sapling bow

[smittysurvival]

ive been trying to make a bow but i have to use a sapling because im a little short on tools. ive been working on a peice of maple and its starting to look nice. mibht be the second bow ive ever made by trimming it down. the first on had a funeral in the graveyard of bows (currently 23 graves. 21 of which we saplings thaat werent trimmed and another that was store bought. then the trimmed sapling) after an accident on its first hunt. tryed to take a shot at a rabbit but drew back too far. i got the shot off but must have had too much stress on the bow. got the rabbit but lost bow. hit it in the hind leg. now im going to something a little stonger. it should have be alittle akward because it has a natural curve to it. more of a bend really then a curve. it will take alot of work and the draw will be pretty akward. it has a few knots which will kill me. so i need to know for future reference what kind of woods i can use that will make a good bow, how to make the strongest bow i can(i know that just about any bow can bring down a rabbit but im looking for a deer and a way to pick off a coyote. coyotes are very hated where i live.), and any other secrets to making a great bow.

[canid]

almost any broadleaved hardwood will make a bow, but since some are much better that others, it would help to know where you live.

secondly: slow down. one thing at a time.

[smittysurvival]

my bad. i live in southern ohio

[canid]

perfect, you should have plenty of decent bow woods.

for a sapling bow, i would certainly recommend ash or maple, but these are a few of many options.

now in my view; sapling bows are easy, but of course the first couple don't always seem that way. what is critically important, and more so than even your wood selection ultimately, is that you understand what tillering entails.

you have to know what your goal is, which is even bending limbs, with no over stressed spots, and no overly stiff spots, with the exception of the handle itself, and the immediate tips.

i don't know how much reading you've done, or even how many bows you've used, so i would ask you give me an outline of your understanding of the process real quick.

[smittysurvival]

im not sure i know what you mean

[canid]

lets assume you have just cut a 6 foot sapling. it's 2.5" in diameter at the base, and 1.75" dia. at the top.

what do you plan to do to it, from your current understanding?

the more i know about what you're already put together or read, the better frank, myself and anybody else can approach giving direction or help.

[smittysurvival]

i would trim it down so that it was th same thickness all the way through. next i would cut it down to five feet (i dont need a bow that is the same height as me.). then i would measure it and find the middle of the wood.i would then thin down the arms of of the bow until they were flexible. (i dont know how to describe that part) and the middle of the bow thick and stiff. i would cut notches for the string and wrap a paice of deer hide leather around the middle and sand it off to a smooth finish

[FVR]

Post a pic of the sapling with it's dia., length, and type of wood.

And let's get started.

First, don't cut it down to 5 yet, and make it bend through the handle.

[smittysurvival]

ill try to get the pic up tommorrow. i think this one is already around four feet or so. i cut it down to the size of my othe bow, that was his ideal sapling. i dont have that one. im going to go find another maple though. i need a different knife though. a three inch pocket knife aint getting it done

[canid]

alright. there are a couple things to remember. with wood, on it's own, you should not expect to get a draw length longer than half the length of working limbs.

this means that if you have a bend through the handle bow that is 48" from nock to nock, you should not try to get more than 24" of draw from it.

this is a general rule, and it can be bent [pun, pun...], but not for every bow, and not every time.

when you begin to remove wood, leave it thicker than you think you will need. you can always remove more and you can't always add more.

tiller is the degree of bend through the limbs when the bow is flexed. what you want, in general is to have even stresses through the limb, with no spots which are too rigid, and no spots which are too soft.

stiff areas do little work, and weak areas do too much. the soft spots suffer permanent compression damage if stressed too much, and are the areas most likely to break.

it is far more important that the bow bends even than that it look even, because the bending is where the work is done.

when you begin to tiller [remove wood to get the bow bending properly], never pull it harder than you would like the final draw weight to be. if you want a 50lb draw, and pulling it the first 6" requires 60lb, don't pull it that far until you have removed enough wood to get that bend at or under 50lb.

always remove wood where it is stiffest. do it in thin amounts at a time once you start bending.

as i'm sure you know, you must make your tillering removals from the belly side of the bow.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Oh yes!! I'm going to be following this thread, as I have not yet started on my bow. Two of the best bow makers I know of working together on a step by step instructional tutorial. This thread will be worth gold I tell ya'!! I'm shutting up and listening now and won't say a peep unless I have a question.

[Camp10]

Oh yes!! I'm going to be following this thread, as I have not yet started on my bow. Two of the best bow makers I know of working together on a step by step instructional tutorial. This thread will be worth gold I tell ya'!! I'm shutting up and listening now and won't say a peep unless I have a question.

My thoughts exactly!! I will be watching for new posts as well.

[FVR]

While making a sapling bow today, hint. Watch the middle of the bow. I took mine down a bit more than I should have. I was hoping for a 55/60lb bow and ended up with a 45/50lb bow.

I just cut the stave in half, stuck one end in a male pipe fitting, the other limb in a female pipe fitting and now have a take down.

Bow needs more work. need to thin out the limbs to get them working a bit more and steam in some recurve limb tips. This will basically make it a reflex deflex bow.

Best thing about the sleeves, the bow had a bad twist and now I just rotate the limb and it's pretty straight.

Work in progress, put it up for awhile.

[canid]

haha. i'm picturing a t/d sleeve like a barrel swivel now.

[smittysurvival]

i can see that i have the great bowmakers on the site are helping me

[smittysurvival]

im trashing the bow. its five feet, too many knots, huge bend that i wont be able to work around, and it will make nice fire wood. gonna go out to find a new sapling when the weather warms up. what am i looking for for a good bow?

[FVR]

I would look for hickory about 70" long, straight with min. limbs or knots.

What tools do you have?

[smittysurvival]

a pocket knife. hickory has been hard to find. can anyone post a pic of the bark and describe it?

[smittysurvival]

my tools are a pocket knife and a clamp

[FVR]

Best bet is to google pics of hickory, elm, oak, and maple. That's what I do when I need to id a tree.

I made many bows with a Stanley wood rasp. I used it on my ELB for the first time in awhile and am very happy.

A rought wood file and a small round file always come in handy.