Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
Roughing out help!
Del the cat:
String, masking tape and a pencil is your friend. (You can't do too much harm with a pencil, and it may take a couple of tries to find the best straight line)
I lay out a straight line with the string and mark where that lies with the pencil.
Sometimes I mark it on the bark side, having taken off the outer bark leaving the pinkish inner bark which will take a pancil mark, sometimes I mark out on the other side.
Don't try and rough out too close to final dimensions as the wood can move, also keep the tips at least 20mm wide initially until the bow is moving a fair bit, this will allow some sideways adjustment of string line and also helps stop it bending sideways.
Leaving extra width on the initial rough out also allows you to follow the grain a bit if you need to for some reason.
I have a couple of Youtube build alongs, they don't really show the marking out, but may help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR28fBBADdY&list=PLBz2tD9476KRkSOSICLsc-zj5ADyPKLZB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgG0M--KCZE&list=PLBz2tD9476KQFyMBLEylQGh952tBT_mZB
Del
PS, Your stave is probably a bit short for a warbow, but it depends on draw weight and length.
apg:
Hi everyone,
Thanks a lot. Great advice. So I shaved off the bark, and marked out the crown on the highest section of the crown of the bow. I made a line between all of those marks and I'm left with what will be a *somewhat* bowed bow - it will be bowing out in the center, which seems to mean, I think, a string would sit way off center from the middle of the handle.
I feel like I'm doing this wrong. Does what I said make sense?
apg:
Here's a better explanation:
red line is a roughly straight line as a string would make from bottom of bow to top.
Blue line is following the heighest point of the crown all the way through.
Ash
stuckinthemud:
Follow the high point of the crown, things get a bit weird if you don't and you'll end up with a lot more work shaping the bow to compensate for the slope you put across the back when you didn't need to. Yew straightens really easily with a touch of heat, it will even soften on a hot sunny windowsill, as I found out the hard way one time. Besides the huge increase in performance you gain from tempering the bow means you will be heating it anyway, so you can temper it and straighten it at the same time.
WillS:
You honestly don't need to follow the crown. I never do, and I've taken crappy twisty English yew over 150lb.
Yew is bulletproof when it comes to layout. You can ignore twist, bend, knots etc. It really is the perfect beginners wood, as you can ignore all character and just make a straight bow without having to worry about the extra problems that sideways bend offers.
70" is a good length too, especially for a 30" draw length. People have made heavy, heavy bows drawing to 30" out of 67" staves, so don't worry about that. Just tiller carefully.
I'm sure everybody will disagree, but if I were you I'd use a long straight edge or string, lay out a dead straight centre line and work from that. The small amount that your stage is curving just isn't worth the effort of tillering a bent bow, or heat treating a thick handle to try and force the limbs straight. Any other wood and the rules change, but not here.
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