Drawnalongbow
27th January 2012, 11:46 PM
Hello all,
This is my first post having joined the Forum because every time I Googled something to do with woodwork I would land on the Forum with my problem already solved by a clever Australian woodworker. I am 73 and have ”done up” several old houses in the past including my current 110 year older in the Perth hills hence the all-consuming need to have a go at every job that the wife says should be done by an expert. Of course one accumulates lots of tools (toys).
Being well and truly retired and having been an archery enthusiast for 25 years, my interest is now making Longbows.
Making longbows presents a whole new range of challenges for the woodworker, such as, selecting various local and exotic timbers for the unique qualities required for bow making, cutting, tapering and thicknessing laminations to 2mm thick with a taper of .001” for every inch over 36”. Precise bandsaw work to shape the hand grip and then careful shaping with various hand tools, sanding and the final finishing with oils, lacquers etc.
With some bows fibreglass rears its ugly head for added strength.
Along the way one must tenderly use a hand scraper to remove just the right amount of wood to achieve a predetermined pulling weight for a given draw length, in my case 35lbs at 28”, then when all that is done you can draw the bow for the first time and it will go bang and you stand there with a handful of firewood.
Such is the joy of woodworking.
This is my first post having joined the Forum because every time I Googled something to do with woodwork I would land on the Forum with my problem already solved by a clever Australian woodworker. I am 73 and have ”done up” several old houses in the past including my current 110 year older in the Perth hills hence the all-consuming need to have a go at every job that the wife says should be done by an expert. Of course one accumulates lots of tools (toys).
Being well and truly retired and having been an archery enthusiast for 25 years, my interest is now making Longbows.
Making longbows presents a whole new range of challenges for the woodworker, such as, selecting various local and exotic timbers for the unique qualities required for bow making, cutting, tapering and thicknessing laminations to 2mm thick with a taper of .001” for every inch over 36”. Precise bandsaw work to shape the hand grip and then careful shaping with various hand tools, sanding and the final finishing with oils, lacquers etc.
With some bows fibreglass rears its ugly head for added strength.
Along the way one must tenderly use a hand scraper to remove just the right amount of wood to achieve a predetermined pulling weight for a given draw length, in my case 35lbs at 28”, then when all that is done you can draw the bow for the first time and it will go bang and you stand there with a handful of firewood.
Such is the joy of woodworking.