Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Tuomo on January 23, 2016, 01:06:46 am
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My newest bow. A selfbow, oak (Quercus robur) from Finland. Just simple, basic design. 46# @ 28", max width 40 mm, lenght 170 cm. Tru-Oiled.
I heat treated the belly a little, very gently. To my surprice, the bow took virtually no set, it was and it is straight. I have made some white oak bows but no red oak bows. Seems that this "nordic" oak is quite good. And of course it is great to use bow woods from here, not imported.
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Few images more...
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Well done, Tuomo! That is a solid design for red oak; it should make an excellent hunting weapon. I see your tillering rig supports the bow handle off-center and pulls the string inline with the arrow pass…that’s a good practice. It helps get the tiller very close to the actual profile when drawn with your arms. The tiller looks dead-on, and the string angle should ensure long lasting durable bow. Good job.
H.
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I like that: simple, thoughtful design, well executed, with no unnecessary stuff.
...I see your tillering rig supports the bow handle off-center and pulls the string inline with the arrow pass…that’s a good practice. It helps get the tiller very close to the actual profile when drawn with your arms...
I've been asking that exact question about tillering in recent days...
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This is pedunculate oak, the most common european oak species and a very close relative to white oak. As per wood properties it sits in between white oak and black locust (wood database)
So really good bow wood in principle.
Joachim
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Nice bow, Tuomo.
I personally wouldn't risk that cut in back nock ....
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Basic design, well executed. I like it! Your tiller looks good too.
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Great looking bow! I love the look of leaving some cambium on the back.
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Fantastic bow. its great to see an oak selfbow from a stave- usually they're boards. (not that theres owt wrong with boards!) :)
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That is how to tiller a bow proper, hence very little set. Very nice.
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Good lookin bow, all around nice work
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Gorgeous bow! I do agree with Simon on the back-cut nock. Jawge
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Great bow man! Sometimes some cambium is left and it is hard to remove it but it looks very nice. Are there cracks that I see or am I wrong?
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Very nice work and great tiller.
+1 on Simpson's note about the nock being grooved on the back. Logic and all the old instructions say that groove temps the tip to split off.
Jim Davis
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Elegant in its simplicity. Congrats!
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Nice bow, Tuomo but I do agree about cutting the nock cross the back can be dangerous. Is your oak in the white oak family? The grain looks like it is. Does it have rounded lobes on the leaves instead of points?
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PatB, It is the european counterpart of white oak
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Great bow -- it reminds me a lot of the Holmgard -- a little longer and narrower, and others of those early types like the Ringkloster. It fits wonderfully for a northern European primitive self-bow made from a local hardwood.
I've seen back reduced or notched nocks on drawings of Finnish bows, but can see how they can't be as split resistant. A binding just below could reduce the chance of splitting out a piece of the belly.
Some of those nocks seem to have been used on the two-wood bows, and the standing part would then have been made of compression wood, which might or might not have have been tougher as a peg. Dunno.
Anyway, I love that it is so simple and so related to ancient types, and made of local wood. Cool Bow!
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Yep I like it....[thumbs up].....
DBar
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Love the heartwood sap wood contrast
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Thanks!
I make mainly bamboo backed laminates so it was fun to make a simple selfbow. Will make a few more oak bow!
There is no splits on the back. Those are just some kind of dark stripes of the cambium.
Simson and others - I have used a lot of that kind of "cut back" -nocks. In this image, the dark bow is massaranduba selfbow, about 40 pounds. Tip width is 5 mm (about 1/5"), which I reinforced with silk thread. The tip is so narrow that it is impossible to make side nocks. in this oak bow, the tip width is 11 mm. And, oak is very hard to split, so it needs no thread or other strengthening. I have had more problems with horn overlays on bamboo backed bows.
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Very nice work Tuomo.Ought to be sweet to shoot for sure.Like your pictures too.