Built three pine board bows so far since materials are cheap and dry to practice with, 1st I made 74" longbow to be safe, draws 32#@31" -28#@24", second broke in half the second I finished it :D Pulled just an inch or too longer than the bow was built for and BOOM. Wouldve been around 68". Now finished my future 1st hunting bow, 70" pine longbow, draws 50# at 31". Thanks Kramer for inspiring to start building
that hand plane is the perfect tool to flatten (joint) the two surfaces in about 30 seconds. it was interesting to see you using it as base for half an hour of sanding
I just discovered your channel and am absolutely loving all of your videos. Thanks! Here's a tip (for those who might not have access to a drywall jack - ha!): Go to a hardware store and buy some small window panels (6x12ish?), spray adhesive, a sharpie, and various grits of wet/dry sandpaper. Glue a different grit to each side of the glass panel and write the grit value at the bottom of the sheet. Now you have a flat sanding surface with a different grit sandpaper on either side. Not my original idea. I think I picked it up from a guitar building publication. Anyway, keep the great content coming!
If you mix your sanding dust with some of the glue; it will help fill voids so you don't have to sand forever. The color will also match and the glue will not drip out as much.
First two osage bows I made broke. One because of the wood itself. It was too dry or deteriorated. It was from an old fence post I'd shaved down and shaped. The other was too short and gave way when it was overdrawn. I tried black locust. I made two one with a solid handle incorporated in the stave itself. It separated in the handle itself. It didnt break but the handle itself separated everytime the bow was drawn and it developed string follow right in the middle of the handle. The second black locust had a glued on walnut handle. It was acceptable but also had string follow. I've made several since, but all have had some string follow. I'm still figuring it out.
I admire the serenity with which you explain with great detail how it is where you got it wrong but I would pay real money to see the out of camera moments 😅😅😅
First, use tite bond 3. It will work better. Next when you build a bow you have to finish it at once. You can not let it sit half done. The moisture in the wood must be consistent. If it dries out it will break every time. Next use similar wood. The expansion and contraction of different wood makes a big difference. Keep working with it.
Just an FYI. Use your scraper as a small straight edge. Also a hacksaw blade will help roughing up the pieces you want to glue up. As always, really like your channel.
Hey Kramer!! Yeah mate, I've snapped em but I've always learnt each time. Usually it's because of the back or lack of backing. I'm about to back a bow with fibreglass and wood glue. I'm using australian timbers like Eucalypt, Melaleuca and Acacia (black wattle) Lots of knots as I mostly make sapling bows because you can't just go around cutting down trees (unless they're yours). I like your Vids mate, I've learnt lots! Cheers bro!
didj Hopkins what Aussie woods are you finding work the best?? I tried making one with mess mate and a eucalypt (not sure on the exact species) saplings both broke :(
commanderjarak thanks. I’m brand new and have broken three in a row 😆 first tried two green straight saplings I cut at a local Forrest. I think they were messmate and some sort of eucalyptus. They both bike on the back of the bow in seemingly random spots, no noticeable hinge in those points. Third was a tassie oak left over piece of board broke on the belly at a hinge.
Bryan Woodford hey mate!! I’ve tried a few, obviously the brittleness is a factor so I’ve kept them low poundage (around 38). But I’ve just discovered that Wooly Butt is pretty amazing, I back it with a spine if fibreglass cloth and then a fabric (snakeskin pattern) and I’ve got one at 45 and so far so good. Another great wood is She Oak. No backing so far and it really holds the flipped tips!!
You do show your mistakes! This will make you a better bowyer! If one can't be honest with himself he sure want be honest with others. I enjoy your videos thanks for showing the way you go about building bows!
Hi Kramer. This bow would not break with out an arrowrest and the laminated handle. Historical bows had no arrowrests. Without the laminated handle the bow hast more flexibiliti.Sorry
I've built several bows. Osage is literally saturated in its own oils. Almost impossible to get a good glue up. I'd saturate it in hide glue after the glue up and wrap it in sinew. Then an overall leather wrap.
Tite bond is not for a dynamic joint. Hide glue will flex or deflex with the wood. Id you are not shooting for a specific style a little more "D" shape or rectangular will help mitigate the stresses. Also rubbing linseed oil on the bow will aide in fiber bending. Good luck.
Couple of suggestions bamboo backing no more than 1/8 inch closer to 1/16 also a power lam between the backing and bow at the handle make sure lam is at least 1 inch past both ends of the riser or handle also lam should be less than 1/16 of inch, makes a big difference, in you ain't breaking them you ain't making them.
Dude... Using a handplane as a flat backdrop for sandpaper... 😅 It's super creative, but if you have a sharp blade for that plane, you should definitely use it. If you set it so it only chips off a very thin sheet, you have a quicker, easier and more accurate way of planing the pieces. I hope that was somewhat helpful
Wouldn't a slow setting epoxy work so much better ? I also wonder from my experience with tire patches even grease from your skin effects the bond. Application with a steel spatula is subtle and yet whom knows. Please fix that vice it shouldn't move. I'm very critical today sorry about that.
Perfect timing for this video in my feed! I have an old bow prob from the late1950's (it was my dad's when he was a kid, born in 45). Hasn't been shot since the early 90's when I was a kid. I tried to string it last year and the handle began to separate from the bow. I don't know anything about them and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought I'd have to throw it away but now that I've found your channel and this video, I think I'll try and glue it back together after some light sanding. I have a couple questions before I begin though. Do you think the wood will be too brittle since it's so old? Since it's so old should I put a backing on it to strengthen it up? And I have Gorilla Wood Glue, is that good enough?
