Primitive Archer

After finishing university and getting rather lucky with work, I am now able to be back at home in Germany most of my time again and finally found back to bowmaking, so I wanted to be a bit more active  here again, especially since I am back and forth between Europe and North America (mostly BC) regularly now thanks to work The world has become quite small

Here's a little one I already built a few month again, was an order for a young woman who's rather on the short side. The bow is from European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), has strong trapping and a proper heat treatment on the belly, same logic behind that as with Black Locust. Ash is rather strong and tolerable on tension, thus also making great backings, but it kinda sucks on compression, so to rectify that I give the belly more volume (trapping) and make it more pressure-resistant with the heat treatment. The mental image I always have in mind there is using the belly almost like a hinge over which you stretch the back of the bow. I always tiller close to full-draw before the heat treatment (sometimes doing that multiple times, you often end up with one limb stronger afterwards, you can even make slight changes to the tiller with it) and the difference in terms of performance when shooting before vs after is always astounding. Great way to optimize bows out of species strong on tension but weak on pressure (Hazel, Ash, Black locust, you name it).

Length ntn 139cm / 54 3/4 "
Drawweight 28#@24"
Weight incl. string 261g/ 9,2oz
Handle from Laburnum
Tips from water buffalo
String 8x FF
Finish 4x boiled linseed oil
Stringfollow directly after shooting 2"
Permanent set 1 1/4" (should've hung more weight on the limbs during heat treating  )

Width after fades is pretty much exactly 1" (on belly side), keeps that for about a foot and then to 0 at the end

Let me know your thoughts Hope the pics work, I linked them from another side.

Unbraced



Braced



Full draw



Back/ trapping (the darker spots are that suuuupeer thin layer you get on the outside of the late wood rings with Ash, was very careful when chasing it to keep the optics)



Belly (excuuuse the irregularities, first time doing that since like 8 years, has gotten better again  )



Handle



Centershot. I always try to go for that with such light bows with short draw weights because almost any wooden arrow will be too stiff in spine, this way it doesnt really matter, just make the arrows very similar in weight and you are good to go)



Overlay from the side




Bit of a needletip. Arrow is 5/16" for reference








Hope you like it. If you don't, I'd love to hear why 

Let’s make it happen. After wheat harvest and straw off would probably be a good time. Thats usually around beginning of Aug. might be a good time for Arvin to get away from that Texas heat about then.

Bjrogg

Ya Glenn it is fixing to get nasty at least for us over the next few days, been there done that so we will get through I suppose. got everything pretty well set around here. Sorry about the Bill's ,but you could have a team like the Titans  Beau's wife Christina family is from Buffalo so they weren't very happy either this weekend. Headed down this morning to get a few more things ready for the cold and a little more seasoned fire wood close to the pit and covered, probably spend a lot of time around that this weekend.  We don't get a lot of weather like this around here often so it is kind of like an adventure for me and really don't mind in much, in moderation of course. 
 Pappy

Here are a couple obsidian corner notch arrowheads (notching inspired by montell points) and one from buffalo river chert

It's been my pleasure. For a number of reasons I don't really build bows at the moment but I value this community and the trade keeps me involved.  I have started a thread asking for observations/suggestions for future trades, and I welcome any comments.  Shameless plug, I will be launching the 2026 junior trade early in February for anyone that is interested