Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Jake Scott on July 17, 2017, 10:54:00 AM
-
Hey guys,
I'm interested learning how to build bows, I have ordered the traditional bowyers bible, and read a lot on this forum. What other resources are available for a raw beginner?
Thanks in advance,
Jake
-
Jake, I assume you are wanting to build wood bows. There are plenty of how to books available, the TBB series are some of the best. I usually have a primitive skills weekend this time of year but because I'm so busy this year I won't be having it. I live just across the mountains from you.
In the spring(April-May) each year Twin Oaks Bowhunters holds the Tennessee Classic. One of their big draws, besides a great shoot, is the wood bow building. They are set up to handle lots of folks wanting to build a bow with lots of experienced wood bow builders to help. The Tenn Classic is about 35 miles north of Nashville, Tenn on a 600 acre farm with free camping and it has become a week long event.
In the mean time there are lots of experienced wood bowyers here and on the Primitive Archer site. Feel free to contact me if I can be of help.
-
Thanks a lot, Pat. I am primarily interested in laminate wood bows, but that may be overly ambitious. I am familiar with twin oaks, and have attended the Tennessee Classic in the past. I have a hunting lease in nearby Indian Mound. I have seen many of your posts and never noticed that we were so close to each other.
Jake
-
There are several build-a-longs on this site as well as some other primitive archery sites. You can do a quick search for them and find one you like. Here is one that helped me a few years ago.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=013158;p=1
-
There's also a hole left in your definition "laminate wood bows" since it could be wood/glass or wood only lams.
There are folks here who are knowedgeable on each method. If you present a specific project they will come out of the woodwork. :)
-
Monterey,
I suppose I am showing my ignorance. Thanks for the reply. I am primarily interested in glass/wood takedown recurves. I am currently in the information gathering stage of this process. I appreciate the response.
Jake
-
Showing ignorance here is not a bad thing. Everyone here has been there and more than happy to help you.
A good source of information on performance and design principles is Baker in the TBB series. He discusses wood bows but design principles mostly cross over.
A good approach might be to build a Bingham kit and think through the design principles as you do the build.
There's a lot of OJT in this bow building pursuit. :)