Primitive Bow Making/Hunting

[Kyle_F]

Do we have any experienced or novice primitive bowyers or hunters?

I've built one from Mead Longbows but I haven't really had much time to practice with it. Really fun process if you're looking for a new hobby.

 

[simon1]

I've never made one, but a friend of mine made one out of a Bois d'arc tree limb from scratch. It looked good. Bois d'arc is very hard wood. I forget what he made the string from.

 

[Ad Astra]

I read the Bowyers Bible; think its beyond me to do well. Sticking with my Samick Sage.

I do make arrows and have a lot of fun with that. Whistlers, blunts, bodkins, flame, etc.

AA

 

[Kyle_F]

I've never made one, but a friend of mine made one out of a Bois d'arc tree limb from scratch. It looked good. Bois d'arc is very hard wood. I forget what he made the string from.

Sinew or silk perhaps? I purchased the string for mine. The bow is made from bamboo and I had to tiller(shape and thin) it myself with a rasp. I need to test the draw weight. I think I thinned too much out of the bamboo.

I read the Bowyers Bible; think its beyond me to do well. Sticking with my Samick Sage.

I do make arrows and have a lot of fun with that. Whistlers, blunts, bodkins, flame, etc.

AA

Have you made any with cane or bamboo? Very interested in that. As well as wood. Would love to hear more about how you go about making them.

 

[Ad Astra]

Sinew or silk perhaps? I purchased the string for mine. The bow is made from bamboo and I had to tiller(shape and thin) it myself with a rasp. I need to test the draw weight. I think I thinned too much out of the bamboo.


Have you made any with cane or bamboo? Very interested in that. As well as wood. Would love to hear more about how you go about making them.

Hm. One place to start: go to Home Depot/Lowes, look at their oak dowels ... take each and every one out of the box. Examine. But the straight ones, leaving the bent/warped for others ...

There are fletching jigs, and slip-on fletching units too.

.38 Special/.357 Mag casings make for an excellent blunt point ...


AA

 

[joamo]

The material may not appeal to some of you but these DIY bows are well worth taking a look at:
PVC Bows
Browse his catalog of videos, there are quite a few styles along with engineering and performance data.

 

[chilehed]

Bois d'arc is very hard wood.

You ain't kidding, my chainsaw blade got totally dulled out in about five minutes in that stuff. Osage Orange is springy, tough stuff.

 

[Pattorashu]

I've been thinking about it for a long time, never done it though. I should probably start with buying a bow premade first haha!

 

[chilehed]

Last weekend I was at a pizza joint in Grayling, MI, that has an amazing collection of Fred Bear memorabilia. It's worth stopping in. Pizza's pretty good, too.