whats easier to make (BOWS)

[blacktailchaser]

so,in your own opion whats easier to make solid stave bows or glass bows.and is the tillering prosses differant too.thanks john

[laddy]

Blanks from Howard Hill are fairly fool proof if you have something to compare to as a sample.  I have been a failure at osage, so I can have no good advice on them.

[NorthShoreLB]

Making an ELB is a farely simple project, once you got a bit of an eye for tillering.

...but be aware that they are no good for hunting      

[Trad Man 25]

NorthShore,, can i ask why there no good for hunting,, ???

Thanks James

[wingnut]

The no good for hunting was followed by to big smilies.  Meaning it was a joke.

Comparing building a glass bow to a wooden stave bow is like comparing apples and oranges.  Both are kinda round and you eat them in the end.

A glass bow requires the work to be done up front.  Building a press and engineering the taper etc.  Unless you buy a blank and finish it out.

The stave bow is really releasing the bow from the bounds of the wood.  There is a lot more to it and I recommend reading a couple of books first.  Traditional Bowyers Bible 1 & 2 are a good start.

An alternative to the stave is a Bamboo backed blank.  They are pretty easy to finish also.

BTW we offer both the glass and bamboo backed blanks on our website.

Mike

[4runr]

One book I would add to Mike's list is, Dean Torges "Hunting the Osage Bow". A great read as well as very valuable info.

[Trad Man 25]

lol,, a Joke,, Shame on me,,

[varmint]

Get a BBO from Wingnut to finish out yourself,you won't be dissappointed....easy as pie and shoots like amd dream.

[kennym]

For me,the glass bow is much easier. It takes considerably more patience to scrape one from a stave.When ya take the first critter with either one,you won't want to hunt with any other brand than yours !!

[Longbow Tom]

I like the glass.  I've busted more than half the all wood bows.

A glued up blank from 7 Lakes Longbow is hard to mess up.

[EASTERNARCHER]

Originally posted by varmint:
Get a BBO from Wingnut to finish out yourself,you won't be dissappointed....easy as pie and shoots like amd dream.

I SECOND THAT VARMINT!

[brettlandon]

I've never made a fiberglass bow, though I have made the limbforms, heat box, riser pattern, ect.(I planned to make a take down once).  However I have made several selfbows and custom made one for someone else last year.  If you are looking for 'easier,' I would also recomend finishing someone elses good begining stuff.  I have heard many good things about Wingnut's products and would recomend that path.
If, however, you want a challange...Well I recomend something twisted and hard and NOT orange.

-Brett

[blacktailchaser]

o.k. thanks for the info guys.i am interested in what kenny is saying about glass and i wouldnt mind learning that and what tools it takes.but making a bamboo back bow also sound interesting tooo.so how does this work.is there any how toos on the site.thanks john

[Rick_H]

Take the plunge and buy a Dryad blank, it'll be the best $150 you spent on archery. Mike will give you all the help you need. Bjorn recently posted some pics of his.

[NorthShoreLB]

Agree on the blank route, It will give you the chance to get aquinted with the tillering process without putting to much pressure on yourself, a bamboo backed bow gives nothing up to a glass bow , and I heard just good reports on Wingnut bows,...I think he has a chapter on the new "Bowyers Bible", worth checking out

[Walt Francis]

Get Mike's DVD along with the blank and all the information you need to finish the bow is contained in it.

[laddy]

I don't want to imply that the osage bow is not a good hunting weapon, I have seen some that were magnificent.  The two times i tried, one had a huge gnarl of knots that left no good wood , the other, as I followed the grain i ended up with a 120 degree twist.  I would like a good straight stave with bamboo backing, to compensate  for my lack of ability and experience.  After doing a number of glass bows from blanks and from scratch and also reducing weights for others with 100% success, I got this void that thanks to this thread needs to be filled. Should I go osage first or yew first, I like yew> sorry to jump in on this 'blacktail' but you hit a nerve.

[wingnut]

I forgot to mention earlier that the DVD comes with the Bamboo backed blank.

Mike

[laddy]

Do you have any yew blanks that would come to 55lbs. at 26''?

[SuperKodiak38]

I just ordered two more BBO glue up's from WIngnut. If I can do it andybody can. This is my 7 year old shooting the one I made for him. My first ever bow build attempt.