Main Discussion Area > Cave Men only "Oooga Booga"
River Cane Bow String
gstoneberg:
You're making good progress. This is a very interesting thread. Anxious to see what comes next.
George
Buckeye Guy:
We await your next step!
Lee Slikkers:
Lucky dawg! Wish we had River Cane here to make arrows & Bow strings...looking forward to seeing the process.
swamp monkey:
This is an update of observations only and not a final product report. Split river cane dries out very quickly. I have quarter stock laying next to whole culms and the culms are still green while the quarter stock is light tan. Also. whittling on the quarter stock to cut off the sharp edges is like putting socks on a rooster. Plenty of opportunity to cut too deep. Either I need practice or there is a better way. I am going to try a small thumb plane next.
The LA basket maker who has consulted with me on this project speculates this bow is not a North American bow. He thinks it may be from the Pacific rim and the string is actually rattan. He notes several baskets on display at museums that were in fact rattan not split river cane. He also shared some worry that I need to put on some safety goggles before pulling a bow back with it. He is a bow maker form way back too and knows the stresses a bow puts on a string. I will do as he suggests! i was grateful for his input and respectfully want to move forward. One of the best ways to determine if cane could be used to make a string is to experiment with every possible method to craft one. If this does not work it will not be because I did not try and could not think for myself.
swamp monkey:
Well I worked on this off and on throughout the summer and with no success to report. I had a lot of difficulty sanding the cane down to size. Several times the cane broke. I am not saying this is not possible. I am saying that the methods I used did not work or I did not become proficient at them. I will likely pick this back up and try again.
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