Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: KenH on May 25, 2010, 11:50:37 am
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For pictures of the finished bow, see:
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,19714.0.html
I used TB II for all my gluing.
1. Design the siyahs. I used a computer drawing program - see below. I’ll send you a copy of my drawing if you ask. Notice the notch on the limb edge.
2. Find a nice quartersawn Red Oak 1/4” x 1-1/2” x 48” board at Lowe’s.
3. Acquire some 1/8” quartersawn Maple. I have some planks of it from building mountain dulcimers. Cut a strip or strips for the back.
4. Likewise, 1/8” Ash and Black Walnut to make the siyahs, and some 1/2” thick wood for the handle pieces (I used Red Elm).
5. Draw the shape on the R.O. board. I drew a 4” handle with 1” fades. At the tips I drew 1-1/2” faded shoulders to 1/2” wide tips 3” long - like on a Møllegabet.
6. Cut out the shape on the R.O. board. I used a scroll saw.
7. Stack cut the pieces of Walnut & Ash for the siyahs, so they are identical. Glue the siyahs together. The siyahs are laminated for strength. Asian siyahs were sometimes steamed and bent, sometimes carved from branch forks to have strong wood that would not snap from stress on the sharp angles. Laminating solves the problem. When the glue is dry, drill the string nock holes 3/4" down from the ends and a shade less than half way across. I used a 3/16" drill bit, and then my scroll saw to open up the hole to the edge.
8. Glue the back and belly pieces together. I have a 4 ft long worktable and clamped the layup together on it. I put down a layer of shrink wrap plastic to keep glue off the table. My backing was two pieces of Maple butted together at the centerline. Allow to dry overnight.
9. Glue the first handle piece to the back of the bow, covering the butt joint of the backing. After that glue dried, I then drilled the handle and limb for two 1/4” dowels which were glued in.
10. It was at this point that I decided to narrow the overall width of the bow. I cut mine down from 1-1/2” to 1” wide - barely wider than the handle. This step is, in essence, a sort of floor tillering. If you use Red Oak and Maple the way I did, and make the bow 1” wide, the most you can hope for in draw weight is 40-50# @ 27-28”. I LIKE bows with that draw weight. Even 1-1/8” wide will increase poundage if you want more zip for your efforts.
11. Glue on the siyahs. I used a single small C-clamp to hold the tip in place and then wrapped the whole thing in shrink wrap to hold it all together. Again, let everything dry overnight.
12. Glue the second handle piece to the belly.
13. Hang the bow on your tillering tree and see what it’s like with a long string. If you leave the bow wider - say 1-1/4” - you can tiller by reducing width without removing anything from the belly until you get down to 1” wide limbs. Or you can tiller belly and width alternatively in combination. I use a 1/4 sheet palm sander equipped with a strip of 50 grit belt sander blade for “rough” tillering”, and sanding blocks with 100 grit for fine tillering. I literally took off only 100 strokes from each limb and the weight was perfect. Fifteen minutes worth of work. Lucky I guess...
14. Once you’re done tillering, shape the handle to fit your hand. Also round the ends of the siyahs. You may also want to roundover the edges of the string nocks.
15. Now make and glue on the string bridges. I used 1” lengths of 5/8” dowel. With my scroll saw I cut two kerfs 3/8” wide (the width of the siyahs) and about 1/8" deep. I removed the wood between the kerfs to make a nice flat spot, and then glued them in place just at the end of the limb where it meets the siyah.
16. String the bow and mark where the string crosses the bridges. Shoot a couple arrows and mark where the string falls after each shot. In that area, now file a shallow round-bottomed groove for the string to rest in. It may not be primitive, but I use #36 Mason’s line for strong but inexpensive bowstrings. The #36 line has a breaking strength in excess of 700 pounds.
17. Finish however you like. Because I like to see the wood, I just use a couple coats of Minwax rub-on polyurethane.
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Detail Photos
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what if someone had no access to maple, only red oak? could everything be made out of it? the only thing i have available is red oak and poplar from the big stores. use the same for the siyahs? ive called everywhere and i cant even find hickory.
i kinda wanna try my hand at this kenh, i am inpatient and cant wait weeks idle! haha
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Forget the Poplar. You can try it with all Red Oak and back with cotton drill "canvas" or silk ribbon or something to prevent splinters lifting. Use a 1/2" thick quartersawn board for the limb, and tiller it carefully. Since you don't have Maple backing be careful as you approach 26-27" draw. The siyahs need to be at least two layers glued upwith grain at right angles to each other, to provide adequate strength.
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i might try something like this with all red oak, except i think i would make it a bit longer, even though i have a short draw, just for reassurance. 1 question: can I use normal plastic wrap instead of shrink wrap, and also what does shrink wrap even do - just hold it all together? thanks
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Kitchen grade "cling wrap" isn't quite as strong but should work as long as it sticks to itself. It acts as an odd-shape-and-angle-matching clamp.
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thanks for the help ken. im gonna try the all red oak. ill report back with my failure! haha. i was gonna shoot for a 26 inch draw length anyway
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you might also hear of my success or failure in the near future as well.
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hey Ken
does the dow pins for the back of the handle also apply to the belly handle?
Ron
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Ayup! I drilled and pinned the whole thing. Check yer PMs Okie...
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Ken-Thanks for the "How To". My daughter and I now have a good project to work on together. We made some hickory longbows but this will be something great for the thumb ring. Thanks again.
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great biuld along
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What kind of draw length and weight do you usually get from one of these bows and do the hold together well with use?
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Also can you post a full draw pic please? Thanks.
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This looks like a fun project! I have some lams, (Black locust, persimmon, maple, and Red Oak), that I made for another project that are a bit too narrow for use on most of the Bow making projects I've been doing of late. This might give me a way to use those!
@KenH, It's been a few years now, ...is the original still holding up and shooting today?
OneBow
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I think i might make one of these for my girlfriend i think this style may appeal to her I'm willing to try anything to get her involved in archery
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This looks like a fun project! I have some lams, (Black locust, persimmon, maple, and Red Oak), that I made for another project that are a bit too narrow for use on most of the Bow making projects I've been doing of late. This might give me a way to use those!
@KenH, It's been a few years now, ...is the original still holding up and shooting today?
OneBow
you are my favorite thread necromancer on this forum. :)
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This may be an archaic thread, but this is one of my favoite tutorials. If I ever get into board bows, I'm definitely tying this out!
Belated props to the bowyer here. 8)
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just put this on my 'to-do' list! Thanks Kenh, don't suppose you still have the drawings by any chance?
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I wish I could still see the pictures of this thing completed!!!
Great job on this tutorial I also have a bunch of random sized pieces of woof around in my "scrap bucket" that could work for a project like this.