Anyone hunt with a bow and arrow?

[dev]

May I ask a dumb one? How does the wood get so bendy? What happens during the curing process six inch long pvc pipe ? In the north east we used to play with simple bamboo ones strung with a jute rope. The arrows were bamboo and we had fun till some grown up came running screaming,"you'll shoot an eye out."

Regards,

Dev

Mack The Knife,

Here are my explanations of what is happening in the pictures.


Here the wood has been split in half with a wedge and sledge hammer, you can see the tools in the background. When split like this they are now called "staves"




Here is the initial rough shaping. I use a hatchet, but one about 1/2 the size shown here.



Here shows how much is taken down either with the hatchet or with a tool called a drawknife. Notice the second stave from the right- you can cut down a green tree, trim it to this size and place it in a 6" PVC pipe with a 20 watt light bulb and leave for a week, it will be cured for you.



Here is the only important thing to do when making a bow, it is called checking the "tiller" which means keeping both sides of the bow balanced under draw. I do not use a jig like this, I just bend them over my knee or bend one against the ground then turn the bow over and check the other side against it. The stiffer side gets shaved down a little more.



This is a scraper, they work good not only for removing wood but giving a fine finish.



Shaping the handle with a file, just hold it in your hand and remove the stuff that should not be there



Using a round file to file a guide where the string goes at the tips of the bow.



A completed bow with a recently split stave.


Never go camping with this gentleman!