If you're dying to build a bow, but just don't think you have the tools or skills yet, then you might consider buying a U-Finish bow or a floor tillered stave. U-Finish bows come tillered and ready for you to sand, finish, and set up to your liking. Floor tillered staves are not quite as finished as U-Finish bows, but bow limbs are at the stage where they are bending fairly well. You must tiller these staves both for balance/even bend in and between the limbs as well as for draw weight. You also must sand, finish, and set them up. Both options only require a bare minimum of hand tools which you undoubtedly have and involve considerably less time than building a bow from scratch. Plus, these options are a lot less expensive than you might think.
For example, I bought the U-Finish horsebow below from a reputable dealer a few months back. I don't plan on building glass bows, namely because I enjoy working with wood and I don't want to purchase, build, and store the extra tools necessary to work with glass. BUT, I did really have a hankering for a short, fast, unique, glass/wood bow that I could use in tight quarters (such as small ground and brush blinds.) I couldn't afford to buy a finished or custom bow, and the tools I would need to actually build the bow from a kit or scratch would have exceeded the price of the U-Finish bow.
I tweaked the draw weight and tiller to my liking, finish sanded, applied a finish, wrapped the siyah butts and handle, installed the arrow rest and pass, built a custom string (although it did come with one), and I was in business. Waiting for the finish to dry was the longest process!
Did I build the bow? Well, not really. But did I learn some stuff? You bet! Did I have fun? Tons! Is it a custom bow? Absolutely! It's set up to MY shooting style and taste. Actually, I just finished my wife's horsebow. She liked mine so much she had to have one, too! Yet with the combined price of our bows, we're still under the average price tag for building a single glass bow from scratch!!!
Unbraced profile:
Braced profile:
Front profile:
Siyah; wrapped with hemp soaked in Titebond III
Handle:
The "bow maker's" signature (SSHHHH! Don't tell!):
Topic: UPDATED INFO: Want a Super Easy Initiation Into Bowyery? (Horsebow Pics) (Read 1145 times)
