Woodworking ideas - How to build a wood long bow from a Maple Board part 1
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- Looking for woodworking ideas? Learn how to make a wood bow from a maple board you can pick up at the local hardware store. In part one of our DIY board bow building series, we'll start by discussing what to look for in a board. Then we'll move into bow design and lay out the bow's profile. Once that is done, we'll go ahead and rough out the bow, narrowing the handle and limb tips.
Maple and red oak are commonly availabe hardwood species. Both will make good bows. In this series, we'll be making a 70 inch longbow from a maple board that I got from Home Depot.
In part 2, we'll floor tiller the board bow and place it on a jig to introduce some back set before backing it with rawhide.
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A few years ago I bought a red oak board and asked about it on a Facebook group page. I was a beginner, still a beginner. Because they all on the page laughed, told me it would never work, wasted my time and money, name calling, etc. after that I took that oak board and turned it into firewood. Haven’t tried to make a bow since and it’s been about two or three years. I’ve been reading books, web pages and watching videos on how to make bows for over 10 years. They discouraged me, but I might give it a try again. Good video.
Don't ever let anyone discourage you from trying something like this. You can't control what they do, only how you respond to it. And as soon as you say something can't be done, someone's going to do it. Red oak will make a fine bow, not quite as fast as good maple, but fine nonetheless. ch
Give it a try man, then make a video of it,
Charles Davis dont let these people convince you that you cant. Just because they cant, doesnt mean it cant happen. Just tell yourself you can
Don't let the haters stop you, do it for own satisfaction mate
Have you made your bow yet? I'm rooting for ya!
In quarantine and alway wanted to build a bow. Seems like the perfect time to do it
Congrats Clay! Long before I got into selfbows, I waited with anticipation over the next episode of Alone. Naturally, my love for the outdoors and hunting has brought me to making selfbows and you have been a tremendous help! You’ve answered my questions with quick responses and thorough answers. Seeing you appear in Season 8 was a total surprise and I’ve been cheering for you! You’ve had some amazing completion! Again congrats! I hope to meet you some time in Milton if the occasion ever arises.
Honest person and thanks for being one and making this video for those who want to start making bows. People try to make much and rip people off.
Start off with board if you don’t got access to staves. Don’t buy staves unless u want to spend allot money and it breaks on first.
I really appreciate this video. I was thinking if it was possible so I typed in bows made from precut oak and BAM this video comes up front and center. LOVE IT!
I have learn more watching your videos then reading all the books that I have on how to build a bow this is the most simplest I have ever seen for a good usable bow and getting started.
I started making my first bow months ago and got so busy I couldn't continue. Just my luck that when I decided to commit to it again last night you posted this video! Absolutely love your channel!
thanks Ryan
I made a 50 pound 70 inch maple long board following your instructions. Ty i had major succes
Awesome! congrats.
Been wanting to do this for months, been checking home depot every time I'm there for a suitable board. Finally got one today, stoked to start!
Good deal!
That introduction completely described my situation.
Great that you recognized there is an audience for this, good for you that it's well received and good for us that you provide this great content.
Thanks Felix
Clay Hayes
Thank you.
Im currently working on a 48" red oak board bow, as a practice run for a hickory stave an eBay seller is kindly cutting me a deal on, because its my first go. I could use some tips on style or design. Im looking to make a ~50" 35lb - 40lb shortbow. I need it to be as simple as possible, preferably no backing(though I understand the wood may decide that for me). Is that a reasonable expectation? Is there a particular style I should go with? My tools are a carpenter's hatchet, a mora companion knife and a Shinto rasp(awesome tool!)
Wow, this brings back some fond memories! I still have so much fun making board bows for people. Maple is a great wood for all skill levels too, I love Maple.
This is such a great way to spend a day. I hope everyone gives this a shot! Be warned: highly addictive.
Highly Addictive!
I like your videos. Your presentations are a nice blend of informality and professionalism. I have watched several and have not heard anything that did not sound pretty much spot on. I have been building bows since Jim Hamm released "The Traditional Bowyers Bible". Actually I gave the autographed copy to my son. So there are two complete copies of the set in my family. Board bows are just fine. Once upon a time a man who owned a lumber yard asked me if I could make a bow out of Virginia White Pine. I told him I could and he gave me a pile of sawed lumber to look through. When I finished his bow, it was 55# at 29" and it was 66" long tip to tip. I think the young bowyer should start with board bows because they are more technical and less organic but it is really just personal preference.
Watching your videos inspired me to build my 9 year old daughter her first bow. Worked great and she was really happy. Great work here Clay.
Heck yeah!
Fantastic video. Looking forward to the next one. In the meantime, I am headed to Lowe's.
Great Video! Can't wait to check out part 2
love this stuff. been looking for ever for just this type of instruction
Cool! Can't wait for the next one.
Thanks Clay, as always you are at the top of your game. Super job as always thanks for sharing with us.
+Ed Matthews you’re welcome
This is the video I been looking for before I move to making bows from wood thank you sir.
Glad to help
Awesome video Clay! Thank you so much for the great idea!! Looking forward for part 2!
Thanks Nik
Good start...Looking forward to the next installments..Ive Built many a Board bow,but i always enjoy watching others technique as you might just pick up that one little tip,that makes a difference in your own building...
Yep, there's always something to learn. ch
I made my first bow out of hickory. I had some trouble gaining finesse with a drawknife to not take too much wood so I picked up a small spokeshave which allowed me to control the depth of the cut. It took probably more strokes but at least I wasn't buggering up the board.
Clear and concise. Thank you! Subscribed!
Looking forward to the next one great information Clay 👍👍👍
+frankie1956 next week!
Thank you so much for posting this video ,
Thank you for sharing! I’ve got you book and I will be starting my first bow build in the next month.
Excellent! Have fun with it.
Just made my first bow thanks to your series, turned out super well. Thank you so much!
The first of many I’m sure!
I'm glad you showed me oi was about to spend a lot of money on a good piece of wood this way I can practice making them to hone my skill thanks again brother you helped a lot
Have fun with it!
Excellent work!!!
Depending upon the length of the end cut, and the depth of a Scroll Saw's throat,
.....a Scroll saw (or band saw), can take off the wood---if one doesn't have a Draw Knife.
Thanks for this video!!
Thanks Clay! Going today to home depot. I'll do a build along.
+Jeff excellent
Looking forward to the next video.
Thank you Clay for all the educational and inspirational videos. I enjoy your content!
Thanks Frank
@@clayhayeshunter you betcha...I've been shooting compound since 2011 and now I have an interest in traditional with the hopes of simplifying at least the gear and relearning how to shoot to be proficient in trad! Thanks again and keep up the great work.
I just picked up your book and can't wait to get into it ! 🍻
I never thought of gettin bow wood from home depot. Genius
Haha!
That was exactly what I needed today. Thank you!!
+Jacob Ice your welcome
I made my own bow a couple months ago. It was pine, cuz thats the only thing i could find, and it was not very fast, but very accurate, and it got pretty good penetration.
As usual this video is awesome. Thanks for making a beginner bow series. I was hesitant because of finding an osage stave and not wanting to mess it up. This is much less intimidating.
Yep, that's exactly why I'm making these vids. I hope they help. ch
Waiting for part two ,part one was interesting.
I was hoping you would do something like this! I want to make a couple of bows for my kids, as practice to make a nicer one for me. Thank you Clay!!
It's a great way to start and get some practice!
Grate thanks 👍😊😊😊 very valuable knowledge.happy new year
Can't wait to part 2
Great teaching Sir!!
Great instructions and well laid out video..... subbed
Great sound advice.
Been watching tour videos and had to order the book. Wish I had known there were signed ones.
Hi, I just picked up a red oak board 1/2 x 2x4, I'm attempting to make a short horse bow. Native American style sinue backed. Also, have oak dowels to make some arrows.
Great stuff👍👍
Did a board bow out of red oak a few years ago. I didn’t do the best job selecting the wood and had a bit of grain runoff. I tried to back it with fiberglass drywall tape and thought I had it handled. Tillered out to about 52lbs at 29”. Shot about 400 arrows before it cracked. Lot of hours of work down the drain. Bought a maple board to try again and it’s sat in my shop for the last 2 years waiting for me to gather the motivation to try again.
Broken bows aren’t wasted time if you learned something from the experience!
the book he is talking about is very very good i recommend it
Nice, I will pick up some tips from ya. Thanks
No problem 👍
There's a Windsor Plywood nearby that I could either get maple from or even hickory. I'll have to watch this series of yours now and get educated.
my first bows were board bows. i still make pyramid bows occasionally. maple, and red elm are personal favorites. i made a red oak first. if i lived in cali still i'd opt for hickory. it's just too wet here in wa to make one from hickory.
Yea, hickory can sure soak up the moisture.
Awesome. Thank you.
Starting this tonight!
Thank you. I guess we are programmed to hunt out things and make them. Wood is what I like. Have the tools and time. Looks like I will follow your path and see where we end up. I broke a bow, when I was a kid. I guess the grain was across it, due to the way it broke. Cheers!
Don’t get discouraged. Just stick with it, learn, and have fun along the way.
Just ordered it 😎
Tank you, i build my first bow from it !
You are the devil incarnate! I'm skipping the wheels and going straight to the stick and I already want to build a self bow and down even have my first bow
Get after it!
Next season ill be hunting with it is the goal
This is going to sound kind of weird, but I actually found your book before I found your videos. One thing I can say about this video in particular is that I like that you specifically mention red oak as a possibility for a bow because that's all I could find at my home center. The maple and hickory boards were all trash.
Great vid thanks heaps Clay
Awesome.
Thanks for posting. Your videos are inspiring and very educational. I would love to see you work a hickory bow from stave to finish.
+Troy Stone I think I could do that.
Ill second that we have alot of hickory here in Wisconsin. Thats was going to be my first attempt.
I wanna see a shag bark done, I have them all over my hill but the stuff is so stringy and tough I cant even split it for fire wood unless its under 15" much less split staves from a round
Cool video.
I do it works fine ! tanks
hi Clay, i just got your book . i'm looking forward to picking up some tips and attempting to make my first bow
Have fun
Pra mim você é o cara 👏👏👏
Hi Clay, great video. I have a lot of post oak and white oak. would either of these make a good bow?
I watched this whole series and I went out and bought a couple decent boards of western red cedar which I’ve heard is also a good type of wood to make a bow. The board that I think would be better is and inch in thickness. I’m wondering if that would be okay to make a bow. The grains run length wise and there’s is only one knot on the side that I’m planning to make the belly. But I should be able to take the knot out because it only runs a little ways through the wood.
So do you think using a 1/4" paper sander with 60+100 grit will work? As well as backing it with camo pants and wood glue water resist?
What type of draw knife would you recommend?
Looks good
thanks
I know how I am gonna spend some of my birthday money this week . I Shoot nasp ( national archery in the schools program) and only use a Genesis original compound for that ( I go to Competitions/tournaments ) so it would definitely be nice to hunt with a long bow just to switch things up
i shot naps one year really fun
Rock on man
You're a good instructor 👊
Great video
+Riverbendlongbows.com gracious
Clay Hayes de nada
At what stage of tillering should you put on your regular bow string I'm making my first board self bow and going really good so far
I like your thoughts on it not being encouraging to build with osage right away. It's like, being new to knifemaking and trying to duplicate Loveless.
You can cut those boards at Home Depot to your desired length and only buy what you need.
Can Russian olive and black locust be used wonderful teacher thank you
Cedar limbs make great longbows to
An update i got to the tillering process and began to draw and tiller the bow as i was getting close to finish it snapped right in the center of the handle
Have you ever tried using D shape oak hand rails for a starter board ? The smaller ones used in hallways.
I haven't, but if the grain is good, I bet it'd work well.
Always like your videos, I don't even build bows anymore. Firearms dominate my hobby time.
+Pointofimpact TV bang sticks are cool too.
Great video. Thanks for posting Clay! I love your post vice too. Is that a Peter Wright vice from England? Lucky!
I'm not sure of the maker. I found this in an old barn.
Great video, is it possible and plausible to build a selfbow out of a board such as maple?
Thank you.
you're welcome
Nice
I still have two rather nice arms do you think if i were to properly make a takedown bow handle slightly modified to account for the arms having no recurve I could possibly put the arms on and have a bow that way?
That would be cool
It's only a couple bucks difference I know. But they sell it by the linear foot. Which means you can cut it to the lengths you buy it
Looking forward to the next video. How do you adjust dimensions for kids?
I'd just make it as tall as they are, then narrow the handle to fit their small hands. you'll have plenty of material in a 1x2 to narrow the handle to 1 inch or less for a kid.
My options are green Port Jackson or Eucalyptus, or
Planks of Pine or Meranti.
Which are the better options?
Que tan seco o estacionado debe estar el bambu para hacer un arco
Would you be able to recognize osage din a picture ? I think theres a few near me, but at this time of the year, there's no fruit on it and I can't identify from the bark. Doesn't help that it's been rainy and everything is dark from there moisture...
Could you replace the drawknife with a spokeshave for the roughing out process? I have read that drawknives can be tricky to master.
For board bows, yes. A spokeshave would work well.
You said either maple or red oak but in your opinion which one is better?
I used to make bows as a kid but with branches
Do you have any tips or sources for sizing?
what kind and where did you get that clamp? it looks awesome
if your talking about the vise, it's a blacksmith vise and you might find one second hand if you look lots.
Great channel Clay I am new to bow building your channel has been a really big help. So far I have some real nice Maple,Locust and Hickory. DO you have any videos on Take down bows? Thanks for all your great videos and your time.
Al, Pennsylvania
I’ve got a 3 part series on take down bows at patreon.com/clayhayes
On a bow made this way what can the expected life be? Is there after care that must be done to extend the life other than unstringing when not in use and keeping it stored inside?
Great videos! Watching and rewatching because this is my next project.
A well made bow will last a lifetime.
If you live in Canada we have a store called Windsor plywood they sell all kinds of rough cut lumber at 4/4 I purchased a peace of hickory for 16 dollars ripped it with a dazuki (pull saw) and have enough for 2 bows 3.99 a board ft.