Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
Longbow Tech Question
Hawkeye1974:
I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech. But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly
CraigMBeckett:
--- Quote from: Hawkeye1974 on September 12, 2011, 01:23:31 am ---I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech. But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly
--- End quote ---
This is a question asked a thousand times and one that raises differing opinions.
The following is my own opinion, others will differ.
Minimum required for a stave bow is a hand axe/machete and some form of scraper, the latter could be could be a knife.
Then to make things easier add:
1, A vice or something to help hold the stave while you work on it such a superjaws etc.
2, Better scrapers,
3, Draw knife
4, a decent rasp or two,
5, small scraper plane with toothing blade.
6, Chain saw to make gathering more staves quicker and easier >:D
Then start to mechanise!
1, palm sander;
2, a band saw:
If going to laminate a stave/bow
1, Bow Jig, (if only making straight bows this could be a straight piece of say 2 by 4)
2, clamps/cramps etc.
2, decent hand plane or 2
3, thickness planer
Then whatever takes your fancy.
Others will had different opinions and for your sake I hope they post them.
Best of luck
Craig.
toomanyknots:
I always think like this on this issue. If I was a bowyer "for fun", or a hobby in the medivael era or earlier, exc, and I had access to boiling water and something round I would surely recurve my bows as I do now sometimes... Now if I was a bowyer by trade, there is no way in hell I am going to recuvre 100 bows when I could just make them without all the trouble. I am sure I could sell them without the recurve. Of course the billions of mass produced bows that would have been used by the military would not of had little flipped tips. It would be a pain keeping the water boiling and dealing with the tip flip failures on the wood breaking when that was money down the drain that would of put food in my mouth. And there is a billion times more of a chance to find evidence of a bow that there were billions of, when there would probably be slim to none that you would find the couple here and there that someone flipped the tips on, for themselves of for fun/taste or whatever. So when I flip the tips on a longbow I am making, to get rid of set of for whatever reason, I don't feel like I am commiting that bad of a sin. As I know I would not be going to war with anyone with a 50# @ 28" anything anyway, :laugh:. But that is just me.
toomanyknots:
--- Quote from: CraigMBeckett on September 15, 2011, 03:13:20 am ---
--- Quote from: Hawkeye1974 on September 12, 2011, 01:23:31 am ---I know you guys are on something totally hi-tech. But I have a question what are minimum tools needed to make bow? I have either the work space or garage to do one properly
--- End quote ---
This is a question asked a thousand times and one that raises differing opinions.
The following is my own opinion, others will differ.
Minimum required for a stave bow is a hand axe/machete and some form of scraper, the latter could be could be a knife.
Then to make things easier add:
1, A vice or something to help hold the stave while you work on it such a superjaws etc.
2, Better scrapers,
3, Draw knife
4, a decent rasp or two,
5, small scraper plane with toothing blade.
6, Chain saw to make gathering more staves quicker and easier >:D
Then start to mechanise!
1, palm sander;
2, a band saw:
If going to laminate a stave/bow
1, Bow Jig, (if only making straight bows this could be a straight piece of say 2 by 4)
2, clamps/cramps etc.
2, decent hand plane or 2
3, thickness planer
Then whatever takes your fancy.
Others will had different opinions and for your sake I hope they post them.
Best of luck
Craig.
--- End quote ---
Shoot, this is all I use from start to finish:
-30 dollar Handsaw for collecting the staves,
-Hacket for spliting (wedges are wooden, beaten in with other pieces of wood), and also roughing out
-Butcher knife for finer roughing out
-Farriers rasp for almost all the rest
-Finer rasps for knick removin
-Sandpaper
-Glass bottle for burnishing
-Done. :)
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