on bow making

[hayshaker]

darn,darn,darn i just snapped my prototype bow
mabey cause the wood is sixty years old oak and no moister, hmmm
any how out to the yard later to get a fresh piece of norway maple and see what that does
it,s only for a wall hanging bow. ill dress it up in traditional fashion.
with a quiver and some arrows. i so new at this but with time and practice i.ll get better god willing.

[MrFixIt]

Sorry to hear that. And it does sound like the lack of moisture was the culprit.
Keep your chin up, and learn from your mistakes!
*I've learned a lot in this fashion*

[hayshaker]

thanks mr fixit in retrospect i believe the linbs were still to thick and was probably
the reason it snapped.i still have to go out back and cut me a few pieces of maple
to work on and see how that goes. i already got my arrow shafts thier cedar port orford
i believe 5,1/6x 29in. oh can i use ash for a pony bow?

[Rick]

Wood and metal know what they want to be. They don't respond well when we try to make them something else. I've "ruined" a lot of wood that wound up being something other than I originally intended it to be. As they say, if you ain't breakin' 'em you ain't makin' 'em.

[crashdive123]

I don't make bows, but admire people that do. I remember on bowyer here (FVR I think) posting "If you ain't breaking em, you ain't making em". That holds true in a lot of "hobbies". Learn from it and move on. Good on you for giving it a shot and staying with it.

[archeonut]

What kind of bows you people make? My father in law makes longbows, very powerful pieces, but very large and time demanding. Also, what kind of woods did you use?

[Farley]

I suppose depending on the look or style you are going for, try backing it with something. Backed bows tend to take a lot more than unbacked and are more forgiving to those of us who arent overly experienced bowyers.
I've only made a few, but I have backed them all with something. The latest is a red oak board bow that I backed with black cotton. So far so good.

BTW waterproof glues like titebond III are recommended.