bow-making-msg - 1/10/08
Making archery bows. Medieval bows.
NOTE: See also the files: crossbows-msg, p-archery-msg, quivers-msg, arrows-msg, bowstrings-msg, arch-supplies-msg, arrow-making-FAQ.
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TO: Robert Fitzmorgan
FROM: Stormbringer
SUBJECT: Re: Longbows
RF-: Does anyone have information on the
RF-: construction of longbows or
RF-: know where to find it? Any help would be greatly
RF-: appreciated. Thanks.
You might write and ask Bear Archery (they make the things...or at least
they used to). There are a few bowyers around still, though the really
good ones have orders stacked up for a few years.
The choice wood is Yew (grows in the Pacific Northwest from what I've
heard). You need well cured, straight-grained staves to start with.
You need to carve them to just the right shape so that they curve
properly without breaking and don't twist or give too much. You also
have to get them to move smoothly back to the starting position when you
release them. Can you say "very tricky"? I knew you could!
It is not an easy craft to master. It takes a lot of time, but since
you will have to wait 7 to 10 years for the staves to cure properly you
should have time to practice the carving part... ;^)
It is *much* easier if you are willing to make a laminated bow and use
things like fiberglass. A Yew self-bow is historically correct and
would make a fine weapon (ask anyone in midieval Europe!) but it is not
easy to make properly and takes a bit of maintenance to keep it in shape
(don't let the wood dry out or get too wet, store it so it doesn't
develop twisted limbs, etc.).
Even if you get the bow made, you still need arrows! Can't buy good
fletching-quality goose feathers anymore. Everyone sells turkey these
days (or <shudder!> *plastic*. Horn nocks aren't available commercially
either. Hardwood shafts? Ask around at Pensic, but expect to pay over
$100 a dozen...
Good luck!
((( STORMBRINGER )))
* Origin: >> The Ophiuchi Hotline << Forward! Into the past! (1:109/508)
TO: Robert Fitzmorgan
FROM: Par Garou
SUBJECT: Re: Longbows
RF> Does anyone have information on the construction of longbows or
RF> know where to find it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
RF> Robert.
Greetings Robert.
I am currently in the process of crafting a bow. The difficulty isn't
in the process, but in the time involved. I've been working on this bow (a
short bow, measured from fingertips to opposite shoulder) since early April
(not including curing time) and it's still quite rough. I figure I have about
4-6 months of work left to it. It is quite a rewarding experience if you have
the patience to allow the tree/bow to become a part of you.
There are many ways to craft bows, the best methods (and the easiest)
I've seen can be found in Tom Brown's survival series, specifically
"Wilderness Survival" and "Living with the Earth". Living with the Earth is
quite good for not only bow craftsmanship but also shelter construction, hide
tanning, etc. Quite useful series of books for anyone.
Also, don't be too disappointed if you make a bow and somewhere during
the process it snaps. It happens and even though it can be disheartening
experience, the best bet is to grab another staff and start again....
* Origin: Cat House - What century is this? (703) 525-1731 (1:109/155)
From: BETHS at ksuvm.ksu.EDU
Date: 20 May 91 20:26:00 GMT
Honorable archers may be interested in:
McEwen, Edward, Robert L. Miller and Christopher A. Bergman, Early Bow Design a
nd Construction. Scientific American, June 1991, (264:6) pp. 76-83.
Asked to name the most crucial discoveries of early humans, most people would
quickly come up with fire and the wheel. A third may well be the bow. It served as the principal weapon for hunting and warfare until the use of firearms be
came widespread in the 16th century. Bows were developed in virtually all cult
ures, and some achieved high levels of technological sophistication.
From: haslock at rust.zso.dec.com (Nigel Haslock)
Date: 22 Jul 91 21:09:31 GMT
Organization: DECwest, Digital Equipment Corp., Bellevue WA
Ioseph.of.Locksley at f29.n114.z1.fidonet.org (Ioseph of Locksley) said:
> The English (Welsh) longbow has two rather glaring characteristics:
> 1) it is a "self" bow, i.e. not laminated, but made from one pice of wood,
> sometimes with the knots left in....
> 2) and most important, it is -not- flat on both sides, but rather flat
> on the inside of the bow, and -rounded- on the outside.....
I beg to differ. Since the outer face of the bow is carved to follow a growth
ring, it too is curved. The outer face is the one away from the string. The
inner face, or belly, is where the deeply curved face is.
e.g.
/--__
| -
| \
| | 0 <-string
| /
| __-
\--
Making a bow that included a significant knot would be a bad idea as the knot
constitutes a magor weakness. A yew bow is almost guaranteed to include pins,
i.e. knots a sixteenth of an inch across, because that is the way it grows.
Fiacha
Aquaterra, AnTir
From: kuijt at topgun.UUCP (kuijt)
Date: 22 Jul 91 20:33:12 GMT
Organization: Los Alamos Nation Labratory, MEE-10
Ioseph of Locksley speaks of the Longbow:
I> The English (Welsh) longbow has two rather glaring characteristics:
I>
I>1) it is a "self" bow, i.e. not laminated, but made from one pice of wood,
I> sometimes with the knots left in....
This is certainly true... Yew and Elm were favorite woods...
I>2) and most important, it is -not- flat on both sides, but rather flat
I> on the inside of the bow, and -rounded- on the outside.....
I am afraid that you are misinformed. A "fully stacked" bow is
one that is rounded on the belly of the bow, and flat (not totally flat,
but flat in comparison) on the back of the bow. The belly of the bow is
the string side, which would seem to me to be what you mean by the
"inside". All medieval English and Welsh longbows seem to have been
fully stacked bows. This statement is based upon illustrations (in
which it is not always clear), and the one surviving medieval English
bow that was NOT found in the Mary Rose, and all of the hundred odd bows
that were found in the Mary Rose (sunk 1547).
Sir Dafydd ap Gwystl kuijt at agps.lanl.gov
Spending the Summer in the Outlandish Mountains, where the Ladies are
fair, kind, and my Countess will demand an accounting of every hand I
kiss when I get back to Atlantia...
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: vader at meryl.csd.uu.se (]ke Eldberg)
Subject: Re: Traditional Archery Tackle (Was: Archery Rankings in Kingdoms?)
Organization: Indiana Jones University
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1993 19:18:47 GMT
William de Corbie greets all.
Here are a few bowyers who make traditional English longbows:
Don Adams, 17 Granta Tce., Gt Shelford, Cambridge CB2 5DJ
Rex Baddeley, Bow Cottage, 19 Cefn Rd., Cefn Cribwr, Mid Glam CF32 0AR
John Bennett, 5 Denis Road, Burbage, Hinckley, Leics.
Chris Boyton, 32 Frays Close, Money Lane, W.Drayton, Middx. UB7 7PF
John Cave, 15+17 Broad Street Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1NG
Hector Cole (arrowsmith), The Mead, Gt Somerford, Chippenham SN15 5JB
David Edwards, 9 Hanover Terrace, Whitby, N Yorks. UO21 1QQ
Lou Friend, Slindon Post Office, Slindon, Arundel, W Sussex BN18 0RR
Dudley Garrett, The Oast, Bellwood Farm, Hurst Green, Etchingham, Sussex
Hilary Greenland, 14 Upton Road, Southville, Bristol BS3 1LP
Richard Head, 9 Kingsfield Grange Road, Bradford on Avon, Wilts BA15 1BE
Stuart Homer, 131 Tennyson Drive, Great Malvern, Worcs WR14 2 UL
Roy King, St Nicholas Road, Blackpool, Lancs
Edward McEwen, 10 Richmond Way, Wanstead, London E11 3QT
Rick O'Ruark, O'Ruark Clan Trust, Main St. Dromahair, Co.Leitrim, Eire
(I have more...)
William
From: jct at reed.EDU (Jack Thompson)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: bows/arrows
Date: 30 Sep 1993 04:25:46 -0400
Hari Heath has been seasoning a stock of yew for a time now; I have a bow
on order from him and it will appear in the fullness of time. His bows
have a good look and feel. He hunts with them (using arrows of his own
manufacture) and has put meat on the table thereby. He also manufactures
a bowyer's vise for those who like to roll their own. His address is:
Hari Heath
Box 126
Santa, ID 83866
I don't know what he charges for arrows; I make my own, so the question
never came up.
Another source (who's work I have not seen) is:
Robert Parks
Bitterroot Bows and Replication
Rt. 1, Box 138
Troy, ID 83871
On his card, he indicates that he provides "Custom sinew backed bows;
spine matched indian/asian style arrows; flintknapping; authentic replica
equipment."
I make my arrows from Western Red Cedar; from the leftovers after
splitting out 10 foot-long shakes. The debris makes awfully good fire
starter.
Jack C. Thompson
who has to decide whether or not the charcoal from the fire pit goes to
the outhouse or the forge; 'course, when the mosquitoes/flies are not
buzzing about, there's no question.
From: jcaldwll at oregon.uoregon.edu (Jim Caldwell)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: More Trad Archery Stuff
Date: 7 Oct 1993 00:00:14 GMT
Organization: UOregon
In response to Galen Woodwalker:
>In any case, *where* did you get your longbows?
I was lucky in that my lady (now my wife) had found a yew bow at a garage
sale (!) with a broken nock. In order to repair it, she and her best friend
tracked down a local bowyer by following hints and rumours they picked up
at a bow shop. Later she built a bow (lemonwood (dagame -sp?- outside
U.S.)) with some instruction from the bowyer. I therefore had both her
experience and the bowyers wisdom to draw from when I built my bow (yew).
Since then we have also built an ash bow (I don't recommend this wood as a
result) and re-worked 4 bows we picked up used at various places. I _do
not_ consider myself an expert by any means, but perhaps I've learned
enough to be of help. We are not interested at this time in making bows
for people, however, as mundane time limitations (me) and harp-making (my
wife) get in the way.
While looking for bow-making materials in magazines (our bowyer no longer
carries staves or billets), I recently found a magazine I hadn't seen
before called _Traditional Bowhunter_ that seems to have tons of ads for
finished equipment and even some bow-making supplies! See if you can order
an issue from a good magazine stand or bookseller if it's not easily
available in your area. Info is: _Traditional Bowhunter Magazine_, P.O.
Box 15583, Boise ID 83715, Ph (208) 888-4710 after 6 pm MST. I couldn't
find an ISBN # in it.
Galen writes:
>should this pressure to get traditional equipment be made part of an archery
>ranking or awards system?
I certainly agree not. If an area gets to the point were a large number of
people have traditional equipment, set up a seperate catagory if you feel
the need, but don't regulate people out of playing. IMO I consider ranking
systems unnecessary, but that's neither here nor there. I'm a poor archer
and know it, but rankings could someday be used to prevent entry into
competitions and therefore take some of the fun away for us perpetual low
score dwellers.
The 'Traditional Bowyer's Bible' that Galen mentioned is a great book that
I need to get for my own library, and should be a welcome addition to any
Baronial/Shire libraries out there.
Thanks for listening, Jehan
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: John, R., Edgerton <sirjon at waffle.sns.com>
Subject: Re: Archery info needed!!
Keywords: archery, bows,arrows
Organization: Systems'n'Software, Fremont, CA 94539-6669
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 94 20:03:03 PST
ni-ten at wship.nullnet.fi (Esa Kivel{) writes:
> Unto all gentles does Lord Kimura no Esashi, Kinght-Marshal of
> Aarnimetsa does greetings.
>
> Well we have some memberes in our shie here who are interested in
> archery. Where we get some info how to build bows and arrows etc? All
> info are welcomed.
>
> If somebody knows something about it, he/she can also send private email
> to me, thank you.
>
> Lord Kimura no Esashi
> ni-ten at wship.nullnet.fi
>
> Esa Kivela
> Kaskitie 6
> 04400 Jarvenpaa
> FINLAND
There are two excellent books currently in print that
would be a good reference to the begining bowyer. They are:
Tfhe traditional Bowyer's Bible vol. 1 and vol.2. They can be
ordered through Bois dArc Press. (817) 237-0829. Or you might
find some of the larger book stores and through a book search
through your local libary. I would also reconmend the FAQs on
the Alt.Archery board here on Internet.
There are two good magizines on the stands that would
be of help too. The Traditional Bowhunter which has a few articles
on bow making (208)888-4710. The other is the Primitive Archer,
this is the better of the two for the bowyer interested in making
their own self(all wood) bows or arrows. (409)632-8746.
Good luck with your bow making
Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf John R. Edgerton
Esfenn,Mists,West Newark, California
sirjon at waffle.sns.com (John, R., Edgerton)
Systems'n'Software
Free Public Access Internet BBS
(510)623-8652
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Bow making
Date: 18 Apr 94 11:37:31
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
>I am trying to make a working bow and not having much luck. For the moment I'm
>trying the standard longbow but am open to the Meare Heath flat bow. I'm in
>school so not much money for materials (there is a place in TX that sells
>billets for bows but they start at $60.00. If I can even make one out of
>rattan, I will sacrifice my glaive.
Do you have access to any supplies of wood at all? My boyfriend made a
boughstave bow from hazel, it wasn't the best bow in the world, but it
was shootable and quite fun to make. Where I live the trees in the
hedgerows and parks get trimmed fairly regularly, and sometimes whole
branches are hacked off, the gardeners are overjoyed when someone
wants to take away one of the branches because it's less for them to
move. Also every time there's a gale it's possible to get large
branches that have fallen off trees.
for bough stave bows, green wood is easier to work and O.K. to use, so
you don't need to spend ages seasoning as you wood for a heartwood
stave.
Many hardwoods will work as bow wood, the boughs tend to be more
springy than the trunk, so after a while your bow will start to follow
the string, i.e. it will become permanently curved and will be weaker.
The good news is that this is offset by the fact that the bow gets
stronger as the wood seasons, so if you don't leave the bow strung for
a long time you should end up with something as strong as when you
started or better.
I'm a great fan of bough stave bows, they are good for a beginning
bowyer as you don't have to risk wasting expensive sapwood. They are
also an authentic medieval bow that isn't seen a lot today. I've got a
little booklet on them with details of how to make them which is
published by an archeological trust, it only costs about $3 email me
if you want any more details, and I can post you a summary of what's
involved in making one.
Jennifer/Rannveik
Vanaheim Vikings
From: jimle at autodesk.com (Jim Lester)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Bow making
Date: 18 Apr 1994 20:33:44 GMT
Organization: Autodesk, Inc.
jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray) writes:
>I am trying to make a working bow and not having much luck. For the moment I'm
>trying the standard longbow but am open to the Meare Heath flat bow. I'm in school
>so not much money for materials (there is a place in TX that sells billets for bows
>but they
>start at $60.00. If I can even make one out of rattan, I will
>sacrifice my glaive.
Try rattan ( but don't sacrifice your glaive a 6ft length should only cost ~$12
). I read an article in Primitive Archer that said that rattan was a pretty
good bow wood: Easy to work With, and Shoots fairly fast. If you want I can
dig up the article and get the contact person or any details that you want.
Also Bittercreek Bow Works ( Is this the place that you are talking about )
will sell practice staves for $10, these are smaller than the good staves, but
most of them will produce usable bows ( I have two practice staves and a good
stave sitting on my back porch waiting for my drawknife an spokeshave ).
BTW I have often thought about making a rattan bow backed with duct tape for
use in light-fighting ;-)
Chrodegang der Zaunschlager
Caldarium, Mists, West
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: n9010999 at honeydew.cc.wwu.edu (David Balbirona)
Subject: Re: Bow making
Organization: Western Washington University
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 22:26:09 GMT
Greetings to all who read this missive,
The construction of period bows can be made from a variety of modern woods
at a great deal less than most people would guess. An excellent book on
the topic is "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible". I would highly recommend
it to any and all gentles who have an interest in the construction of
bows. The book covers all aspects of the construction from searching for
the right tree to making arrows for the bow.
One suprising thing you might find is that extremely good quality bows can
be made using kiln-dried lumber from the hardware store. That makes the
price of learning go down dramatically since the beginning bowyer will
typically break his or her first few bows. It becomes easy to understand
that one might learn a great deal more from the construction process of
several bows (made inexpensively) than worrying continually in hopes that
one of the last few passes of the draw knife over your $60+ yew stave is
going to cause it to self destruct the first time it is fully drawn.
There is also a surprising number of wood species that make wonderful bow
woods. In addition to yew, osage orange, and lemon wood, here is a brief
list of some other acceptible bow woods:
elm, ash, oak, birch, hickory, black locust,walnut,cedar,juniper,
mulberry, maple( hard rock or sugar(same thing)),vine maple (often
called the new yew), purpleheart, goncalo alves.
Some of these are hard woods and some are white woods. Bear in mind that
the properties of some of the woods make them naturally suitable to either
english longbow or flatbow (another period style bow). Basically that
means that you should know what type of bow you want to make and then pick
a wood suitable to the bow type you want to make.
Another good source of information is a magazine called "The Primitive
Archer". This is published quarterly and worth its weight in bowstaves.
I hope this has been of some help to those interested in the art and
science of Bowyering.
--Yeoman Alisdair MacEwan
Kingdom Protector of AnTir (light combat champion)
David Balbirona
n9010999 at henson.cc.wwu.edu
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Bow making
Date: 21 Apr 94 15:10:14
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
>Would you be so kind as to post the source of your booklet.
>I would like to obtain one of these. My thanks.
The title of the booklet is "MAKING THE BOUGHSTAVE LONGBOW" by Don
Adams
The front page gives the following information:
**********************************************
Published 1988 by Friends of Lincoln
Archaeological research and Excavation
Sessions House
Lindum Road
Lincoln LN2 1PB
ISBN 0 946853 05 3
copyright Don Adams 1988
**********************************************
The address given is in the U.K. so it may be difficult for people in
the U.S.A. to obtain.
If anyone really wants a copy and can't get one where they are send
me some private email and I'll see about doing a swap for a U.S.
magazine or something else that's easy to get there and awkward to get
here.
Jennifer/Rannveik
Vanaheim Vikings
From: jearley at aol.com (J EARLEY)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Yew Bows (was Re: Composite Bows (was Water Buffalo Horn))
Date: 23 Nov 1994 19:40:12 -0500
millsbn at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Bruce Mills) writes:
Yew is an extremely slow growing tree, and the yews in front of your house
are probably ornimental yews. Pacific yew works just fine for bows. In
the Middle ages, they liked yew from spain and italy. Yew is sometimes
available as a by product in logging, but has become difficult to obtain
because of its use in cancer treatment has made the bark valuable, and
over harvesting has occurred. It is a fairly substantial tree when old.
James Greyhelm
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: maclure at eos.arc.nasa.gov (IanMaclure)
Subject: Re: Composite Bows (was Water Buffalo Horn)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 00:12:43 GMT
jearley at aol.com (J EARLEY) writes:
> SPADGET at ssf4.jsc.nasa.GOV (Padget, Scott) writes:
>Well, he asks about substitutes for water buffalo horn. There is a bow
>maker in Berkeley names Tim, not in the SCA, who makes recurve sinew, horn
>and wood composites. He is a master worker. ( I have a yew long bow from
>him.) He would know if there was anything that would work. James Greyhelm
That would be Tim Baker.
He is recognized as an authority on the design and construction of traditional
bows of the North American persuasion and probably knows a good deal about
ancient archery worldwide. I took a class from him one weekend at the range
in Pacifica.
About a year ago, he was at the "Maya" shoot in Roseville with a
gentleman from Bosnia who had constructed a Turkish style composite bow.
As luck would have it an unrecontructed Turk ( in period ) happened to
wander by and shot the bow as it would have been done in period.
Most interesting.
The price I heard being discussed was around $800 for the bow.
IBM
--
################ No Times Like The Maritimes, Eh! ######################
# IBM aka # Ian_Maclure at QMGATE.arc.nasa.gov (desk) #
# Ian B MacLure # maclure at (remulak/eos).arc.nasa.gov (currently) #
########## Opinions expressed here are mine, mine, mine. ###############
From: jearley at aol.com (J EARLEY)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Composite Bows (was Water Buffalo Horn)
Date: 24 Nov 1994 15:05:10 -0500
maclure at eos.arc.nasa.gov (IanMaclure) writes:
'Tim would be Tim Baker' Yeah, that is the guy. He is an amazing bowyer.
I watched him make a bow for my daughter from an untrimed stave in 20
minutes! It was a good bow, too. Tim was working on turkish bows about
four years ago when I moved from Berkeley. I haven't seen him since.
James
From: IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu (I. Marc Carlson)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: re: Osage Orange for Bows
Date: 29 May 1995 17:43:09 -0500
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
>From: "-Otto,M.R." <motto at usgp4.ih.att.com>
>I am putting out the word to all serious bowyers.
>I have in my new backyard a very large, very old, and dying Osage Orange
>tree. I have heard that wood of this type is highly prized for bow making.
>I am interested in assuring that the wood, if usable for bows, is not
>wasted. Thus, I am seeking contact with SERIOUS bowyers who have the means
>for harvesting the tree for the wood. Please respond via email. Thank you.
Greetings, Madam. I appreciate that you asked to be replied to via
e-mail, but then again although I have worked with Bois d'Arc (aka
Osage Orage) I'm not what you would ever call a SERIOUS bowyer :)
Since the few serious bowyers I *do* know of don't have email access,
I will pass the word onto them and get back to you. I wish you luck
on your response. If I may suggest, though, should no one get in touch
with you, when you cut the tree down seal the ends of the logs. As it
dries, Bois d'Arc tends to "fray" very badly, and simply smearing
some glue on each end and letting it dry can slow this down until
you can find someone to take the log(s) off your hands.
"Mihi Satis Apparet Propter Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn
Se Ipsum Appetenda Sapientia" University of Northkeep
-- St. Dunstan Northkeepshire, Ansteorra
(I. Marc Carlson/IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu)
From: kay at unx.dec.com (Paul Kay)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.games.frp.misc,alt.magnus.and.ketil
Subject: Re: The Making of a Longbow
Date: 7 Jun 1995 20:47:42 GMT
Organization: UNIX Software Group, Digital Equipment Corp.
djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt) writes:
> [Hal posting from Dorothy's account....]
> In article <KETIL.95May21051505 at jotun.vestnett.no>,
> Ketil Z <ketil at vestnett.no> wrote:
> >
> >I've always wanted to make a longbow, if only to see if it really
> >*can* penetrate armor, and I think I might get hold of some nice
> >and straight six feet of yew - all I need is the recipe.
>
> It's a bit more complex than *that*. Find any decent archery
> book (especially if written before about 1950) and it'll have
> full directions for making longbows.
I gotta second Hal here. I had a book from the Michigan State Library on
the history and making of Engish bows (and arrows). It was publishe early
this century. I remember this because the book had the impreture of the
Michigan Agriculture College Library. I am not sure it is still in the
stacks, it wasn't in the last catalogue search I did. They probably moved
it to the rare book section.
(NB: Micigan State University went from Micigan Agricultural College to
Micigan State College in the 20's or 30's).
It is a good book, written by a boyer. It goes into detais of woods, tools
and finishes used for a modern longbow. It includes a digression into his
making a balista as an apprentice and the making of cedar and oak arrows.
As well as the making of "modern" bows, he claimed that the modern bows have
a different limb. Before about 250 years ago, the limb had a uniform D
cross-section that led in a straight taper from the grip to the limb tip,
as opposed to the modern style that has a sharp taper near the grip and
then a gradual taper to the limb tips. He also claimed that the
inovation of limb shape added cast to the bow so that a modern 80 pounder
had the cast of an old style 100 pound bow.
Sorry to be so vague. I guess I always thought I'd be in college back when
I read the book. If any one knows of this book, please let me know. (Gavin
Kilkenny heard a mundane friend and I discussing this book and offered my
friend money if he could find his uncle's copy. I did, too. :-))
On the otherhand, I am not sure how much good Toxophilia would do, but is is
in many rare book collections. :*)
Bart the Bewildered
Carillion, East
--
Paul Kay kay at unx.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation sysv::kay
Manalapan, NJ (UNX) (908) 577-6076 (DTN 462)
From: gdwgames at aol.com (GDW GAMES)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.games.frp.misc,alt.magnus.and.ketil
Subject: Re: The Making of a Longbow
Date: 11 Jun 1995 12:31:07 -0400
Robert Hardy's book "The Longbow" contains a chapter on how to select
woods, what tools are needed, and how to go about making a more or less
traditional English longbow. The latest edition contains a chapter on the
bows recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose.
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: DDFr at Midway.UChicago.edu (David Friedman)
Subject: Re: Crossbows and a Question
Organization: University of Chicago Law School
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 05:24:20 GMT
> b: What sort of glue may be used that is flexible enough to use for
> compound bows?
>
> "Mihi Satis Apparet Propter Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn
My memory of the literature on hand bows of the same general construction
is that they used a fish glue. You might check Paterson and Lathem's
translation of Taybugha (I think it is called _Mameluke Archery_ but I
might be misremembering).
--
david/Cariadoc
DDFr at Midway.UChicago.Edu
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: eadengle at jeeves.uwaterloo.ca (Edmund "Cynwrig" Dengler)
Subject: Re: Crossbows and a question
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 20:41:46 GMT
I am 90 percent certain that Yumi uses modern glues in the manufacture of
his longbows, however I wouldn't be too surprised to find out that he
knew of sources for hide glue or fish glue. As an archery marshal, I
would recommend you use a modern equivalent if you are going to shoot the
weapon regularly as opposed to having it as a display piece. The problem
with the period glues is that they were hydroscopic, they absorb water
easily and weaken. So especially in the case of a crossbow which is
under constant tension, the glue may fail after a time. If you do go
with the period glue on a laminated limb, you might want to wrap it in
leather or sinew in case it does give way.
Remember, bow failure was also quite period.
Rufus of Stamford
(posted through Ed Dengler)
From: derek.broughton at onlinesys.com (DEREK BROUGHTON)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: re: Crossbows and a question
Date: Sat, 01 Jul 95 10:38:00 -300
Organization: Online Systems Of Canada
imc at vax2.utulsa.edu (i. marc carlson) wrote:
IM>A fish glue, eh? Ah well, more delightful aromas with which to entice
IM>the neighborhood. Can you (or anyone) suggest a source for such a
IM>thing, as I would prefer to try it and see what it's supposed to do
IM>before I try and make it myself. Barring that, have you (or anyone
IM>else) a source for a decent Hide glue?
Lee Valley Tools Phone: (613)596-0350
P.O. Box 6295, Station J (800)668-1807
Ottawa, ON, Canada Fax: (800)267-8767
K2A 1T4
Sells Hide glue, I don't know about fish glues. I don't know if
the 800 numbers will work from the states. They have absolutely
the best money-back guarantees I've ever had the chance to take
advantage of.
Coryn llith Rheged | Canton of Wessex Mere
mka Derek Broughton | Barony of Ramshaven
derek.broughton at onlinesys.com | Principality of Ealdormere
| Middle Kingdom
From: Richard Smiley <rsmiley at quiknet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Bowmaking
Date: 6 Sep 1995 18:44:23 GMT
Stephen Fraser <sunfire at muskoka.com> wrote:
>Excuse my ignorance, but I'm wondering if some of the more experienced
>bowyers could answer a few questions for me. I'm just starting out in
>the craft and would like to confirm a few suspicions.
>
>1) Is vine maple aalso called soft maple?
>
>2) Though poplar is technically a hardwood, I gather it cannot be used
>for making bows ... am I right?
>
>3) Can anyone suggest the _best_ method to split staves from a tree?
>
>Stephen of Two Falls,
>St. Nicholas, Ealdormere, MK
You are going to want to use one of the tried and true woods for making
bows and that would be yew or osage orange. They are a little hard to
find depending on where you live. Other bowyers may be using other
woods but these are the ones that keep coming up. Ideally you want the
stave to be half heartwood and half sapwood which, I think, works like
laminations would in modern bows.
To split staves from a tree the best tool is called a froe. It would be
easier for you to look it up in a library than for me to describe it or
do some ASCII art. With this tool you can get a very controled split by
starting it with a mallet and then using it as a lever to continue the
split. If the split starts to "run-out" on you you can bend one half
or the other to get it to straighten out again. I can't remember which
side you would bend. Woodcraft supply has froes for about $40 but a
perfectly good one can be made from the leaf spring of a car.
Malcolm MacPherson, OL
West Kingdom
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.games.frp.misc,alt.magnus.and.ketil
From: sirjon at netcom.com (John Edgerton)
Subject: Re: The Making of a Longbow
Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 19:35:18 GMT
Ketil Z (ketil at vestnett.no) wrote:
: I've always wanted to make a longbow, if only to see if it really
: *can* penetrate armor, and I think I might get hold of some nice
: and straight six feet of yew - all I need is the recipe.
: I *know* there was an article in Scietific American a few years ago,
: describing the construction of a thing like this, does anybody have
: a reference, either to
: o this article (issue of SciAm)
: o an index or home page for SciAm where I can search
: o the name/email adress of the author(s) (Yep, I'll even pester
: them electronically if all other roads appear closed :-)
: o other good sources
: I've tried to look for the SCA home page at quasar.unm.edu, but I can't
: seem to get through. I promise to share all my experiences with this
: project with you, the Net. Thanks in advance,
: -kZ
*************************
Other good sources.
*********
BOOKS AND VIDEOS FOR THE BOWYER
compiled from
Traditional Bowhunter & Primitive Archer Magazines
June 1994
by
Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf
Cherokee Bows and Arrows, by Al Herrin. 160 pages, 94 illustrations.
$14.95. White Bear Publishing, Dept TB, Rt 3, Box 172, Tahlequah OK, 74464
The Art of Making Primitive Bows, by D.C. Waldorf. $9.00 plus $2.00
shipping. Free list of other archery books available. Sylvan
Publications, P.O. Box 1315, Hamilton, MT 59840.
Traditional Bowyers Bible, vol. 1 $19.95, vol 2 $22.95, vol 3 $24.95.
$3.50 shipping per order. Bois dArc Press, P.O. Box 233, Azle TX,
76098. (817) 237-0829.
Primitive Archer. Magazine with many excellent articles on self bow and
arrow making. 1 year for $14.00. P.O. Box 209, Lufkin, TX, 75902-0209.
(409) 632-8746.
Traditional Bowhunter. Magazine with longbow and recurve information,
hunting and some how to articles. 1 year for $16.00. P.O Box 15583, Bosie
Idaho, 83715. (208) 888-4710.
The Bent Stick. By Paul Comstock. 40,000 word manual on making self
bows from common trees. $11.00. Paula Comstock, P.O.Box 1102, OH, 43105.
Creative Media. Video and manual on how to make a laminated longbow.
Free info., 11358 Aurora, Des Monies, Iowa, 50322. (515) 278-8213.
For the First Time Bowyer. Information on self bow construction. $8.95
plus $2.00 shipping. Bitter Creek Bow Works, P.O. Box 203, Lufkin, TX,
75902-0203.
The Art of Making Indian Bows & Arrows. By Phil Walking Elk. Covers the
construction of Indian self bows and Dogwood arrows. $14.95 plus $2.00
shipping. Wolf Vision Publications, Box 6575, Norman OK, 73070-6575.
Arrow Making by Paul Brunner. Video covers construction of custom wood
and aluminum arrows, feather splicing. $14.95 and $2.00 shipping.
Stoney-Wolf Video Productions, P.O.BOX 459, Lolo, MT, 59847. 1- 800-
237-7583.
Traditional Bowhunters Crafts. Video. Covers creating quality wood
arrows, footing wood arrows, and crafting strings. $25.95 plus $4.00
shipping. Butlers Field Sports, 100 8th st., Evanston, WY, 82930. (309)
789-4982.
The Primitive Bow & Arrow. Video and book. By John and Gerri
McPherson. Covers construction of self bows and dogwood arrows using only
simple tools. Information on use of green wood in bow construction.
$29.95 Ppd. Prairie Wolf, P.O. Box 96, Dept. TB, Randolph, KS 66554.
******************
The updatedlist of arrow, billet and stave and bowyers for this year
should be complete in about a week.
Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf, Keeper of the IKAC And IKCAC
Esfenn, Mists, West
John R. Edgerton, Newark, California
From: "Dana J. Tweedy" <tweedyd at emh1.pa.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Basic archery question
Date: Sat, 01 Jun 1996 23:31:50 -0700
yacko wrote:
> OK Archers... whats the difference between billets and staves, or is there..
>
> i.e. what do I need to get my first 'close to period' or period bow/ long
> bow????
>
> There's a long list of people who sell billets and staves off of the SCA WWW
> page (Current middle ages Server) but not much on explanation of parts etc...
>
> What are the differences?
>
> TIA,
> yacko
> yacko at mint.net
The difference is mostly technical. Staves are used to make a self-bow
i.e. a bow in one piece, billets are usually two shorter pieces that are
spliced together, usually at the handle in order to make a bow. If you
are interested in bow making, try the series "The Traditional Bowyer's
Bible" Vol.s 1-3, published by Bois de Arc press.
Karl Rasmussen of Tvede AOA CSC
OPA(Out of Practice Archer)
From: dervish at ogre.demon.co.uk (Pip Sullivan)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: archery assistance, please...
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 1996 08:34:37 GMT
ailith at cannet.com at cannet.com wrote:
>Is there a special varnish that is used on bows? I should think that regular
>varnish would craze and crack as soon as one strings and pulls the bow.
I've always used yacht varnish on new bows, but have no idea if this
would be appropriate for an old bow...
Pip Sullivan
Somerset, UK
From: kebail at pop.uky.edu (kelvin bailey)
To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 1996 22:11:41 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Bow making
Found your site on the web while browsing. I'm not a commercial bowyer but
have built about a dozen bows of various types. I've broken a few and gave
away a few and kept a couple.
I really recomend two books for beginning
bowyers, The Bent Stick by Paul Comstock and Cherokee bows by Al Herrin
they helped me the most. I'm currently shooting an Osage flat bow that I
built about 5 years ago. It's unbacked and oiled and shoots like a dream. I
also built a short hickory flat bow that was fast as greased lightning but
stacked like hell. I truely believe that there are a miriad of woods that
make great bows and would never spend a large amount of money to build one.
I had a Black Locust bow that was blindingly fast to shoot until I allowed
a compound shooter to over draw it (after about 25-30 hours of work it's
sort of sickening to hear one break)(sounded like a gun shot going off).
Flat bows are much more forgiving to build and I'd put a good cherokee flat
bow up against an equivilent weight english long bow any day(I really don't
think one is particularly better but I've got as much conection to my
Cherokee and Chocktaw heritage as my English). Until you can handle a draw
knife well stay away from yew. Hickory and ash are pretty much available
anywhere and you can even use a hickory board if you must (elm is supposed
to be less likely to split also). In response to the person saying to use a
mixture of heart wood and sapwood... while that is true of yew, if you do
that with osage you will waste your time. Most hardwood bows are made of
heartwood esp Osage, sasafrass, persimon, walnut, mulberry etc. By the way
osage and mulberry are close relatives. Any way you just work down the
sapwood to one of the early heart wood growth rings and that is your back.
I also recomend that after you season the wood rough out the stave that you
oil the wood with something (Cherokee bowyers use Bear grease) Bacon fat
and lard works well as does most vegetable oil. I've not broken a bow since
I started oiling them (yes I have broken backed bows).
Hope this helps someone.
Kel
Walton Sumner
Univ of KY
Dept of Family Practice
wsumner at pop.uky.edu
From: DDFr at Best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: recurve bows
Date: Fri, 29 Nov 1996 22:48:31 -0800
Organization: School of Law, Santa Clara University
I don't know how early the first recurves are or whether the Homeric greeks
used any form of recurve, although my guess would be not. But they are
period by a very large margin. I am reasonably certain the Parthians used
recurves, and recurves are shown in lots of medieval illustrations.
Taybugha, writing in (I think) the 14th century, gives fairly detailed
information on how they are constructed.
David/Cariadoc
From: "Dana J. Tweedy" <tweedyd at emh1.pa.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: recurve bows
Date: Fri, 29 Nov 1996 19:01:45 -0800
Courtney/Jacob wrote:
> oops the first part of my recurve post was lost. It just asked when
> Recurve bows were first used and mentioned Homer's Oddesey.
> Jacob
The origin of the Asiatic Composite bow (which is a recurve
design) is probably lost to history. There is some indication that they
originated in the near east, in an area where trees were not abundant.
In area where trees were plentiful, people made do with the less
powerful, but much cheaper and easier to produce longbow. The composite
bow is made of wood, horn and sinew and takes a skilled bowyer a year or
more to produce one. It's great advantage is it is shorter, easier to
handle from horseback, and more powerful, pound for pound of pull than
the longbow.
In period the recurve bow was used by most Asian cultures that
used a bow, as well as some that were in contact with them, such as
Russian, and Byzantine. Most Europeans used the longbow, for above
stated reasons, or the crossbow. Illustrations in peroid sometimes show
the recurve bows, probably because they were copying ancient Greek art
styles. It is not inconcievable that some Europeans learned to make
composite bows, or aquired them in trade, or warfare. Composite bows are
also notoriously finicky about weather conditions, and in the cool, damp
of northern Europe the water based glues used would have probably broken
down. Longbows could be made much faster, and if kept properly, lasted
longer in the climate. Therefore it is unlikely the Recurve bow ever
made much inroads in military or sporting bows in Europe
In current times, the Recurve bow, with it's composite made up of
fairly impervious Fiberglass pretty much replaced the longbow for sport
hunting in the 1940's and 50's. In much the same way, the Compound bow
replaced the Recurve in the 1970's and 80's.
Karl Rasmussen of Tvede
From: Rebekah and Chip <rinman at ucsd.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: recurve bows
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 21:50:27 -0800
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Jacob wrote:
> If the Greeks didn't use them, then when and where were
> the first used and would recurves be period?
Can't say when and where they were first used, but according to Kolias in
_Byzantinische Waffen_, the Byzantines used reflexed composite bows which
were introduced to them by the Huns in the fourth century AD/CE.
I have a footnote in another book which suggests "Roman Archery
Equipment," by J.C. Coulston in _The Production and Distribution of Roman
Military Equipment_, ed. M.C. Bishop, BAR International Series 275
(Oxford, 1985) 220-366 for information on the evolution and construction
of the late Roman bow. I haven't read the article or the series, so I
can't comment further on that source.
I don't know when that type of bow was first used in the west, but if
they didn't get them from the Huns around the same time as they came into
use in the east, surely the westerners would have come into contact with
them during the first crusade.
Chip
From: "Mike Underwood" <morgandracos at theshop.net>
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 22:34:40 -0500
Subject: Re: ANST - Measuring Bows
> or
>
> 2. I am shown that I can shoot just as far and accurately with a 28
> inch arrow and draw as with a 19 inch arrow and draw, both at 30
> lbs.
>
> M. DorŽ
Well, in refrence to the second comment you hit a wierd area involving
a often unheard of term called "bow stack", it is sometime refered as
how hard a bow is to draw.
A 30# bow (in modern standards) simply means that when pulled to 28"
the bow requires 30# to hold the string where it is. If you draw the bow
to 29" or more then there is no longer 30# required to hold the string
in place, it requires more. how much more depends in the "stack of the
bow". The same is true if you draw less.
A good example is the bow I shoot with everyday is a 50#bow at 28", but
at 30"(my standard draw) if to 60#. But the long bow I just purchased is
45# at 28" and 75# at 30". This is because of the different "stack" of the
bows.
Since the maximum range of the bow can be achieved by shooting at a
45degree angle (on flat land with no wind) the only that that can change
the range is the force that is pushing the arrow.
So if you shoot a bow that is rated 30# at 28" and draw it to 28" then the
arrow will fly a certian number of yards. If you take the same bow and
only draw it to 19" then the arrow will fly less yards, how much less it
determined by the stack.
Morgan Dracos
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 1997 13:12:19 -0700
From: Peter Dallman <Dallmanp at svg.com>
To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com
Subject: Midieval Archery
To Stephan le' Rous
From: The Black Rose
I have recently logged onto the internet. I found the conversations
regarding archery most enlightening. As a Master Bowyer specializing
in the longbow I have some insights into the area.
What is a Master Bowyer. Well, anyone who makes a few bows for
themselves or friends, say 4-5 is a bow maker. To become a bowyer
you must apprentice under a master. The apprentice will, fell trees,
split staves, wax the ends for curing, clean the shop. The journey man
will be taught which tree will make a good bow, how to select a stave,
how to repair a broken bow, sharpen then makr the tools and special
benches and start finnish bows. A modern bowyer must make at least
150 bows and "sell" them (usually per year), apprenticed under a
master, and submit a bow to the review of the societty of English
bowyers. I am an American master. I did not appreantice under an
English master, yet I frequently get e-mail from England with questions
about the art stargely enough. Most of the wood for making yew bows
comes from the West coast. The best American yewis Oregon
Cascade that comes from the 10,000 level. Thsi will yeild wood of .37
density, English yew is .54 and is by far superior to Amercan. I have a
small supply of real English yew suitable for bow making. I have made
3-4 of these real yew bows froma patterns I have obtained from the
Mary Rose Trust. Several English master bowyers were loaned bows
and ask to recreate these bows. They had just enough to make 2-3
bows from the real stuff. (My tree was 400 yrs old when it died and
was cut, I have 2/3rds of thsi lovely tree from Sherwood). When they
made the bows from Oregon yew to the same dimensions they were
30# under those same sized from the E-yew. Let me tell you nothing in
this world shoots like this wood---nothing. It is the best, and a joy to
carve. To make bows from this wood is an experience unmatched,
then to shoot them!!!!!!!!!!!! The color the richness of texture is
undescribable. But I digress. I am submitting work to the society this
fall in hopes of admission. Read the fisrt issue of Instinttive Archer
where in Roy King (Bowyer to the Mary Rose Trust) describes the
making of these bows and the worlds strongest archer, Simon Stanley
and his bow the Leopard -165# at draw/30" best distance 370yds and
shoots a 1,500 grain arrow!
Much of what was lost is regained when you start to make bows and
arrows yourself. There are also arrow makers and Fletchers. Arrow
makers buy shafts and glue precut feathers and points and assemble
them. A Master Fletcher (also part of being a master bowyer is being a
master fletcher) carves his own shafts by hand, can foot them, trim
feathers (not so easy) mount and tie as well as make his own points. I
made a set of walnut shafts footed with yew, Ivory inserted knocks,
goose feather, silk tied, with 6" bodkins and matching bow for the new
Disneyland Midieval display.
As to the quiver and leather disc. The 24 hole leather dis is only a part
of a larger quiver. The quiver is cone shaped with the top the size of
the disc circumference tapering to a point at the bottom 31' long. It had
a drwastring at both end. The bottom 3' was leather with threst of the
bag heavy canvass or linen. You draw the bottom tight and the palce
the knocks into the leather disc. The arrows and disc were then palce
in the bag and a woven disc the size of the leather one was palced on
top and then the drawstring pulled tight. This protected the knock ends,
kept the arrows seperated protecting the feathers and they didn't rattle
aorund when stalking. The bag wasn't all leather because it it dried
faster than soggy leather and did't warp your arrows. The same held
tru fro the matching cloth leather bottomed bow case. Longbows
didn't ahve leather handles on them beacuse this would get wet, stay
wet, and damage the bow! To draw and arrow, loosen the bottom
drawstring and pull it out by the tip. It is a very fast draw case as it is
worn tip up at the waist. I make these and sell them complete for 35$,
with matching bowcase 55$. English longbows, all wood, any
poundage 110$. Authentic arrow with hand ground period points, tied
feathers, matched---55$. No waiting at the moment. I carry complete
sets of everything, authentic cowhorn tipped English yew longbows to
the Mary Rose pattern.
About fish glue. It is made from the bladder of cetain asiatic fishes.
You boil down the bladders. The Koreans have been shooting this
style of bow fro 2000 yrs and it id the No. 1 natinal sport to thsi day.
The targets are set at 158 yds. 45 arrow rounds/ 5 per group/ 25
arrows out of 45 is 1 degree black belt, 45/45 is 9th dan. There are
two out of 750,000 practicing archers. I am the Vice-President of the
Society of Hwarang Archers in the US. I can award rank. I have 3
tapes that will show you step-by-step in real time how to make an
asiatic horn bow and arrows by a Korean Master. You better like bow
making to watch these tapes.
Peter Dallman
(714) 557-6621
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 16:35:18 -0400
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
Organization: Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, and the GDH
To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com
Subject: You may combine this if you wish with your Florilegium
Volume 5, Issue 4 of Primitive Archer, which I just received in the
mail, is to be on sale until January l998. Inside it contains an
analysis and well illustrated construction details of a six
generation old Mongolian Bow and arrows. There are over 50 individual
drawings and photographs which in any event make this article quite
exceptional.
Primitive Archer may be reached:
http://www.pioneerpc.com/primitivearcher
(409) 632-8746
As always this magazine far outpaces its competition in any kind of
how to articles and is the best buy on the market in that regard.
If you combine this article with my postings below on sources
you should be able to come up with everything but yak bone which
you can substitute for.
M. Magnus Malleus, Elvegast, Windmasters' Hill, Atlantia
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:24:40 -0500
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG, sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
Subject: ANST - Viking Bows
The following website belongs to a fellow who is making traditional bows in
Viking Age fashion. I have no other information available about this
gentleman, but I thought I'd pass the info along for those who may be
interested.
http://www.forum.no/home/tomalfred/
Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 09:40:30 -0500
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
Organization: Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, and the GDH
To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com
Subject: Oriental Bows for Sale Site
Bows by Kassai
Sold out of Madison, Wisc. by SCA members.
http://soe.hyperchat.com/newchat/u/kethry/~soe/bowpag~1.htm
You might also check DLDRURY at aol.com for similar bows here in NC.
That would be Zada, an old member of our Barony of Windmasters'
Hill.
M. Magnus Malleus
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 18:06:47 -0500
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
Organization: Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, and the GDH
To: whitebard at mayo-ireland.ie, markh at risc.sps.mot.com, ddfr at best.com
Subject: Please use this one II, having one of those days here / Updated a bit.
Permission granted to republish_within_the SCA, or Great Dark Horde,
But OFF the Rialto. Copyright 1997 by R.M.Howe. Specifically sent for
use by Stephan's Florilegium, Cariadoc, or Ioseph of Locksley if they
so desire it. SCA lists only, thank you. Magnus.
Asiatic Bows, Books and Resources
For those looking for information on Oriental Composite Bows:
On checking Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com
if you enter the search area under archery you will find the
most recent printing of Turkish Archery by Paul Klopsteg,
Hardcover 1993 This was a rare book until this reprinting and
it will show you how to shoot your asiatic bow with the thumb
ring technique. It is ISBN# 1564160939 and the price is $39.95
plus shipping at 1-800-The-Book. Note: this is a very limited
edition from Derrydale Press - I think it was about 1200 copies.
Prior to this the book was very hard to come by and expensive.
Klopsteg was no lightweight. He was a genius who engineered a
great deal for the U.S. Govt in Both World Wars and after.
He discovered and wrote about much of the dynamics of archery
as we know it today. He died at the age of 104 about 3 years ago.
For those of you who may wish to have a similar bow but cannnot
find one there are some similarities in a western style
construction but mongolian shape. Try Alaska Frontier Archery,
P.O.Box 92089, Dept TB, Anchorage, AK 99509. (907)349-7249.
They have a very good looking Siberian Wolf Model that is a take-
down (it comes apart at the handle). 66" and 35 to 75 pounds.
Saxon Archery Manufacturing, P.O.Box 587, Potlatch, ID 83855,
(208) 875-0408 has a very pretty similar bow. They are well
noted for their high quality.
A little of making and shooting the asiatic recurve is touched
on in Archery - It's History and Techiniques, VHS tape from
Barnes and Noble.
Green Man Archery, 195 Buzzard Lagoon, Corralitos, CA 95076,
(408) 763-1976 has put out a VHS on the CHIVALRY OF ARCHERY,
The History, Techniques, and Spirituality of the Archer Knights,
Vol 1, An Introduction to the Masters of the East. $19.95
including shipping. Haven't seen it. Attractive address though.
Prairie Wolf, P.O.Box 96, Randolph, KS 66554 put out a video
in l993 called "How to" Construct the Asiatic Composite Bow by
Jeffrey Schmidt and John McPherson. 2 hrs. $39.95. Got excellent
trade reviews. Also another called The Primitive Bow and Arrow,
same authors, 2 hrs. $39.95 Then a book "Makin' Meat-1",
The Sinew Backed Bow & Arrow. A how to by the same authors.
48 pages, jammed with phlotos and information. No Secrets,
Just Physics.l $5.00
Oryx horns for those of you who are just dying to try this are
available from I.T.S. Cutlery 5900 Cassandra Smith Road, Hixson,
TX, 37343 (800) 548-9412 Average Length 32", 2' Diameter at
base, tapering to a point. Paired a closely as possible on
request.
There are many sources for sinew but a good one for Elk and
Buffalo sinew would be: Autumn Archery, 10151 Asbury Ave.,
Lakewood, CO 80227 (303) 980-9434.
Primitive Archer Magazine in volume 1, issue 2, had an
excellent article on How to Construct a Turkish Horn Bow by
Curtis Byrd.
Primiitive Archer Magazine Volume 5, issue 4, had an excellent
article on the Mongolian Bow by Tom Rodgers. The author does
an excellent job of analyzing and replicating a 300 year old
Mongolian bow with at least 50 measured and detailed drawings
and photos.
In November 1997 All back issues were still available
for $4.00 ea ($5 Canadian) from Primitive Archer,
P.O.Box 209, Lufkin, TX 75902-0209 (409) 632-8746 This is a
really excellent magazine for beginning and advanced bowyers.
The best there is.
Traditional Bowhunter Magazine had articles: A Shot From the
Past: Asiatic Recurve Models by Joe St. Charles in its
June/July '96 issue. It included the subarticle (long) called
Making Asiatic and Oriental Model Bows by Thomas H.Shorely who
has made about 75 of them, some out of aluminum, some out of
natural materials. Archers of the East by Jonathan Kessler in
the Oct/Nov '95 issue is an historical overview of a number
of cultures but also contains a verbal description of the
construction techniques. These may be obtained from:
Traditional Bowhunter Magazine. P.O.Box 15583, Boise, Idaho
83715 (208) 362-0325 $4 each, $4.50 Canadian.
Two excellent articles on Asiatic bows are contained in the
still obtainable Islamic Arms and Armour book edited by
Robert Elgood, London 1979. Scolar Press ISBN 0-85967-470-3,
About $100. The first is the chahar-kham or 'four-curved' bow
of India by Edward McEwen. First rate constructional depictions
of bow and arrow, photos, and description of materials and
construction. The second is Archery in the Lands of Eastern
Islam. (many mongols are now Islamic, depends on tribe and
country) By J.D.Latham and W.F. Paterson. This is primarily
history and shooting technique, including from horseback.
Master Magnus Malleus
Windmasters' Hill, Atlantia and the Great Dark Horde
From: RJ Bachner <ragiwarmbear at sympatico.ca>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Re: bowyer
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 08:07:39 -0400
Organization: Bell Sympatico
On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 13:41:11 +0100, Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com> stated with reckless abandon:
>> Oak and ash do OK for flatbows,
IN fact they do very well for flat bows in my experience. of course the difference between Europe and Canada probably affects this outcome.
They cannot be used for the typical English style longbow so it would have to be a flat bow.
>Ash, but not oak (IMHO)
>
>Oak is too stiff. You can make a drawable bow from it, just by making
>it thinner, but you then find that the bending forces on a drawn bow
>of typical form approach the breakage limit. It works for siege
>engine springbows, but not hand bows. IMHO.
I am not sure what you mean by this statement but what is a typical form? I make oak bows, 2 inches
wide near the handles and about 68 inches long. they work fine with minimal hand shock or set.
almost your standard, generic flatbow design.
A well designed bow has been said to be 9/10ths broken anyways so your statement can be seen as accurate but still misleading. I find they work well and though the first 7 bows I made failed in the making, the ones I have made since have all worked well and are shooting still.
>Ash is highly variable, and bow making from it requires you to find
>quick-grown straight-grained ash, and split it into staves whilst
>green. You won't buy a usable bowstave from a timber merchant.
This is again an almost truth, ash is a variable wood as is many woods but if you choose white ash, well the american white anyways, there may be others called white ash. then it makes a quite nice and pretty bow.
as for not getting a good bow stave from a dealer, well if you spend some time in his stacks, well you will I am sure find a board that has grain running the length of the piece that will make a nice'n. this is how I get all my bow wood.
as for the old rumor that kiln dried wood is inferior, well ignore it. this may have been the case in days of old when kiln drying was new, mistakes might have been more common but the quality of the product now a days is much better and if it has been over dried for the area you live in, let it set out of the rain for a couple of weeks. the wood will come to a local equilibrium and will be about
right for making a bow. make sure it is not on the ground or in the rain is all.
>AIUI, osage orange is just about the perfect bow making timber.
perfect???? hard and seriously expensive to get yer hands on unless you live near where it grows, it is almost never straight or free of pin knots.
Yes it makes a nice bow and has the physical properties a bow needs at its best but ash, oak or any of the other hardest woods will make a good bow if you adjust the design to it, and at a greatly reduced cost.
From: mikea at mikea.ath.cx (Mike Andrews)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: History of the Bow
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 17:04:17 +0000 (UTC)
DEBernardo <debernardo at aol.comnospam> wrote:
> There is an excellent history of the English longbow entitled (simply)
> "Longbow." Can't recall the author as I sit at the keyboard, but if you're
> really interested e-mail me and I'll actually get off my lazy butt and grab it
> off the shelf and provide more info. I believe I found it in a Borders.
Robert Hardy (yes, "Siegfried Farnon, the veterinarian") wrote a quite
particularly good book on the English longbow. I wonder if you're
thinking of that book.
And, of course, there are the three volumes of _The Traditional
Bowyer's Bible_, which, while more how-to and why-to, have a good deal
of history in them.
--
Mike Andrews / Michael Fenwick Barony of Namron, Ansteorra
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old music Laurel
<the end>