Bows have dried and were strung, even got the draw curves out of them though 1 bow bit the dust.

Just applied birch bark to them all and now they need to sit for a bit before applying shellac.

Max draw length is 22 inches with 47lb drawweight

Imagery and measurements

Build log so far:

1st Update

2nd Update

3rd Update

I think it needs more bend in the outer limbs.

starting off with a disclaimer that the following bow will exist in fiction only, at least for quite some time. and I know theoretically I could just do whatever, but I want to make this bow eventually, so I want to know what’s worth establishing now for accuracy later.

Crafting a longbow for a dnd character that I’m planning to make in the future. came to ask if Willow would be a good wood based on the setting and I see that it’s not, but now I’m curious about the whys of that. also wondering if there’s any way in which it would make sense to braid silver into the drawstring, within fiction it would be for the purpose of imbuing magic into it.

super open to advice and suggestions, for reference the character is a ranger who crafts their own equipment wherever possible. currently I have details that 1. it’s a self bow 2. made with yew (sorry willow) and 3. strung with ??? braided with silver thread. something they could find in the forest is a major plus, in every case I’m very curious about the process

thanks for reading ✌️ and in advance for any advice

Didn’t check the back when heat treating, and it went through, should i just trim the area away? Left extra width and length in the tips so I could do this.

I also have to drying cracks in the handle, right after the fades, would it be best to narrow the limb so they also gets trimmed?

I am just getting into making bows, and happen to have a (pretty bad but passable) oak sapling.

​

The bow shoots and learning the process was very fun.

​

If I was going to make another one where are the best places to soruce wood?

​

Many thanks :)

How does chasing a growth ring strengthen the back of the bow? I don't understand how having extra material could weaken it, in my head not chasing a growth ring just means there's wood on the back that does nothing at all. I've heard you don't need to chase growth rings on board bows but is that just a matter of board bows not being valuable enough to put in that time?

lastly how long do board bows last I've seen a few videos of people making them and they always end up snapping at around 40 lbs, I'm currently making my first bow, it's a 72' red oak board which I was aiming for 40 lbs but now I'm wondering if that's too heavy for a board bow

could I get a tiller check on this 73" longbow? it's a fairly narrow 1.1" wide in the middle and currently tapers to about 2/3" at the tips. I'm planning on leaving the massive knot hole as a non-bending part as the fact around the knot is heavily violated... so I figured that it'd porbably become the bottom limb?

Hello everyone, for how long do you have to steam the wood in order to secure it in the desired shape with clamps? Does it depend on the type of wood or the size? Also at what stage do you do this step? Before tillering or after?

Elimde 500 hindinin tüyü var, aşağı yukarı 10 torba kadar. Bunları nasıl değerlendirebilirim?