Need Help With First Bow: Hickory (updated 1/28)

[Fredy]

GO TO BOTTOM OF THE THREAD FOR MY UPDATES
   I have never made a bow before but have always wanted to make one.  For my senior paper this year i wrote about ancient korean warriors, and in the process learned they were excellent archers.  So i decided to make a bow for a senior project.  My mentor has managed to steer me away from trying to go too big and make a laminated recurve and instead make a self bow.
i checked out "Cherokee bow making"? from the library and and decided to make a handle bow. heres where i need the help
*what type of wood should i use?
*i have to have a minimum of 30 hrs of work done by the middle of February
*where can i get a good stave without going broke in the process?
i probally have more questions but cant think of them at the moment.  thanks in advance for any help.  i plan to post pictures updates as i go along.  thanks once again for the help

[mwmwmb]

fredy, i have not made a bow yet but will soon. but you should mine old posts in this bowyers bench. it is full of good info.

[Andrew Wesley]

Fredy,
i'm pretty new to bow making myself but i've got a few under my belt and can help you get started at least.
a good type of wood is vine maple for a first bow. you would need to cut it and glue the ends so they dont split and let it dry for a few month. (elmer's glue works fine.)
  you can also make a bow out of hickory board, but i've only seen that done... it makes a very nice bow though... and is a lot quicker than a bow made from a stave.

Good Luck, and my congrats on the topic of your paper. it is one of my favorite topic's.

[portugeejn]

Hi Fredy,
You may have better luck finding hickory to work with, as my guess is vine maple would be hard to get in Indiana as it is native to the west coast (I read withing 150 miles of the Pacific Ocean, and that sounds about right).  I've not made a bow with hickory, but have read it is very forgiving and a good choice to start with.  

This is a good place to ask for help and you can get your questions answered here.  Good luck!

RonP

[Eric Krewson]

Lots of info on first bows in the "How To" section of this site.

A $6 red oak board from Lowe's is what a lot of people start their first bow with.

If you have hickory boards available they would be much more forgiving than red oak. A dry hickory stave would be the best choice overall, almost impossible to break.

Vine maple is a tortured wood and a poor choice for a beginners bow. Osage is OK provided you have a straight, clear stave. Normal dogleg, propellered stuff would be tough for a beginner to master.

[Pat B]

I agree with Eric.  
   Also, a bendy handle Cherokee(Eastern Woodland) style bow may be the simplest design to work with for your first but a handled bow is pretty simple also.      Pat

[Fredy]

I am probally going to go with a hickory stave.  from my research on the net that did seem to be the best choice for someone of my skill level.  i would love to make an osage bow but maybe later on.  thanks for the suggestions ill check them out.

[John Scifres]

Where in Indiana do you live?  I could help if you're around Indy.

[va]

Fredy -

You already have access to all the guidance you need right here on Tradgang.

I want to offer encouragement.  Jump right in and break some wood.  I mean it.  My first three or four (okay maybe 5) broke but I learned more from them than I would from an easy first shot at bow-building.

Every time you think you get one finished you will see things you will want to do better on the next one.

There are NO failures in bowyering.

[Fredy]

I have bought a hickory stave.  it should be here in a week or so.

[Fredy]

So my stave arrived the other day.  It is about 6' long. it is very straight down both sides.  it actaully has a small amount of reflex at the moment...
I have looked through the build-alongs and the bowyers den but i cant seem to find much info on hickory self bows.  so of course i need help.  How do i go about this...  
Im geussing i have to follow the grain??? I have a draw knife and rasp to do it...
Also some info bout how i want to build it.  I want a 26.5" draw length with about 55# draw (Handle style cherokee bow)...sorry im sooo ADD... What type of dimensions should i use.  Lenth, max width, tip taper/width, handle, etc...
i do have access to a bandsaw, posiblly a table saw also...any help would be greatly appreciated...
Heres some pics

*Full length shot.  still has the bark on.
   
*end sealed with wax
   
*other end
   
   
*back of stave.
   
this streak is about a 1/2" wide and run down the stave about halfway then just runs off the side.
 
the grain from the side.
sealed end
   
   

[Fredy]

unsealed end side grain
 
 
this is how it split i guess.
 
 
it looks like it split around a knot here
 

[Pat B]

First, remove the bark then the cambium but be careful here because you don't want to damage the wood under the cambium. This way you can see what will be the back of your bow. The back of the bow faces away from the shooter and the belly faces the shooter.
   If you have any irregularities in the back like knots, etc you can work your bow around them or incorporate them into the bow safely.
   That should keep you busy for an hour or so.    Pat

[ChristopherO]

If that stave is already dry then the bark will be torture to get off.  See if you can put it in a steamy hot shower for about 1/2 (yea, that is a long time to run hot water) so the bark will work off easier.
Looks like a good stave.

[Fredy]

an hour Pat????     man u must just have losts of practice or soumthin. i just spent 45 min and i only got close to 2ft of the bark only off... im going to go try that shower thing Chris.

[Fredy]

well i got the bark of 1:40 hr later...(i would be a hungry Indian)...the cambium is that dark layer under the bark   :confused:  or do i take that off also...thanks, ill post pics later

[KILLER B]

Take it down to nice clean white wood.  Becarefull not to gouge the back.  (scrape the brown off very gently with a scraper or a sharp knife.  Keep us posted.

[Pat B]

Once you hit the white wood you will see that the surface is irregular. Getting the cambium completely off is a difficult task but you can leave some, in the valleys on the back, and it will make a cool camo pattern.
...and like B said be careful once you get to the white wood that you don't gouge it. That is your bow's back.     Pat

[Fredy]

here is some new pictures.  i am currently in the process of removing the cambium and will get those pics up a little latter.
*half of the bark removed
 
 
*all of the bark off.  i almost wish the whole bow would be this color
 
 
*close up after the bark is off.
 
*my growing pile of shavings.  i plan on not throwing out the pile until the bow is done. it might get rather big.
 

[Fredy]

Well i got the cambium/sapwood layer off.  that took me close to two and a half hours.  didnt get any gouges in it or have to go down a growth layer cause of a mess up.  thank goodness.  now i am ready to go to the next step...if im correct i now start on the belly and get it down into a rough range of how thick the limbs will be in the final bow??
Well heres some more pictures.
Part way done with the layer
 
 
With the layer completely off
 
 
I just thought the layers in the layer looked kinda cool