maanantai 24. tammikuuta 2011

DIY / MYOG-Bow

Yesterday i had some 7 hours more to accomplish my bow project that i started at saturday.

 The year rings ?...grains were dug up to one complete surface with pieces of glass so i would not break the surface with any blades a sit would break the bow in use and ruin it totally :). This was the slowest and most accurate part of the making.



It came out 186 centimeters long and measuring from handle,it starts at 6.5cm width and they taper to the ends to some 2.3 centimeters thin. The profile at the wider parts is guite flatbow-like and the it shape shifts to more like pyramid..or D letter towards the ends.



Its made out of ash ( Fraxinus Exelsior ), i did add a piece of curly birch to it as well,to have better handle shape. Between the curly birch and the ash mainpart is 3 millimeters thick piece of softened leather to prevent the handle from breaking off while tension grows in the bow at pull.



The nocks are made from deer antler. I wish i could have put two pieces in same colour, but i didnt have any so the nocks are now white at other and grey at the other end. I left them unpolished and dyed them with same reddish dark dye as the rest of the bow, maybe same day ill polish them, who knows but now i just ran out of time.


The string is made old school style by twisting and turning but its from Dacron thread. The string in the picture aint the one i made,its just a mock-up piece. The coarse shaping and grounding of nock was a the time to use belt sander,only because the time was getting so limited.




It turned out decently especially if i remember how short time i had to do it. Surely its not a showcase item but as it gave bit over 50 Lb at 28" pull its legal for hunting purposes in Finland. Now ive been wiping oil into it and pulling it slowly,trying to let the oil suck in well. Then after few days im about to wax it off with natural beeswax and polish it, after that its time to slowly start using it by adding the pull slowly so it haves time to set up before taking it to any serious action.

9 kommenttia:

Joel kirjoitti...

Very nice bow you made there. I like Ash, it make a decent flat bow. It's a good idea using the leather in the handle. Is it something you have done before and does it work well? It's no problem having different coloured antler, at least you keep the top at the top just by looking at the colour!

Anonyymi kirjoitti...

Great project. It must be a great feeling to make a bow that you can hunt with. :) I like the color stain you used and the overall design as well.

Unknown kirjoitti...

Awesome, amigo! I like it a lot, shows how great your skills with wood and tools are. Respect!

Perkunas kirjoitti...

thanks folks !
i appreciate your words a lot.

this bow would be soooo much better looking and built even better but as i dont have now any own space to do crafts and the time in other peoples places are so limited,its all i could put up,since i really dont want to start something and then continue it some time again,it has to be built all the way in a row or ill never finish it :)

Fimbulmyrk kirjoitti...

That I can relate to, it´s the same with me. Can get on the nerves sometimes but also gets one to discipline oneself;-).

It´s a great bow! Respect to you! I have yet to learn to make one decently, too...thanks for sharing!

Anonyymi kirjoitti...

What's that dent in the mid upper section? Intended?

It would be nice to hear how does the bow shoot, what's the throw like and what arrows seem to fit it.

Great stuff, right on!

Perkunas kirjoitti...

No, its not intented sir :)
its just a curve inside the woods grains and you cant cut it as the bow would snap if you go and smooth it all over and cut the grain levels.

i use 28" arrows.

Perkunas kirjoitti...

Joel, i just made this bow and i havent shoot with it seriously, i try to break it inb slowly you know,to prevent cracks :)

Esko Mäkinen kirjoitti...

Really nice looking bow! When I made my own I was really proud of it. It has 64 lb and it looks beaty. Well, I'm still proud of it.