt down in 1973, and apparently it took two years to rebuild the factory during which they finished a number of orders and then probably decided to call it quits due to financial problems / lack of new orders.)

Around the same time Black Hawk closed up shop various other archery manufacturers were being bought up by other bigger manufacturers, so it was a sign of the times. eg. Damon Howatt died in 1965 and his company/brand was later sold to Martin Archery. Many of the bows made by the older "vintage" bow manufacturers are now considered collectors items and still shot by many an archer and bowhunter, as they are considered desirable.

Vintage Compounds hold a special place in my heart. They are often very beautiful and elegant to look at. Especially when they use wood.

Compare wooden compounds to modern compound contraptions which look like Darth Vader had sex with a robot jellyfish, and the modern compound bow was the result of that unholy union, and you realize that with wooden compounds beauty and function can co-exist in the same bow - without having the bow look like the unholy creation by a mad scientist.

Furthermore - to make matters worse - video games and movies then see modern compound bows, think that the weirder a bow looks is somehow better, and you end up with these ridiculous compound bows in video games that don't even make any sense at all.

Example: Just count the number of things you see wrong with the image below.

What we really need is for manufacturers to realize that there is a market for wooden compounds and start making new ones, to make compound bows beautiful again. Like the Black Hawk Warrior compound bow shown below.

Worth repeating.

Make Compound Bows Beautiful Again.

Black Hawk Warrior Wooden Compound

Update

I even made a meme for this.

Old Compound Bow Repair in Toronto

I have discovered I have some skill at fixing older model compound bows.

Three weeks ago a friend at the Toronto Archery Range approached me with a cherry red older model compound bow (I estimate it was made in the mid 1980s) that was literally in shambles. The bowstring, cams, cables, and various other parts were in a ziplock bag and the compound bow itself was basically just the riser and limbs. He wanted to know if there was any chance of fixing it.

BACKGROUND - I have fixed other compound bows before, usually while at the archery range and doing what I call "Compound Bow Triage". I set up my tools on an "operating table" (picnic table) and perform "emergency surgery" to repair the bow. I have done it for people so many times I have lost track. Apparently I have developed a reputation for being able to fix compound bows, both newer models and older models.

So when my friend brought me the wreck of a bow at the time I didn't know if it was possible. It was in shambles after all, and I had never tried to fix a compound bow that was in such a state of "pieces". But as someone who was raised on Lego who loves building and repairing things, I told him "I make no guarantees, but I am willing to give it a shot."

I honestly wasn't expecting much. It was in such a bad shape I was expecting it to be missing too many parts that it might be impossible to fully repair. We even joked about taking off the limbs and turning it into a 'Frankenstein' recurve bow, that is how little faith I had in it being possible to repair it.

And voila.

It is fixed. Just finished repairing it this morning.

 Above and Below: "The Red Brute"

Fortunately most of the parts were there.

I call it "The Red Brute", and I shall explain why. This compound bow vibrates like crazy when you shoot it. The vibrations jar me all the way up to the shoulder. Think of shooting this bow like riding a wild bronco. It is going to shake a lot and try to buck you off. It is also very noisy, partially because the bow is missing a string stop (see further below).

Old Jalopy

Or alternatively if you like car metaphors, it shakes like an old jalopy. A jalopy is a really old decrepit car that is in horrible condition, could break at any moment, and literally shakes when you drive it. Some people enjoy driving a jalopy, but they are not for everyone.

But the Red Brute is powerful, and it is certainly accurate at close distances judging by the clusters I did this morning. Next Sunday I will take it to the range and test it out at longer distances, and return it to its owner.

So what needed to be repaired???

#1. The Cables and Cams

The first order of business was getting the cams, cables and bowstring back on the bow itself. They were a jumbled mess so I had to unjumble them and then figure out what goes where via a little trial and error / logic.

#2. New Retaining Snap Rings for the Axles

The cam axles were missing two external C-shaped 3/16th inch snap rings that keep the axle from sliding around and falling off. That required a trip to the Sunnybrook Home Hardware and $1.57 for the tiny parts.

#3. The Bowstring was a Wreck

The old bowstring was in such poor shape I decided to add serving all the way up its length and reinforce it in areas that looked weaker. This would make the bowstring heavier, but would dramatically increase the life expectancy of the bowstring. (The cables meanwhile were in excellent condition and did not warrant any repairs.)

#4. Added an Arrow Rest

My friend didn't bother putting an arrow rest on the bow, as he reportedly bought the bow along with several other bows at a proverbial garage sale. Bought the whole box of them. So I added an old Hostage arrow rest from my box of old archery equipment stuff that I don't use any more.

I needed the arrow rest on there so I could take the bow out to the garage and shoot it multiple times to make sure it was actually safe to use. I shot it 50+ times, during which I discovered how loud, noisy, and jarring it was.

GOOD VIBRATIONS?

Overall I enjoyed fixing this old compound bow. It was a complete wreck, in shambles, and it now can shoot quite accurately despite the shaking and shoulder jarring. I had a good deal of satisfaction shooting it in my garage.

However due to the vibrations I would probably want to do several things to get more accuracy and reduce the jarring. The most important of these is #3.

#1. Add a Trophy Ridge 9 Inch Static Stabilizer to reduce vibrations / increase accuracy.

I have tried other stabilizers, but this is my favourite thus far.

#2.Add Limbsavers to reduce vibrations and noise.

#3. Add a String Stop to reduce noise and vibration.

The Red Brute has a slot for a string stop, but that part is missing, hence the noise/vibration. I browsed Amazon.com to check out the prices of string stops, but sadly they are a bit pricey. $50 to $200 each, depending on the model type.

THE END RESULT?

The final results is that this is a compound bow that has speed, power and accuracy, but desperately needs a string stop and perhaps a few extra gadgets to help make it quieter / vibrate less. It is approx. 60 lbs with a 29" draw length, with 50% let off.

Cost of Repairs
$30 for repairs / labour.
$1.57 for parts.
$10 for string serving (material + labour).
_________________
TOTAL $41.57

Overall, I am very pleased that I was able to fix this bow. I regret not taking a photo of what it looked like before I started repairing it. People would have been able to see the before and the after.

So if other people out there in Toronto are looking to have their old compound bow repaired, let me know and I will give it a try. I really enjoyed fixing this one and I am willing to try fixing other bows too. So if you have an old bow and it is in bad shape / in need of repairs, let me know and I will try to fix it. If all or most of the parts are there we can see what can be done. If many of the parts are missing, but you like the idea of a 'Frankenstein Bow' I am still willing to do that as well.

I charge $30 per hour plus the cost of any replacement parts.

"I make no guarantees, but I am willing to give it a shot."

Bowyer Lessons with Mike Meusel, Part Two

During yesterday's bow making session we finished the tips and began working on tillering the bow. We had to do the tips first so the bow could be fitted with a tillering string, which in this case is made from fast flight bowstring and knotted with a flemish twist on one end and a bowyer's knot (aka timber hitch) on the other end.

Bowyers Knot aka Timber Hitch

Unfortunately the photos below also have the back of my head in the way. Oh well. You can see glimpses of my rather robust winter beard.

At present the bow is currently pulling approx. 35 lbs at 14 inches or approx. 38 lbs at 15 inches. Our end goal is for it to be pulling 35 lbs at 28 inches (or 38 lbs at 29 inches).

The trick to tillering is to get both top and bottom ends of the bow to be bending evenly - both near the handle, near the middle of the limbs and at the midpoint near the tips - but with zero bend in the tips. (A "whippy tip" reduces the speed of the arrow, whereas a stiff tip makes arrows travel faster.)

Thus tillering is a slow gradual process. We start by tillering to 3 lbs over our desired draw weight at 10 inches, and work gradually on each stage on keeping the bow bending evenly on both sides and in all the locations where it should be bending (and bending the proper amount). Once this is done it is a matter of slowly removing layers of the belly wood (ignoring the tips) so that the length of the bow bends evenly, checking regularly to make sure there is no spots which are not bending evenly and fixing those spots.

In the above example the flatbow-longbow I am making will have a bendy handle - which means when drawn back the handle also bends a tiny bit. When shot a bendy handle will have more "hand shock", but the bow also save on size and weight - which makes it faster. So there is a trade-off for speed in exchange for reduced hand comfort. Depending on how much bend there is the handle there will be more/less hand shock for the user.

Want more? Subscribe to Project Gridless or bookmark Project Gridless for more bow making tips.

Bowyer Lessons with Mike Meusel, Part One

You may recall an earlier post I made titled Bowyer Lessons with Mike Meusel, Part Zero. It was called Part Zero because I was all excited about the bow making lessons, but it had not actually started yet.

Well yesterday it started. We got the basic shape of the bow done, which will be a hickory flatbow-longbow with purpleheart hardwood tips.

Next time we will be decreasing the width of the limbs and starting the tillering process.

No photos of the bow at this time, although in the future there will be. Next lesson is next Thursday.

Subscribe to stay tuned!


And FYI, in case you are wondering the bow-making lessons are $300 for 3 lessons. Each lesson is approx. 3 to 4 hours long.

Bowyer Lessons with Mike Meusel, Part Zero

I will soon be taking lessons in bow making with Mike Meusel, a local bowyer in Toronto who teaches bow making. For each lesson I am planning to post photos of the progress made, and possibly videos of the process.

For those people who like DIY projects, learning to make your own bow for archery is a pretty good skill to have, and an enjoyable experience in my opinion. Having made bows since the age of 10 (many of my early bows broke easily) I have never NOT enjoyed making a bow. Even if it breaks I still enjoyed making it.

Thus it will be interesting to be making bows and have actual lessons in the craft.

For those who don't have a local bowyer to help you out, I recommend the following books:

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible - Volumes I, II, III and IV. Yep, four volumes of amazing-ness. Worth every penny.

Mike Meusel, Bowyer Lessons in Toronto

I have signed up for bowyer lessons from Mike Meusel in Toronto.

I have been making bows using my amateur bow-making skills for 26 years now, so this will be the first time I am getting proper training by someone who is really good at making bows.

Cost? $300 CDN.

Lessons? 5 to 6 sessions, each session is 4-5 hours.

What do I get? Any bow(s) that I make during the approx. 20 to 30 hours of bow-making experience.

Afterwards? I have purchased 2 pieces of walnut and 2 pieces of cherry so I can work on making 2 walnut flatbows and 2 cherry flatbows during the winter. So my plan is to learn Mike's method of making bows and then apply that new knowledge when I am making the 4 new bows during the winter.

Mike also sells longbows, flatbows and pyramid bows. For a custom made bow contact him using the info below.

Websites for Bowyers

The following list of websites was sent to me by Toronto bowyer Mike Meusel following a conversation he and I had on March 24th.

#1. Tuff Tooth

https://www.tufftooth.com/ for bandsaw blades of every length. (This came up in our conversation in relationship to my two bandsaws and my difficulties finding bandsaw blades that fit my old bandsaw.)

#2. Great Lake Arrow Traditional Fletching Supplies

http://www.greatlakearrow.com/  for arrow supplies. The company sells arrow shafts, feather fletching, nocks, arrowheads, adhesives and tools.

#3. Rodney Wright Archery

http://wrightarchery.com/boutique/  Mike bought a leather side quiver from him. "He’s good." say's Mike. Rodney Wright also sells high quality arrows, bow building materials, bow strings, and a variety of high end longbows and recurve bows.

#4. Marc's Bows and Arrows

http://ironwoodbowyer.com/ – "Probably the best bowyer in Ontario, and definitely one of the top in North America," says Mike. Sells composite bows, longbows, arrows, quivers and much more. Also has a fair chunk of info on bow building techniques.

The photo below is from Marc's website, which I thought was fascinating.

BONUS

Basically Bows Archery
http://basicallybowsarchery.com/ - This isn't one of the websites Mike sent me because he knew I already know about this particular shop in Toronto, but I felt I should mention it too. Basically Bows sells longbows, recurves, fletching tools, feather fletching, bow string, nocks, arrowheads, tools and more. If you are into longbows and traditional archery, Basically Bows is the place to go in Toronto.

2nd BONUS

Century Mills in Stouffville, Ontario
http://centurymill.com/site/foreign-hardwoods-1/
+ http://centurymill.com/site/domestic-hardwood-1/ - For both domestic hardwoods and foreign hardwoods, Century Mills in Stouffville sells a variety of woods good for both bowmaking and arrowmaking - and you can easily find them in the right sizes for bow staves, making them easy to browse and find what you are looking for. Mike mentioned Century Mills recently in a different conversation.

Where to Buy Exotic Woods for Bowmaking

In Ontario it is easy to find oak, maple, ash, elm, juniper and similar hardwoods for bowmaking - the trouble is finding bow woods that are more exotic. Like Osage, Yew or Lemonwood.

Even if you are not a bowyer, finding exotic woods for DIY carpentry / woodworking projects can be hard to find.

I have tried at Home Depot, Central Fairbank Lumber and several other locations but exotic hardwoods are tricky to find. Even trying to find cherry, walnut or apple wood is a difficult process, even though those woods are not really exotic, just harder to find.

I have heard that the following places might sell some of these trickier to find woods, but I have not yet gone to their locations to check for certain:

oliverlumber.com supposedly has over 50 different varieties of softwood and hardwood. Located at 9184 Twiss Road , Campbellville.

exotic-woods.com has about 200 wood types listed on their website, but I have yet to visit their store at 5229 Harvester Road, Burlington to see what sizes the wood they have is available in.

That is trick about exotic woods I find. It is easier to find smaller "sample sizes" at Lee Valley for example, but such a small size is useless for bowmaking. I need staves 6' long, which is why all my bows thus far have been predominately oak and ash.

Now you might think, hey, what is the point of making a bow out of an exotic wood?

Well some of it is just for looks, like using an exotic wood on the handle or tips to make it look prettier.

In the case of yew or osage there is an argument for making a bow more powerful, but you can make equally powerful bows out of hickory, oak and similar woods - which will change the weight more than anything else, so the best argument for using an exotic wood is so it weighs slightly less. (Lightweight bows do tend to shoot slightly faster.)

Like this Osage and Cocobolo bow below, which is both beautiful and fairly lightweight.

Bow Making with Ed Scott

The video below is of Ed Scott, an American bowyer who specializes in artisan bows - each one is individual and unique. He also teaches bow making skills, including Native American bow making skills.

Bow Making with Al Herrin, 1990

Al Herrin was a bow maker during the 1980s and 1990s.

I should note Herrin was an advocate of air dried wood and opposed to kiln dried wood. It should be noted that the concept that kiln dried wood is somehow inferior to air dried wood is actually just an urban myth. If you read chapter two of Volume Two of The Traditional Bowyer's Bible you will understand why it is an urban myth that kiln dried is inferior. (The reason is due to amateur bowmakers using kiln dried wood and breaking the bow during the tillering process - and then blaming the wood, when in reality the error was with the beginner bowyer who was clueless about how to make a bow. In scientific testing kiln dried wood is actually superior to air dried wood when it comes to bow making.)

Ignoring Al Herrin's perpetuating the urban myth, the video below is very handy for people looking to get into bow making. I also strongly recommend that people purchase The Traditional Bowyer's Bible volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Volume 1 is basically mandatory, but the other volumes are also extremely useful.

Bowmaking with Bamboo

I found this video about bowmaking with laminated bamboo very interesting.

Working on three new longbows

I am currently working on 3 new longbows, each 5 feet long (I decided I wanted to experiment with making "shorter longbows").

Two of them are hard maple and the third is oak. So far I have determined that the maple provides more lbs than the oak, but the oak is easier to work with.

I have also determined I will need to shave the maple limbs down a lot more as they are currently pulling around 60-70 lbs. That would be great if I wanted to go bear hunting, but these bows are for target practice and I want them to be in the 35 to 45 lb range.

Canadian Toxophilite Society - Equipment and Bow Making Meeting

On this coming Tuesday (April 1st) there will be a meetup for people interested in bow making, archery, and archery equipment.

It will be a discussion and there will be no actual archery involved, but for people who are interested in bow making, who are new to archery, who want to buy their own archery equipment and don't know where to go shopping, this is a meeting you will want to attend.

Sign up by visiting Meetup.com and go to the following page:

The Canadian Toxophilite Society - Archery Equipment + Bow Making

Location

Fox and Fiddle, 190 Laird Drive, Leaside, Toronto, ON
(Near the Home Depot in Leaside.)

Time / Day

11 AM on Tuesday April 1st
(I admit, not the best time of day, but if you are available feel free to sign up and attend.)

So what are you waiting for? Sign up on Meetup.com. :)