Building A Sinew Backed Hickory Short Bow 

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words, and feedback. Though it may appear differently through the video, I can assure you this bow is tillered well, and it shoots very accurately.

@@EccentricArtisan perhaps this is the effect of the camera ,but also in other videos inners looks stiff. Anyway, I support anciant art of bowbuilding! Keep making bows:))

@@cantorii6385 I have often noticed that too. I definitely think the camera doesn’t translate limb shape well. Bow building is a passion. I certainly will 😊

Right on! I’ve done one with a tomahawk and knife on a log. Being able to work with what you have is a great skill, and it’s fun to switch things up anyhow.

@@EccentricArtisan The tiller is pretty uneven and its got a little bit of a hinge. Its 52" long and draws out around 45#. Someday Ill probably work on it a bit more and bring it down to around 35# and hopefully even it out. Hickory does make for some beautiful aesthetics. Mine has a polished back that looks almost like a hologram.

@@springbloom5940 I’ve always appreciated the look of hickory as well. Sounds like a handsome bow! I wish you luck on evening up the tiller. I find small removals and frequent checking helps a lot.

¡Muchas gracias! Me alegra saber que aprecias el proceso. ¡Gracias por ver y comentar!

Thank you very much! It’s definitely a passion of mine to pass this kind of stuff on, the same as others have passed it to me. I’m 27 this year and have been teaching some of the younger people in my family. I’m always glad to hear from people like yourself who are carrying on the tradition.

Thank you! And I share the same sentiments. Hopefully what I post will at least give a few people that extra push to try their hand at creating something excellent in their own vision.

Thanks dude!

@@EccentricArtisan Course Bro! I had a fantastic vibe time watching this last night!!

It’s a deep passion for me. Thank you very much!

Lol, I know very well about being in that lacking for knowledge stage. It wasn’t until a while after I started building that I understood the limitations of the many different ways of creating a bow. Proudly still have the first one hanging around. It’s an ugly chunk of hickory that pulls maybe 20 pounds.

That’s awesome! I hope to have such a long full life enjoying and sharing these simple pleasures as well. Thanks very much for the kind words!! ❤️

Yeah rawhide is good stuff too! I’ve used it on other bows. Definitely very tough stuff! I’ve not tried gelatin, but I’ve heard good things. I’ve mostly used wood glues, but I’m going to be working with some hide glue on a full primitive build soon.

Nice! My brother has made ash bows with rawhide backings. Sinew can be a bit tedious, but it’s definitely worth it imo. I hope it goes well for you! And thank you!

Thanks man!

@@EccentricArtisan you're welcome

Thank you! Yeah, it shoots really nicely. The second of this style in my other build video shoots even sweeter. I definitely want to try some different plants for coloring methods in the future.

Thank you very much! I’m just finishing up another now with a proper full build video.

@@EccentricArtisan keep it up! I hope to one day seeing you do some of that Lars Anderson shooting.

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Gracias

Thanks very much!

Primitive technology

Thanks man!

I do notice a decent gain, but not a huge amount. I’m sure it probably varies based on various conditions of the materials and environment. Thank you!

Thank you! My guess is that the arrows I’m currently using are getting about 170 feet per second. However, I don’t have a chronograph yet, so I haven’t measured that. I may be getting one for future videos to compare builds though.

Glad you like it! How have you been learning so far? Through a book, videos, a teacher?

@abis10 alpha10 thank you! The short answer is, in my opinion, no. You could potentially go a bit higher in weight than this bow. The general rule is that a bow should only be drawn to half its total length. In other words, the bow in this video is 50” from tip to tip. Drawing to 25” is the max safe draw that many people would recommend. I do draw it past that, and it hasn’t broken yet. However, the shorter the bow, and greater draw weight, significantly increase the likelihood of limb failure. I used hickory wood and sinew, because it is an extremely tough material combination and less likely to fail under extreme stress. Potentially a bit longer bow could do what you are looking for.

@abis10 alpha10 that idea has potential as far a draw weight goes. Depending upon the way they are merged though, you may get remarkably different results in arrow cast. Poundage is import, but so is limb/energy efficiency. If you cannot transfer all that potential energy into your arrow then it makes the poundage useless. You may find that it slows the arrow speed too much. I don’t have experience with your particular idea, but I can say that there’s always room for experimenting. A lot of bowyers poopoo the idea of making bows like the one in my video, simply because they don’t like the weight stacking in the draw and the possibility of limb failure. But I know that I’ve successfully created bows that I’m comfortable with, so I don’t care much what they feel about it. I’d say, if you have an idea, give it a whirl. You don’t know until you try. Also, you may already be familiar with the book series, but if not I suggest reading the Traditional Bowyers Bible, volumes 1-4. They are packed with knowledge.

@@EccentricArtisan mostly videos and a lot of trying new things and just seeing if it works 😁

@@DogsaladSalad the best way to learn in my opinion!

I haven’t tried that with green black walnuts before. I’ll have to give it a whirl sometime. On this occasion I only needed a light coloring. I do like to keep the ripened hulls for staining. You can get some really nice and dark tones from them.

Fastest one I’ve built so far

Thank you sir!

No thank you for rekindling my love for primitive bows. I’m reading about Ishi now and how he made glass arrowheads

@@Mikes_Life Ishi’s story is pretty incredible. I read a little about him and watched a couple of documentaries after seeing references made to him in The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible volumes. Excellent reads as well.

I definitely agree about the intuition. We all start with the desire and then sorta find our way from there, picking up more found knowledge as we work. This was my first bow after a couple years off from making them, but I have made several since. Now I am working on a proper how to series that will hopefully help get people started on their first bows. Just trying to pass on the things I have learned. Thanks so much for the kind words. I wish you luck with your next build sir!

I honestly didn’t know so many people would be interested in this video! I think I may do another using purely natural materials. Thank you for the kind words sir!

Thanks very much!

Thanks man! I appreciate it!

Thank you. I haven’t tried juniper yet, but someday I will. I know many people love to use Osage, but hickory has always been my favorite. Luckily it is plentiful here in the midwest.

@@EccentricArtisan is there any way I can buy some from you I'm a Navajo bower I always want to try hickory

@@oso8146 If I sold I’d be more than happy to do business with you, but I don’t personally sell anything I harvest. I know there are some websites that sell quality hickory staves. bowyerstavestore.com/products/bow-stave-hickory is one. A google search should bring up some other options too.

Well as far as wood goes here in the states the heartwood of osage orange followed by black locust are most resistant to water. And given that string follow or set is typically seen because of the wood’s moisture content being a bit higher when drawn or in use they automatically are better. However, bows with other wood types can be kept well dried when stored or not in use and a fresh coating of animal grease mixed with bees wax or pitch glue (or any similar modern finish). Those two things will significantly reduce the moisture taken in and in turn reduce string follow, but they have to be done religiously. Overdrawing (per the stress the limbs can safely handle) can give limbs permanent follow as well so taking care not to do that will help. And finally I highly suggest sinew backing as it has for me kept follow very minimal or non existent.

Very good answer, thanks, I have sourced acess to deer sinew and I most certainly want to try that procedure, could you give me some idea of the quantity required to back say a "60" in bow, Cheers..

@@mikenorris6769 it will depend on the size of the particular deer in question, but for reference I have used elk leg tendons. When using leg tendons for backing 1 layer on a 50” long bow took about 3 elk leg tendons. Most other deer being smaller I would hazard a guess at 4-6 tendons, size depending of course. It’s definitely always better to have more than necessary prepped though! I can say that for sure.

After that it’s just determining how many layers you want. Personally I think 1 is fine and two to three is probably optimal.

Thank you!

I totally understand the sentiment. I fully intend to do more informational style videos for bow making. This one was not originally going to be a video. Then I decided halfway through the build I’d make it. The final stages were done with two colors of dye to bring out the sinew texture. Then I did a final wash of watered dye over the lines. I will be giving much more detailed info in the following bow builds. Thank you and sorry for the lack of info in this one. I didn’t know it would be so popular.

@@EccentricArtisan Don't be sorry I totally enjoyed the video and can't wait to see the next one. You asked so I answered, wasn't intended to be negative. I thought the video was well made just needed a bit more detail but then again I'm a person who loves to learn the details.

@@TheRedhawke I am that way as well, and I can definitely say the next will be as detailed as possible!

Thank you

Thank you!

Roughly 9 for the three layers. Two layers would suffice though in my opinion.

Thank you! Just subbed you too. I’ll definitely check your videos out!

Thank you! Those are immature black walnuts. They have a hull that grows around the shell. It starts out green, and as the years goes on, it turns brown/black and falls off, revealing the nut’s shell. The hulls contain a highly potent stain, that darkens as the hull ages. When green it gives a light, yellow-brown. Then towards the end of the year it will create a much darker brown.

@@EccentricArtisan Wow! That's so good to know! I wonder, do immature pecans stain similarly? There are a lot of pecan trees where I live.

@@YeshuaIsTheTruth They can, but I would assume not as easily. They’re considered a hickory nut, and I’ve seen shag hickory nuts leave stains on concrete after rain. Maybe if you boiled the hulls or similarly had a way of extracting the stain you could get it more concentrated. I’m certainly not an expert in natural stains or dyes though, just a hunch.

@@EccentricArtisan Thank you though :)

@@YeshuaIsTheTruth anytime! I love talking shop!

Thank you! The glue I used is Titebond 3 wood glue, and it’s watered down a bit to a drizzle consistency.

@@EccentricArtisan Thanx for the answer ! Titebond 3 is a pva glue ???

@@ionsorinporojan149 Yes. It’s the best, truly waterproof PVA glue.

@@EccentricArtisan Thank you for your answers bro !!!

@@ionsorinporojan149 you are welcome!

It definitely does work. Almost exactly the same. The difference is that Titebond 3 is rated as waterproof short of submersion in water. And actually even with submersion it holds up incredibly well. This just creates a bow you can take out in rain or get wet and have no worries whatsoever about glue separation. In other words, it’s overkill for most people and scenarios.

@@EccentricArtisan any recomended glue to water ratio?

@@hannibal230 personally I just eyeball it but between 70-90% glue and 30-10% water is where I would feel comfortable. It ends up being more water than that anyhow because I always fully saturate the sinew in water before wringing out and dipping in the glue mix.

@@EccentricArtisan one last question if you dont mind, I know when using hide or fish bladder glue it take no less then 3 months to be safe for the lamination to dry and cure but how about with titebond how long does it take? As i dont want to stretch and use the bow prematurely otherwise i will delaminate it

@@hannibal230 well 3 months is excessively long for any glue. I don’t mean at all to be rude, but that isn’t a time that you have to wait. The only way a glue takes that long to set is if you intentionally leave it in an environment where it won’t. And that’s not a good thing. Hide and fish glue aside though, Titebond can be extremely quick given the right conditions. If you watch my other video that actually goes into detail on how to build this style bow, you’ll see I managed it in 6 days total, from wet sinew going on to final tiller and shooting. I did three layers on that bow as well and I talk about the conditions mine cured under too. It might be helpful to watch. ru-vid.com/group/PLLkW_3a6dWV-xrYxx3Mco4I9XOjs8qzJ4

I used hickory wood for this bow.

Works beautifully. In addition to the few shots I take with it in the video, it has over a thousand now. Still shooting great.

It is watered down Titebond 3 wood glue.

It’s definitely better, but I wouldn’t say absolutely necessary. The difference is that boards from the store will be cut from a log. That means the growth rings are “violated” or cut across. If you harvest your own wood from a tree you can peel off the bark from white wood like hickory and there’s one growth ring underneath that is left intact. The same can be accomplished with osage or mulberry by splitting and cutting down to one ring of the heartwood. This is much stronger under tension of drawing the bow. However, if the bow is of appropriate design (wide limbs and moderate draw weight) with sinew backing, you can make them from a store bought board. If you want to research more I highly recommend the Traditional Bowyers Bible book series. The first book covers the basics and the other get into further detail.

@@EccentricArtisan thank you so much. Where is a good place to get sinew and was that regular wood glue mixed with water u coated it in? Also how long was the wood u harvested to make the bow

@@kcsniperboy7148 I like to get my sinew on eBay. You can search for elk tendon or back sinew. Just different parts of the body but the same material. Then just find a video in processing it into strands. Yes, that was wood glue. I like Titebond brand, and 2 or 3 will both work. 3 is just waterproof so it can withstand more moisture when out in the elements. Initially the wood came out of an 80 foot tree. It was sawn into 5 to 7 foot sections. Then those sections were split lengthwise into quarters and eighths. The ends were painted to keep from drying and cracking excessively. Some of the wood was left to dry for a year or two, but it can be worked much sooner. This piece was from a 5 foot length that I split and shaved down to near finished dimensions. I then cut it close to the final 50” length and kept it indoors. Wood processed in that way can go from green to dry and ready to work in a very short time, because there isn’t much mass left to hold the moisture. The drying speed will vary based on heat and moisture of the environment. Optimally the moisture content of the wood should be between 9 and 12% when you start tillering (shaping the limbs to draw weight) you can get away with a little less depending on the wood.

@@EccentricArtisan thank you so much this has been immensely helpful. About 5 years ago I made a take down recurve bow in my woodshed class but I used more modern methods with oak riser amd 2 layer laminate hickory that I then coated in fiberglass sheets and pressed together but I wanted to do a traditional style this time so thank you.

@@kcsniperboy7148 glad I could help! I hope you have success on your first attempt at primitive. I’m currently trying to humidify my workshop to get my bow wood back to working moisture content. Once that’s done I’ll be finishing up a video showing how I did the main steps of the process for this bow.

I used Titebond III and watered it down slightly. You want it to have more of a drizzle consistency than glutinous.

@@EccentricArtisan cool thank you!

@@micahspruth-janssen3138 you’re welcome!

That’s a Red Devil paint scraper. Works really well for removing fine shavings or cleaning up tool marks.

@@EccentricArtisan Thank you, and thanks for the quick reply too!

@@lajoyalobos2009 anytime!

😊❤️

Bonne forme de tir et aide à la tolérance à la douleur. Je n'aime pas les gardes de bras. L'anglais est ma seule langue courante. Je m'excuse pour la mauvaise traduction.

@@EccentricArtisan tu te débrouilles plus qu'honorablement.

@@brnolebreton3609 Merci!

relatively speaking

Ten minutes of dye work is your nightmare fuel ehh? Lol

Sorry to hear you found the wrong video. I do hope you come across the one you’re looking for.

Sorry to hear you found the wrong video. Hopefully you come across the one you’re looking for.

I used Titebond 3 wood glue and mixed it with water until it had a watery drizzle consistency. You don’t want to over do the water, but the glue needs to be watered down for sinew application.