Suggestions for a take-down recurve bow required.

[penpusher]

There is one for sale here http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11167512 ... aving.html

You may also find this interesting http://margo.student.utwente.nl/sagi/ar ... elbow.html

[hellfire_m16]

Mack The Knife,

For the arrows you can go to any bamboo groove after the rains and find the straightest of the lot with as little notchs as possible.

Align the bamboo straight with nails on a wooden board and keep it out doors for aboubt a month to season.......so that they straighten up.

Prefarably use duck/or any other water birds feathers as fins.

Nuts can be used as the head.

I had made a couple of these when i was in fifth grade and they wrkrd preetyy decntly.

I still have a bamboo bow mabe by my dad and me when i was in the fifth grade......it hasn't cracked till date(wil try to post pictures later today).

I still remember we picked up half a bamboo for s 5 form bamboo bazar,Mysore through the bamboo in a sump of house under construnction for a few days and then using a home made crbon steel knife carved the bow.The centre of the bow was reinfoced with a bamboo splint and copper wire and i used paracord as the string.

some of the tribes in Orissa store their bows and arrows when not in use over the fireplace heer they cook.....this insures that the bamboo remains tdrya s well as the fat form the coooking also soaks into the bamboo.

Regards,

Vinayaka

[Yaj]

There is one for sale here http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11167512 ... aving.html

Thats the same dealer from whom I bought my "damascus" knives.

Regards,
Yaj.

[Mack The Knife]

penpusher, you don't need a jig to make a flat bow. Atleast not the long bow profile I have in mind. Epoxy glue and few C-clamps and you are ready to go.

Yaj, thanks for mentioning the alternatives to hickory. The reason I have selected hickory is because it has a reputation for being the toughest of the lot.

Vinayaka, I would like to see good pics of your self bow - overall views and close-ups.

Thanks.

[hellfire_m16]

Hi Mack The Knife,

Please find the link for the bow pictures.

The arrows are form Orissa.......my uncle got them made by the tribals about 60 years ago.

The knife was the one made by my dad ...used to shape the bamboo.

Rgds,

Vinayaka

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii19 ... 200111.jpg

[TenX]

.....my uncle got them made by the tribals about 60 years ago...

60 year old tribal stuff.. thats antique heritage dude

[nagarifle]

hi rusty
ideally one should use yew for bow making. if one can find it. you can always find some in the Church graveyards in England. then on the other hand going and coming is costly then local wood.

[Mack The Knife]

Vinayaka,

If time permits put up pics of the arrow head, fletching, arrow nock (side and front), bow string nock and bow string.

Thanks.

[hellfire_m16]

Will do........

Rgds

[HSharief]

Guys, Please, you're not helping him. Don't give him too many ideas already, I just hope it is not counter productive like the IFG sticker and knife.

Mack The Knife, please stick to your original thought and instinct and I'm sure you'll do good. Remember, KISS, Keep it Simple, stupid. I'm sure you can add to the initial learning based on the excellent suggestions here.

ideally one should use yew for bow making.

Then he will need to use his middle finger to "Pluck the Yew"

http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.asp

Damn Sharief and my big mouth!

Come on, I meant it in the most honest sense. I have been awed at your ingenuity and handiness with DIY projects that you've shared here and I'm sure you'll impress yourself yet another time.

[TenX]

...Then he will need to use his middle finger to "Pluck the Yew"
http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.asp...

That was an awesome eye opener

[Mack The Knife]

Just kidding Sharief. Hence, the winky at the bottom.

[S.S.Kumar]

Hello Mack The Knife,
You may have read my earlier posts on import of arrows carbon or Fibre glass. Way back in year 2002, I brought a PSE Recurve bow from Canada with some 25 carbon arrows. Customs at Mumbai allowed the Bow which was in dismantled condition, but confiscated the arrows as the had hunting tips and looked lethal. Since then I have been trying to get some carbon shafts or arrows in to India but till now I am unsuccessful. By the way the PSE recurve I have is 25# draw weight only but the draw length is limitless! I use yard long Banboo shafts feather fletched at home and am able to shoot upto 70 yards and reach the first or second circle of the target. If you are able to import some arrows I will be most obliged to know the source and the procedure. I still have the Hunting tips( Arrowheads), Rubber fletches and nocks but without shafts and inserts they are useless.
Thanks
Kumar

[S.S.Kumar]

penpusher, you don't need a jig to make a flat bow. Atleast not the long bow profile I have in mind. Epoxy glue and few C-clamps and you are ready to go.

Yaj, thanks for mentioning the alternatives to hickory. The reason I have selected hickory is because it has a reputation for being the toughest of the lot.

Vinayaka, I would like to see good pics of your self bow - overall views and close-ups.

Thanks.

Hello Mack The Knife,
1. Hickory is good hardwood but not flexible enough to use for a bow.
2. My suggestion is that you use good mature( You can recognize them by their golden yellow colour) bamboo laths.( 1.5" wide strips of Bamboo with the smooth outer surface intact)
3. The Laths shound be about 6mm thick and 5 feet long.
4.The two laths shall be glued together and bound with a crepe bandage or a tough cloth strip tightly all over and left to cure for at least 7-8 days.
5.After curing time glue a strip of 3-4mm thick raw hide( you can buy it at Russels market) on the outer
face of the Bow( the outside bend) and again wound it tightly with the bandage or cloth and leave it to cure for at least 6-7 days. This leather strip will act as a sap wood surface and prevent the bow from cracking.
6. After the above curing time you will have a wood staff to shape the limb tips for taking the strings.
Once the limb tips are shaped, Use a wood file to shape the handle of the bow.
this has to be done by measuring the exact centre of the bow and reducing the thickness by 3/8" on either side to a distance of about 6"( 3" both sides from centre point.) To compensate for the reduced thickness weakening the area, use a hard wood or same baboo lath of 8-10mm thick on the inside to the handle area. This also has to be glued similarly and tied tightly with strips of cloth till curing.
7. for string buy wax coated nylon thread used in leather industry. This also is available in Russels market area.( Abdul Rahman shop near auto market)
8.Cut 8-10 lengths of string and arrange them side by side.
9.At the centre and at the ends wind another length of string round and round the loose lengths to a length of 6" . Use glue on winding string so that the they stay adjacent and stick to the main stings in place.
10. The 2 wound lengths at the ends have to be formed as loops and again wound with string.
11. This should give you a bow string og about 5" which will have to be adjusted to suit the bow length and
bend you require when bow is strung.
12.For arrows you have choice of buying them directly from Olympic sports ( Aluminium or Bamboo) Or you can buy 8mm aluminium pipes instead of trying to shape bamboo arrows which are never straight anyway.
Hope this helps. I had my bow made like this which stayed with me till I got the PSE from Canada.
The instructions I got from a American Indian Bower and the caution he gave me was never to short cut on curing time.
His original wood choice was Osage orange and ash but these are un heard of in Our parts. I substituted bamboo with his suggestion.
Thanks
Kumar

[TenX]

...you can buy it at Russels market

...Abdul Rahman shop near auto market

...from Olympic sports

You sure know your way around Bangalore for someone in UA