this type of tutorial is a wonderful idea Clay. it will doubtless encourage new people to cut their teeth on an awesome hobby, without fear of failure. plus it gives some ideas on viable materials for those without access to good bow species, or the expense of buying one from a stave cutter. to anyone just starting out, don't ever get discouraged if it fails. with every failure comes valuable lessons. Merry Christmas my friend.
There is doing and then there is teaching, however taking teacher from the space of a few to the masses is one of the greatest acts of giving back. Thank you clay for your Acer trilogy and thank you for continuing to give back and grow our world instead of tearing it apart.
Just want to say, years ago I watched a video on one of your Osage build alongs. In doing so you have inspired me to make my own bows. Your videos are superb. Best I’ve seen on the net. Thanks for your lessons and sharing your knowledge. Since then I’ve made about 7 good bows. I’ve made a couple really good stick bows and some really nice pacific yew and Osage bows. Thanks again from Alaska. You have inspired me to start my own bow product of local Alaskan woods. Im even getting into laminate, but will never give up on traditional as it’s a first love.
Brilliant series Clay , l kept rewinding to see what you where looking at on the tiller . I have learned such a lot from your videos l thank you for that you've answered every question l've asked 👍 . Can't wait until l can afford my first bow ( traditional of course ) done a beginner's some time back then was made redundant but will soon be back on track. Thanks once again for sharing looking forward to your next video 👍👍👍
Just got my copy of Traditional Bowyers Handbook in the mail yesterday and finished reading it today! Much easier to understand, read and follow then my Bowyers Bible and I now feel confident to start on a spare Osage stave I have sitting out in the shop. Looked at HD but no maple boards to try a board bow yet. Great book! Thanks
I’m a little late for this vid , but based on this video and a few others iv made a similar bow, got me a red oak board from Home Depot and I still haven’t finished it . I have a few videos of it. I own a lot of bows and crossbows but there’s something satisfying about making something from scratch. I baked mine with fiberglass tape and made my own tiller stand . It shoots good but I still need to either paint it or stain it . Thanks for the vid if time let’s me hopefully I can make a few more and give it to friends . Just subscribed. Btw people thinking about making bows there’s no excuses now I mean I used a rasp and a small block planner and a ice scraper lol and spent 20 bucks . Most fun iv had with a 20 dollar bill
good video . Have been shooting a 70inch 40lb recurve for a little while. bit big for the bush i hunt in . have made a 64 in long bow from green heart with Aussie hard wood handle and have got it to 40lb at 28 inch . Tillering took a while . a bit worried about drawing it but am now confident.
this has been a wonderful series! I want to make my own bow and do not have any fancy shop or tools so this is exactly what I needed. Making all that possible and for virtually no money really makes this project move left on my time table so that it can be shooting this year. And thank you for leaving in every step of the long tillering process because I would not have known to be that meticulous, so that was helpful as well. Thank you very much for the video!
Have you ever tried laminating by cutting sheets out of same peace and gluing them together in the desired shape to maybe hold that shape better? I'm a wood worker and do this technique a lot. I e never built a bow yet but was wondering if you've tried it before?
I appreciate the knowledge, thank you for sharing this with us. I'm getting geared up to do my first laminate bow and a lot if what you shared here has really helped the planning process.
It is a pleasure to to watch a master at their craft. I have learned much and hopefully I will continue to learn from doing and watching. Thank you for your videos.
After watching your original series building the osage bow a while back, helped in many ways allowing me to actually finish shootable bows! Love all your videos
Been watching your videos for about 4 days now, they’ve encouraged me to pick up archery, I bought myself a 68” recurve, 36lbs draw nothing too crazy just a good all around bow and started shooting. Your videos are amazing and really helped me improve my technique, loving all the craft videos also, would love to make my own bow someday, please don’t stop making these videos Clay, you’re a really good teacher and have a lovely way at explaining this stuff, others videos were too technical or used too many big words, there’s no harm going in depth but they used all lingo like I’m some kinda pro. Looking forward to what you make next! Subbed!
Really enjoying this series as I am in the process of building my first self bow. Going through tillering right now and this video shows me what to watch for and how to do it. Thanks
Hi, I really enjoyed the tillering part as that is where I most often have problems with. As to what kind of videos I would like to see in the future - tillering a recurved bow. I always struggle with how thin I can do the tips and the bend where the recurve starts so that is is not too heavy and yet does not start to bend.
Thanks Janis, I'm working on a project that will cover more advanced techniques. Sign up on my Patreon page and you'll have access first when it comes out. www.patreon.com/clayhayes
Awesome series and I might just try this out myself with both maple and red oak to compare and see which I like better. Also am I the only one who's just noticing that he's got a file on his hacksaw instead of a blade? Or am I just blind 😂
Clay, just got done making my first bow. Thanks for the videos. Your views on tradition archery and ethics are what got me to subscribe to your channel. Keep it up.
Just wanted to say I'm loving the videos :) I'm more of a target shooter and normally shoot olympics style recurve but I've always wanted to try a traditional bow I'm part way through my first board bow build.... I've probably made many more mistakes like overstressing the limbs before backing or taken too much/not enough off but it's all part of the learning experience and appreciate the time you've taken to show us I've watched a few other videos but you've got such a wonderful screen presence and the way you explain things are spot on Keep making the videos :)
Great video series, are you going to show how to stain and seal the bow? I have built several board bows and they all take set thanks for showing how to correct that.
Hi Clay, at that point of the build would you say the limbs are tapered in thickness from handle out to tips? if so is there an amount of taper to aim for ? thanks
To bad no hunting or fishing in that area at all, I am an old UOFI guy hunted selway fished it all in my time.to OLD now but still like to flintknapp and build indean bows and atlatels ANND darts EXCT.I. thank for your good info .I also like Moscow hide GREAT things right by you....Rob
Watched every single vid in this series and will be trying this out. I do woodworking for a living and love to watch people work with wood in ways completely different from what I do in more niche areas with specific talents. Loved the vid. Thanks for what u do on this channel. Just subscribed., 👍🏾
Hey Clay, is it safe to put one of these board bows (hickory) on a true backset form jig like you would a natural log bow stave and have 3 to 4 inches of backset and is it safe to fire harden them like you would other bows or is it best to only put minimal amount of backset like you did here in this video and not fire harden?? What about recurring the ends as well?? Will be ordering rawhide from you real soon for this build of mine. Thanks again for your time and support my friend remain safe and blessed and keep the great quality of videos coming 😊 Robert Benson
No but it is a lot more likely to break if you don't if you don't wont to spend that much money on rawhide you can find some backings witch will be cheaper silk is good but not as good as rawhide hope that helps
Clay, great videos on bow making. I have tried making 64” long bow four times now. Poplar wood with fiberglass backing each time. Broke each one right at end of tillering process. Cracks, or brake occurred in four different locations on each bow. I tried to adjust the thickness of limb each time, from very thin to much thicker especially at fade-out. What would you suggest the target thickness of limbs to be when starting with board bow 1 1/2” wide X 3/4” thick? Thanks
thanks a lot great videos! I'm trying to build an arch, in my country in Italy there are many fir trees like you okay? Did he also make the window for the rest in his arch where to place the arrow?
This is so awesome, and I've really enjoyed it, but my OCD makes me cringe every time you set your plane on the table like that. Thanks so much for posting this information. If I have any cash left after Christmas I'm going to buy your book.
Finally got to watch this. Looks good. As far as fiberglass laminated bows and memory if built correctly they retain only the memory of final tiller. I've blown up so many self and board bows trying to match my draw length of 33" it's pathetic. Still fun. Had a few survive. I love shooting them. Great video Are you going to reflex the tips?
I’ve got my board bow made and I thought I could use # 36 bank line for a string and serve it w some braided fishing line , how do you get the appropriate size string ? It’s 62 inches nock to nock on limbs ,what size string do I need and do you sell them ? You got me working lol , but it stretches the bank line and I shorten it and it stretches more , HELP !!! Thx for all the cool videos
I'm very new; using red oak boards, don't have a mounted vice or blacksmith's rasp, just enough basic hand tools to get the job done and have broken 3 boards so far. I purchased your book (have not finished reading) and keep watching this series of videos for my guidance. I'm trying to make a 50-55 lbs draw at 26 1/2", finished length of 62". Also found a local supplier of exotic hardwoods for adding a backing later. Bamboo is not available. All my failures occur about 2" below the handle's tapered end. Each time I have gotten further along in the tillering process only to have it fail when attempting to string the bow. Any help would be appreciated. Sincerely.
It's easy to get those areas just outside the fades a little too thin. Just be conscious of that and watch that you're not getting to much bend in those areas while tillering.
My wife bought me your book, great read! Do you need a straight grained board if your backing with rawhide or bamboo? I have a left over piece of hickory w/ not so good grain. Was wondering if the rawhide you sell would make the piece of wood usable for a bow?
I wish you could just send me one of your bows… I don’t have your skills. I’ve tried so many times to build one but it’s usually ended up in failure. Anyway, keep up the great work!
Clay, Love the videos! Especially how simply you explain the processes as you go. I have one quick question... I notice you shoot these bows off your hand rather than incorporating some form of shelf. Would there be any reason why you couldn't shoot either right or left handed? I can actually shoot both ways quite well and I've always wanted a bow that I could do just that with. This looks like a nice, inexpensive way to experiment with that and learn a fantastic craft. Also, is there any reason why you couldn't recurve the tips of these bows a bit like you do on your Osage bows? Thanks again for all you do! Your a very generous person to share such knowledge.
you could shoot these bows off either side with no problems. And yes, you could put some reflex into the tips. I've never tried a true recurve with maple though. I'm not sure how well it would take a dramatic bend. try it with a scrap piece.
Clay, great video brother. Broke my first poplar board bow;learned a lot. Almost finished my second bow, this time oak board. Is there a particular time when you know you're ready to brace?
@@clayhayeshunter thanks man. I'm there! That's exactly what I needed to know. I'll send you a picture when I get an actual string on it. Thanks for your help!
Mr Hayes, Thanks for doing this little build along. Now I do have a question for the nocks. I have some deer claws from last season and i was wondering how to put them on for the nocks any sudgestions... Thanks again.. Jay WoodPigeon Outdoors
Thanks again Clay - great series. I have completed my red oak board bow to this stage and have enjoyed shooting it. It is pulling 57# at 28" and chronos at 143 fps with 470 grain carbon arrows. I was hoping for a little more speed, so am looking forward to your next video! Also, it has a little bit of set. Not much, but enough to notice. Would the maple board do better with that?
This is an awesome video series by far the best bow build along video I’ve been able to find on RU-vid. But would it be possible to make a recurve out of a oak or maple board?
Great video. Why do we want to avoid having a crowned belly in the profile of the limbs on the bow? I'm used to seeing English style long bows built that way, but I don't know the dynamics of why you would or wouldn't want that. Thanks for the video, I have a hickory stave in the mail now.
The heartwood of yew can handle a D shaped belly pretty well. White woods like hickory would take a lot of set of made with that design. I cover all this in my book.
Rawhide creates a durable back for a stave that might not be able to handle the tension forces without it. 140 is plenty of the bow is quite and the target is close.
Can you tell us what plane you are using, size, name etc. I have never owned or used on. I usually use a file and scraping blade. The use of a plane would save me considerable time and work. Thank you, Ron in WA.
Great series Clay, awesome video as always and really inspiring! I would love to try make my own board selfbow but I have to collect the right tools first. I just have a couple of questions: 1-What can I buy that is cheaper than a handplane and that can do the same work? (I'm looking for good quality tools that will last) 2- Is there any other kind of wood cutted in boards that will work fine in making a bow? Thank you so much for all you do and for your help.
Thank you, Clay. Hoping to jump in and build bows for the grandkids Finding your channel was fortuitous. My question is, how do you tell/measure the weight of the pull when it is on the tillering rack? Is it by feel, because of having done it so long, or is the a more exact way to do it for those just starting.
Hello Clay , thank you so much for this Videos..that helps e out a lot to learn build a selfbow.I want to start in the next Month...i am waiting for the drying Process my Wood... good enough to make a Bow of it.So i take the Time to learn of your Bow Building Videos.Its such a good Lessonfor me. I want to start with Hazel....I want to watch all of your Videos!! Keep it up your fantastic Boyer Work...greetings from Germany ...God bless
Love this build along video set. Have only ever tried one bow build and ended up breaking it. Time to try again witb newly gained knowledge. Thank you..very inspiring. Is the raw hide necessary? Or can you do a bow without it and still attain results similar to your build here? And what are your recommendations on bow string...material and such. If you have a video I'll gladly watch. Thanks again
It’s safest to back the bow. You could use a different material though. For bow string, a fairly low stretch material is best. B50 is a good inexpensive choice. You can pick it up at 3Rivers.
@@clayhayeshunter ehh ok. Most likely going to order your raw hide next week. Was just looking for urban accessible items for those who can't hunt or don't have access to animal hides. Purchased a "you finish it bow" from a festival and I want to finish it right without rushing it. It is basically the bow from the video series here except it has a shelf carved in. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Subbed.
