Becoming Bowyer
 

I am interested in building my own bows. I also was wondering if I should start with a kit that just needs tillering? I am good with my hands and very attentive to detail.

It can be a lot of fun and be frustrating at the same time.

If you like you can come up here and use my shop to build one from scratch. Just pay for materials and electricity.

I'm new to this endeavor myself. I started a couple of years ago - broke a lot of sticks and then laid off until recently when time opened up for me. I still broke a bunch more bows - learning all the time and reading as much as I could (recommend "The Bowyer's Bible, 3 volumes in paperback. Get volume one at least.)
Within the last month I have completed my first two bows that have held together. One is from Black Locust - 64" and 50lbs at 28". The second was finished two days ago - Osage Orange, 62" and about 45lbs at 26".
I had a cherry wood bow virtually done, 66" rawhide backed, tillered well (or so I thought), nice looking bow. Broke on the fourth shot - one limb just cracked in half.
Made a mistake somewhere.
Get yourself some wood and some hand tools. Make the thing from scratch. You'll learn more.
Pete

If building selfbows, read Dean Torges book first. Then read traditional bowyers bible vol1. All 4 volumns are helpful but vol 1 is best for starters.

You can order blanks from several sources that just need tillered and finished. If still interested I can point you to a few bowyers who sells them.

If you are interested fiberglass bows, then I would go with the bingham videos. Trad bowyers bibles help a little but are more geared to all wood bows.

Just jump in. You can start with a kit, or you can go with a simple oak board bow that is easy, quick, and requires almost no tools. It will help you understand the tillering process. If you want to avoid the headache of tillering, you can always jump into the glass lam bows. Much easier to finish. The issue is in the glue up. But that issue is with any bow period. All depends on how froggy you want to get.

Feeling like a good oh Bull Frog. Gonna jump in with both feet.

Gonna start with red oak with a red cedar handle backed with mess drywall tape.

Not a bad start. Just pick out the right board, and get a design and start cutting. Be sure to show picks of the tillering progress. Always good to get fresh eyes looking.

Well the Bow is roughed in and have the riser glued on. I will get a tiller tree built tom. LOL Here is a pic of bow as is.

68" tip to tip Red Oak
10" 3/4" Red Cedar riser
1/2" at tips tapered back 14.5"
Belly Faded from riser at 3/4" to 3/8" on tips
Rounded edges on Belly to 1/4" from back

How much would the material and electricity be Kanga. I am working in Glen Rose during the week

That depends on how fancy you want to get but the glass and action boo will set ya back about $55.

what about the wood for the riser?

OK got the backing on and handle roughed in.

Ok got the backing edged and the string grooves cut.

well started tillering but camera is blurry. Looking good so far to me. No hinges or flat spots to speak of yet.

Dad gone your moving quick. So have you moved from a long string to getting braced? Got to be careful not to worry too much about long string. After about getting some even bending about 8" of limb travel, I try to get it braced to 3-4".

I agree with Mark. If you get it near target weight at 8 to 10" you will be close to a low brace. On a long string, you are doing nothing more than getting the bow to a low brace. You will see much more when you get it to a brace. I have been making bows for a while now and I still cant tell much from a long string. Floor tillering and long string do the same thing. Looking at your pictures, its looking good, just one suggestion; Make sure you have good fades. I would suggest about 1.75 to 2" or even 2.5", just to make sure your handle area is static. If not, your handle will pop off. That is just a suggestion from your glue up pic. You might have already done that. Some thing else to watch as you tiller is limb twist. Want to correct it as soon as you notice it. If a limb is bending to one side, just take wood off the side that is opposite of the bend. It is bending to the weak side. You might not have had to worry about it, but it is somethign to keep an eye on. Every time I put a bow on a tiller tree, I check the limb for twist first, then tiller. Keep the pics comeing through the process and we can help out.

got lazy over weekend didnt mess with it much

Finally gonna get some time to finish the bow LOL been working out of town.

Well, lets see it. Been wondering about it.

well playing with the bow tonight. I am at 18lbs at 13 inches. Not sure of actual weight since my long string is stretching a bit.

My advise is to get off that long string as soon as possible. Or as soon as you can brace it to 3-5".

If you are at 18lbs at 13" of string travel, you really need to get on a short string. If not, you might end up with a messy bow and not enough wood to fix the problems with. Long string tiller is the equal to floor tillering. It wont tell you much. I can't see much until I get to a brace. I usually start going on a short string, with about a 1"-3" brace once I get about 10" of string travel at about 10lbs less peak weight. I shorten the string as I move along. If im going for 60 lbs. Ill start shortening my string when I get around 50 lbs at 10". As I soften the limbs, I will twist my string a little each time until Im at about a 4" brace. Once I get to a decent brace, I can see a whole lot more about what is going on.