best bow build for beginner??

[silent sniper]

Hey guys, I am in a predicament about what to do.

 I want to make a bow, I build one a year ago that lasted for a week before it broke. It was a bamboo backed bow that I really loved for the short time I had it.

Since that I have tried a few board bows that broke during tillering. It has been a very unsuccessful year of attempted bow building.

My question is; for the beginner is it easier to build a glass bow, selfbow or all wood laminate?

I don't really care which I do, as I am sure I will build all of them eventually. I just want something that is going to have the best chance of working. It is disheartening building bows that break    

Material costs are not a huge concern to me and I have access to a wood shop and big band saw.

So gurus, which option is going to be the best for a beginner; the glass, selfbow, or wood laminate? Thanks SS

[KenH]

Self bows and wood-wood laminate bows can be very disheartening.  I know -- been there, got the tee shirt!

A wood-glass laminate, made with a simple, inexpensive form (not an air hose form) without a heat box (not needed if you are patient), can be a very rewarding build.  

Here's a 56" 50# "bendy-handle" flatbow that I made last year that costs about $50 for materials.  The nice, straight, flat, 2x2 next to the bow is the "form" that I built the bow on.

     

$18 pint Smooth On Epoxy kit
$19 two black glass laminations 72" x 1.5" x .030

I used clear glass because I happened to have two strips.  Black is cheaper.  

For a simple bow you don't need fancy woods.  If you can get a Red Elm or Maple or Oak or even knotless Pine board 1.5" wide and 5 ft long, cut two 1.5" x 1/8" lams 56" long.  The bow above has a straight grain pine and a Red Elm lam that I had laying about.

To hold the bow to the "form" I spiral wrapped the glue up with nylon strapping tape.  Easy Peasy!

[monterey]

I'll vote for the glass lam option.

A simple starter would be a Bingham flat LB.  Go with black glass and plain maple or elm lams for economy.  You can use a Bingham riser block or something local.  A rubber band form will work as well as a hose form and is actually more versatile.  My last glue up with smooth on was layed up in the morning and cured in my car in the sun.

Don't let the simplicity of the design fool you!  The bows I have built to those specs are smooth, stack free and speedy.

[fujimo]

x2- wo'dey sed    :D

[cunruhshoot]

My 2cents - is purchase the Bingham bow kit for the 68" longbow and if you are going to build more than one bow in the future go ahead and build the form with the air hose. You will also receive good instructions on how to build the bow oven and it is worth taking the time to build. My bow oven is now about 8 years old and still working great. My first bow form was the 62" Hybrid R/D longbow and I am still making bows off the form today.

I have made about 65 or 70 bows now over the past 8 years and none of my laminated bows have blown up.

I have however attempted the BBO and BBH and out of 5 bows I have one that is still shooting.

[cunruhshoot]

[George Tsoukalas]

Look for straight grained red oak boards. What does straight grained mean?

Check my site.

There is a red oak board buildalong on my site for a 50-55# bow.If you change the dimensions to 1 3/8" you may get 45-50# if you do a good job tillering.

Things to note...the handle is the widest part. There are no glued on pieces. The handle bends.

 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

Jawge

[Krasus]

Go with a glass backed all the way.

[Robertfishes]

I have built self bows and fiberglass laminated bows, haven't built a tri- lam..I took a bow building class in 1994 and built a nice Mulberry self bow. After the 3 weekend course and With the help of the instructor we also built a Osage pyramid bow from billets. Later and on my own I built a red oak board bow backed with deer rawhide..all good bows. I did not build another bow for 14 years.  Build what you want to shoot.. In 2009 my favorite Hunting bow was a Black Widow TF one piece bow. I bought the Bingham's one piece recurve plans, it is a forward riser like the BW TF bow. I knew I would be building alot of bows so I sold my bow collection and started buying tools and supplies.  For my first glass build I used cocobolo veneers, actionboo tapers and a Cocobolo colored Dymondwood riser..the bow came out pretty nice and I have taken a truck load of deer and hogs with it.. In 2010 I started building D/R hybrid longbows.. I prefer to build and shoot fiberglass bows. Build what you want to shoot. George has an excellent site if that's what you want to build.

[John Scifres]

If you follow instructions, you should not have a problem making a self bow.  Why have yours failed?

[mwosborn]

If you could find one of the many guys that build bows in Ohio to help you along it would make building any type of bow a bit easier.  Most of us just build bows because we like it.  Only thing more enjoyable is to help someone else build one. If that is not possible, the guys on here will help with any type of build. Good luck!

[silent sniper]

John, my failures have come from not having good enough boards for my board bows. My boards would either end up with grain run off or end up too short and lift splinters and break.

Like I said, I really want to make all 3 kinds. I love shooting glass bows and would definitely like to make one of my own.

I also have a huge interest in primitive archery. One of my biggest archery dreams is a big buck with a selfbow and flint tipped arrow. It is only a matter of time before I wander down that road.

Anyhow, I thank everyone for their replies. I was fortunate enough to find someone close to me that is going to give me some help. I am also going to look into the binghams kits and probably start from there.

Thanks again everyone, stay tuned! SS

[red hill]

X2 what Gawge says. Listen to John, he makes a very valid point.
Gawge has a good site as does Sam Harper.  I used both to make my first red oak board bows.

[Wolftrail]

Whats wrong with maple; oak is ok but.

[monterey]

At least in my area, a useable maple board seems to be a myth!

[jsweka]

I can pretty much guarantee you'll end up with a shootable bow if you go with a Bingham's straight longbow - lamination kit and instructional materials.

[Mark Smeltzer]

I say get yourself a nice hickory stave and go with that.

[Wolftrail]

Originally posted by monterey:
At least in my area, a useable maple board seems to be a myth!

Thats strange thats all I use. I live on the West coast and all the Sugar maple comes from back east, at least I think so (from Canada.)  I find really good stuff at the lumber store.

[Mark Smeltzer]

I personally would go with a hickory selfbow.

[Eric Krewson]

Like has been mentioned, a hickory stave, properly cut, with bark pealed off in the spring to expose the back is about as bomb proof as any bow making material out there.