How to make a bow

J

JHall

Joined
Jan 6, 2000
Messages
46
My curiosity is peeked. I have been bowhunting with a compound for a while, but I keep seeing references in all of these threads where people say that they would make a bow. I can't find much info on the web. Does anyone know of a website with good info on how to make your own bow? Or do you have some instructions of your own that you would be willing to send me? How about instructions for making string, cord, strip, etc... out of animal sinew? This is something that I have always wondered about, but hadn't given much thought to in quite a while. I would probably be interested mainly in native american style bows (as opposed to european longbows, etc...) Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S. Greg - your classes sound really interesting. What exactly did you do in the military? Could you send me some detailed info on the classes, what it covered, etc?
 
JHall,

Don't know of any websites offhand, but there are some resources on the subject.

Ron's videos show how to make survival bows of several types.

There are great books on the subject. Larry Dean Olsen's book, "Outdoor Survival Skills" discusses ways to make decent, workable bows in a few days, including doing recurving.

Tom Brown's book, "Living With The Earth" has insructions for making long-term serious bows, enough info to get you going and experimenting. First step he describes is finding the wood stave you'll use and then curing it for (ready?):

one year...

With Tom Brown's books, he often gives info on how the Indians did things, but I often get the urge to double-check his words elsewhere -- he knows his skills, but I feel he is, er, very creative, let's say, with his background and that of Native Americans... just my opinion...

You could fill a whole book with details on how to make a good bow, and what kinds of bows would serve different purposes.

There are better resources, and describing the whole process here would be very time-consuming and lengthy. Making really good bows takes extreme patience and finesse...

Hope this helps a little,

Brian.

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Suburbia: Where they tear out the trees, then name streets after them.
 
Go to amozon.com and do a search under books
enter indian+bow and it will give you more
thatn enough references....

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http://www.imt.net/~goshawk
Don't walk in tradition just because it feels good!!!!!
Romans 10:9,10
Hebrews 4:12-16
Psalm 91

 
Hi JHall,

'American Indian Archery' by Reginal and Gladys Laubin (ISBN 0-8061-2387-7) has a lot of details on how to make a traditional Indian bow. Also has info on its history and use. R. Laubin made bows experimentally at home (looks quite some work) based on discussions with people of native origin. He also demonstrates the use of them when he 'goes Sioux'.
I haven't seen other books on the topic to be able to make a comparison but I found this one very informative.

Good luck, I hope it helped.
I gotta go to continue my warfare with MCI who swallowed few hundred bucks of mine (HM vs. corporate America)...

Best,

HM

 
HI JHall,

go to http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000192.html and read the third post I made for details on what I did in the military.

Go to http://www.ssurvival.com for info on our programs. To upload an information packet go to http://www.ssurvival.com/enrolform.htm You will need adobe acrobat reader which is free and can be obtained via a link from this page.

We are only offering two open enrollment trips this year (jan 20-23 and another in July). We do however, do trips for groups, etc. on mutually agreed upon dates.

------------------
Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
This site may be interesting:
http://www.selfbow.com/

Depends if yew is available in your area and you want to age it to make your own. Prices on that site seem very expensive...

I made my grandaughter a bow out of alder last summer. Just whittled and scraped it while we were out roasting hotdogs. Hardened it over fire, same for willow arrows. I sure didn't expect it to be as powerful as it was! Didn't break either.

Jimbo

 
Originally posted by JHall:
Does anyone know of a website with good info on how to make your own bow? Or do you have some instructions of your own that you would be willing to send me?
Click to expand...

Here are some instructions available at my website.
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/archery/bowcnstr.htm



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Hoodoo

No, I do not weep at the world--I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.
Zora Neale Hurston

Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
Lao Tsu
 
The BEST books that you will find are the TRADITIONAL BOWYERS BIBLES! There are THREE of them and they have the best prices I've ever found on them at Amazon.com.

I'll warn you, traditional stickbows get addictive!
biggrin.gif


I have a few other books as well...I'll post a list of names and authors tomorrow!

BTW, I'll have to check out the sites others have listed. Stickbow is a GREAT website!

Good luck!



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
I used to make bows a lot when I was a kid. Take a green piece of sapling about 1/2-3/4 inch in diameter and at least about 3 feet long. Cut a notch that radiuses around about 1 or 2 inches from ends. Bend by pushing into the ground and stepping so one end is behind the heel of one foot and the other end is bent on the thigh of the other foot. Tie string. Take a knife and smooth the part where the arrow will travel. Have fun. Warning. These bows only last for about 2 days. After 2 days, they dry out and crack and can break on you when you fire them.
Hope this helps.

CAman
 
Some good books as I promised! Two days later as usual, however! LOL

Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen

Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills by John & Geri McPherson

Bow and Arrow of the Native Americans by Jim Hamm

The Art of Making Primitve Bows and Arrows by D.C. Waldorf (He also has an EXCELLENT book on flintknapping!)

As I said earlier The Traditional Bowyer's Bibles Vol. I, II, III are excellent as well, probably the best on the subject!

I hope some of this helps! Good luck!




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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
Jhall,
If you are still are interested, i would be willing to send a book which is photocopied from how to make primitive bows and arrows.
let me know if you want to borrow it
Luke
 
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