Self Bow Build-Along
Mar 3, 2013 4:35:10 GMT
Post by chrisperoni on Mar 3, 2013 4:35:10 GMT
First off full credit where it is due. I am using the excellent build along provided by one funny bowmaker- Sam Harper, and his site Poor Folk Bows. Specifically his Making a red oak board bow. This is a great all in one resource. Sam does a top notch job of really going step-by-step and making it easy to follow as well as entertaining. Thank you Sam Harper. You are correct- this stuff is addictive and I'll certainly be making more! Oh, and no way will my b-a be as good as Sam's so read his if you choose to make your own. Don't try to just use this quickie follow along of mine as it's just not detailed in all the right places.
I'll be updating as I go. Right now I'm waiting for some string making material so I can make a flemish string and begin the tillering process. Tillering is removing the excess wood from the limbs; it's the part of bow making where the piece of wood wonderously turns into a bow.
To be fair this first bow has probably cost me just shy of $100 to get started. Keep in mind though I have bought a lot of materials which will be reused from this point on; such as the pulley and scale used for checking tillering, and I have also bought building material which will last for several builds, such as a large roll of fiberglass tape, big bottle of glue, dacron string by the spool etc.. I figure that to make another bow all I would have to spend is $15- enough to pay for the wood itself. All the other bits and pieces will be r.t.g. in my shop now. I also have a goodly number of tools already on hand so that cost isn't being factored in. Sam will tell you and prove to you all you really need tools-wise is a surform, knife and sandpaper. More tools helps of course but ultimately you can do this on a real shoestring budget so long as you have the motivation.
****
I began by reading the build-along many times over. I got to know it well, and study it in detail. I'll continue to refer to it as I go.
I love the hardware store. In particular the lumber aisles. As I selected my piece of oak I checked every board they had in the size I needed. I looked for good end grain showing thick late growth, the dense stuff, with not too much early growth, the spotty thin lines. Here's the board I chose:
Now before anyone gets on my ass- yes that is is Gorilla wood glue you see there. I would have bought titebond if it was available. This Gorilla wood glue is not the stuff that foams and expands. It's wood glue and it's decently strong. Certainly strong enough for this job. The wood would fail before the glue would. Say that 3 times fast. Many types of wood glue work in bowmaking and I've read up a lot on the subject.
As to the wood selected you can see the grain lines run the length of the face of the wood pretty darn well. the end grain also shows that dense stuff in a desirable ratio to the light stuff. At least that's how I saw it. This board looks as close to the one in the Poor Folk b-a as I could find.
I also kept an eye on the wood being fairly true with as little bowing twisting or warping as possible.
****
Once I was home with my supplies (wood, fiberglass tape, rope, pulley, nuts & bolts, glue) I did something I normally don't do. I started to work the wood right away. I usually like to have wood acclimate for a couple of days but I just couldn't wait! Here's my workbench with the days purchase waiting to get started.
I began by noting the subtle bow (curve) end to end and marked the high side as the belly (where the riser will be attached). this puts the tips out from the riser and helps to create some reflex to the bow. Reflex = more power/speed (in theory how this plays out and how much effect this has on this self bow I'm not sure)
Next I marked center and the ends using Sam's string hanging trick to fix any issue with slight warping. Then measured along the face for my side cuts. I decided to give the sides a longer cut than in Sam's b-a thus making my bow have narrower limbs along their length. We'll see how this affects things later on. Sam does say we that follow along with him are free to tweak what we like. I used my bandsaw and belt sander for this shaping.
For the riser I cut a scrap piece of poplar, then topped that with a strip of oak left over from cutting the sides. glued this up overnight.
****
While this set up I attached the parts for the tillering pulley to the front of my bench using some bolts. this will allow me to check the limb tillering from a few steps back to get a better view. I'll add more detailed pics as I use this and show more of the scale, reference boards and so on. For now all I did was cut a scrap square of pine, bolt it to the table, then bolt the pulley to the bottom run directly under the pine square.
*****
Next day I shaped the riser a bit on each end with my belt sander. Then I moved to applying the backing. This will stengthen the back of the bow and help to prevent splintering. I actually really like the look of the fiberglass tape so it suited me just fine as a cheap method of backing. Not sure what colour I'll paint it yet.
Lots of gluing here and then I left it alone for another full day.
****
---Here is where I'll break. The glue has dried on the backing and I've started to file off the edges and clean the excess glue of the sides. I'll continue posting once I start on that string I need now.
I'll be updating as I go. Right now I'm waiting for some string making material so I can make a flemish string and begin the tillering process. Tillering is removing the excess wood from the limbs; it's the part of bow making where the piece of wood wonderously turns into a bow.
To be fair this first bow has probably cost me just shy of $100 to get started. Keep in mind though I have bought a lot of materials which will be reused from this point on; such as the pulley and scale used for checking tillering, and I have also bought building material which will last for several builds, such as a large roll of fiberglass tape, big bottle of glue, dacron string by the spool etc.. I figure that to make another bow all I would have to spend is $15- enough to pay for the wood itself. All the other bits and pieces will be r.t.g. in my shop now. I also have a goodly number of tools already on hand so that cost isn't being factored in. Sam will tell you and prove to you all you really need tools-wise is a surform, knife and sandpaper. More tools helps of course but ultimately you can do this on a real shoestring budget so long as you have the motivation.
****
I began by reading the build-along many times over. I got to know it well, and study it in detail. I'll continue to refer to it as I go.
I love the hardware store. In particular the lumber aisles. As I selected my piece of oak I checked every board they had in the size I needed. I looked for good end grain showing thick late growth, the dense stuff, with not too much early growth, the spotty thin lines. Here's the board I chose:
Now before anyone gets on my ass- yes that is is Gorilla wood glue you see there. I would have bought titebond if it was available. This Gorilla wood glue is not the stuff that foams and expands. It's wood glue and it's decently strong. Certainly strong enough for this job. The wood would fail before the glue would. Say that 3 times fast. Many types of wood glue work in bowmaking and I've read up a lot on the subject.
As to the wood selected you can see the grain lines run the length of the face of the wood pretty darn well. the end grain also shows that dense stuff in a desirable ratio to the light stuff. At least that's how I saw it. This board looks as close to the one in the Poor Folk b-a as I could find.
I also kept an eye on the wood being fairly true with as little bowing twisting or warping as possible.
****
Once I was home with my supplies (wood, fiberglass tape, rope, pulley, nuts & bolts, glue) I did something I normally don't do. I started to work the wood right away. I usually like to have wood acclimate for a couple of days but I just couldn't wait! Here's my workbench with the days purchase waiting to get started.
I began by noting the subtle bow (curve) end to end and marked the high side as the belly (where the riser will be attached). this puts the tips out from the riser and helps to create some reflex to the bow. Reflex = more power/speed (in theory how this plays out and how much effect this has on this self bow I'm not sure)
Next I marked center and the ends using Sam's string hanging trick to fix any issue with slight warping. Then measured along the face for my side cuts. I decided to give the sides a longer cut than in Sam's b-a thus making my bow have narrower limbs along their length. We'll see how this affects things later on. Sam does say we that follow along with him are free to tweak what we like. I used my bandsaw and belt sander for this shaping.
For the riser I cut a scrap piece of poplar, then topped that with a strip of oak left over from cutting the sides. glued this up overnight.
****
While this set up I attached the parts for the tillering pulley to the front of my bench using some bolts. this will allow me to check the limb tillering from a few steps back to get a better view. I'll add more detailed pics as I use this and show more of the scale, reference boards and so on. For now all I did was cut a scrap square of pine, bolt it to the table, then bolt the pulley to the bottom run directly under the pine square.
*****
Next day I shaped the riser a bit on each end with my belt sander. Then I moved to applying the backing. This will stengthen the back of the bow and help to prevent splintering. I actually really like the look of the fiberglass tape so it suited me just fine as a cheap method of backing. Not sure what colour I'll paint it yet.
Lots of gluing here and then I left it alone for another full day.
****
---Here is where I'll break. The glue has dried on the backing and I've started to file off the edges and clean the excess glue of the sides. I'll continue posting once I start on that string I need now.