new to building self bows

[ta2drchr]

hi, i'm new to building bows, as a matter of fact i have never built one. i read on here there are a couple of books i should consider, but have since lost the titles. there are some very experienced bowyers here and i am looking for a little beginner's direction. thanks

[huntersteve]

I would suggest starting out with The Traditional Bowyer's Bibles Volumes 1-4.....also another one that is highly recommended by many is The Bent Stick by Paul Comstock....I've learned alot from reading older threads on build-alongs on this site as well as bowyersden.com.....primitivearcher.com....tradgang .com.....just to name a few....once you get started you'll be hooked for life.....Steve

[stalk-and-drop]

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible series is a must. They are relatively inexpensive, and serve as a fantastic resource during all types of bow builds.

[kegan]

The Bent Stick by Paul Comstock will cover what you need to know to get you started. Though not as comprehensive as the Bowyer's Bibles, it gets straight to the point on what you need to do to build a bow. The Bible's have alot of extra stuff in ther for milking performance and what not, where as The Bent Stick covers just what you need for good solid bow building. It's cheaper too.

You can also try the build along I did on the "Selfbows" thread on the young archer's forum, page twelve. I show the buidling of a simple red oak D bow. You can actually skip the backing part if your grain is perfectly striaght, it is nice and long, and your bow isn't drawing more than 65#). Should take you two days.

[huntersteve]

By the way...I bought my Trad. Bowyers Bibles1,2 and 3 online at amazon.com for less than $15.00 each...they were new....Steve

[AK in PA]

Out of half a dozen or so selfbow making books that I have, I rank
Dean Torges's, "Hunting the Osage Bow" as #1,
and Volume 1 of the "Traditional Bowyer's Bibles" as #2.

After a few years of doing this, everyone forms their own opinions on right and wrong aspects of bowmaking. With few exceptions, I find the information in Hunting the Osage Bow to agree with the results of my own experiences. The design of the bow it presents is the one I return to time and time again. After years of bowmaking, I find that I actually disagree quite strongly with much of what is presented in the Bowyer's Bibles, or at least see flaws or gaps in what is presented as being fairly scientific. Volume 1 is still quite a decent start for new bowyers if you pay close attention to the wood selection chapter, "loosely" accept some of the general concepts on design and performance, then skip to the chapter on building an osage bow, but reduce the width by 1/4", the fades by 1" and the overall length by about 4" to keep from building a dog.

[ta2drchr]

thanks for your help guys, i am already reading the build along threads and will be picking up the bibles this afternoon.