Longbow building

[N.Vodden]

Good Morning everybody!

Im seriously tempted to try my hand at making a longbow, and what with the warm summer evenings coming it would be something nice to do out in the back garden of an evening.

Ive done a little reading about the subject, and im going to order the bowyers bible and read up on it thoroughly before i begin, but what i am wondering is what is the best place to get a cheap stave to make my first attempt?

As i just want something cheap and cheerful that wont matter if i nause it up, which i almost definitely will. Im not expecting a masterpiece of performance so i was tempted to get one of the red oak linen backed staves from Woodbows.com- Great bows. Great prices. End of story.. being only $20 i dont expect it to be any good really when finished, but i can practice how to form the wood and how to tiller with it.

Would this be a good place to start?

Oh yeah, horn or self nocked for the first one? i love horn nocks....

[robtattoo]

It would be a good place to start, if you live in the US. Unfortunately, Royal Mail (The Scoundrels) have a 62" length limit on incoming parcels.
Sorry.

[MATTeL]

Fairbow produce staves and have them in a selection of woods and prices I am sure they can help you out. Fairbow's website

They also run workshops on the making of the bow - I know I attended the last one.

If you start with the stave a little longer than you need use self nocks and then move to horn nocks when the bow is nearing completion.

Apparently horn nocks make a longbow - according to GNAS.

[HOTHOUSEDOG]

Go for it V!
Most people start with an Ash plank from the local timber merchants because its cheap and readily available. Its normally £10 to £15 for a good bit and you can get 2 bows from that. The bows from Woodbows.com look ok and very cheap but there was a thread from about a year ago saying they may be false economy. If you search under Woodbows.com it comes up. I hasten to say i have no first hand experience of their work.
Get the bowyers bibles ( one and two at least). They are great read. Also look for Alanesq's site (linked from his profile) he has made some great warbows from Timber merchant Ash and has posted a good beginners guide.
My one warning is your shooting may suffer as Bowyering is addictive as Crack. Sometimes its a tough choice for me to shoot or get the tools out!
Good Luck If you want advice feel free to ask and I'll help if i can ( still a newbie myself really) or direct you to someone who can.

[HOTHOUSEDOG]

You can get pre drilled horn nocks from ebay, Flybowshop.com, and I think our own Jasepool(please forgive any misspelling) does them.

[jaselpool]

Originally Posted by HOTHOUSEDOG

You can get pre drilled horn nocks from ebay, Flybowshop.com, and I think our own Jasepool(please forgive any misspelling) does them.

Yep we have the nocks in stock Good luck with your first build V!

Jase

[BorderBows]

There are a few professional boyers in britian, why dont you get intouch with them for parts.
For example we do laminations, Blanks, and parts. Its just everyone wants something different, so thats impossible to quantify on a web site.

Either way there are some suppliers under your nose, that you probably didnt think to ask...
Our mainstay is made bows, but to make bows we need parts. We make ELB, though to Recurve Crossbow prods.

[N.Vodden]

Originally Posted by HOTHOUSEDOG

. Also look for Alanesq's site (linked from his profile) he has made some great warbows from Timber merchant Ash and has posted a good beginners guide.
.

Thanks for the advice! looking at the guide now, the Backstreet Bowyer and its really helpful! some great advice in there, well written and useful!

Thanks for pointing out, and thanks for writing Alanesq!

[N.Vodden]

i note that hickory is used frequently as a backing. Can it be used to make a decent selfbow?

[alanesq]

Originally Posted by N.Vodden

..... and thanks for writing Alanesq!

Fame at last ! ;-)
Glad its of help/interest

I found the bowyers bible a really good read and very interesting and worth reading even for archers who dont intend to make a bow (part one that is, I have not seen the others)

but, The problem I found is the more you read on the subject the more daunting a task it seems and you eventually convince yourself its impossible, the trick is to just go get yourself some wood and have a try. Dont worry about failing, the wood is cheap and you will learn an awful lot just by having a go.

Keep us posted how you get on ?

BTW - anyone else interested you can get my guide from Alan Blackham's Homepage