Teaching the Bow to Bend: Making a Longbow

by Linda Schilling, Michael Wlotzka

Overview

Making a longbow in only two days? No sweat! In their two-day workshops, the bowmakers team of Kunst-Griff introduced many enthusiastic beginners to the basics of making a wooden longbow—demonstrating each action step by step, in a comprehensible and clear way. This compact book, now in color, brings their workshop to you! Covering basic topics like ideal wood selection and the individual parts of a longbow, as well as more advanced construction like tillering, leather grips, bow stringers, Flemish splices and bowyer's knots in detail, this guide provides you with the basics to get started with the fascinating hobby of bow making.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764345951
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	06/28/2014
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Overview 9

Chapter 1 Wood Selection 11

Wood Types 11

Grain Orientation 11

Flaws in the Wood 15

Chapter 2 The Bow Stave 16

Overview: Bow Profiles 16

Marking the Bow Profile on the Stave 17

Example: Longbow 18

Preparation of the Bow Stave 20

Chapter 3 Tillering 22

Positioning the Stave on the Tillering Stick 22

Finding the "Hinges" 23

Removal of Wood 26

Tool Handling 27

Leveling the Hinges 28

Balancing the Limbs 31

Carving the Nock Grooves 33

Bracing the Bow with the Tillering String 34

Checking the String Alignment 37

Adjustment of the Twisting 38

Tillering Up to the Intended Draw Length 39

Test Shooting 40

Bow Finishing 41

Chapter 4 Leather Grip 42

Shaping the Leather Grip 42

Appendix 44

Tools 45

Tillering Stick 47

Making a Bow Stringer 48

Tillering String (Flemish Splice) 50

Bow String (Flemish Splice) 63

Bowyer's Knot 72

Glossary 74

About the Authors 76