First bow building attempt......could you help me through?

[saumensch]

Hi,

so i got 4 staves of ash that got dried for 4 years now and i wanna start my first attempt at building one of them into my first selfbow.

Before i start, wich tools will i need? Ive read a book about it and it suggests a small hand axe, and various knives, a file and sanding paper. Is this enough?

I will post pics of the staves soon.

Thanks

[Osagetree]

I've done a couple ash bows from boards but, I laminated a hickory backing on them as insurance.

Ash can make a selfbow but, it must be approx. 64" long, 2" to 2 1/2" wide & at the fades & tapper to 1/2" at the tips. Or you could probably go 72" long and 1 3/4" at the fades tappering to 3/8" tips.

There are several more experienced here on ash stave bows. So, do a search here on the "Bowyers Bench" or in the "How To" section and I bet you'll find some good info on ash selfbows.

There are several build-alongs in progress right now in this section. Even though these staves are osage bows, the principles are still about the same. You just need to go wider with whitewoods like ash.

[John Scifres]

I've made several ash stave bows.  It's decent stuff but varies greatly in its density even among the same species.

I'd say the minimum tools once you have a stave in hand are tape measure, pencil, hatchet, 4 way rasp, and a scraper of some sort.  Get a bench vise mounted on a sturdy bench and life gets easier.  Get a chainsaw file and you will get better string nocks.  A drawknife make many tasks easier.  A flexible yardstick is nice for laying bows out.

[camoman]

Dont know alot about selfbows, but post plenty of pics, I would like to watch it built!