Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Short-Bow Update

Half-way done chasing the ring on the bow.
Finally, I'm done chasing the ring on the back of the bow. It's taken me about 10 hours here and there. Those hours ticked by pretty quick though... I was really enjoying it. The color of the wood is amazing! As Osage Orange gets older, the wood deepens in color from yellow to a dark orange.



What's next for me to do? Well now I have to shape the bow. More than one person on some primitive forums said that mollegabet (the design I was going to use) was the last design they would use for a small bow (Mine's 50") I'm going to go with tapered sides. Probably 1.25" at the handle and .5" at the tips.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Awesome

I've been talking to my cousin lately, and he's thinking about building a wood cross-bow. It's a really neat experience for both me and him since I get to help him along the way. Visit his new blog here!

Monday, March 21, 2011

In a bit of a dilemma...

Sorry about the camera moving around so much, I'll try to keep it more steady next time.


I'll continue to keep you posted with more videos!

Zachary

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Perils of Using Kiln-Dried Wood

Quite a while ago, I discovered my interest in bow making. I took out several books out of the library, most of them being survival books. Making a survival bow is quite different than making a bow on the workbench--as a life-or-death situation requires speed not necessarily quality.

I had read from multiple sources that wood was better for bow-making when dried to 7-10% moisture level. Although kiln-dried wood dries to around 7%, it's done rapidly, making the wood brittle and unfit for making bows with. My idea was that 7% moisture content, kiln-dried or not, was ideal. Well, I eventually broke that bow trying to make an arrow rest in it. Later that same day, my dad and I went to the library. I pulled out the only book on the subject and started reading. There it was, plain as day...

. . . if someone tries to convince you to use kiln dried wood for a bow, you should wave your arms and make  horrible faces. If that doesn't scare him off, be prepared to run for your life. Kiln dried wood is brittle and will NOT make a bow . . . Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans by Jim Hamm
I sure learned that lesson. The bow I made did bend nicely and I was able to string it and shoot a quite a few arrows with it. But once I cut that arrow rest, it cracked and broke. Thankfully, it broke on the tiller stick, not in my hands (ouch).

Also, I've gotten a resource page up now where you can find videos, articles, and books I've read. I'm going to be updating it periodically as I go, so check it out!