Self bows

Viking_hunter · 02-18-2005, 11:59 AM

Anyone know of a place where I can get a good book on making selfbows? I had one once and it went along with several of my other items, including an old Herters recurve bow, on a rummage sale that my ex-wife had. I want to build a selfbow for my stepdaughter. She really liked my Diablo recurve, but it is about double the poundage that she can really shoot with. I thought a nice Osage selfbow would make her day! I want to make her one, and her younger brother one. I remember about how you have to work the face down to the same layer so you don't get grain runout. I forget how to tiller and so on. I don't want to get a stave and ruin it on my first attempt. If I remember correctly the book also showed how to find staves on your own and what to look for rather than buying them. Could I possibly use ash or another wood? I read a really great article once about a guy that had found some awesome sheds while he was mowing his hayfield and it motivated him to make a selfbow. He ended up shooting that big buck with his selfbow. I think he may have even made his own arrows. I think the guy was from Ohio. That is my idea of the ultimate hunt. My kids are really showing an interest in archery and I want to get them hooked. Any help would be appreciated.

J_B · 02-26-2005, 11:51 PM

Stickbow.com has some good DIY articles. Also, The Traditional Bowyer's Bible is a 3 volume set that is a pretty good place to start.

AK · 02-27-2005, 02:50 AM

For building osage selfbows, there is no better book than Dean Torges', Hunting the Osage Bow".

http://www.bowyersedge.com/books.html

Volume 1 of the Bowyer's Bibles is also a great start, though it's geared more towards selfbow making in general with less emphasis on bows specifically from osage.

That one can be found on-line at 3 Rivers Archery or Kustom King Archery.

Arthur P · 03-09-2005, 04:39 PM

When I got back into making selfbows, I didn't want to mess up a good stave either so I started making bows from red oak boards. After making a few, I kinda like making board bows. The Ferret has a good website that walks you right through the process.

Women Outdoors has a lot of links to websites about making selfbows.

Another good selfbow website is run by George Tsoukalas