I have often advised that new selfbow makers who want to learn to use the tools well and work the wood start with wood as simple as a close grained 2x4 from the lumber yard.

Inexpensive way to learn about layout , use of files drawknives, scrapers and the tillering process to get wood to bend..

Anyhow, about 15 years ago on a whim, I sorted thru about 100 surplus yellow pine campaign tent poles and decided to make a longbow out of seasoned yellow pine.

It came out well..looks good, tillered out nicely and shoots and arrow... It is 5*#@29" and 73" ntn.. The CAST of the bow leaves much to be desired however. It took little set to the string and has stayed together. It looks rather massive due to it's dimensions and length. Think it might be a fun bow to use in those SCA reenactment archery battles..:)Jim

and another pic..

the riser section..I named it MEBBE..:) Jim

last one..Pine does allow one to see how to 'feather ' the tapering from handsection and down the limbs well.. Bet y'all WISH you had some osage that clean..:)Jim

LOL Beautiful Jim! Best looking danged tent pole I have ever seen. I had read about the legend of the tent pole, but seeing is believing.

Thanks.. Me and Tim Baker used to talk every now and then..:) Gotta wonder what sort of real bow the old Norway yellow pine might make IF backed with 40 thou glass and faced with 50 thou glass with yaller pine serving only as the core..:)

Alas, such projects may never be done by me.

I have 2500' elevation yew and osage calling me from the closet being seasoned close to 20 years..

So much to explore..so little time.:) Jim

Great work, dire wolf. I'm sure that with time and practice---along with going through more than a few staves---you'll become another Gary Sentman! God and Christ Bless!

Sweeeeeet. Looks like I need to run to the surplus store n find me some yeller pine. See...any wood can be made by a bow in the hands of a masterful and expertly designed and tillered bow. Might be a tad slow in cast,but it'll put meat on the table. Thanks again Jim for posting the pine tent pole bow. Good stuff.

Kent.err..thanks..:)

Who is Gary Sentman?...is he an 'otherwood" self bwoyer?..:)

After making bows for over 40 years.some might say I'm already at a similar level with Nels Grumley, Chester Stevenson, Earl Grubbs, Gilman Keasey, John Strunk, Don Adams, Jerry Welch, but it has taken me a 'couple of years' to acquire those skills and knowlege of great bow woods..:) Jim

Looks good, Jim. I think I remember when you showed that bow here. Another viable alternative is red oak boards. Keep it simple. No glued on handles. Let the handle bend. Jawge

I've got a Jim Hamm book that sez you're CRAZY to try and use any kind of kiln-dried, commercial lumber... But mebbesonot, from the looks of it.

I had started a little bow for my bows using a stout dowel rod and a block plane; the growth rings tracked from the edge of one tip to the edge of the other, adding a few rings in the middle, so I had grand ideas about being able to coax a little reflex - or would that be deflex? - right out of the dowel. It was coming along rather nicely, cooperatively forming a smooth D. Right to the point at which it met the same fate as so many would-be-bowyers' early attempts.

So I HAD been planning to blame it all on the kiln-drying...

So you'd say go with pine at first?? Maybe a decent piece of spruce??

Yes, Jim wrote that years ago, GF, but he has recanted that statement. I can;t tell you how many kiln dried red oak boards I've made into bows. Some of those boards I inherited and were over 20 years old. Jawge

GF, There'snothing 'crazy' about learning to wor with wood and going thru the effort of laying out and patiently working down a stave( or 2x4) until it begins to resemble a bow.

Once can learn a lot about his tools and his eye and hand for sure, and probably gain good appreciation for a fine stave of more noteworthy bow wood if he ever gets his hands on it. Occasionally he may actually end up with a fine shooting bow that is over 40#@26" draw that stays together( apologies, Jawge) Back a few years, we all learned some things about making bows from netherwood and otherwood from Tim Baker and others like George Tsoukalas..:) Flashback five thousand years on various continents and times and the peoples who needed to hunt or defend themselves were pretty craetive about how and from what the fashioned bows and arrows. Palma brava, artic driftwood with sinew ropes supporting the backs,..you name it and they used it for a time.Jim

Nice work Jim!

I have to reconnect with some of the fellows who enjoy the Society for Creative Anachronism archery ..

That taller pine tent pole wood longbow would make a pretty good artillery bow for their fun events where they actually shoot at each other..

I SHOULD have painted a picture of a large banana slug on it fifteen years back when I made it..:)Jim

Ell, then, I may just have another crack at it.. Suppose I sjhold get a draw knife, though, rather than sticking with the block plane....

Had another odd idea, though... Does woven FG tape work on the back of a bow? I've got some West epoxy and some glass from rebuilding a rudder a couple of years ago, but I understand bow glass is unidirectional... Must be a good reason for that, but if I were to start building some LBs for Thing One and Thing Two, the performance would be secondary to just knowing that the bows would never blow up in their faces...

GF, 3M amkes some electrical insulating tape that is woven fiberglas cloth. Only issue with it is it has an adhesive backing. Better to go to a supplu place that sells fiberglas roving and tapes such as are used in making boats, canoes etc and apply that with epoxy resin as a backing. You can dye it prior to applying it and trim to limb profiles once cured. Won't add much draw weight but IS toug resistance to abrasionot failure in tension for some woods. NOMEX paper used by the electrical rewind shops is also a great backing..Kinda like 20th century clarified calfskin and looks almost eactly like well done rawhide when applied as backing for a planed back or board bow.Jim

So let me make sure I'm following you.. You're saying the woven glass tape does NOT do much to prevent a bow from breaking?

Might have to have you explain the Nomex part, too, if that adds more snap-resistance...

GF: "Won't add much draw weight but IS tough resistance to abrasion or failure in tension for some woods..." Do a search on NOMEX PAPER and you'll know more of it's toughness as a bow backing..Jim

Thanks - 'twas the "abrasionot failure" vs. "abrasion OR failure" that got me...

I know Nomex is amazing stuff; just wondered what glue you use.

And by the way... has anybody experimented with Tyvek? That stuff is INCREDIBLE for strength, but I have no idea if it will stick to anything.... surface seems so slick and waxy....

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here