Bow #3
Partially successful. Made out of a 6' 1x4 maple board with a pyramid shape to the limbs and some scrap hickory glued on for the handle riser. I made the handle section slightly too long but it seems to be working well enough. The hickory adds a lot of necessary stiffening through the middle. Originally I made the limbs longer but I decided to cut them down to get a heavier draw weight. And I wanted a shorter bow in any case. Still needs a little more tillering but there is some twist happening in one limb that I'm not sure how to correct.
Managed to cut a contour to the grip for my hand as well as a narrow arrow shelf. Overall I learned plenty and this bow is fun to shoot despite its flaws. Pictures care of my 4 year old.
UPDATE: Actually got to shoot it a bit and a couple others shot it also. Turns out the bow isn't half bad as it is and the limb twist may yet be fixable. Yay!
Bow #2 – FAIL!
Doh! Snapped as I was flexing it during tillering. So close. Should have backed it.
At least I didn't spend a ton of time on it. And I did make a tillering stick last night so I can use that in future.
I think I'll just work on an Irish stick for the rest of the morning.
Home Made Arrows 2
So my cheap and expedient arrows seemed to do the trick and everyone was surprised at how easy and effective the duct tape fletchings were. Made 6 arrows in the morning before class, even managed to put a coat of tung oil on them, and even managed to put one together while I was at class. Probably didn't even take 10 minutes even with explanation of all the steps. Better to be shooting than slaving over target arrows.
The video that showed me how to do the fletchings is HERE. To make the arrow I used 5/16" poplar dowel found at most lumber stores (the dowel has to match the nocks and points you are using). Before cutting the shaft I put a point on one end with a pencil sharpener to fit the plastic nock and then glued the nock in place. I used 4.5" for my fletchings, 3/8" for the space between the fletchings and the plastic nock. Once the fletchings are cut to shape, I cut the shaft length to about 33" from the end of the nock. I mark 3/4" from the end and score around the diameter. I use my pencil sharpener to take some wood off the end. Then, with a sharp knife, I shave away some material from the score line to the end enough to reduce the diameter to fit the point. Once the point fits I glue it down and it's ready to shoot. A finish coat should protect the shaft from moisture. The local source for nocks and target points is HERE.
Found a scrap piece of ABS pipe just before I was about to leave for class this afternoon and I decided at the last minute to assemble a floor quiver. I found and cut a scrap piece of mdf to make a suitable base, then hot glued the pieces together and in no time I had something to hold my arrows. This archery thing is a pretty cheap hobby to get started in, all things considered.
Home Made Arrows
I found place that sells cheap target points and plastic nocks for roughly $0.20 each and bought a small handful of each. Then I bought some poplar dowels and some duct tape in red and black at Lowes. When I got home I picked out one of the dowels and tried to straighten it. I managed to snap it right away, but it was long enough to try making my first arrow. Didn't do so great for the tip end, but I really needed to use my belt sander to get a good fit there. A standard pencil sharpener was fine for the nock end. Once I got those fitted, I cut and arranged some lengths of duct tape for the fletchings. After a little bit of trimming they look sharp . I made them 5" long, but for my bow I should really have them at 4" or 4.5". No idea how it flies yet. I'm concerned that the poplar will shatter, but given how cheap these are to make, I'm not too concerned. We're talking maybe $1.50 or so per arrow.
Bowmaking 3
Well I know that my tillering is off by about 1/2" but this is one of those situations where I'm happy enough to leave things where they are so I can finish and start playing. I'll know better what to do for the next one. Used my palm sander on it this morning with progressive grits from 40 to 220 and got it nice and smooth. There are a couple of spots where my tools gouged into the wood as I was learning but I don't think they will cause any real problems.
Bought some Dyneema from 3Rivers and put together a string for myself this morning. Used dental floss for serving the middle. The technique is pretty easy. People have worked out how to make special jigs for making strings but I guess since I'm used to working with cordage it's not really an issue. As long as it's waxed and you put the right amount of twist where you need it and give enough length on the ends your loop should stay secure. I added drops of Crazy Glue where I thought I should for a bit of extra security.
Today's class covered final details:
- the more flexible limb should be on top
- add a permanent center reference groove to each side of the handle so we always know where the center point is
- use some form of cushioning material to layer a grip base on the face of the bow, secure with tape
- may also add an arrow rest formed from wood into a thin taper with a slightly rounded resting surface to minimize friction
- handle cover may be just about anything that is comfortable
- arrow nocks on the string should be initially formed with tape slightly above the center point of the string until the string itself has properly stretched, may be permanently made with serving material and glue
- finishes can vary from varnishes to vegetable oil
We measured the draw weight of my bow at roughly 44 pounds at 28". I made my nocks with electrical tape above and below where the arrow should sit and it turns out that they make the grip and release on the string more comfortable.
Once I got home I applied two coats of tung oil and carved out an arrow rest from some scrap hickory using a knife and my belt sander. I used several layers of non-slip material to build the grip foundation and wrapped it all with vet wrap instead of tape. Then I completed the grip with a simple spiral wrap of red and black paracord. I considered doing a long turks head, but I still haven't worked out how to do one so I kept it simple. Looks nice.
