Longbow Kits - Worth It?

[Orinoco]

Sure I typed a reply yesterday, but apparently not!

The plans looked a little more friendly on second look. Had a couple of glasses of wine last night and studied them, so if anyone sees someone shooting a wonky longbow with strange maroon stains next season... that'll be me!

TA

[dtalbot]

Originally Posted by taverhamarcher

I love the idea of making my own bow. I'm sure everyone has early childhood memories of bamboo cane bows, and I clearly remember my grandad making one for me.
TA

A couple of hours this afternoon with 4 garden canes and a ball of string and I've made a bamboo longbow as per P90 of vol 1 of the trad bowyers bible. Feels as though it draws somwhere around 50lb. I'll let you know how it shoots tomorrow.

[mathewsmainliner]

Pip makes his laminated staves out of the best "cuts" available, I.E there are no knots or other imperfections in the wood that can cause problems to the beginneer. I used a power plane to rough out the stave, then a small "thumb" plane (3inches long by 1 inch wide) to shape the "D" section of the bow. you will also need a tillering stave to gradualy pull the bow to compass and check that the limbs bend evenly. my first attempt came out quite well and drew at 45 lbs, But be prepared to make some expensive fire wood

[kernowtom]

I made a bow from a kit from trad longbows which came out a bit lighter than I planned (a common problem!!) and isn't tillered perfectly. But it shoots very nicelyout to 100yds. As well as a spokeshave, I found a flat/rounded wood file very useful (cheap in most DIY places). You will need fine glass paper for finishing, of course, and then oil or varnish. I was worried about carving the horn nocks but it was easier than I expected. I used a very cheap set of needle files and took my time; I was pleased with the result - though I will make them smaller next time (a bit too much weight there). "Next time"....? Yes, of course! I was at Yandles only yesterday looking at wood......

[BowSurfer]

When I made mine from a Quicks kit (cheaper than the Bickerstaffe but you need to do more cutting so it is hard work unless you have access to a bandsaw) I used a spokeshave fro the coarse shaping work and then a cabinet scraper for the fine work. This is a recatngular steel plate - you flatten the edges and faces on an oilstone and then firmly wipe a hard steel rod (such as the shaft of a screwdriver) along the corner of an edge. This raises a burr along the edge. By flexing the plate a little and drawing it along the wood the burr removes very fine shavings. It is great for getting a nicely rounded shape and for tillering since it does not remove too much wood at a time.

[Flying Whale]

Originally Posted by kernowtom

I made a bow from a kit from trad longbows which came out a bit lighter than I planned (a common problem!!) and isn't tillered perfectly. But it shoots very nicelyout to 100yds. As well as a spokeshave, I found a flat/rounded wood file very useful (cheap in most DIY places). You will need fine glass paper for finishing, of course, and then oil or varnish. I was worried about carving the horn nocks but it was easier than I expected. I used a very cheap set of needle files and took my time; I was pleased with the result - though I will make them smaller next time (a bit too much weight there). "Next time"....? Yes, of course! I was at Yandles only yesterday looking at wood......

I was at Yandles last weeekend....what an Aladdin's cave. In the end I chickened out of buying anything for making a bow, since I have too many other projects not even started. Mind you I did buy some nice oak to make the base for a small end-table I started a couple of years back. I have the top made....not bad for 2 years!

The hickory blanks looked very nice, as did the lemon wood sat right next to them. The purple-heart really is quite amazing. Not sure I could handle it in large quantities in furniture, but I can see why it is laminated in to bows in terms of looks.

Any recommendations for glue to use when laminating? I may yet relent and go get some to play with, if only I could spend less time practicing my archery...

[BowSurfer]

Originally Posted by Flying Whale

...<snip>...
Any recommendations for glue to use when laminating? I may yet relent and go get some to play with, if only I could spend less time practicing my archery...

Cascamite is good if you can get hold of it (it was used to glue Mosquito aircraft togehter during the war) - comes as a dry powder and you just add water, but you need far less water than you think so add it very slowly. Alternatively epoxy (araldite) but it is more expensive and you have to make sure youv'e made up enough of it to coat the entire stave. The ssential requirement is that it should be very rigid and inflexible when set since you don't want the two elements to move with respect to one another when the bow bends. Whatever glue, good preparation is the key to success.

[BowSurfer]

No harm in making a few of the micro-bows described on this site - gives good practice at getting tillering right at negligible expense. Fun too!

[kernowtom]

I think the aircraft glue was aerolite which is a urea-formaldehyde adhesive. Cascamite is available but I have seen it called Extramite.. or maybe that is an improved version. I haven't yet laminated a bow but I might use SP100 epoxy - I have used it in building a boat and i happen to have some at the moment. I agree about the purpleheart - amazing colours - but also could be a bit overwhelming as a warderobe:-). Apart from the decoration, I am not sure why it is used so widely as a middle laminate in bows; I don't think it is a very good bow wood - does anybody know?