Making a Long Bow (Hunting Bow)

[Wokan]

So, I was watching Avatar the other day and just thought to myself that having a bow and arrow would be cool. I looked online for some and came to the quick realization that they cost money (which I don't have much of). I decided then that I would just make my own. After many hours watching Youtube videos I set out on my journey.....
This is my first attempt ( but certainly not my last!) at this so I don't suspect it to turn out very well.





Approximate time invested : 5.5 hours
Approximate money invested : 0
Frustration meter : [===  12%                      ]

[Tìtstewan]

Nice! Two years ago I also tryed to make a bow, but I failed because bad wood structure...

[Taronyu Leleioae]

Wokan,

What type of wood did you use?
Bottom picture looks a little like Red Oak.

[Wokan]

Wokan,

What type of wood did you use?
Bottom picture looks a little like Red Oak.

I do believe it is Red Oak

[Wokan]

UPDATE

Trying to fix the awkward curve at one end I began the process of heating the bow and bending it. I managed to fix it a little but this ended up happening...

Approximate time invested : 7 hours
Approximate money invested : 0
Frustration meter : [============  95%]

[Tìtstewan]

That's happened me too....

I hope you can fix it.

[Wokan]

Sadly, I cannot fix it. It is already too thin to be whittled down on that spot. But I strung it and it seems to be holding up.

[archaic]

You need to use steam to curve wood, dry heat drys wood out, and dry wood becomes brittle.
I believe yew was the preferred wood for making British longbows, but this may just be because yew is common there.

[Mesireatu]

Kaltxì ma frapo!
Oel kameie ayngati! Have anyone in here tried the Japanesse bow? It looks a bit differcult.. Yes, I've trained both judo and karate for many years, but all other japaneese martial arts I only looked at. Kìyevame ulte Eywa ayngahu.

[Wokan]

You need to use steam to curve wood, dry heat drys wood out, and dry wood becomes brittle.
I believe yew was the preferred wood for making British longbows, but this may just be because yew is common there.

I have seen a method of using heat to curve bows before but I believe I did something incorrectly. This whole thing is an experiment anyway. Sometime in the spring I'll get a better piece of wood. As for this one, It'll just be a decorative bow or something.

[Taronyu Leleioae]

I would not recommend the steam for a general longbow stave for a couple of reasons.  The most significant being, that the steam artificially tries to stretch the wood cellular structure.  It's one thing to do this for a lamination bow construction, but another if you are doing it out of a single piece.  What you absolutely want, is as straight and knot free a piece of lumber you can find.  Ideally it'll be somewhere between halfway and 3/4 way from the core of the tree.  This tends to be where the wood is more stable for harder woods.  Red Oak for very inexpensive bow staves is common.  But definitely not preferred nor "period" (as in the medieval period).  For that, very common will be ash (American ash if fine).  Yew is prohibitively expensive and much of what is left on the market is garbage.  (Most yew staves are harvested by a couple leading individuals.  Worldwide, english and spanish yew was decimated from the "Middle Ages".  The only good, straight yew trees are in the Pacific Northwest of the US.  Much of these yew staves are bought up by the Japanese btw.  FYI that yew cannot be effectively kiln dried.  It must sit for years naturally.  Yew is also a softwood and very delicate to work with.  Additionally, yew is very sensitive to changes to moisture (particularly the reverse meaning drying out).  Yew staves are created generally solely from the first layers of the tree which is why many yew longbows have a two tone look.  It is not a lamination but actually purposely done so that part of the bow stave is "softer" than the other.  But having explosively shattered two of these yew longbows while shooting, (one fortunately was still under warranty and was at about the 50th shot through it), you have to handle them very carefully and take care of them.  In particular, in the case of yew, a mixture of beeswax and sometimes lanolin is highly recommended to "polish" the wood and keep the outer surface supple.  Microknots within the wood (from tree branches) are the biggest enemy.  It creates a weakness in the grain direction.  Your bow clearly separated at a large knot and I absolutely agree that it cannot be saved, even with certain epoxies.  Although it may well be worth you gluing it back together just as a display piece and turn it into a "wall hanger" decoration.  My respects to you for creating the bow.  It is very much a time consumer and labor of love.  If you haven't already discovered them, in the US, threeriversarchery is a good source for tools and other building materials, although their shipping charges can be a little high.

I've tried a number of bows including shooting a Mongolian horse bow.  Each style has its own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.  But admittedly I've not tried a Japanese bow.  However there are some fine laminated bows out there using materials such as Osage.  Bamboo (Japanese) has obviously been done, but again it is rather soft and doesn't do well in cold weather nor "dry" climates for obvious reasons.  (It becomes too brittle.)

[Wokan]

Irayo ma Taronyu Leleioae. This is my first attempt at something like this and right away I could see flaws in the branch I picked. It will definitely be for decoration.
But, it is a learning experience for myself (and hopefully for others too) and I am already seeing what I need to do differently on my next one. 

[Wokan]

UPDATE

Finished ( to the best of my ability anyway)
There are many, many things wrong with this bow but hey, it was my very first time  

Approximate time invested : 10.5 hours
Approximate money invested : $2 (I bought some Kevlar string from a friend that I ended up not using...)
Frustration meter : [=====  19%    ]

Over all I am satisfied. For my first attempt it turned out okay. It doesn't shoot very fast and it's a bit off balanced.
I know now what to do differently and I hope those of you following this can also learn from my mistakes
If there are any questions, feel free to ask
I will be starting up another one of these in the near future

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

I suspect that will suffice nicely for a prop, if that is your intention. Shooting straight with a bow like that is probably much skill off the shooter as it is the bow itself.

A few years back, I used to attend the Colorado Renaissance Fair. They had a vendor there who sold some nice longbows. They were pricey for what they are. But, It would have saved me from having to find that *perfect* piece of wood. Even his bows had 'character'. I do want to go back there some day (soon!). A friend of mine used to be an actor in the fair, and that was part of the reason I went. (That fair is also an excellent place to go if you want a quality edge weapon. Too bad the Naʼvi don't use swords.) The same vendor space was also home to a gentleman who made arrowheads by 'flaking' stone the old fashioned way.

I will also be going out to our local Cabela's next weekend. I will have to stop and take a look at what they might have for simple longbows.

Interest in archery is heightened right now, due to the recent 'Hunger Games' film. In fact, the day the film came out, we did a satellite uplink about a couple here in Reno that run an indoor archery range. In talking to them after the uplink, I found out that the original release of Avatar had the same effect.

[archaic]

Yew sapwood is good only in tension, while the heartwood is good in compression, but medieval longbows were made from heartwood only.

Yew is also a softwood and very delicate to work with.  Additionally, yew is very sensitive to changes to moisture (particularly the reverse meaning drying out).

What, you mean that if you heat it, it'll dry out and become brittle?

Also .....
Hardwood: Wood from deciduous trees/bushes, balsa wood is a hardwood.
Softwood: Wood from evergreen trees/bushes, box wood is a softwood.

[Taronyu Leleioae]

Yew sapwood is good only in tension, while the heartwood is good in compression, but medieval longbows were made from heartwood only.

Unfortunately this is only half correct.  A single longbow or more correctly, a self bow, would be from heart wood if they were from ash.
However the best yew longbows are made from approx a 1/2 and 1/2 combination of heartwood and sapwood.  Hence their two tone lamination look.

Yew is also a softwood and very delicate to work with.  Additionally, yew is very sensitive to changes to moisture (particularly the reverse meaning drying out).

What, you mean that if you heat it, it'll dry out and become brittle?
Yew is a softwood.  It is also very susceptible to warping and cracking.  (Yew prefers the damp and warms as a wood.)  You have to be EXTREMELY diligent and keep the bow stored in mild conditions.  Generally speaking, it's not recommended to use the bow in deep winter although I have.  Yew is also very unforgiving.  You "warm up" the bow by slowly drawing it part way, then relaxing letting it back down.  Repeat pulling a bit more.  Let down.  (This does not mean release!)  As odd as this may sound, you are "stretching" the bow.  And by doing so, you are significantly reducing your chance of a first shot self destruct from a crack.  Plus, as I mentioned above, especially for yew longbows, you must keep them waxed.  I'm not a big fan of oil as it penetrates and then unfortunately also tends to leech out more.  I prefer a beeswax or beeswax/lanolin mix and it's available.  It's also documented in period history.

Also .....
Hardwood: Wood from deciduous trees/bushes, balsa wood is a hardwood.

Hardwoods include oak, maple, birch, sycamore, generally fruit trees, ash...

Softwood: Wood from evergreen trees/bushes, box wood is a softwood.

Softwoods include pine, spruce, fir, cedar, yew...  (yew is rather unique though...)

Hardwood vs Softwood has more to do with the seeds (covered/encased vs not).  But it's reflective also of the wood grain density and structure.  Hardwoods are also more categorized due to how the leaf structure is formed.

[Wokan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5LdzPJ3c1o

Here is a quick video of me shooting it.

[archaic]

Ma Taronyu Leleioae, I would be interested to know where you are getting this information, I believe that the best yew longbows are made from a 1/3 sap wood and 2/3 heartwood.

Also .....
Hardwood: Wood from deciduous trees/bushes, balsa wood is a hardwood.

Hardwoods include oak, maple, birch, sycamore, generally fruit trees, ash...

Softwood: Wood from evergreen trees/bushes, box wood is a softwood.

Softwoods include pine, spruce, fir, cedar, yew...  (yew is rather unique though...)

Hardwood vs Softwood has more to do with the seeds (covered/encased vs not).  But it's reflective also of the wood grain density and structure.  Hardwoods are also more categorized due to how the leaf structure is formed.

As you say, hardwoods do indeed include oak, maple, birch, sycamore, generally fruit trees, ash, but balsa wood is also technically a hardwood.
As you say, Softwood do indeed include pine, spruce, fir, cedar, yew, but box wood is also technically a softwood.
This is the very first time in my long long life I have ever heard that seed being covered/encased or not has been invoked to differentiate between hard/softwood.
Ditto for leaf structure form.
And I have to flatly disagree with the assertion that wood grain density and structure is relevant.
As counter intuitive as it may seem, hardwoods are deciduous trees/bushes, where as softwoods are evergreen.

[Tsufätu Ayioangä]

Not to take the easy road out or anything but mine was a gift from my Grandfather.  I got it about a month before AVATAR came out so that was super awesome.  I've actually been shooting it a lot recently.  I joined the SCA so that comes in handy XD  I would love to set out making a longbow but I live in a dorm now and an apartment soon so not a lot of work space...