Crafty Things

Eldorion wrote:That looks really cool, Forest! About how long is the bow when strung?

It's 5'8" (172 cm). I know that because I made it to be as tall as my sister. 5'10" when unstrung, but it still keeps a bit of a curve to it now. It only weighs 12.6 oz! (350 grams)

Halfwise wrote: Wow. Did you do the oak and pine inlaying yourself, Forest? Is it a recurve? Quiver is cool looking.

Yep. I used a dozen clamps and good ol' Titebond wood glue. I think it's called "laminating". Inlay is when you do stuff like set bow-ties flush into another piece of wood.



It's a longbow style of bow. That's why I used two types of wood. Traditionally, English Longbows contain wood from the heartwood and the sapwood, so using something like oak and something else like pine or whatever is similar. Recurve is when the ends of the stave begin to bend forward in the direction the arrow flies. So that the bow curves in the middle one way and then re-curves another way towards the ends. Like so:

Azriel wrote: Love the creativity.  As soon as you see it you want to go all Legolas & fire off some arrows. Well made.

Something about the whole process of loosing an arrow and watching it hit something scratches at a satisfying, primitive sort of itch. Surprisingly enjoyable!

I pulled a hay bale out in the driveway just now and shot arrows off for an hour. Lost one, broke another against a rock.

Okay, so I was thinking of something else: a bow that bows the opposite way before strung, not just the tips. Is a longbow straight before being strung?

Originally this longbow stave was perfectly straight, but once strung the wood is always at least slightly curved.

Recurve bow:



Longbow (not mine):

great work Forest. that takes a lot of skill.

Tusen takk! ( )