How to Make a Traditional Bow – Part 1 through 5

Archer Here

Archer Here

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Nov 2, 2008
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How to Make a Traditional Bow – Part 1 to 3

I upgraded my videos a bit. So it’s compressed to Parts 1 to 3 (instead of 5) for this thread.
Hey sports fans,

Here’s my first series of videos on “how to make a traditional bow”. Sorry if the quality isn’t the best. We’ve been really struggling with it. This is my first time trying this out. Hopefully it’s what you’re expecting. I have the feeling that some of you think that I’m going to be making this on the edge of a river with a rock in one hand and a stick in the other, but it’s in my shop, with my modern day tools, using wood bought from a store. Other than that, it’s still hand made by me and not in a factory. I promise I will try to answer as many questions as I can. I’m really swamped, so don’t get POed if I can’t get to everyone.

I hope this is entertaining and you learn something you might not have already known. What I’m showing you is just a general way of doing this. I started out using a skill saw, a jig saw, and a hand belt sander turned upside down in a vice. Sorry about the mess of my table… that’s just me.

This set of videos will involve building an Old English Longbow and my Stinger Recurve bow. There are more videos I am shooting finishing these two bows. So more to come. This will get you started.

Chris

Part 1 – Stave Selection & Bow Layout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHhGjRdE9Zc

Part 2 - Sanding, Shaping, Nocks, Gluing Handle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GbMBi4o_AI

Part 3 - Tillering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjah_yfIhFI
 
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very cool Chris...:thumbup: i know that there are a lot of people here in WSS that would love to check this out...:)
 
Chris - One piece of advice - don't back light yourself. A simple construction light mounted behind the camera will light you and not wash you out.

Thanks SO MUCH for this - I want to tackle this one day.

TF
 
Very Cool! I will have to watch all of these this weekend. The first one was great.
 
Thanks for taking the time to do this! You make it look like something anyone can accomplish. Hopefully I'll find the time to tackle this soon. Thanks again!
 
Great videos! The hardware store (duh!) was not a place I'd considered when selecting a proper stave for something like this. I was thinking "how the heck do I select the right piece of wood?"
 
Hang tight guys. Youtube is still processing the 1st and 2nd part. They should be up in about 30 to 45 minutes. Sorry for the delay.
 
Chris..thank you so much..I know that making those videos took some time, and I think they came out great. You explained alot of things to me that I was missing...thanks man. Gene
 
I had to wait 'til I got home to watch the videos. Wouldn't load at work (shhh... I know I'm suposed to be working;))

Thanks Chris. You've got some talent.
 
i look foreword to the rest of them...this has always been on my "to do" list...
 
Just watched all 3 of them. Very nice work on the videos! I too had wondered about how to select a stave. Thank you much, and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of them. Thanks to the videos, I will be doing this sooner rather than later!
 
Thanks for the great response guys. If you end up making a bow out of these, send me a picture. The longbow & recurve bow I’m doing here are already done. Wait until you see how nice they turned out. Will get the next set of videos out soon, they’re in production (the wife has to work on them at night). Chris
 
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OK. Thats just cool. Can you show a drawing of the handle layout???
 
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