Main Discussion Area > English Warbow

I found some wood, possible stave for war bow? i dont need it to be super heavy.

<< < (4/6) > >>

bow-toxo:

--- Quote from: adb on October 29, 2012, 01:40:25 am ---Well... then in fact, you can't say with certainty that medieval or Tudor bowyers heat treated the bows.

--- End quote ---
  That's correct. There are few things that we can say with certainty. Just look at the US ellections. But we can intelligently consider what evidence we have. Or ignore it if that suits us.

PortlandJoe:
heat treating has been around since man made tools, why would it stop with the English bowyers  and arrow smiths of the middle ages?

Del the cat:
Heat Treating?
It wouldn't stop, but it takes time and if you are a medieval bowyer making them for war you wouldn't have time.
I saw a recent document for 4 dozen Yew bows made and delivered in a month and that was for the US government in 1942 :o that's more than 1 per day.
(source: Billets to Bows by Glen St Charles)
If that is the turnaround in 1940 imagine the workload in the run up to time of Agincourt... I'd suggest there was little time for heat treating.
(That's not to say a bowyer might not do it for some special bow)
Del

adb:
We're only guessing, because there's no evidence of heat treating bows that I know of. However, I agree with Del. I seriously doubt  that it's something medieval bowyers did. The Mary Rose bows show no sign of heat treating, and they were at the apex of technology in terms of bows made for war.

Squirrelslayer:

--- Quote from: bow-toxo on October 26, 2012, 06:02:56 pm ---60 pounds is not what we call a warbow [modern term], it is a longbow, a less powerful version of a warbow.78" weith 75" between nocks is long enough that a 32" draw is not an overdraw. I am not familiar with that kind of wood. In mediaeval and Tudor times, longbows were heat treated but not backed. They were "selfbows' of one piece of wood, sometimes with horn nocks.

--- End quote ---

traditional ELB's were usually two bits of yew spliced together at the handle and then used animal glue to hold them together, this was done because most yew staves had to many knots, also incase one broke you could heat steam the joint and replace the broken limb. i have a freind who makes traditional ELB's who does this and there are a few books on the subject but everything else you said is pretty much spot on.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page