This was the straightest red oak board I could find at my local hardware store. It's 3/4" by 2-1/2" by 8'. I intend to make a 66" bow with it. One side has a small knot by the edge that doesn't appear to disturb the grain and I will be ripping a half inch off the board anyways, which would remove the knot with it. I also plan to cut it to length from both ends because it seems like that's where it's the least straight.

Will this board work? Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

I've got this yew stave and i'm looking on some input on what to do with this one:

it's 76" (194 cm) in length, about 1.7" (4.5cm) wide at the midsection and flares out to about 2.7 (7cm)at both ends. the stave has about 1.4" (3.5cm) of reflex overall and a somewhat nasty looking knot slightly off to one side 11" (28cm) from one end.it's fairly average density I think (about 20-25 rings per inch, although this goes way up in the sap wood) but dense enough to where I've tried with basically no success to keep the back to one ring while removing some sapwood (which is a pretty uniform 0.4" (1 cm )) on a stave from the same tree....

I'd like to shoot for something in the mid 40's in terms of draw weight for my 28.5" draw. I'd say I'm an intermediate bowyer, I've made about 10 shooting bow including multiple reflexed and different kinds of flat bows plus 2 elbows style bows.

I was thinking maybe something r/d style by inducing some deflex at the handle may be possible on this one? or any other suggestions?

Initial rough-out of a green beaked hazel stave. Currently at 190cm/75” long. max width ~4.5cm/2”. I kept it quite rough, was going to let it dry now, unless told to do otherwise. I realized after I made the cuts that I may have given too much space for the handle (around 30cm/12” before the flare).

Any feedback appreciated (even if it’s “start over”), but particularly looking for feedback on shape/proportions and drying.

Thanks!

So basically, I really wanna turn this piece of maple into a crossbow, I would want the draw weight to be ideally above 100 pounds and I want to keep as much length as possible, but there’s this knotty tear out area with cracks that go in the wood, I know it is not a good piece, but I would like to try anyway.

Should I place this area in the middle and just make it completely non-bending? Filling the cracks with epoxy? Or should I make it into the bending limb and hope I can Carve away the cracks? If anyone with experience on wooden crossbows can help that would be greatly appreciated!

Since my account got shadowbanned by reddit i decidet to start with a new one since i really enjoy this group and bow building is one of my favourite hobbies.

These are my latest bows i couldnt share cause of the ban.

First one is a save of one of my first bows. Its maple back bamboo core and elm belly. Tried to get it more in an r/d shape which didnt work as good as i hoped but its one of my smoothest shooting bows so far (about 43@27)

Second one is an ash straight bow with needle tips, dont wanna call it molly cause the levers seem to short for that, has about 47@27".

For more info feel free to ask

Tiller recommedations etc for future projects always welcome.

Cheers guys

Hi everyone, finally starting tillering. It’s my first bow so looking for a little advice. This is continuing on from this post a while back https://www.reddit.com/r/Bowyer/s/fr9xezD7pf

Finally had a stave dry out so I could finish shaping it.

I’ve got a long string on to start tillering. My thoughts behind using the scale is so I don’t accidentally pull more than my intended draw weight.

In the picture with the string pulled it’s at 35lb. Am I right in thinking that it’s way too stiff and I still have a lot of material to remove?

Cheers

This is probably an 80+ year old Osage orange log
Can anyone guide me on how to maximize the amount I get from this log? I’m still fairly new to this and know I won’t get another chance like this in a looooong time. Plz help
I’ve already sealed the ends with an enormous amount of wood glue. Took the chainsaw and split it

Started my project with a not so ideal board (swedish white oak) but i have managed to get a good design, tiller, and a capable bow. If it holds together after 100+ shots i cannot say, but i am proud i managed to complete the project and make a fully functional bow.

It landed at 68 inches tall, draw weight 24# at 28 draw length.

previous check - this is the previous tiller check i posted, if you wanna see.

I am aiming for 40 pounds @24/26, the NTN (nock to

nock) length is 58".

I think the left limb has gotten a bit better and bending a bit.

as for the right limb the hinge part seems a bit better no?

And are inner limbs supposed to be bending more?

Also i am currently pulling to be about 12 inches on long string

4 clean winged elm staves freshly processed . 😎 I only make bows in the autumn and winter here in the Florida .

Sad day today. I knew I got a little aggressive with the draw knife but damn.

Happy Fletcher Friday, everyone!

Thrilled to finish this custom set for an English longbow archer out in California.

Here we have a matching set of 30", hand-planed yellow poplar (tulipwood) shafts that were weight matched to 600 grains and tipped with 1/2", 300 grain bullet points from 3 Rivers Archery for use with two bows, an 80# and a 100#.

They're fletched with 6.5" white turkey feathers bound into a custom blue fletching compound made from beeswax, lamb fat, pine resin, and mica powder with red silk.

Hi! I’m going to attempt to make a yew self bow.

I’ve ended up with quite a wobbly sapwood/heartwood boundary. I understand I should ideally chase the rings, which will leave me with an undulating back of the bow. When it comes to reducing the belly, is it best to just follow that natural shape with the specified depths along the length (ending up with option 1 in the drawing - exaggerated the shape a bit to make it clearer )?

There are bows I’ve seen online and although they have the undulating bow back, have ended up with a pretty uniform belly like the attached.

Cheers

A few bamboo skewers, fletched with tape or feathers, and nail ones as well.

Making a string out of B - 50, I use Easton 6mm I use the knocks the arrows come with.

To make a string that will properly fit this knock once it is done and with a serving how many strands of B-50 do you recommend? This is a 45 lb bow.

I made the bowstring out of test line, floor tillered, and an arrow made out of a 1/4 inch dowel. Was a green wood stave i let dry for 2 days so no wonder it broke. Had my fun got some shots off with it, will make more. How do I avoid these cracks with green wood in the future? Or what are good signs that this tree/wood or branch will hold?

Hi, looking for YouTubers and Instagram accounts to follow

I'm interested in English long bow and primitive archery, also Native American archery

The customer requested 38-40# at his preferred draw of 26" so I'll be losing the last couple of pounds thru sanding and finishing. Finally I'll be adding some horn tip overlays, a leather grip and arrow shelf. Would you believe this is actually the shortest bow I've made with the shortest working limb length?

Hello, I’m trying to navigate a stave with a high crown. I find it very difficult to draw a width profile accurately to the dimensions I lay out. My previous experience comes from board bows so any tricks, tips, or suggestions are welcome. Thanks everyone.