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Help for beginners
Aaron1726:
I'm still a beginner myself, but I'd recommend starting with a board bow first. You can always find your tree, split your staves and start the drying process now, but while you wait why not start to get some practice on a cheap piece of lumber. I've made plenty of really decent bows from red oak boards from the store. Just take care to select ones with straight grain.
By starting with boards you can get started quicker and if you fail, it's easy enough to get another one started. Then when your staves are dry you ought to be ready for the challenge.
Good luck with this no matter what path you go. This place is great with lots of folks willing to help you along the way.
RyanY:
--- Quote from: PEARL DRUMS on January 24, 2025, 09:36:39 am ---Spend the money on a nice osage stave and don't look back. I don't buy osage and have no idea what it goes for. But, I know its less than yew by half, I'd bet. Paul Comstock's flyer "The Bent Stick" is a very simple, generic build and easy to follow guidleine. Traditional Bowyers Bible 1 and 2 are a few more priceless learning tools. Take your time a success is very achievable. I tend to stay away from YouTube stars. There is a lot of blah, blah, blah, blah, with no experience behind it. Clay Hayes vids are some I would suggest. He's just a guy making bows like just a guy would. You will need a pencil, 12" flexible ruler, sharp draw knife, 3/16 chainsaw file, a few half round rasps and a scraper. The rest is just work and patience.
--- End quote ---
Osage stave prices have blown up, Pearlie. Not saying they’re not worth the cost but the relative price might be difficult to afford.
I’d still recommend doing a board bow but just don’t do one with a glued on handle. It’s such an inexpensive and easy way to start and get experience.
Selfbowman:
Pearl he’s from Colorado. My experience with Osage is its to dry there for Osage unless you keep it in a room with a humidifier to control the moisture. That being said hickory will do better in my opinion . You know I’m a Osage guy. Mointain juniper also works good there I’m told. I seen sinew on most of them at the flight shoots. You might go with a maple board bow with bamboo glued on the back. Guys tell me if it’s not a good combination. I can hook you up with a bamboo supplier. That’s s the hardest part starting without dry wood. Been there done that. Pearl gave you good information though.
Eric Krewson:
The bottom line; new guys break a few bows before they get it right, it is best to break a few boards than a $300 osage stave. There is nothing to glueing on a handle, every bow I ever made from billets had a glued-on handle, I never had a problem with them and made at least 100 billet bows out of osage.
The next issue is what kind of tools do you have? You can make a bow with a hatchet but having an aggressive rasp, a 4-way file and drawknife makes things go much easier. If you tackle osage a drawknife is a must.
I have backed osage, red oak and hickory with bamboo, all made very good, durable bows with no set. Hickory backed with bamboo will surprise you, you can't tell it from osage as far as performance goes.
superdav95:
Lots of good advise here to get started. If budget is the main concern then just do a couple board bows first like was already said. They are inexpensive and good way to cut your teeth so to speak. If you have hickory in your area and have access to some it’s a great way to set a stave bow build fairly quickly like Willie said. You can get a very good bow out of a fire hardened hickory stick that is forgiving and performs well. The tools would be basic hand tools and it’s a great way to start. This is how I started. Just work it green and clamp to a form and let air dry for a couple weeks before heat treating and usually good to go. Humidity and location depending of course. Heck using a heat gun for first few works for heat treating but then graduate to coal pit. Best of luck.
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