# Help with Self bow.



## olchevy (Jun 9, 2010)

Okay, I am wanting to make myself a self bow to be used for hunting. But here is the kicker, I will Only use materials found naturally on my property. No wood will be bought! So I will definitely need help in which trees and such to select. My property is roughly 40 acres, with a huge pine and Hard wood sections, some hardwoods are huge upwards of 6ft diameter basis! We also have some Hickory, oaks, pear trees, some I don't know...We also have about a one acre section of bamboo which might be helpfull. From what I have read hickory will make a good base to start with, and we had one hickory fall a few months back roughly 18-24'' diameter and about 90 or so feet tall. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## Nicodemus (Jun 9, 2010)

Go with hickory for your bow. Is it bamboo or rivercane? Rivercane will make you some fine arrows. Any stone that will knap there? You gather tar from the pines and any softwoods on the place to make your charcoal, combined together to make your pitch glue.  All you need left is a deer for sinew, and a turkey for fletchin` feathers.


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## stick-n-string (Jun 9, 2010)

You need to get with Hatchet Dan! This is his specialty! He is 1 talented man.


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## olchevy (Jun 9, 2010)

I want it to be a relatively short bow, because it will be used for stalk hunting, so sometimes I may be kneeling and not standing when i need to shoot. How big should I cut the stave for the bow, out of the tree? And do I use the heart of the wood, and where should I cut from the lower huge part or the upper thinner part of the hickory tree? I am not exactly sure on the bamboo, it might be river cane, I am looking into how to tell the difference. 
Sorry for all my ignorance in this, I am new to all of this.


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## RUTTNBUCK (Jun 10, 2010)

stick-n-string said:


> You need to get with Hatchet Dan! This is his specialty! He is 1 talented man.


X2!! on Hatchet Dan!!..........Look up Dpoole as well!!



olchevy said:


> I want it to be a relatively short bow, because it will be used for stalk hunting, so sometimes I may be kneeling and not standing when i need to shoot. How big should I cut the stave for the bow, out of the tree? And do I use the heart of the wood, and where should I cut from the lower huge part or the upper thinner part of the hickory tree? I am not exactly sure on the bamboo, it might be river cane, I am looking into how to tell the difference.
> Sorry for all my ignorance in this, I am new to all of this.


Some of these other Bowyers can prolly give better advice than me!!........I'm not a Bowyer, but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night!!.......but cut your staves from the trunk, and leave the part just under the bark for the outside of your bow intact.......Coat the ends of the staves with a heavy coat of paint or wax, to prevent splitting......Let Dry, then start your work!!

I'm just Repeating what I was was told by Dpoole, he may wan't to elaborate on this process some when he see's this!!


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## Nicodemus (Jun 10, 2010)

I`m an arrow maker, not a bow builder, but I do know that on a hickory bow, when you remove the bark from the stave, you are lookin` at the back of your bow. Remove no wood from there. I`ll stop there before I get in trouble.


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## bam_bam (Jun 10, 2010)

As far as bow length goes, as a rule for stiff handled self bows you take you draw length multiply it by 2 and add ten to it. (Example 27"x2=54+10=64") so that would mean as a rule the shortest you should go for ones 27" draw is 64" tip to tip. Some may say I am wrong but I have found that this is a good rule to follow. Just remember the shorter them limbs are the more they bend and more stress there under and the more likley they are to break and wack you in the noggin.


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## Apex Predator (Jun 10, 2010)

I prefer 66-68" bows when still hunting from the ground.  Never felt they were too long.  This length will be more durable.  Not sure about hickory, but most woods will quickly become unsuitable for bow staves if left on the ground more than a few weeks.  You may have to harvest a stave from another tree.  Hickory is an great bow wood, but I'm liking the pear as well.  There will be some talented self bowyers stopping by soon, I'm sure.


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## TNGIRL (Jun 10, 2010)

I've not made a bow as yet, but have been around bowyers for many years and it wears off on you. Hickory is a fine wood to use, not the already fallen tree tho, been down too long at this point. Pick out as straight a tree as you can, the fewer limbs the better. It should be at least 8 to 12 inches in diameter or some more(you'll loose most of it when you take the bark off and chase them rings later on, depending on the wood you chose)plus if it's big enough you can split it and have more than one stave come off that tree. Once you cut it and trim those limbs, you have to seal the ends and limb cuts up or it'll dry too quickly, plus allows insects to get into the wood if left outside in a shed to dry. You can use a variety of things to seal with, paint, glue, polyurathane, just as long as it coats well and dries completely. Then put it up to dry. Just remember, when you are cutting, you can always take off wood later, you can't add it later once it's gone. So a longer stave is always a better choice. Same thing goes for those cane arras, cut'em long towards the base, you'll cut the smaller ends back as you work with them later.  Like Marty told ya, the pear wood is a good choice, plus if you have any good mulberry to use, that's a fine wood, cedar turns out really nice too!!! But there's so many wonderful bowyers here, I'll shut up!!!


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 10, 2010)

For a first one, I'd forget the fallen tree because as Al said, it's likely already got fungus or borers in it by now-white woods start rotting quickly outside. Find you a good straight hickory sapling about 4"-5" in diameter with no limbs or big knots on the lower six feet or so, and make sure the lines on the bark run staight up and down instead of spiraling around the tree. Cut a piece six feet long out of it, split it in half, pull the bark off (should come off easy at this time of year) and seal the ends of the staves with glue or shellac. Set it inside for a few weeks, then get back to us and we'll get you started on the next step. I would make your bow about 66"-68" long. I hunt from the ground with bows that length all the time without a problem. Plus the added length will make it smoother shooting, more accurate, and you will end up with less string follow.


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## olchevy (Jun 10, 2010)

okay, thanks for the help so far. One thing I did not mention is that the hickory that fell, did not fall all the way it is hung up by one of the hardwoods. the hickory tree itself at the top is still probably 50-60 feet off the ground. So I highly doubt it has got ate up with anything being suspended in the air.....But If ya'll still say get another tree i will.....Oh and we have tons of cedar too, not sure on the mulberry....


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## Jake Allen (Jun 10, 2010)

Welcome sir, glad you are with us.

One book highly recommended to me:

Bowyers Bible, Volume 1

http://www.3riversarchery.com/Books...1++By:+Jim+Ha_c42_s18_p287_i5366_product.html

Hatchett Dan was telling me last Saturday, now is the time to cut your hickory staves. The spring growth is done, and the bark will come off.

If you can get a few staves cut and put up, you will have plenty of time to study up on bow making while the wood dries.


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## olchevy (Jun 10, 2010)

exactly how long does it take to dry, and what exactly do I seal the ends with?


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## Jake Allen (Jun 10, 2010)

olchevy said:


> exactly how long does it take to dry, and what exactly do I seal the ends with?



Elmers glue.
3 months maybe, during the hot weather?

Where is Choctawlb?


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## bam_bam (Jun 10, 2010)

If you want to speed up the drying process you can rough your bow out seal the back and put it in the house and in about a month or so it will be dry enough to work.


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## olchevy (Jun 10, 2010)

Would our attic suffice, It is very dry and it stays around the upper 90's for the most part. Even have a window I could put it in front of in our attic if that would help?


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## NavyDave (Jun 10, 2010)

The attic will work as long as you have some air flow.  You can also build a cheap drying box (google).  Check out tradgang, paleoplanet, and primative archer.  They all have forums with buildalongs that will take you(with pics) from start to finish.  Plenty of videos on youtube also.  You can use the Hickory tree if it is still standing plus you'll be able to tell pretty quickly once you remove the bark if it has been infested.  As Bam Bam said, once you have figured out the style of bow you want and measurements you can rough the bow out to floor tiller.  The less wood there is the quicker it will dry.  I think you daid the tree fell a few months ago so you already have a head start.  A tree that size you should be able to have plenty of staves to practice on!  KEEP US POSTED!


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 11, 2010)

If your fallen tree still has green leaves on it, cut it. If not, leave it alone, trust me. I've wasted tooo much time in the past trying to use dead whitewood. Osage, locust, or cedar, yes. Mulberry yes to a certain extent. Whitewood, no. If you get your staved roughed out to near-bow dimensions, it will dry a lot faster. Hickory can be quickdried most of the time without checking, unlike some woods. Putting the roughed-out stave in your car out in the sun with the windows rolled up is helpful, too. You need to get it down to around at least 8-10% moisture content and keep it there, or your bow will pretty much suck. Hickory soaks up moisture like a sponge. For sealing the ends, I usually use Elmers glue like Jake said, or Bullseye spray-can shellac.


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## bam_bam (Jun 11, 2010)

I have heard of old osage fence posts being whittled down to a a usable bow.


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## olchevy (Jun 12, 2010)

tomorrow I am going out in the woods to check on that tree and to see whether I have bamboo or rivercane. I will definitely keep ya'll in the loop, Cause I will need all the help I can get.... Do yall know of any site that has some dimension of different style bows to help me rough it out...I want this to be like a long bow...not a recurve or straight stick bow.


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## bam_bam (Jun 12, 2010)

66" tip to tip  1 3/4" wide at the fades got to mid limb abd mid limb to nock taper it to about 1/2". Should get a mid 40's to 50' bow out of it for hickory.


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## dpoole (Jun 13, 2010)

go ahead and split your staves. The smaller they are the faster they will dry. Getthe bark off. That tree that fell may be hard to get the bark off of but a draw knife will do it. A old car out in the sun is the best drying device every invented. Put the staves in there if you have one availavle. Start long you can shorten it but cant add length. Dont get discouraged if it takes a few to get a good bow.  You aint a bower if you aint broke some..


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## olchevy (Jun 16, 2010)

Okay I went out in the woods today to get me a tree to use, and quickly concluded that I only have a vague understanding of what kind of tree is what. My little tree book helped narrow them down to a degree but many of the trees are so close I don't know which is which. So here are some pictures of the trees I was looking at and the bamboo/ or rivercane. Thankyou for your help as I do not like to cut down healthy trees unless they are to serve a purpose so, I want to make sure I get the right one. 

These two are the same tree. Possibly black walnut?










Here is my Explorer Cat she goes everywhere with me in the woods, she even swims across the creek. This cat took up with us but she feeds herself for the most part, I have seen her catch birds, squirrels and one time she got a rabbit!





Here are some trees i am not sure about, except the one with the thorns I believe is some kind of pear tree.




 This is some kind of paper tree they are very plentiful out there.




Dont know on this one




I think pear?




This is my brittany out there with me, she LOVES swimming in the creeks(we have 3)




And some more trees and the bamboo or rivercane
























Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if none of these are what I think they are could some please post pics of what I need, cause there are many many more trees out there in the woods.


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## Tailfeather (Jun 16, 2010)

The first pic is a hickory....that's what you're looking for.

The one whose leaves you are holding looks like privet, and yes, that's a pear.


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## olchevy (Jun 16, 2010)

I thought it was a hickory, but then when I looked in the book it looked more like the black walnut so I wasn't sure. How many practice staves do you think I can get out of it? It is about 15-20 feet till that first limb in the second pic it is the tree in line with the broken in half stump of a tree.


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## dpoole (Jun 16, 2010)

no black walnut. one looks like river birch not sure on the others. Leave that one with all those limbs where it is knots aint good in a self bow.that looks like river cane.


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## olchevy (Jun 16, 2010)

how can you tell what is river cane and what is bamboo?


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## bam_bam (Jun 16, 2010)

5 leaves and if it fuzzy under the bottom its pignut hickory, really good bow wood!


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## olchevy (Jun 17, 2010)

Ok here is an Update:

Just went out in the woods this morning a cut down that Hickory tree the first pic up there.....I cut two section both 6' long (72'' to give me some working room).....

New Question:
How am I suppose to split these is there any particular way to do it, If so could some please explain how...Like where exactly to split it so on and so forth....Thanks Here are some pics of the two logs.


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## bam_bam (Jun 17, 2010)

Sledge and a maul, and in this heat you better get it done pretty quick before it starts checking on you. split them in half and then split the splits in half. Pretty much all there is to it.


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 17, 2010)

chvy you have me excited i'm gonna go get my hands on a few hickory staves this weekend!


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## olchevy (Jun 17, 2010)

bam_bam said:


> Sledge and a maul, and in this heat you better get it done pretty quick before it starts checking on you. split them in half and then split the splits in half. Pretty much all there is to it.


Oh?!? I thought it would be a lot more involved than that.....I thought it was going to be a long drawn out....Now you gotta do it this way exactly or you'll screw it up kind of thing...lol

Go ahead and take the bark off right?
Oh and please excuse my ignorance in this, but what is checking?


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## olchevy (Jun 17, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> chvy you have me excited i'm gonna go get my hands on a few hickory staves this weekend!



Cool we will both attempt to make our own bows.....or do you already?............I figure unless something goes wrong Between these two logs I have eight tries to get one right....hopefully it wont take that many tries...If it does though I'll keep at it!


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 17, 2010)

olchevy said:


> Cool we will both attempt to make our own bows.....or do you already?............I figure unless something goes wrong Between these two logs I have eight tries to get one right....hopefully it wont take that many tries...If it does though I'll keep at it!



nope never tried ever before but hey I'll give it a go with ya....


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## olchevy (Jun 18, 2010)

*Update!*

I got out this morning and got to splitting the wood as I was told. It took some work seeing as all I have is a couple axes and sledge hammer dangerously attached to an old broom handle (it comes off sometimes..lol)....But I got it done!

The bark came off so Easy! it just peeled right off with no effort and stayed in one huge piece.

One thing I noticed after peeling off the bark, one half of the tree has  nearly no blemishes at all just pure wood, however the other side has a lot of gray look to it. Can anyone explain why? Does it have something to do with facing the sun or something?

Anyways, so now my new question.
When ya'll say I can go ahead and rough it out, what do you mean by that? How close to the bow dimensions do I get when roughing it out?

And I am suppose to cover the ends in glue right? I have elmers wood glue is that ok?

Notice the bark in the background in one huge piece per each cut....Can I do anything with the bark? and if you look in the lower left hand corner you can see the dangerous sledge hammer I speak of...lol The head came off three time during this.











These four slabs were from the upper cut on the tree. Notice how two are nearly blemish free and two are grayish looking.









And these four slabs were from the bottom of the tree. Notice the same nearly blemish free side and the gray side. And they are no where near as curved as this picture makes them seem, they are pretty darn straight.


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## olchevy (Jun 18, 2010)

Just a quick note. I got them glued up on the ends with Elmers carpenter wood glue and stacked up in our shop off our garage, it gets real warm and stays very dry....Tried the car thing but the 6' cuts just would not fit in a standard cab 88' s-10...But I tried ...lol

Is there a way to tell when they are dry enough...Or do I just wait it out.... Now I need something to occupy my time while these dry..I have considered attempting to make a laminated bow, how hard are they compared to the self bows?


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## bam_bam (Jun 18, 2010)

Better seal the back too. With the bark off it will check (crack or split) dont worry about the color, natural camo.


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## olchevy (Jun 18, 2010)

So I need to coat the entire thing?


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## bam_bam (Jun 19, 2010)

Not the entire thing just the back and ends. You want to control the speed in wich the wood dry an have all the moisture come out of the belly of the stave. If not the stave will check, all checking does is crack the wood. What happens is moisture escapes certian area of the wood faster than other areas. When that happens the dryer wood shriks or whatever it does and causes cracks to occur in the stave. So sealing the ends and back (if the bark has been taken off) controls the rate that the water leaves the wood.


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## dpoole (Jun 19, 2010)

to get the bow worked into shape get your hatchet and start taking off wood from the belly side . That is the inside of the tree. Dont touch the outside where the bark came from that will be the back of the bow. Dont touch it. Take off the inside wood down to where the stave is about 1 1/2 inches thick then let em dry.


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## olchevy (Jun 19, 2010)

Will Do! Do I need to go ahead and thin down the sides also, or just the thickness?

And thank you again for everyone's help on this!


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 20, 2010)

headin out right now to look for me a hickory!!!


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## whossbows (Jun 20, 2010)

i cut my hickory in feb,split it and sealed the ends,dryed about 9 months,hard to get the bark off but got several bows from the same tree,once you learn how to use a draw knife,you can do wonders,maybe the best wood working tool ever invented


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 20, 2010)

hey question is a shaggy bark hickory ok to use????


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> hey question is a shaggy bark hickory ok to use????


I haven't the slightest idea, but I am sure the bowyer's on here will, ha notice how everyone of my new post also includes a new question...lol


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

QUICK QUESTION: What brand of draw knife? I looked at two cherries but then saw some bad reviews, looked for older ones with no luck. Thought about making my own, seem pretty simple tool to make to me....Any ideas or pointers like what size blade to get, make it or not, buy it new or buy it used....


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## Jake Allen (Jun 21, 2010)

olchevy said:


> QUICK QUESTION: What brand of draw knife? I looked at two cherries but then saw some bad reviews, looked for older ones with no luck. Thought about making my own, seem pretty simple tool to make to me....Any ideas or pointers like what size blade to get, make it or not, buy it new or buy it used....



I went to Highland Harware in Atlanta and looked at drawknifes. 
Those folks reommended this line, as long as I did not care about  having fancy wood handles. (Good bit less money than A Barr or similar). 
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/9curveddrawknife.aspx

I had looked for a used knife also. The few I found were about the same, or more dollars as this new one, as most
were in less than stellar condition.


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

Jake Allen said:


> I went to Highland Harware in Atlanta and looked at drawknifes.
> Those folks reommended this line, as long as I did not care about  having fancy wood handles. (Good bit less money than A Barr or similar).
> http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/9curveddrawknife.aspx
> 
> ...



How good does it work, and what is it's E.H.A...edge holding ability? I am a knife nut, and I know my steels and when I see vague terms like German steel it usually steers me away from a product. Because 90% of the time if they are not willing to tell you exactly what the steel is it means its cheap steel that will neither hold or take a good edge.


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## TNGIRL (Jun 21, 2010)

Olchevy, you had wondered about doing something with the bark. If you could have removed it in one complete curl, you could have let it dry then made a quiver with it. I have seen some fine fine quivers made out of dried bark. But what I've seen was a complete piece of bark, without other cuts etc. they allowed bark to dry, then drilled holes along sides and top, then used leather lacing to connect the long sides together, then put a round piece of wood in the bottom that you drilled around and laced up, then attach a strap. Sometimes there's fur strips applied along the top inside. Really cool looking quiver and light weight.


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## whossbows (Jun 21, 2010)

i got mine knives from old timers,dont know what kind of steel but they sure hold up,you can also sharppen them from one side.just hard to find one that is not chipped ,and has a good edge,many styles sizes and shapes


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## whossbows (Jun 21, 2010)

this is all i use other than sand paper and a lot of paitance,or how ever you spell it,my secutary can fix the spelling,


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## johnweaver (Jun 21, 2010)

Thanks for this information.  I always wanted to know how you started a bow.


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

TNGIRL said:


> Olchevy, you had wondered about doing something with the bark. If you could have removed it in one complete curl, you could have let it dry then made a quiver with it. I have seen some fine fine quivers made out of dried bark. But what I've seen was a complete piece of bark, without other cuts etc. they allowed bark to dry, then drilled holes along sides and top, then used leather lacing to connect the long sides together, then put a round piece of wood in the bottom that you drilled around and laced up, then attach a strap. Sometimes there's fur strips applied along the top inside. Really cool looking quiver and light weight.



Cool idea, might try that with some of the upper parts on the tree.....Still got like 40-50 feet of the tree left. Only problem is its suspended about 30 or so feet in the air by other trees....It was the only way for the tree to fall...I will try that though! Thanks!


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## whossbows (Jun 21, 2010)

try to get a stave about 6 ft long with no limbs or noticable nots,and of course straight,most of the time next to the bottom


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 21, 2010)

*WEeeeellllllll*

Soooo i decide ya know what if i'm gonna do this i'm gonna do alllll by hand... lol.... so i grab my axe and head to my tree.... after about 20 mins i'm like i just found the toughest mamma jamma in the woods.... well finally i get her down... lol ended up cuttin about an 8 ft section out with the axe... (think i'll go back for another section or 2 with the chain saw.. lol) Then i was like crap this thing is gonna be heavy but being the young wipper snapper i am i pulled it up on my shoulder and walked it out of there... Man i sure hope i don't screw this one up lol


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## whossbows (Jun 21, 2010)

you should have got a piece of flint and made the axe..mmmmmmmmm


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

whossbows said:


> you should have got a piece of flint and made the axe..mmmmmmmmm



ah come on now....yes it would have been neat, but a pain in the but...lol.....I started cutting down my tree with the hand ax in my pictures of splitting the log....but decided I wanted clean cuts....


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## olchevy (Jun 21, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> Soooo i decide ya know what if i'm gonna do this i'm gonna do alllll by hand... lol.... so i grab my axe and head to my tree.... after about 20 mins i'm like i just found the toughest mamma jamma in the woods.... well finally i get her down... lol ended up cuttin about an 8 ft section out with the axe... (think i'll go back for another section or 2 with the chain saw.. lol) Then i was like crap this thing is gonna be heavy but being the young wipper snapper i am i pulled it up on my shoulder and walked it out of there... Man i sure hope i don't screw this one up lol



Hey if the drying process goes as planned hopefully you will get four staves to attempt to work on this. I have to ask how old are you really?


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 22, 2010)

yea hopefuly 4 is what i'm wanting... lol I'm 26


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 22, 2010)

*Hey chevy*

Hey I don't wana hi jack your thread so i'll ask now... is it ok to post my progress here????

Ps. Got 3 sections of hickory and got 1 split today... of course i enlisted the help of my buddy Josh and his buddy Huski Varna lol...


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## dpoole (Jun 22, 2010)

my personal opinion is the native americans made their bows from small sapplings. The found one the size needed for a bow and worked out a bow or maybe 2 out of it.


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 22, 2010)

DP man i swear i had that same thought today splitin this ol log up.... I was thinkin how in the world would they have done what i'm doin with a flint axe.... i may try the sappling method next  go around.


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## olchevy (Jun 22, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> Hey I don't wana hi jack your thread so i'll ask now... is it ok to post my progress here????
> 
> Ps. Got 3 sections of hickory and got 1 split today... of course i enlisted the help of my buddy Josh and his buddy Huski Varna lol...



Heck yeah it is, we gona try this at the same time mine as well keep it all together. And make it easier for the people that know what they are doing, to help us by keeping it in one thread!


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## olchevy (Jun 22, 2010)

dpoole said:


> my personal opinion is the native americans made their bows from small sapplings. The found one the size needed for a bow and worked out a bow or maybe 2 out of it.



I saw a couple sapplings out there in the woods.....How thick are we talking 2,3,4''? Might try that while i'm waiting on the huge chunks of wood to dry.


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 25, 2010)

question.... i can't seem to find a straight forward ans here.... on a hickory bow is it essential to chase a ring?? or can you just use the out side of the stave?


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 25, 2010)

BTW i just ordered some U finish bows from GIBOW.com for me, my kids, and this young man that wants to get into archery..... So this should give me a lil experience in the fun part of it lol


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## olchevy (Jun 25, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> question.... i can't seem to find a straight forward ans here.... on a hickory bow is it essential to chase a ring?? or can you just use the out side of the stave?


I was wondering the same thing, and how exactly to go about chasing a ring.


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 25, 2010)

lol i figured out how just havn't found many suggesting to do it on a hickory most all I've seen is referring to Osage.... 

All it is, is making sure you have the back of the bow all down to the same growth ring... From what i've seen most do it with a draw knife. or a planer?


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## olchevy (Jun 25, 2010)

Badddwithabow said:


> lol i figured out how just havn't found many suggesting to do it on a hickory most all I've seen is referring to Osage....
> 
> All it is, is making sure you have the back of the bow all down to the same growth ring... From what i've seen most do it with a draw knife. or a planer?


Ha, I knew that you had to do that, I just didn't know that was called chasing the rings....


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 25, 2010)

lol man i'm lookin at this hickory stave and them rings are waaayyyy tight....


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## Philbow (Jun 25, 2010)

The outside of the stave is the back of the bow. You do not have to chase a ring on hickory, just use it as is.


_The Bent Stick _ Bow Building Book  By: Paul Comstock ( http://www.3riversarchery.com/The+B...ng+Book+By:+Paul+Comstock_i6997_baseitem.html ) is an excellent book for "white wood" (hickory, elm, ash, Etc..) bow building.

Also the George C Tsoukalas site ( http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/archer.html ) will answer a lot of your questions.


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## Badddwithabow (Jun 25, 2010)

Philbow said:


> The outside of the stave is the back of the bow. You do not have to chase a ring on hickory, just use it as is.



sweeeeeeeeet best news i've heard all day lol...


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## NavyDave (Jun 26, 2010)

Check this video out.  There are 3 parts.  It might help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoVvbCmdFOc&feature=related


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## dpoole (Jun 26, 2010)

went and cut a couple of hickory sapplings. They sure cut easier, but they did not split out very well.


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## olchevy (Jun 26, 2010)

NavyDave said:


> Check this video out.  There are 3 parts.  It might help.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoVvbCmdFOc&feature=related



It did help, Thank you! I want to be very proficient at making selfbows, that way when I have a family someday I can make some for my kids. Things made are worth so much more than things bought....at least in my eyes


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## Badddwithabow (Jul 18, 2010)

*took one down*

Talkin w/ dpoole on the 4th he said cut em on down to ruff out bow shape then stick em in old car... well i ruffd one down today what do ya think? so far all done with a hatchet.


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## NavyDave (Jul 18, 2010)

Don't forget to coat the back with shellac to prevent the wood from checking.  Looks great!


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## wilber85 (Dec 12, 2010)

Hey guys...any updates on this?  I am really interested in doing this and I am waiting to see how it goes for you guys.


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## Malum Prohibitum (Dec 14, 2010)

olchevy said:


> I got out this morning and got to splitting the wood as I was told. It took some work seeing as all I have is a couple axes and sledge hammer dangerously attached to an old broom handle (it comes off sometimes..lol)....But I got it done!
> 
> The bark came off so Easy! it just peeled right off with no effort and stayed in one huge piece.
> 
> ...



Olchevy, do you have one that you are not going to use that you might be willing to sell?  My 9 year old finally broke the pine bow I made for him when he was 5 - he came in crying with the pieces, so I need to make him another one, and this time I will use something better than pine.  I live in Senoia.


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## olchevy (Jan 13, 2011)

Just updating to ask if You all think they should be dry enough now to start working on? They have had roughly 8 months of dry time, is that long enough?


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## whossbows (Jan 13, 2011)

i wated a year on mine,if you use a sander on the edge and check the dust,you might tell if its real dry or not,the dust should blow from your hand real easy,if its to heavy it might be a little damp and not blow out as easy,hope this helps,or get a moisture meter and check it,should be down around 12%


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## olchevy (Jan 13, 2011)

whossbows said:


> i wated a year on mine,if you use a sander on the edge and check the dust,you might tell if its real dry or not,the dust should blow from your hand real easy,if its to heavy it might be a little damp and not blow out as easy,hope this helps,or get a moisture meter and check it,should be down around 12%



I will try the sander test tomorrow, thanks!


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## Tailfeather (Jan 14, 2011)

olchevy said:


> Just updating to ask if You all think they should be dry enough now to start working on? They have had roughly 8 months of dry time, is that long enough?


I think you should be fine.  I cut a tree down last May, roughed out some staves to near bow dimensions and made a bow in August (3 months, more or less).  It's been shooting fine ever since.

It dries quicker if you get it thinned down.


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## NCHillbilly (Jan 14, 2011)

whossbows said:


> i wated a year on mine,if you use a sander on the edge and check the dust,you might tell if its real dry or not,the dust should blow from your hand real easy,if its to heavy it might be a little damp and not blow out as easy,hope this helps,or get a moisture meter and check it,should be down around 12%



Time doesn't matter much, it's the moisture content of the wood itself. A whole hickory stave stored in an outdoor shed exposed to the humidity would probably still be too wet to tiller in ten years. A roughed-out stave kept in a low-humidity environment or a hotbox can possibly be ready in a couple weeks. I usually season staves in the shed, then rough them out and bring them inside for awhile before I start bending them at all. Hickory is one of the worst woods to soak up moisture from the air.


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## NavyDave (Jan 16, 2011)

any updates?


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## dpoole (Jan 17, 2011)

i would think it is as dry as it is going to get in its present form. Remove more wood and it will dry more. I think you can make a bow out of it now.


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## olchevy (Jan 17, 2011)

dpoole said:


> i would think it is as dry as it is going to get in its present form. Remove more wood and it will dry more. I think you can make a bow out of it now.



I am going to be on it as soon as I can. I am waiting on the draw Knife to get here...Then we will see, how many attempts it takes...lol


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## dpoole (Jan 17, 2011)

olchevy said:


> I am going to be on it as soon as I can. I am waiting on the draw Knife to get here...Then we will see, how many attempts it takes...lol



you get one attempt per stave then it becomes fire wood


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## NavyDave (Jan 17, 2011)

or a kids bow!  given away a few of those!


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## olchevy (Jan 18, 2011)

dpoole said:


> you get one attempt per stave then it becomes fire wood



As of now I have 6 tries, I told the guy that asked above he could come and get two of them to make his son another bow. Haven't heard back from him yet. So I might have 8 tries. If I mess all of them up I will try what you were saying about using the saplings, out of curiosity how thick are we talking? 2,3,4''?


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## olchevy (Jan 26, 2011)

Just a little update....

USPS has lost my draw knife, so the company shipped me off another one yesterday. Hopefully this one will make it to me. I want to get started on this so bad!
-Justin


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## dpoole (Jan 27, 2011)

bring all your stuff to the tbg central zone shoot. HatchtDan has said he would help you make a bow.. That is a great offer!!! Dan is the man when it comes to making a self bow,


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