Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Selfbowman on February 11, 2021, 11:19:07 am
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I’ve noticed a new interest in the young folks on our site. It’s exciting for me to see this. The problem I’ve had and should apologize for is my ability to be the grouchy old geezer being a bit hard on there enthusiasm not knowing there ages. Maybe I should apply that to the old geezers also. Any how youngsters we mean no harm. A simple I’m young and new to bow making should make us old geezers aware to be more kind and have more patience. . Y’all youngsters keep it up and share with everyone of your buds that have interest in bow making. This is how this will continue for years to come. Arvin
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I was a young newbie just a few years ago Arvin. All the sudden I'm a almost 60 year old fart. Hopefully not to grumpy.
I’m really glad to see the young and young at heart newbies to. I hope they understand that some of the grumpy old timers have answered the same questions hundreds of times.
It takes time and patience to do that. I also hope they realize they can learn a lot from them if they can put up with us.
Brogg
PS thanks all you grumpy old farts who have helped me on this journey. Many have become really good friends
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I was a young newbie just a few years ago Arvin. All the sudden I'm a almost 60 year old fart. Hopefully not to grumpy.
I’m really glad to see the young and young at heart newbies to. I hope they understand that some of the grumpy old timers have answered the same questions hundreds of times.
It takes time and patience to do that. I also hope they realize they can learn a lot from them if they can put up with us.
Brogg
PS thanks all you grumpy old farts who have helped me on this journey. Many have become really good friends
Yes the PS part is the very best part. My friendships can’t be counted and still counting . Arvin
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What about those who are young, but have just enough experience to be dangerous? >:D
Thanks :)
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What about those who are young, but have just enough experience to be dangerous? >:D
Thanks :)
Oh that’s still me!
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What about those who are young, but have just enough experience to be dangerous? >:D
Thanks :)
Oh that’s still me!
Me too
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Arvin... I haven’t caught any old grouchyness from you yet ;)
I’ve been making bows for 3 years (I’m 16 now) and it’s been a fun and slow path to making successful bows, and I’m still just not quite there yet. But you all have been incredibly helpful.... many bows wouldn’t have made it without some advise from y’all.,.,
I do sometimes feel like I’m pestering you all with questions though ;D so sorry about that ;)
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Thanks maybe I will know more of you thru this thread.
Arvin
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Fox don’t be afraid to ask those questions. I’m sure every time someone asks them several more lurking out there are happy someone did.
Also don’t be surprised if you get several completely different answers. It’s always interesting how many different ways people do the same thing.
Bjrogg
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Of any hobby I’ve been a part of, the bow making community is by far the best. I’ve never met a more supportive group of people. Bow making is addictive in and of itself but if the community wasn’t as kind as it is I’m sure I’d have wandered into some other hobby to keep out of trouble. (lol) One thing that comes with this enthusiasm is A LOT of feedback. If you can take that through a positive lens things will be fine.
I’ve been making bows for about 13 years on and off. Not sure where that puts me. All I know is I still learn new things all the time. ;D
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Arvin... I haven’t caught any old grouchyness from you yet ;)
I’ve been making bows for 3 years (I’m 16 now) and it’s been a fun and slow path to making successful bows, and I’m still just not quite there yet. But you all have been incredibly helpful.... many bows wouldn’t have made it without some advise from y’all.,.,
I do sometimes feel like I’m pestering you all with questions though ;D so sorry about that ;)
Over the years, and I have been here since 2008, some of the BEST contributors have been young persons like yourself. A very few have stuck around and are still here, but most have gotten incrementally busier as they become adults and all that responsibility crashes down onto their shoulders. As much as I would love to see them still around, I know that they are carrying the acquired knowledge and skills with them as they start and finish college, and/or start a family, get married, or find other interests. What I wouldn't give to have them stop by here once in a while to update us on where they are with their lives.
And some we know will never come by again.
R.I.P. AliciaArchery
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This is a great topic Arvin. In this world of instant gratification it's very pleasing to see younger people interested in bow making.
I made my first selfbow in 1999, killed a deer with it opening day, then life got in the way. About 4 years ago the bug bit bad and now I have a little more time to build. I agree with Ryan about the bow building community. Probably, the most generous group of people I've ever met. Thanks to all the more experienced bowyers who selflessly share their knowledge. This is a great site.
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We saw a huge influx of people asking to join ghe "board bow building" Facebook page this last year as people were cooped up at home and looking for things to do. A lot of the homely grey-grizzled faces you see in here, yes, but also a whole lot of fresh faces looking for a budget friendly way to get a start. It's been great seeing the ambition and excitement in their posts.
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I started about 2 years ago, If I remember right I got about 15 attempted bows. 3 I gave up on, 1 is my first one, 4 came out really bad, I made one really good one that’s out of commission and the rest I broke... a lot of those you guys haven’t seen I believe. But I am trying. I know I don’t make a lot of useful threads and that I can kinda be annoying in other threads since I don’t normally bring a lot to the conversation, but I have been learning a lot. I’m always taking notes (figuratively and literally) I’m always going back to old threads, and all I can say really is thank you! I’m glad I’m in this community of awesome and knowledgeable people!
Maybe I’ll post about all the things I done in the last little bit... it’s just not that good or interesting... anyway, I’m just glad I’m here :)
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Russell, you are one of the people I referred to above. I'm happy you are still here and still swinging for the bleachers with ever time at bat!
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Hi guys, I'm still in my early 20s so I think I'm kinda young myself. I'm from Italy and I'm also very new to bowmaking. Excuse me for my pretty basic english and for my slow understanding of tecnical words specific to bowmaking, I hope I won't bother you all too much with my silly questions ;D :BB
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Hi guys, I'm still in my early 20s so I think I'm kinda young myself. I'm from Italy and I'm also very new to bowmaking. Excuse me for my pretty basic english and for my slow understanding of tecnical words specific to bowmaking, I hope I won't bother you all too much with my silly questions ;D :BB
We have another Italian speaker that drops by, though only very rarely anymore. Nomadic Pirate splits his time between Hawaii and Italy. He used to build some of the most interesting bows from the guava wood in Hawaii.
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I had a new bow student fail yesterday, I just gave him a stave, a tillering tree, a gizmo and and an hour or so worth of advice. Actually I failed him, I should have had him in my shop at every step of the way and every time he had a question. He is a very busy guy and lives 40 miles away, I assumed he could pull it off but I was wrong.
The bad part is he said he was done with bow making.
I feel the same way when I read a newbies post here about broken bows, Dang, I wish I could get them in my shop for a few days to get them headed in the right direction.
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I had a new bow student fail yesterday, I just gave him a stave, a tillering tree, a gizmo and and an hour or so worth of advice. Actually I failed him, I should have had him in my shop at every step of the way and every time he had a question. He is a very busy guy and lives 40 miles away, I assumed he could pull it off but I was wrong.
The bad part is he said he was done with bow making.
I feel the same way when I read a newbies post here about broken bows, Dang, I wish I could get them in my shop for a few days to get them headed in the right direction.
There’s a feeling of getting hit in the gut when I see a new bowyer break a bow by something that was totally preventable with a bit of advice.
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Russell, you are one of the people I referred to above. I'm happy you are still here and still swinging for the bleachers with ever time at bat!
thanks JW! that really means a lot actually! I try to do the best I can with what I got! Ill keep swinging and practicing and maybe someday ill make it past the bleachers! who knows! Arvin made it... what? 789 feet? Maybe someday ill hit it that far! :) ;) ;D
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I wish all young folks would learn to make bows. In making bows, you learn so much more than just that. Your patients, and problem solving skills gets tested, and when (not if) you fail, you have to learn and bounce back. When a bow fails, many hours of work goes with it, and that tests a persons resilience, something than is much needed it today’s world of instant gratification. Thank you to all of the experts here for your patience and generosity.
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I may have more years than any other newbie around, got real lucky with my first bow, it's still shooting. Found this site and also happened onto a local bow maker who helped a lot, made it to MoJam '18 & '19. Looking forward to '20! Started an Osage "might get a bow outathis" that is in the finish later status, was gifted a primo Osage and a yew that are waiting for me to gain skill to the level they deserve! My teaching and learning mantra is: The only dumb question is the one you don't ask!
BJ is right, we learn something from every question posted :BB! May all your bows shoot to the mark and be handed down to your great grandchildren in working order!
Hawkdancer
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Welcome to all the new bowyers no matter their ages.
Check my site for help.
http://traditionalarchery101.com
Jawge
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There are almost no young folks here on PA. Lots of people who use to live on PA are Gone. Off to Spacebook SB pages. Much rather be here HTTP or HTTPs.
I mean look at the participation in this thread and that about says it all. Folks are not gonna pay for something you can get for free elsewhere. Its a Niche. I see guys who lived on here for years all gone to the big Social Media SB pages.
Lots of guests accts. There ways to attract a younger audience with a up to date business model in the cyber realm.
Shawn~
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I have been here since 2012, I'm 58 and I feel like I'm a complete newbie :D.
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You had a clear shot at 2020 BOY, what are you talking about! :o
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I recall reading in one of the Bowyer's Bible series about one of the authors (Jim Hamm I think) teaching a student and the bow to be broke. The teacher's response was. "I have a better stave right here."
The point being to not get hung up on a disappointment.
I was really careful making my first attempt. The ash bow broke because I had not noticed bug damage. I was super careful with the next couple of staves because Osage was like frog fur in Maine. I broke one of them. I learned more faster from the failures than from all the scraping.
So if there is a beginner reading this, learn all you can and dive in with a board stave or a white wood stave. Know what you intend to do and jump in. You will learn more by your mistakes than by your success. When a stave breaks and you say, "I see why that happened," you will never forget the lesson.
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I'm twice the age of some and half the age of others, and I learn from everyone. I also read almost every day as a guest (don't leave my account logged in) and am part of a few Facebook groups. I don't see anything wrong with getting info from various groups, but PA is by far my favorite resource for bow making info. Thank you all for your advice, young and old, green and seasoned.
As someone who works in education, I understand how tiring it can be answering the same questions over and over. I'd like to give a special thank you to those of you who have been around a looooong time and continue to provide personal feedback so people like me can learn and keep this awesome tradition alive. There are 180,000 people on Hawaii island. We like to say "Big Island, small community." Despite that, I only know 1 other bowyer and he only makes glass bows. Our 3-4 annual 3D shoots are dominated by compound shooters. I usually place 2nd or 3rd in the trad category because that's last place. It's a lonely hobby here and without this online community I would never have been bitten by the bug and probably wouldn't continue with it.