How MANY Hours TO BUILD a SELF BOW?

[Drewster]

I'm working on my fourth self bow and know that its taken me longer than it should to build the first ones due to the learning curve and not wanting to make mistakes.

How long does is usually take you experienced bowyers to build the average self bow?

[LittleBen]

Lets say the stave reduced to a very rough shape prior to drying, and it's all dry and ready to work.

I'd say on a perfectly straight stave that doesn't require any straightening (or very minor straightening) it takes me about an hour or so to get it to floor tiller, another hour to get the tips reduced, handle roughed in, overlays on and nocks cut (maybe a bit more with super glue drying for 30 min).

15min or so to make a string.

Then as little as an hour or two to tiller depending on how close the floor tiller was.

Sanding maybe an hour or two depending on how anal you are about it.

Then finishing is pretty quick but dry time is long. I use wipe on poly, so it usually takes a few days to get the finish done, one coat before work and one coat after work. Then I like to let the finish cure for a week or so before I screw with it.

So maybe 6 hours plus finishing time.

Add time for built up/glued on handle, fancy shelf area or built up leather shelf, fancy handle wrap etc.

But I'd say bare bones shooting bow without finish, as little as 6-8hours.

I rough out the bow an floor tiller with a small machete or large bowie type knife ... something with some mass, and a hunting knife (aka scraper). Rasp and file for handle etc. And mainly a belt sander for fast wood removal for tillering and narrowing the limbs to the finished shape.

I also don;t sweat the small stuff, a few tools marks don;t bother me much unless it's for someone else.

With bad twist, lots of added reflex, sinew or any othe rcrazy stuff, easily triple those times.

[Bowjunkie]

Lets say an osage stave with the bark and sapwood still intact... from there to finished, with no major hurdles to overcome like super snakey grain or heat corrections to deal with, no frills, but applying a near-flawless finish, string with silencers, leather grip, ready to shoot... about 20 hours... give or take.

That said, they're all different, and time doesn't really factor in for me. I tend to take my time, get to know her, and enjoy the process.

[Vgo750]

I'm about where you are...on my 6th bow currently.  Only one stave bow under my belt and the rest board bows...I am very cautious and conservative with my scraping tho...but i bet each bow took me between 20 and 30 hours from drawing the layout to my last coat of sealer.

[LittleBen]

Now that I think about it 6 hours is probably highly optimistic ... probably more like 10, but again thats really no frille no wrap no silencers, no fancy enything and no finish.

[Black Mockingbird]

Anywhere from 30 minutes to 30 hours....but who cares...and don't worry about it at first....take your time and think 10 times before you make your next move...and just worry about completing each step as best as ya can

[KellyG]

Ummm I wish I could knock one out in an 8 hours. Drewster I am a novice when it comes to making a bow and I really don't count the hours, but It takes me months to get one done.

[Pat B]

I can easily put 20 hours in a selfbow and sometimes longer depending on the stave. I never clocked myself or counted the days involved in the process so it is just a guess.
 Time is the last thing you think about when building a selfbow. It takes as long as it takes and trying to rush has ruined quite a few bows for me.

[ron w]

If your in a hurry your in the wrong game. Every stave is unique and can provide different challenges. One stave may take 6 hours to have a shooter and the next may give you fits and 2 take weeks.

[Drewster]

I'm not particularly concerned about how many hours it takes me to build one either.  It's a work of love for sure.  I take my time too, BUT I would like to learn to work more efficiently.  I probably have 30 hours each in the bows I've built and am wanting to learn ways to save time.....so I can shoot more :-)

[Roy from Pa]

As you build more bows, you will get faster and faster. But getting in a hurry is asking for failures.

[vanillabear?]

[Mark Smeltzer]

I have taken easily 20-30 hrs depending on the stave. I have no issues with taking what ever time it needs to get a good bow.
Sometimes I'll pull a stave out of the pile that I know is going to be a killer....they take a little longer.

Mark

[John Scifres]

I started one of the bows in my project pile in 2001.  So 13 years isn't out of the question  

[bendotwood]

Depends on many factors, how cooperative (or not) the wood is, whether your using power tools, how hard your work the hand tools, how dense the wood is, how picky about tiller you are, list goes on.

The ones I have made usually take maybe 3-6 hours spread over a day or two to build.  

Of course, if you count the time spent cutting down the tree and splitting the staves and drying them then it takes a lot longer.

[John Scifres]

But seriously folks...

...between 10 and 80 hours with an average of 20 for an osage selfbow.  If I had to guess.  I'm usually not in a hurry.

That's the full monte excluding drive time to where I cut the tree.

I once saw Tim Baker make an unfinished board bow in less than 10 minutes.  I could come close to that I bet.  

Somewhere there's a video of a "production line" for one of the guys that sells (or used to sell) crappy U-Finish board bows on ebaay.  2 guys piled up about 50 "bows" in about 2 minutes of video.

So the point: It takes as many hours as it takes,  and as many as you want it to.

[Eric Krewson]

I watched the late Jimmy Taylor make a bow from a hickory backed cherry stave in 15 minutes. He had milling machines to do most of the work and had a bow worth about $20 when he was finished.

I never work more than 4 hours at a stretch on a bow because of carpel tunnel problems. It takes me about 10 hours to get the bow shooting and another couple hours of shooting and adjusting the tiller to call the bow finished.

[ALW]

With kids, work, travel, yard work, etc......about 3 months!  LOL.......
Aaron

[George Tsoukalas]

I tell people 30 hours. But what does it matter? This is my hobby.
I started my last bow in the summer and finished the week before Christmas.
I'd work on it a bit, check the moisture level and let it dry. Half hour here. 4 hours there.
Jawge

[glenbo]

I Try not to be under the gun with my bow making, That is what work is for. It seems to me that bows that linger,and worked on when I really feel like it are my best attempts. Like Ron w says,each one is different.