I absolutely love how not only does your dog join you and enjoy your company, but also seems to admire and enjoy your shooting. That is a relationship to kindle and cherish
It don't matter what a bow look's like as long as it work's. And bows used to be walking stick's. Great video to demonstrate what it's all about. Making them give's you pleasure and shooting them give's you pleasure.
A fine day indeed, Mick, three wonderful toys that you made yourself, a faithful companion, lovely weather and beautiful woodlands. Thank you for once again making a stunningly beautiful video! All the best, sir! - John
It is such a pleasure and peace of mind to watch your videos. I am an axe handle maker myself in my spare time but I'm definitely drawn to making bows after watching you do it :D Thanks for the great content!
as you shure ,are improving your bows ,even videos , this is one of your best , compliments , it is an imn to traditional archery , traditions that keep connect us with our history ,and land, as the roots make with trees. thanks and bye. sfmte
You are so lucky to be able to shoot your bow in a wood.I live in London 100 metres from good old Epping forest and there are corporation of London rangers everywhere just waiting to nick me and my grandson for shooting at a proper target in a field with no body around for miles(except Rangers).Glad someone is having fun and thanks for letting me see what life could actually be like if we were free
Hi Mick, that must be tough. It's not that easy where I live but obviously more so than where you are. Hope you find somewhere that you can shoot in safety and peace. Mick
Mike: I love what you do. You however are starting differently than most archers. Most will shoot years and and may never make a bow. You started making bows without having experience in shooting them. Good luck to you sir. please keep posting.
What a wonderful video! I watch a lot of videos to learn techniques and methods of making bows, in search of information. However, I watched this one from beginning to end just for the sheer pleasure of watching you enjoy yourself. Thanks for the excellent vicarious experience!
Looks like fun, Mick. Nice to see you out enjoying what you've worked so hard to create. I've really enjoyed learning along with you, though I've not yet, "had a go," at it myself. As always, nice video.
Mick, that was an awesome video! I really appreciate what you're doing here Man!...Love that dog, what a great bow shooting buddy! You could make a movie.
I have my own land but have shot with a local archery group on land where we have permission. If you shoot longbow, join a roving group of archers - they shoot all over the UK at some fantastic locations. Good luck.
Wow! Neet thumbnail! God save the king..,but this one can . A simple d.n.a.test should reviel you are our king ,your Majesty..somewhare in (Sherwood forrest. 👑)
Terrence Ashley take your time, just use a cabinet scraper, tiller at least 30 times before removing wood, the longer you use the better, good luck. I got my yew bow up to 124 lbs at the first try because I did it like this.
I made a video to show a fire scar that was hidden in the upper limb. No idea if it will fail there or not? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kcLw3S5Duvs.html
nico austin I am not on public land, I am in my own woodland. Legalities aside, I would not shoot anywhere that has public access. Safer somewhere without public access and landowner’s permission - or join a club or roving group. Many clubs/groups have their own land on which it is safe to use bows. Good luck.
Hi I have been watching your videos for some time now and I had a small question. I have a lot of Oak (Quercus robur I think) on my property and I was wondering wether it's a good type of wood for bowmaking?
Hi there, my arrow bag is an approximation of what a medieval arrow bag might have looked like. Not my design, many make them, but we are all inspired by the find on the Mary Rose of a circular piece of leather punched with holes that experts believe is an arrow bag spacer.
Hi Mick, I have been thinking about making my own longbow, unfortunately I don’t own a forest, but we do have several Willow trees that I pollarded a few years ago, they currently have lots of shoots thick enough and long enough to carve out bows. Do you know anything about Willow use in bows? Can they be self bows or do they need laminating? Or do they simply never work with willow?
Hi there. Virtually any tree will yield a bow, the knack is to know what design suits what wood. Of course there are woods that make better bows than others - yew and osage being many bowyer's favourites. Willow is some way down the pile and is not commonly used. There are many willow species, the commonest in the UK being crack willow - and the clue is in the name for that one. I haven't made a bow from willow but I know that people have tried and succeeded. Whatever wood you have is the best wood to practise one. If you get a bow, great; if you don't, you'll have gained experience. There is nothing to lose by having a go! Thanks for watching.
Mick Grewcock thanks for the speedy reply. I watched your video about why your first bow didn’t break, and you said it was because you made the limbs flatter rather than d-shape, any idea which shape would be best for a Willow bow?
This is just a guess but if I tried willow I would start with wide and flat limbs. I suggest making just a light bow for a first try. If you wanted it to resemble a long bow, make the profile (cross section) rectangular, the shallow depth being thickness. You might try researching on the net and YT for willow bows. You may find better info than I can give.
Found this: Re: bow woods willow? « Reply #1 on: July 28, 2006, 08:49:22 am » You could possibly make a bow from willow, but if I could find anything else , I wouldn't use it. It's marginal bow wood at best. Some southwestern tribes made bows from willow because that was all they had, but they were made with intentionally deflexed tips to reduce strain and keep them from breaking. Tim Baker wrote in one of the Bowyer's Bibles about making a willow bow as an experiment because it was "about the worst possible stave choice, being weak in both compression and tension, as well as low in elasticity." To get a decent 35# bow from it, he had to make it 68" long, decrown it for a perfectly rectangular cross section, and make the limbs 3" wide. He said that a 50# willow bow would have had to have limbs over 4" wide to be efficient. In short, there is a reason why you don't hear much about people making willow bows: it pretty much sucks as bow wood. Use the oak.
Four years ago….. it must be said, it’s a pity your back got between you and your bow making days. But, the videos you had produced are a treasure to enjoy time and again. I’m left to conclude your profession prior to your retirement had to have been in the filming/videography trades what with the quality of your many episodes. Carry on, Mick. And perhaps you might rethink bowmaking.
Thank you for that very kind comment. Appreciated. My career was in electronics and latterly business ownership. Videography has been no more than a hobby. Best wishes.
Electronics you say….. I’d spent about 25 years of my “checkered” career in switch mode power supplies. At times I miss it, but comfort myself in the knowledge I can still spell “MOSFET”. I meant what I said about the quality of your offerings. Brilliant work., Mick. I’ll enjoy them for as long as RU-vid keeps them up on offer.. My best from the “Colonies “.
Similar backgrounds then! I did 41 years altogether but I don’t miss it. Thank you for your kind comments about my videos. I debate myself often whether to resume film making (if not bow making) but I find the world is crammed with things I want to learn and do and experience before time catches me up (I’m 66) and so filming and editing has taken a back seat. Thanks again, Mick
Good video Mick, I enjoyed the first bow the most. It really is the prettiest one. Interestingly it is so yellowish looking for a yew! On my attic I am currently drying roughly shaped hazel longbow which will be 70" nock to nock. Could you tell me if I could get 32" drawing length from it? If so this bow will be my entry into warbows. Plan is to make it 90# maximum and it will serve me for fun and building technique to pull more powerful bows in future.
I draw a 68" nock to nock Mollegabet to 30" at which draw-length it still has some internal string to tip angle in hand (not beyond the 90 degree limit at which the string might tend to pull off the bow at full extension). But for an English longbow most folks would want 75" ntn or more. You can go a good deal shorter if you know what you're doing, but as a general principle it is safer to be somewhat overbuilt in length. The trade-off in choice of bow length is, at the most basic level, in the compromise between building for durability or building for cast. BTW 32" is not so great a draw-length as you seem to think. And nearly everyone you see will be under-drawing, whatever the style. My longest native style cane arrow is 42". That takes the string past my ear and collarbone, to the outside of my right shoulder in length.
Harald Bearclaw Hi, no one has figured out how the 32" draw came about for warbows, historical evidence not really supporting it. Most of the well known bowyers I am in touch with who build warbows tiller 29-30". My 40lb yew is 31", my yew warbow was originally tillered at 110lb/32". I don't bother with that now - 28" with a 1-2" safety margin is fine for me. My longbows are 77". Yes, yew and other woods will come back to 32" but to me now there's little point. Rod's advice is very sound - he knows more than I ever will!
+Rod Parsons Love the blackthorn and the video was going to be 4 favourite bows. That is until I strung the blackthorn and found it had changed shape and the string wasn't central anymore. Don't know why. But it's now straightened out (heat!) and back in action but too late for the video!
How many bows must a man start to build...before they call him a bow man.. the answer my friends is bows in the woods..the answer is arrows in the wind
SoGlad your 0k,take a few days off then perhaps here is an idea . Mow the lawn funny as you did before,tidy up the shed,switch off the mower and say directly to the camera🤗 im inviteing Prince Harry! to the shed !!for a bow build!!..upload a vidio,and in it invite Harry to join along on a bow build!🤗a Royal bow!!! 👍🖑 tea with prince Harry .uncle Mick..maby he will show,maby not,but he will watch it as shure as can be..set out his cup and cakel,and , work the wood, build it he will enjoy the blessing from uncle,and the time you spent with him allways remembered as such a treasure.
I vote for Harry,untill then your the king👑Mick! and an uncle to Harry. the others just wont stick! Not with there failing moralities. And Diannas mortal blow to her heart ..This must be adressed in parlorment to elect a (respectible )member or the royal family.i vote for HARRY!!!! andTHE REST.must leave immediately.times have chainged. Without a respectable king it all turns to a joke! Not seariouse. Just hollow ritual.Thank you for hearing my comment. I have no king but Harry in that family.Until they get it worked out that way .Noooo,the real king isent sherrif John, or Charm Charles.not to me. Mick Grewcock is the standing king for the moment. in sherwood AT THIS TIME. Ruleing from the trees,and the shed untill a sword is drawn from the stone by Harry via the ballet box! Amen.[[ [This will dealeat soon.]]].i prommis. Caleb..yes i agree the king or queen must be in the Royal family.but we have a rite to vote..oh ann have you checked your DNA. Lol ,rite well. You shure pull that bow like no one i have ever seen ,and maby you can be voted in. But id probobly go eith Harry.for sentiment and Dianna,but ...your the king now! As far as im concearnd. Chiers your Majesty 👑.....oh my comment is ok,ive alllready been bannished to America.cut off..voted out.
I find this channel confusing. This gentleman makes Longbows, fair enough. However this is the second video I've watched with him shooting. He has no form to speak of and couldn't hit the side of a barn and shoots pointlessly at nothing.... How can one effectively make a bow if they do not know how to use one, or care to learn?
FeeblePenguin Fair enough, however logically it doesn't seem possible to make a bow that shoots well without knowing how to shoot well. His bows have lovely craftsmanship, but when he says "they are lovely to shoot", I can't help but think: "how would he know". Sure they may fling an arrow nicely in a general direction, but they may be horribly inaccurate. A horribly inaccurate bow is useless, thus rendering the whole endeavour pointless!
Your comments are a puzzle. Why is my channel confusing? Do I not make clear that I am a beginner? Is this platform open only to the expert? A slow horse can be a pleasure to ride, a poorly executed painting may still capture the essence of the subject, and a beginner's longbow - which may or may not be accurate - can still be lovely to shoot. Thanks for watching!
Mick Grewcock Good luck, you certainly have the technical skills. I recommend you get some coaching and practice in shooting. Traditional Archery is a slow continuous journey as well. Your bow building and enjoyment will both benefit.
