The "So You Wanna Build a Bow?" Build-Along

[4est trekker]

If you've been following this thread, I edited Round 5 to include a crucial step I had forgotten to mention.  You MUST round the edges of the limbs before checking the initial tiller.  Again, I inserted this step in the post above.  (Thanks for the advice, Razorback.  I appreciate it!      )

[Igor]

Great thread - you make a board bow build look easy!

I appreciated all the work that goes into the build along process.

thanks

><>
Glenn

[4est trekker]

Round 6: Rough Shaping the Handle

NOTE: Please see the update later in this thread that describes how to make a more aesthetically and ergonomically-pleasing handle.  While quite functional, many find this one uncomfortable and hard to tune arrows with.

I make the handle ¾” wide at its center, if not just a touch more.  You might be able to find a lid, pot, or bucket that fits the radius.  If not, just use a compass like I did in the second picture below.  It takes a little bit of trial and error, but is not difficult in the least.  (Note: the riser block looks curved in the picture below, but it's just an optical illusion from the camera.)

 

 

Once you get it marked out, cut it to shape on the bandsaw or with your coping saw.  

 

The next thing I do is cut a very shallow radius in the belly of the handle, being sure to end the radius exactly at the fades and to leave the handle 1¼” thick in the middle. I take the piece that I cut off and glue it to the back of the handle as an overlay.  This gives the handle a more rounded feel.  Here’s a picture to help explain:

 

After the glue dries I remove the clamp and trim the handle overlay flush as in the picture below:

 

That’s that!  The next step will be to check our draw weight, add the nock overlays, and shape the tips.  We're gettin' close to done!

[4est trekker]

Round 7: Checking Short String Tiller/Draw Weight, and Adding Nock Overlays

I like to add temporary nocks using a wooden wedge secured with masking tape to transition from the tillering string to the short string. NOTE: For a great tutorial on making a quality Flemish string and jig, visit the following site:
   http://www3.sympatico.ca/ragiwarmbear/diy/flemish/flemish.html.    
Make sure you wrap the temporary nock really well or it will want to slide down the limb on you.  If that happens, you’ll change the tiller of the bow.  I always place a mark on the back of the bow where I want the nock to rest so I can see if it’s moving or not.

   

I check the tiller on the tree using the short string, and it looks almost identical to the initial tiller check we did with the tillering string.  Satisfied for now, I want to check my draw weight.  I’ve learned two rules about tillering that have saved me a lot of time and headaches.  1) Never pull the bow further than it is tillered correctly, and 2) Never pull the bow past your intended draw weight.  I will now go back and forth between the bow scale and tillering tree balancing these two rules as I seek to find what my draw weight is at 26”.  If the tiller gets out of whack on the way there, I stop and retiller by scraping the stiff spots, pull the bow 30 times to give the wood time to settle, and then recheck the tiller.  In the case of this bow, I don’t have to do any retillering and I find that the draw weight at 25” is 51# (or a projected 54#@26”).  Perfect!  But “WAIT”, you say.  Didn’t I just break rule number 2 above?  Kind of, but here’s a little trick.  I don’t actually pull the bow to 26” just yet.  I like to hit my target weight at 1” shy of the intended draw length.  That gives me a few pounds to play with as I do the final shaping and sanding on the bow, and allows the wood to settle a little bit as I shoot it in.

Now, if you don’t have a bow scale, here’s a handy little setup I often use.  I take a bathroom scale, a 36”-40” long dowel or square stick, and a small square scrap of plywood and make my own.  I attached the stick upright to the plywood using screws.  (In the one in the picture, I used a fortsner bit to countersink a hole to receive the end of the dowel.  I then glued it and screwed it to the plywood)  I make a notch in the top of the stick to hold the bowstring and then make marks on the stick at 24-31 inches from the top in one inch increments.  These will tell me the draw length of the bow (I measure to the back of the handle.  This is a whole other ball of wax, and you should familiarize yourself with how to accurately find YOUR drawlength, as well as how to measure drawlength a bow.  Use the search function on this site.)  When I place the string in the notch and pull down on the handle of the bow, the weight is transferred through the stick onto the bathroom scale.  Simply read the poundage on the scale and VIOLA!  

   

Now, if you want to get really accurate, you can make a fancy calibration system as shown in the following picture (ha ha!)

   

I simply set the gallon water jug on the scale and adjust it to 8.34 pounds, minus the weight of the stick.  As stupid as it sounds, I weighed several custom wood/glass bows and they read dead on for their marked draw length using this method!

The next thing I want to do is add nock overlays. These allow you to cut a groove more deeply into the tip, which keeps the string in place better.  They also can add a bit of decoration.  I’m using coco bola, although you can use any dense hardwood, including osage.  I true up one face of the nock overlay using sandpaper on a flat surface.  These overlays are just about 1 1/4" long.

   

You then need to flatten the very end of the bow tips on the back side to accept the nock overlays.  They must mate perfectly, so take your time.  When you’ve got a good match between the overlay and the tip, clean the mating surfaces with acetone, especially if using a tropical hardwood.  When dry, lather both surfaces with TB III and clamp it up.  (If you don’t want to add nock overlays, just search this site for various pictures of bows [self bows in particular] that have more traditional nocks.)  You'll notice that I butted masking tape up against the tip overlay.  As I did before, I add this tape before the glue-up so that it doesn't smear all over the back of the bow.  

   

Once dry, shape the tips to your satisfaction.  Dutchwarbow has posted some really beautiful tips on his buid-alongs, so I encourage you to look at his designs.  Here’s how mine turned out:

   

   

I use a small round file to rough cut the string grooves.  I don’t cut all the way through the overlay, and I angle the grooves at about 45 degrees on the sides.  When they’re fairly smooth I take and heat a roofing nail with a torch and burn the grooves smooth.

   

Okay, all we’ve gotta’ do now is finish shaping the handle, check the tiller while drawing the bow in the hand, add a stain (optional) and finish, install an arrow shelf (optional), and wrap the handle (optional).  That’s an easy stretch to the end, and we’ll be done in no time!  Take care, and thanks for following!  See you next time.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Great so far. I do like them recurved tips. I may have to try that on the next one I make.

[razorback]

I love a great build-along. I will be off to the hardware store this morning. Got to go to the dentist     so will give myself a little present.
4Est, can you put up an oblique pic of the handle area so we can get a view of all the curves working together. The side curves seem fairly extreme for a comfotable grip. Though I know the details of these are in nthe next installment and with the handle it can be made to personal preference. Can't wait to see the finished bow.  

[Art B]

4est, boards are sometimes harder to read than staves because they're cut from larger trees and some are pipe straight. But all tree trunks are naturally tapered to some degree. So if you can see a difference in the growth ring thickness from one end of the board to the other end then you know the bigger rings start at the trunk end.

A ring's radius is another to tell. Larger radius dictates the trunk end and the smaller radius the top.

If all else fails try balancing the board dead center and see if one end is heavier than the other. The heavier side would be the trunk end (I see this in my arrow making where there's a pronounced difference in ring thickness from end to end). Of course you need to make sure the board's moisture content is consistant from end to end. Many of the chain stores store their wood vertically which can cause an unbalance in MC. If this is the case then it would be wise to store the wood horizonally for a period of time before jumping on it.

ART

[4est trekker]

Round 7: Finishing the Handle Profile and Checking In-Hand Tiller

Well, this round is pretty simple.  I use a rasp, file, and then various grits of sandpaper/sanding pads to round the handle to a comfortable grip. I give special consideration to the area that will become the arrow pass, being sure to remove plenty of wood on the belly of the handle in the region so the arrow approaches the handle at a less severe angle.  To make the handle symmetrical, I do this on both sides of the top and bottom.  Also, if for some reason the tiller ever changes on the bow and the top limb ends up stronger than the bottom, I can just flip the bow over and keep shootin’!  Or, as is sometimes the case, I’ll end up giving the bow to a lefty.  All in all, it’s nice to have the handle finished so either limb can be the top limb and both righties and lefties can shoot it.

I then take a knife or razor blade and scrape the handle to give it a smooth finish.  Lastly, I take a smooth piece of antler and burnish the entire bow.  By that I mean rubbing the antler over the surface of the bow (especially the back) hard enough to compress the fibers together and give it a smooth feel.  Although it does have cosmetic benefits, it can also be the difference between a functional bow and a tiny splinter raising on the back that eventually renders it nothing more than fancy kindling.  (You can use just about any hard, smooth, rounded object for burnishing.  I’ve used baby food jars, glass guitar slides, and glass bottles.)  

Here’s some pictures of the finished handle.

 

 

 

Here's a picture of the back profile of the bow:

 


Alright.  We’re gonna see how the bow’s tiller looks when drawn by hand.  I’ve decided to post a video so you can actually see the limbs working, rather than as a static picture.  One note about the video…I say it’s pulling 54 #@26”, but I misspoke.  It’s actually 52#@ 26” after the final sanding.  That leaves 2# for settling in.  Not bad!  Anyhow, here goes…and sorry about that stupid look on my face        

   

Well, it ain’t perfect, but for 12 bucks and a coupla’ hours of work we’re in pretty good shape.  I’m going to leave the tiller right there.  The next step is staining/sealing the bow, adding an arrow pass, and then wrapping the handle. We’re gettin’ close now!  All we need is a good set of matched arrows and we’ll be eatin’ venison for Thanksgiving!

[Igor]

Looking good!

I like the profile!


Nice work!

Thanks for the thread!

><>
Glenn

[Dooley]

Great build-along 4est.  I especially like the glued on recurve tips.        
Got a piece of hickory lumber under the sofa I'm gonna try that on.

[bubby]

I like the way you did those recurved tips, also a nice build-a-long, but part way thru the limb thicknes went from 15/32 to 15/16 but if that was all I did wrong I'd be happy

[4est trekker]

Ha!  You're right bubby!  I'll go back and fix that.  Man, that would be one stout bow, eh?  Thanks for pointing that out!

[Stiks-n-Strings]

By Golly I think I might be able to build a bow after all.
 Thanks for taking the time to do this 4est.

[buckhuck]

Great build along, loved it.

[coulter]

hi curt, really good build along, very informitive, great detail, nice job.    noel.   p.s. are you going to show the finish, arrowrest etc.

[4est trekker]

Yep, I'm gonna show how I finish it off (stain, sealer, handle wrap, arrow pass, etc.)  Been a tad busier the last few days than normal.  Hope to have the last post(s) up soon!

[Dano]

Great stuff Curt, I like your methods.    

[ron w]

Well done...great job!!!

[stickmonkey]

Nice, I like

[4est trekker]

Round 8:  Staining and Sealing

I used a variety of homemade stains, my favorite of which are made from berry juices, inks, and denatured alcohol.  This particular stain is a simple aniline stain that you can get in powdered form and cut with denatured alcohol.  It dries very quickly and can be sealed shortly after applying.  Here’s how it turned it:

 

 

 

Before I seal the bow, I go ahead and cut shallow stringer nocks just behind the bowstring nocks.  Again, I burn them smooth with a hot nail.  I use a simple stringer with a loop tied at each end.

 

I then seal the entire bow with at least 3 coats of lacquer.  I use it because it’s cheap dries within minutes (dries, NOT cures!), and can be applied with a cloth.  No, it’s not waterproof, but it does build up in the grain nicely and seals in the stain.  After the 3+ coats have sat for a couple of hours, I buff it out with 000 steel wool.  Then I rub the entire bow down with either mink oil or SnoSeal, both of which are leather waterproofers.  (Alternately, I’ve used warmed beeswax).  You can apply another coat each hunting season to keep your bow dry and protected.  Yes, there are better products available, but this method is cheap, easy, and effective (which is the whole point of this build-along).  There is no finish that will completely encase your bow in an impenetrable shell, so I like to use a finish that I can easily reapply as needed.  Just be sure to let the mink oil cure out for a day or two as it does have a distinct smell that dissipates as it dries.


Round 9, comin' up...