It's finished...

[Yew Selfbow]

Originally Posted by tikkabhoona

what glue did you use for the laminations? I have been using cascamite with reasonable results.:

Because of the oily nature of the Osage and Bloodwood we decided on a two stage lamination glue up. The first stage was to glue up the woods that had open cell structures (bamboo and Maple) for those we used Cascamite. For the Osage and the Blood wood we used resin based Resorcinol, we had to ensure that the Maple "buffer" laminatiom was between the Bloodwood and the bamboo. So on one side of the Maple it was glued to the bloodwood with Resorcinol and on the other face it was glued to the bamboo with Cascamite.

[Yew Selfbow]

One interesting feature for anyone who likes the idea of playing around with Osage is the structure of the growth rings. It has small hard and soft spots, that will, if your not careful give a "washboard" ripple effect to the belly of the bow. This apparently is due to the rapid spring growth of the tree and the late season slowing down of growth. Gives an interesting and good looking grain patten.

[Radar_UK]

Well done - lovely looking bow and like Tel said you have that 'I made it myself' feeling everytime you use it

[rustybin]

A real achievement. Well done that man. I am envious and inspired. I'll have to learn t shoot one first and then maybe get the Black & Decker out!

Have many

[laminatekid]

Originally Posted by Yew Selfbow

Over the past week, I've been building my first long bow under the watchfull expert eye of Pip Bickerstaffe and his collegues at his Kegworth workshop and now it's finished. The bow is for indoor shooting,(50lb@28 1/2") and is a laminate of an Osage belly, Bloodwood, Maple and Bamboo core with a Bamboo backing. The arrow plate is milky white Indian Samba deer horn and the almost transparent nocks are from an English dairy Longhorn Cow.
... and does it shoot....you bet it does.....

hey how did you end up doing this ?was it a course you paid for?are they (bickerstafe)chums of yours?bow looks fantastic by the way....MAN I LOVE OSAGE!!!

[Yew Selfbow]

Originally Posted by laminatekid

hey how did you end up doing this ?was it a course you paid for?are they (bickerstafe)chums of yours?bow looks fantastic by the way....MAN I LOVE OSAGE!!!

Pip's a mate, we shoot roving marks together..... Osage... yeah... there IS something about it that puts a tingle down your spine

[LineCutter]

I've made a few bows, for the kids - it's hard to find a 10-18lb longbow without having it made for you & our club bowyer has retired due to health problems probably related to making bows.
If you feel the urge to play then the easiest thing to get from a timber merchant is white ash. Telling you how to spot a good piece is another matter & not one I'd feel qualified as an expert on.
The best bit (besides finishing it) is the "artistic" nature of the process - you remove enough, but not too much, wood from the bits that look like they need it so that the limbs work. All by eye & feel. Shame it takes so long, or maybe that's part of the fun

[Yew Selfbow]

Your spot on there Linecutter.... White Ash does make nice low poundage bows..

[Thunk]

Fabulous looking bow, Yew; if it shoots as well as it looks, you're going to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

If it's not a rude question, what sort of cost is oinvolved in making a longbow, as opposed to buying one readymade?

[Macbow]

Nice work Yew and getting to work under the eye of such a craftsman must have been amazing.
I honestly think every trad archer should have a go at making a bow. I have just recently got the bug. Unfortunately I don't have Pip B's guidance but I have found the Trad Bowyers Bible 1 & 2 extremely useful together with a very detailed DVD called Making The Osage Bow by James Easter.
I've spent big bucks on some superb bows but I have to say I've had more enjoyment and satisfaction hacking away on bits of trees. You can't fail as even the mistakes are valuable lessons. I turned up at the club the other week to try my latest creation - a flatbow with a steamed in recurve built with a hand axe and a rasp. It's an absolute dog to look at but every kid there wanted to shoot it and it ended up doing the rounds most of the night. None of them has ever expressed an urge to shoot my £500 Border Griffon! Currently having a go at a pyramid bow from a yew limb - my front lawn looks like a sawmill but I'm having fun.