Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: PrimitiveTim on August 14, 2013, 10:21:07 pm
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I did a little online research and mostly based this bow off of this article (http://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/simpledbow.html). I'd like to say I built it totally abo but I didn't. I used a hatchet I got from my great grandmother and a wood rasp that I got in a trade on here. Of course I sanded it down with rough and fine sand paper... life is too short to look at the grit >:D This bow is made of hackberry and is 53 inches long. Can't wait to break into my other staves now that most of the hackberry is gone.
String is made from Agave fibers. Making strings sucks! :-\
I started out with this stave and took it down with the hatchet.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1170709_10151688641119865_511584912_n.jpg)
Here it is unbraced
(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1186276_10151688641494865_1471434558_n.jpg)
... and braced
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1150427_10151688641424865_453060539_n.jpg)
(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1170661_10151688641249865_1936515967_n.jpg)
Side nock
(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1185759_10151688641014865_1331691133_n.jpg)
Full Draw
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/1186177_10151688641389865_1763717632_n.jpg)
Now I was having some hard time finding out how the natives attached the string. I could tell for the nocked part there was some kind of loop knot. I used a sliding knot so when it was braced the knot closed around the nock. For the bottom I kind of made up a knot where I basically just centered the string and wrapped it up so it would slip. No nocks or anything on the lower limb.
I also wasn't sure how these types of bows were normally tapered. I followed Half eye's build along but I had a hard time finding a picture anywhere online of a bend in the handle bow from the front.
EDIT: For the upper loop I used a perfection loop (http://www.animatedknots.com/perfection/index.php?Categ=fishing&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com).
Any and all input is welcome just keep in mind I worked hard on this.
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If that bow is not perfectly tillered, it is close enough to satisfy. Amazing, bow, plus triple points for keeping it primitive!
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Ditto what JW said!!!!
DBar
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looks perfect to me. Can anyone out there say where the bend is wrong? Love the string
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Have to agree, that bows got a sweet bend, Nice work Tim.
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Nice work on that one! I agree, that tiller's bang on.
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Fantastic looking bow there Tim!!
Tattoo Dave
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Nice work on that one! I agree, that tiller's bang on.
+1
the f/d pic is awesome
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Very fine work.
You went primitive all the way.
Personally, I DON'T have the patience to make a fiber/sinew string >:(. I admire that you did. If you can take the word "attempt" out of the post subject...
Also, you have embodied what PA is all about!
Ron
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Nice bend it that one. Good job. :)
Pappy
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Thanks everyone! ;D
Okie, the reason I said attempt was because it was an attempt to replicate. I haven't done the necessary research to say this is a replica. I just based this off of one article. I'll take the word "attempt" out of the title just for you though. I used a string I made from braid fishing line to tiller and brace it initially then made this agave string after the fact.
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Well, once again,
Good Job.
Ron
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Sweet and simple, Tim. Good job.
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I like the bend on that one Tim.
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Super cool, love it great job
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Looks good! One excellent source of detailed drawings, measurements, and such from original NA bows is Jim Hamm and Steve Alleley's Bows, Arrows, and Quivers of the Native Americans.
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Nicely done! That would be right at home in a museum , if it wouldn't be such a waste of a good bow! Josh
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That's awesome Tim! I'm a fan of the string...did you wax it at all? Beeswax maybe?
Great job, tiller looks super.
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That's awesome Tim! I'm a fan of the string...did you wax it at all? Beeswax maybe?
Great job, tiller looks super.
I didn't wax it although I do have some wax. Wasn't sure what the purpose would be. Preservation? Eh, I'll need to make another one in a couple months anyway. I think that string is too thick so I need to make one that is thinner... I'll do that during the winter in the week that it freezes. lol
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Love the authenticity. You may want to think about taking it to your local museum and talk with the curator. I have met a few who know more about bows than their wife! You can get some first hand knowledge and good research leads too. What kind of sealer did you use?
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Nice looking bow Tim.
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Dan, I'll use straight beeswax.
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Dan, I'll use straight beeswax.
Something to consider is whether or not bees would have been in the area you are replicating. Honey Bees were introduced to North America. Fat/grease may be more correct if you are keeping primitive and historic.
IW
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That is a "stick and a string" at its best,well done!
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Good to know, IW. Personally, my goal with this stuff is to make bows out of local materials that I can gather or trade for. I never want to go to the store to get supplies. I'm not really into replicating stuff exactly. I figured I would use that design because after a few thousand years of living here I figured the natives knew what they were doing with that design and I'm into making things that function and can be made in an efficient manner with less work.
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. You may want to think about taking it to your local museum and talk with the curator. I have met a few who know more about bows than their wife!
Wow really!!!!
That would be refreshing to hear,cause i have not had that experience.If i see one more bow strung backwards in a museum,im gonna explode.LOL
I also hate the looks you get,when you politely try to point it out to them.Its like im the Idiot who has no clue.
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Hey PrimTim? Are you getting the sense that people approve of your efforts?
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Very nice, question - agave fibers - do you first have to spin some threads to then make bundles, kind of like you would spin wool?
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Nice work PrimTim. I really like those nocks.
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That's a dang fine representation. Good work.
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Thanks for the ego boost guys! since starting to make bows earlier this year I have come a long long way. Now I need to makes some decent arrows. Those are more difficult IMO.
Hey PrimTim? Are you getting the sense that people approve of your efforts?
"PrimTim" is not a thing! When you say that it sounds kind of ga...I mean feminine. like prim and proper... ie womanly things.
And Yes I'm getting a massive amount of that sense and every bit of it is going to my already healthy ego. However it also makes me want to make more bows and better ones and it's making me want to make lots of arrows and go live in a hut in the woods and eat animal flesh while it's still warm and... I better stop there.
Very nice, question - agave fibers - do you first have to spin some threads to then make bundles, kind of like you would spin wool?
I love questions! No. fibers are about two feetish in length. I made a 15ish foot string that was real thin then I reverse wrapped it over itself.
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Wow very very nice the agave string reminds me of nylon with the bright white color I'd love to try making string with agave one day
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Wow very very nice the agave string reminds me of nylon with the bright white color I'd love to try making string with agave one day
Do it! Once you get the hang of it making string is a breeze. Just sit in front of the tv with a pile of fibers and go till your show is over or your fibers all gone. Just be anal about the thickness. I'm constantly comparing the thickness of what I'm working with to the thickness of how it started.