Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs
Mary Rose Replica Bow Build-Along--An Entrance into the World of War Bows
duffontap:
Hello Everyone,
As I have said elsewhere--I am now well-invested in my first attempt at building a medieval war bow, like those found on the Mary Rose. Although I am a hunter and build most of my bows as hunting bows, there has always been a deep fascination in me with the kind of bow that was responsible for winning wars, and, ultimately keeping most of us speaking English. When I cut a Pacific Yew tree that had some decent 78" staves in it, I knew it would soon be time to start.
I am posting this build-along in response to the requests of a couple PA members. The bow is not finished, and I cannot guarantee that it will make weight without exploding. But, I can guarantee that I will make shavings until it explodes, or until I shoot a flaming arrow into a thatched roof 200 yards away. That's a promise. For the next couple weeks I'll post another step each day or two. Keep checking in if you're interested, and learn from my mistakes, and the little bit of research I have done on these wonderful weapons. I'm sure we'll even hear from the experts like Jaro, Heavybow, Marc, and others as well.
So where does it all start? Inspiration. Standing beneath an old Yew tree with a long, straight trunk is a lot of inspiration. Watching 'Tales of the Bow' on OPB is even more inspiration. Watching Simon shoot a 170# Yew bow (on the link below) is so much inspiration I couldn't sleep the night I saw it. So until tomorrow, check out these links--they should be all the inspiration you need for now!
J. D. Duff
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hUI3gMTZL-4
http://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/warbow.html
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duffontap:
Hello again,
I'm currently collecting information on the second installment on the build-along: 'Materials,' which I'll post later this morning. Until then:
If you haven't taken a look at the Simon Stanley video yet, you owe it to yourself to see it. It shows him doing some steel-piercing shots. Really neat. Let me know what you think of it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hUI3gMTZL-4
billy:
Oh yeah!!! What a cool video! I've got some pacific yew that would probably work for an english longbow....but I don't think I'll be pulling a 170# bow....I'd end up tearing my shoulder out of socket...
Justin Snyder:
Oh come on J.D., you've been taunting and teasing for two weeks. I need to see some serious bow pics. ;D ;D I'm excited to watch this post, keep up the good work and keep us posted. Justin
Badger:
JD, I will be watching this thread closely as I am in the middle of an alnost identical bow from erc, I ran a ring on it this morning and have one limb just starting to flex a bit, I have no idea how many #'s i will get from the wood, I am hoping for a minimum of 90# and a max of about 125#. This bow would last me a lifetime as I can barely draw 70#. Hoping I can get someone to shoot it for me in the selfbow division of flight archery. If it doesn't explode!!
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