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Hazelnut bow build-a-long (fixed pictures)

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Gordon:
Since beginning my journey into building wooden bows I have received invaluable assistance from the good folks on this board. I dare say I would not be where I am without it. It’s time then I return something back to the community. I am constructing a bow for a gentleman in Washington and will post the steps as I go. For the more experienced bowyers on this site this thread will probably not reveal anything new or particularly interesting. But if it helps demystify the process for some of the folks among us who are new to bow-building, then it will have served its purpose.

The bow will be short (60” or less), bend through the handle, hunting weight (hopefully), and made of hazel-nut. A caveat – I have built a few longer bows with this wood but do not know how it will hold up with this design.  In other words, I may not succeed. But I’ll give it a go anyway.

The log was given to my by Bryan Briand and was about 3” in diameter. While the log was green, I sawed it in half and peeled the bark off. The stave has been drying in my garage for about 6 months. Following is a picture of the stave.

Gordon:
I start by reducing the stave to a width that is just a little wider than the finished bow – about 1 5/8” in this case.





Next I mark where the handle will be. I like to build my bows using an asymmetrical design because they balance better in my hand. To do this I first mark the center of the stave and then make the top of the handle 1” inch above center. I then mark the bottom of the handle 4” inches from the top.

Gordon:
I am now ready to begin roughing out the thickness taper for each limb. I begin by dividing each limb into 8 equal sections.



Then I will mark the taper from the back of the bow using a tool that I made for this purpose. For this bow the initial taper will go from 1” at the handle to 5/8” at the tips.

Gordon:
Next I carefully cut outside the taper lines using my bandsaw. I don’t try to do this using one cut, but instead cut one side at a slight angle then turn the bow over and cut the other side. This helps ensure that I do not accidentally remove too much wood.



I use a rasp to remove the crown on the belly where the two cuts meet.



Here’s what the bow looks like when I am done.

Gordon:
Now I'm ready to cut out the outline of the bow. I start by drawing the limb taper on the belly of the bow. I make a mark 1” up from the end for the nock and mark the taper about 12” up from that. I initially make the tip wide (about Ύ”) so that I can later make small adjustments to the string alignment if necessary.



I draw the handle 1 Ό” wide and the fadeouts about 3” long each.



Here is what the roughed out bow looks like after I am done cutting on the bandsaw.



Next – floor tillering and steam bending.

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