Longbow (selfbow)

**TheWoodsman** · 10-04-2010, 03:52 PM

Looking to make a longbow or known as a selfbow made of one peice of wood, any ideas on dementions or any advice you may have is greatly appreciated.

**Sarge47** · 10-04-2010, 05:28 PM

1st, do a nice intro, you'll find what you need in 'General Chat" under introductions.

2nd, go to this thread: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ad.php?t=13016

3rd, your other 2 threads have been moved to the appropriate threads.

**Swamprat1958** · 10-04-2010, 05:39 PM

Sarge it is good to see somethings never change.

Hey Woodsman don't let Sarge scare you off, just remember His Bite Is Worse Than His Bark!!!

**crashdive123** · 10-04-2010, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Swamprat1958

Sarge it is good to see somethings never change.

Hey Woodsman don't let Sarge scare you off, just remember His Bite Is Worse Than His Bark!!!

Only if he has his dentures in.

**canid** · 10-04-2010, 07:00 PM

the link sarge posted is a build along for a laminate bow.

for self-bows - probably more than any other - quantitative dimensions are far less important than the qualititive measure of the wood's behavior. those specific dimensions which will work for one stave will not necessarily work for another. with that said, there are some generalizations which can be made.

a stave should be several inches longer than the desired bow, to allow for any checking which may happen while the stave is drying. the checked ends can be cut off after the stave is fully dried, leaving the stave of a length suitable for your bow.

there is a flexible sort of general rule that says a selfbow should be no less than twice as long as your intended draw length if the tiller is good. for a beginner, it is good to leave a couple inches of elbow room here as well. this means that if you actually need to draw to 29", your dried and trimmed stave should be at lease 58" and preferably a bit longer, 62" or more.

this is assuming you will be making a bow with a rigid handle. you can take 5-6" off for a bend through the handle type of bow.

your limb width will generally fall between 2 and 1" at the fade [the transition from handle to limb], tapering towards tips which should be as thin and light as you can get away with. i frequently end up around 1/3" at the tips.

your limb thickness will depend on the wood, but it's pretty safe to start with limbs about 1/2" thick and work them down gradually in the tillering process. what's important is how much and how evenly they bend at your desired draw weight, so you just keep working them down at the belly without going over that weight until they bend all the way to your desired length.

**FVR** · 10-04-2010, 08:02 PM

First time bow builders do very well with making longer bows, say 66" with a D design, aka bending through the handle.

Now that the heats is laying off, I will be making a few selfbows. Since all I use is an ax, drawknife and files, the cooler the better.

**sthrnstrong** · 10-04-2010, 11:05 PM

FVR, think you could do a tutorial with pictures as you make one of those bows? I'm sure it would be a benefit for beginners as myself.

**your_comforting_company** · 10-05-2010, 05:19 AM

I would like to make one also, over winter. I certainly would appreciate a build-along, FVR style.

**Erratus Animus** · 10-06-2010, 08:15 PM

Ty sarge for the reference to my longbow post but it is a fiberglass bows as that is all I build anymore.

First a long bow and self bow are two different bows. Here is a link to a site that will help you out and build a nice self board bow. The same skills are used in making the selfbows and dont be fooled these bows are not toys. They are true huntable weapons.

Primitive Archer magazine has several articles on building board bows as well as the standard selfbows.http://poorfolkbows.com/

http://www.rudderbowsarchery.com/store/