Information on making your own long bow?

[Ratdog68]

197 FPS is smoking for a board bow.

TYPO... I meant to type 187fps (actual was 188 fps, after reading the recap on the thread).  It should end up in the LOW 190s when cold.  Still, not too shabby for bow that weighs in less than 26oz.

I was very pleased with that.  I was shooting a full length Goldtip 5575 carbon which I put 5" feathers on and had 125gr field tips on it.  My draw was a little longer than the spec'd 28"... around 31".  

[quadrafire]

Hey ratdog
you said you purchased this as a stave. Was that just the osage, or was it already glued up with the backing? If you did the gluing what did you use?
That is a nice looking bow. Even without the training wheels
If you don't mind, how much was the raw material? Lets not count the hours

[Ratdog68]

Hey ratdog
you said you purchased this as a stave. Was that just the osage, or was it already glued up with the backing? If you did the gluing what did you use?
That is a nice looking bow. Even without the training wheels
If you don't mind, how much was the raw material? Lets not count the hours

If you look through the entire thread, you'll see the step by step.  It was a raw stave of Osage, raw length of Bamboo, and raw chunk of Bacote.  We used "Smooth-On" bowyer's epoxy from 3-Rivers Archery.  I think (ebay) my cost for the stave was about $50ish.  A pole of bamboo big enough to fab the strip is probably under $50 and may make three bows.  The Bacote probably ran me about $20 and was a big enough piece to get a couple of riser pieces from.  I bought the Dacron from 3-Rivers, as I did the rest of the string twisting supplies, and the DVD that tells ya how to make a Flemish Twist string. 

[quadrafire]

Hey ratdog
you said you purchased this as a stave. Was that just the osage, or was it already glued up with the backing? If you did the gluing what did you use?
That is a nice looking bow. Even without the training wheels
If you don't mind, how much was the raw material? Lets not count the hours

If you look through the entire thread, you'll see the step by step.  It was a raw stave of Osage, raw length of Bamboo, and raw chunk of Bacote.  We used "Smooth-On" bowyer's epoxy from 3-Rivers Archery.  I think (ebay) my cost for the stave was about $50ish.  A pole of bamboo big enough to fab the strip is probably under $50 and may make three bows.  The Bacote probably ran me about $20 and was a big enough piece to get a couple of riser pieces from.  I bought the Dacron from 3-Rivers, as I did the rest of the string twisting supplies, and the DVD that tells ya how to make a Flemish Twist string. 

Thanks for the info. I will look through the entire thread when I get some time. I think I read it while you were building, but my memory is crap.
I may have to tackle this process one of these days. Wait until college bowl games are over so I'll have some time

[quadrafire]

You said 65 @28, if you are pulling about 31, what do you think that does to the lbs? and does it put too much strain on the bow, if it is meant for 28? Sorry for the dumb questions. If its in your thread, just tell me to read it and I will leave you alone.
Just curious.

[Ratdog68]

You said 65 @28, if you are pulling about 31, what do you think that does to the lbs? and does it put too much strain on the bow, if it is meant for 28? Sorry for the dumb questions. If its in your thread, just tell me to read it and I will leave you alone.
Just curious.

Going back and re-reading (it's been a year and a half since I finished it), I think it was actually 63#@28" of pull.  The "28 inches" of pull is just the standard used for rating a bow's draw weight.  So, it's more poundage than the "63#" when I draw it.  The bow's big enough to handle the weight though.

[Ray]

I've had good luck with Urac 185 for glue. Smooth on works great too but costs more.. I'd recommend Urac over smooth on for a bow without fiberglass lamination. Titebond III is also a good glue.

[Lowedog]

Ratdog, great write up and what a beautiful bow!

[boneaddict]

You guys have insane patience.  I have it for hunting, but if I were to do this sort of thing I'd have a pile of toothpicks.

[400out]

You guys have insane patience.  I have it for hunting, but if I were to do this sort of thing I'd have a pile of toothpicks.

[Ratdog68]

Ratdog, great write up and what a beautiful bow!

Thanks... now that my shoulders are healing up from good ol' "frozen shoulder"... m'be I can build back up to bein' able to draw the thing again.  LOL 

[Ray]

Ratdog,

I agree a very well done bow. I don't have as much skill as you do but do enjoy making them. I hope your shoulder recovers soon enough.

-RB

[Ratdog68]

You guys have insane patience.  I have it for hunting, but if I were to do this sort of thing I'd have a pile of toothpicks.

I've got a snaky Vine Maple bow that roughed out and been waiting for a year for me to begin working on.  It was a wonderful piece of wood that was hanging out horizontally... so, after being cut, has some NICE, natural reflex built into it.  It sat in a form while drying for nearly a year... just need to get back into working on 'em again.

[Ratdog68]

Ratdog,

I agree a very well done bow. I don't have as much skill as you do but do enjoy making them. I hope your shoulder recovers soon enough.

-RB

All I did was follow instructions... my buddy is the bowyer.  I need to get a few more of 'em under my belt before I'm ready to try one 'solo' and 'unsupervised'.  The working with the tools in my paws is the easy part... knowing what to do next is the tough one for now.  LOL  All part of the learning process.

[ribka]

You guys have insane patience.  I have it for hunting, but if I were to do this sort of thing I'd have a pile of toothpicks.

I've got a snaky Vine Maple bow that roughed out and been waiting for a year for me to begin working on.  It was a wonderful piece of wood that was hanging out horizontally... so, after being cut, has some NICE, natural reflex built into it.  It sat in a form while drying for nearly a year... just need to get back into working on 'em again.

Looks like a very nice build. Tyhat is a really fast bow btw
I made a bow with vine maple and it wasn't easy but a fun project. I used it for a year and ened up breaking on a pig hunt. I like working with osage orange and locust more. You'll have fun though. Post pics when finished