Bow Making?

**Survival Guy 10** · 10-29-2009, 08:17 PM

Does any one have any good info on bow making? I want to learn as much as i can but only have tools like knives,table saw,circular saw,and lots of different files

**FVR** · 10-29-2009, 09:18 PM

Go to this site and start reading.

I'm in the process of roughing out a red elm snaky bow. Down to one ring on the back, beautiful wood but the inside sure looks diff. from the outside. The stave had about an inch of white wood to get through before I hit that pretty redwood.

Good Luck.

**canid** · 10-29-2009, 11:08 PM

1.) here

2.) http://thebowyersden.com/forum/index.php

3.) http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

4.) http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

5.) http://www.primitiveways.com

**your_comforting_company** · 10-30-2009, 06:22 AM

theres also quite a few threads on this forum, just use the search feature in the top right and you'll find some really good ones.

**Swamprat1958** · 10-30-2009, 08:48 AM

"The Traditional Bowyer's Bible" by Jim Hamm is a resource anyone wanting to make bows should own. I have volumes 1 & 2 and just foound out they have a third volume as well.

**FVR** · 10-30-2009, 03:12 PM

Swamp,

They are up to BB IV now. You have two books to pick up.

Another good site is Primitivearcher.com. If I have questions, the two sites I hit are Primitive Archer and Paleoplanet.

**Survival Guy 10** · 10-30-2009, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by FVR

Go to this site and start reading.

I'm in the process of roughing out a red elm snaky bow. Down to one ring on the back, beautiful wood but the inside sure looks diff. from the outside. The stave had about an inch of white wood to get through before I hit that pretty redwood.

Good Luck.

I live in south alabama and i dont think there is red elm here so i guess theres not any in Ga so where do you order it from

**FVR** · 10-30-2009, 08:12 PM

Maybe it's not red elm??? I was on a construction site and found what I think is an elm tree that had been pushed over. I cut it up. I def. think it's an elm because of the bark. It had about an inch of white wood and then it is a beautiful reddish color.

It may be an elm and I'm in the heartwood.

Looks just like red elm.

As far as ordering bow wood, google and you have the world at your fingertips.

**canid** · 10-30-2009, 08:21 PM

it could very well be red elm which had been imported for planting, no?

**FVR** · 10-30-2009, 08:25 PM

It could be, it could also be a red mulberry. The bark looked like an elm tree when I cut, split, and debarked the log.

I've looked on the net at elm end log pics and they look similar, but the heartwood is not as dark as the wood I'm working.

I admit that I'm not much of a tree expert. I know hickory, oak, cedar, and the more common trees. Elm has always given me problems ident. it but working it, it makes a great bow.

**Rick** · 10-30-2009, 08:56 PM

If you are going to make it out of elm then look for Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra). You might also see it referred to as Scots Elm. I think that's what very early bows were actually made of. You'll be hard pressed, I think, finding very much elm of any kind because of Dutch Elm Disease.

http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardw...lm_lumber.html

**canid** · 10-30-2009, 09:23 PM

there are many fine woods a good bow can be made from, and many with hundreds and even thousands of years of historic use to back them up. don't limit yourself to one idea of a 'superwood'.

**Survival Guy 10** · 10-30-2009, 09:35 PM

Hay FVR look at your profile page i sent you a msage

**FVR** · 10-30-2009, 09:51 PM

I've made bows from a variety of woods and have settled on a few of my favorites. Of course Osage is at the top of the list for many reasons, Hickory is another favorite along with Elm. These are my favs.

I also like Black Locust but it does not like me. Seems I'm allergic to the dust. I stay away from exotic woods for the same reason, unknown effect of the wood dust.

Now, I can tell ya, when I go to Home Depot I always look at the red oak boards. I've made my share of Red Oak and Hickory board bows and if you can find the right one with the right rings and the moon and the stars are all in line, I will buy it.

I just find it hard to purchase wood. If I can't cut it down or trade for it, then I'm not working hard enough.

I don't like working with Maple......it's and easy wood to work with but for a selfbow, I think the wood is slow. I don't like Black Walnut, it makes a good backing or a bow with a hickory backing, but by itself, I don't like it. Although again, it's an easy wood to work. Purple Heart, that is the hardest wood along with Ebony that I've ever worked on.

This is my opinion and as always, it can be wrong.

**Survival Guy 10** · 10-30-2009, 10:16 PM

look at your profile FVR

**Swamprat1958** · 10-31-2009, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by FVR

Swamp,

They are up to BB IV now. You have two books to pick up.

Another good site is Primitivearcher.com. If I have questions, the two sites I hit are Primitive Archer and Paleoplanet.

Thanks FVR, I will have to add them to my library!

**oneraindog** · 11-04-2009, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by FVR

Go to this site and start reading.

I'm in the process of roughing out a red elm snaky bow. Down to one ring on the back, beautiful wood but the inside sure looks diff. from the outside. The stave had about an inch of white wood to get through before I hit that pretty redwood.

Good Luck.

did i miss a link that was supposed to be in there somewhere?