4 Attachment(s)
the uglybow, expedient bowyering with poor woods
This is a demonstration of a decent expedient selfbow. The style is generaly that of a flatbow.
While visiting family in oregon last week I decided to take a trip to the mountains. I had intended to find some good straight alder for the purpose of making some atl atl darts, allong one of the stream banks as this is a good place to findtall, crowded, straight hardwoods. While I found many, I also took the liberty to harvest some boles for bow staves. Where I live in California, the only thing growing allong the rivers are eucalyptus covered in ivy and grape.
For the bows, I tried to harvest those staves which where straightest, having fewest knots, closest to 2" dia at the center and not much over 2.5" at the bottom [as I had a small, keyhole type cross-cut saw with a blade of about 6"]. As it was cold, raining and getting dark in a dense band of alder hells, I did not find many that where ideal.
Most of the staves I ended up with are not impressive at all, but I figured I could get a couple bows from them for my cousins and nephew to goof around with in the yard and give me another project to do. This is the making of one such bow. It was made in about 6 hours with a knife and for cosmetic reasons, a random orbit disk sander. Campfire time: 1-3 days with a good knife.
The bole used for this bow stave was somewhat knotted, had several bends and a significant amount of twist. Otherwise put; this was not an ideal stave for bowyering.
The proccess:
After harvesting several boles of red alder and a few of green or sitka alder, lengths from 5-6.5', I debarked them with a smooth downward slicing motion and then scraped off the remaining lines of cambium still attatched to the sapwood [these can be readily seen in red alder as they immediately begin to discolor reddish orrange].
Next I stood the bole up on end and sighted down the length, turning to establish the flattest profile, that with the least sideways bends. The outside of this curve would become the back to my bow [the side that faces the target].
I marked down the centerline of this back, then, for simplicity's sake I marked the center of the handle section off at midpoint of the bow. On the opposite side, the belly, i would remove the wood from the limbs.
Using a sharp heavy knife as one would a hatchet for hewing, I tapered each limb down, sharply at first, to form risers and flatten out the belly of the limbs. At this point, they had a 'D' cross section. I then tapered gradualy the rest of the length to the tips, so that 1/3 of the wood had been removed at the narrow end and 1/2 from the fatter end.
From midway allong the limbs, I tapered the sides of the limbs down to the tips, gradualy making the ends more rounded and ending about 1" diameter.
Next I leaned the stave up against a corner of the wall, with the bottom pulled towards myself where I sat on the floor. Using the knife held handle in one hand, tip carefuly in the other, as a draw-knife, I refined my shape, smoothing my earlier cuts, removing any thick spots, bumps and rounding off all the angles a bit.
Here I first check the tiller. I stood, holding one limb tip on the toe of my boot [to protect it from the ground] and then other at head height. Pushing bit by bit with my free hand, from the handle area, I checked the bend of the limbs. Any stiff spots where thined out at the belly. I is important here that one bends the bow only as much as it takes to see the first area that is most prone to bending. Every part of the limbs that was not this spot I trimmed a little and checked again.
I next carved, by whittling, shallow notches [nocks] around the back and side of the limbs, about 1" from the tips to accept the bowstring.
Once it seemed to be bending evenly when pulled almost half draw and there where no obvious 'lumbs' I moved on to using the edge of the knife, held almost at a right angle to scrape wood from the belly of the limbs little at a time. I kept increasing the pressure of the bend, inch by inch as I checked the tiller, and used the knife as above to remove a little from the stiffer spots untill i was able to put a string on and test pull it.
Once i was within an inch or two of full draw [for me, 28 inches] I bent the bow a bit to see where the bow first became quick and springy as it flexed to determine the brace height. I then made a string for it, out of cheap p-cord, about 200lb breaking strength.
This is still green wood, and so the limbs are sluggish and are prone to taking a set. The draw weight is relatively heavy for the cast it gives [how hard and far it shoots]. It draws about 35-40lb and shoots like a 25lb glass recurve, but it was quick and easy to make and could easily take small game at close ranges. Being green wood, and as alder isn't a great bow wood IME, the limbs will wear out rather quickly and lose cast. I expect this bow, if kept dry and stored unstrung, will last several weeks, hopefuly all one would need in a subsistence situation. Otherwise, a much better bow can be made in the meanwhile.
