Bows & Arrows

Ok made this thread because im really intrested in primative weapons, and i have made 5 or 6 bows, and many arrows, it all started as just a play thing like im going to take this stick and string and make a bow, but i started to realize that i could make it better then just a bow that shoots a couple of feet, The wood i used for my staff of the bow was just pine branches, and the wood i used for arrows was simply, thorn bushes, or blackberry bushes, sometimes they grow straight, and make for very good arrows. So first you would need to find a staff, you would have to experiment with the materials readily at hand, has to be ridged, but it has to give. I remember reading somewere, that there are two types of bows, ones that use the flexibilty of the string to shoot the arrow (This is a bad bow) And one that uses the flexabilty of the wood of the staff (good bow). I started by making the bad bows, till i realized that my stretchy material just didn't have the spring, so i started experimentling with other types of line... included fishing line, hemp, cotton nylon, but i found a very odd one, the one that i liked, was weed wacker cord. This might not be avalible to you, but its not hard to get, if you don't have that, anything will do, i personally liked it because it could hold weight, and cut threw the air. So now that you have your staff, and your cord, its time to put them together, this is, if we are not going to cut the staff, in certain areas to make it more flexable, i started doing this a while after i started making bows, what i would do is find the middle of the staff, this could be done by measuring, also your staff should not be bent naturally, i found this is a weakness, it should be straight, with give. Now once you found your center, go three inches up, and 3 down, thats about 6 inches, this was what i found to be a good sized place to hold your bow. from there in both directions, start cutting away on one side of the staff, start out by the handle, cutting a little bit off at the handle, all the way down to the tip, and as you get to tip, you should be going deeper, when you get to tip you should be about 1/2 way or less threw the wood, this works well so it will not break easy. you do this on one side of the wood, on both sides of the 6 inch handle. I used a skill saw to do this, and im lucky i still have both my hands, there were many times were i almost lost them during this, i recommend a table saw to do this. now that you have your staff cut, there is one more thing needed to be added to it, your bow string, if there are any little noches, on the top or bottom, you can tie it above them, and that should keep it from slipping, or if you prefer, you can carve a small grove for the string to fit into, and tie it that way, also anouther method is to cut a line about 1 inch in on the end of both sides, and tie a knot on both sides of the string(bigger then the slots you cut, then put them through the slots, so the slots keep the knot on the outside, this should work. I personally made thge grooves but there is really no diffrence, now when your are bending the bow, at first, just bend it a little, and since your wood is probably wet, since it is flexable, just bend it a little bit, and tie the bow string, so its just pulling on the staff to start leaning over that way, then wait a night, maybe a day or two, then pull it some more and some more, and exentually, it should look like half an oblong oval, sort of like this (, with the string still holding onto it. Now for a couple side notes that i for got to mention above: According to my SAS Survival Handguide, your bow staff should be about 4 feet long, but match the size to the individual. "To determine the correct stave length for you : Hold one end of the stave at the hip with the right hand, reach out sideways with the left hand and mark how far you reach" Your left hand should be touching the stave at about the hieght of your head.Also the best staff types are: Yew, Hickory, Juniper, Oak, White Elm, Cedar, Ironwood, Birch, Willow and Hemlock.

Well im not sure but it should do fine here.And that was a lovly post NOD

yeah a very nice post, good ideas, good info, ill be trying it soon im sure..

natural bending aint a great way to do it.
I can't remember if this was correct or not, i have the memory of a goldfish atm, but:
Try wetting the wood, then putting it over a fire to harden it up, and bend it while doing so.
And with your arrows, gosh, uhm, i'd suggest fibreglass, or actually carving one by hand. And as for string, something VERY VERY VERY tight, and strong.
You also don't want to have any wood you use dry, cos they will splinter like a mother fker. Once you've bent it using the flame process, use some raw linseed oil on it (we use it on cricket bats so yea)

Has anyone thought of using osmthing else like PVC or copper or steel or somthing instead of wood?

PVC needs to be heat moulded to maintain its shape, same as metal, either that, or mandrel bent