my dad was a carpenter he had all the flash modern tools,he also had the old ones he kept,he had a draw knife i did not know what it was for it hung in his shed for years,thankyou for educateing me,what an amazing tool and you are an amazing carpenter.
I have mentioned it before and coming back to your first videos I´ll say it again... Best selfbow videos for me out there! there might be longer ones with more complex info... but this teaches principles rather than details! great work... makes me go back to buidling a bow! cheers
I've made several from easter red cedar, which is really a juniper. I backed them all with sinew. They were really snappy little things. Gave them away over the years..
great series of videos you have answered a lot of unanswered questions i had. I've looked at tons of videos on you tube and dvd. but this one is by far the best. Thanks a bunch.
THE Justin Schmidt it is best to follow the grain if you cut through the grain and just draw a straight line it could cause a compromise in the tension strength of the bow. and can cause catastrophic failure. I've been making bows for the last 4 years it is addicting and fun.
A flatbow design, like the one we're making here, will work on many different woods. Some species of maple, such as vine, are supposed to be great bow woods. People also make bows with some oaks. With whitewoods, you will not neet to back the bow to one ring like in part 1. Just remove the bark, and that will be your back.
Yes, the "back" is the part that faces away from you when you're shooting the bow. It is the part that is under tension when the bow is drawn. The part that faces you is called the belly - it is being compressed as the bow is drawn. You could find a used draw knife at a pawn show or online, maybe ebay, for less than $15.
I just had to tell you thanks for the great information on building a bow. I make miniatures and bending the bow after using steam was a great help to me. The Jigs to support the bow was a great help also. Cane you use steam to straighten a arrow shaft as well.
what is a good way to straighten an arrow I am making them in 1/3 scale I do my best t o make them like actual sized Arrows. I am trying ot make them like a Japanese Longbow arrow..
I'm not sure what Rowan is, but Juniper is a great bow wood if it's backed. It needs some sort of backing, or it's very prone to exploding when drawn. Osage will give you some warning before breaking, but juniper will blow into a dozen pieces without warning. I'll get around to doing a vid on sinew or rawhide backing someday.
If it's a whole log, it could take over a year or more to dry. If it's split into a stave, you could start working on it now, get it to rough demensions, then let it dry for another month before finishing off. But, with that said, it depends on the humidity, drying conditions, size of the stave, etc.
If you remove the bark during the spring, or early summer when the sap is flowing, it'll come off really easily. But, you need to coat the back with glue or latex paint to keep it from drying too fast. If you take the bark off a really green tree, and not seal it, it'll crack badly.
Hickory will make a fine bow. I also hear oceanspray will make a good bow, but I've never tried it. Do a search for "board bows" and you should come up with some info on buying lumber for bow building. I've never made a board bow. Also, you may find some Pacific Yew high in the mountins. It's one of the best bow woods out there.
You could use a large knife, or even a hatchet or machete. A draw knife is just a whole lot easier. You could probably find one online for less than $30.
Great Videos Clay. In the UK we use a Shave Horse instead of a vice, which means you can sit outside and make your Bow - when the weather is nice. Just a suggestion, you make lovely Bows by the way. Kind regards Davy
David Drysdale I've got a shaving horse as well and use it sometimes, It's nice to be able to work outside isn't it.. These vids were made in the winter though.
yup! I just noticed a couple of longitudinal cracks yesterday. Had to cut off about four inches of the stave. I kind of expected that since I cut the tree a few days ago(spring). Maybe it will be salvagable. I covered the ends in wood glue again and will give it some more drying time before working it down to a rough outline. Thanks Clay.
Although you could make a bow from pine or spruce, they would be pretty far down the list. You may have access to Pacific Yew up there. Yew is a very good bow wood. Also, many fruit tree's such as choke cherry would do well. Do some research and see what the natives used in your area.
Firstly, thank you for these amazing videos! very helpful indeed. I have just steamed and centered the bow I am working on - Osage flat bow. 1. How long should one wait until tillering after the steaming. 2. One end has a natural recurve from the shape of the stave, should the other end be steam recurved, or is it ok to leave as the natural shape. Thanks your contribution to bow making is immense!
I just find out why my bow are breaking sometime because of his natural knots of the wood 😉 but now I know the "Island making" techniques 😊 I was amazed 🤙 it save a lot of my bow stave😂 I come from a pacific island 🏝️ we don't have the same wood no hickory no Osage orange no maple but I found what i was looking for a wood call "Miro" i just finished the eleven one (bow) it shoot like 57 _58 lbs
Great video's they have been a great help,my question for you is how long should I let my stave season before I start to carving? I'm working on a hickory stave right now that I cut back in December. Thanks for your time...
Constructive criticism. Sharpen that drawknife and use a froe to split the wood. I know you explained the dull knife, but control with a sharp knife is better. Great video!
I live in northern Norway, and we have a very limited amount of trees here because of our climate. the trees we have are Aspen, Willow, Birch, Spruce, Pine, Rowan and Juniper. which one of these whould you recommend using for a bow?
Hi Clay, When you lay out the bow, you go one inch over and three under the center line. I'm new to bow making, but the way I learned was to make it equally two inches either side. Would you talk about the difference between the two methods and what are the benefits/ detractors for each?
Thanks for the vid clay and the book. Just made my first bow out of a nice piece of walnut. Draws 50lbs at 80 inches and shoots about 20fps. Gonna recurve the ends and see if i can get it to stick an arrow in the target at 10 yards. Just wondering, we have no osage in europe so i planted a few seeds 3 years ago and have about 2 dozen saplings growing well. Whats the minimum age you can get a bow out of an osage tree do you reckon?
Age is hard to say because the growth is so variable. I like the trees to be 8-12 inches diameter but you could probably get away with something in the 4 inch range.
Hi Clay, Thanks for the great videos. I would like to make a bow and I have two questions. First, what should I be looking for in a limb or log when trying to determine what would make a good stave material (I will probably be using black walnut as that is the most abundant thing we have around here)? Second, what determines the draw weight? In other words, I would like something in the 50-65# range...how do I not end up with something that pulls at 25#? Thanks in advance...I look forward to reading your book.
nscheibe1 For the "what to look for" question, check out the osage harvesting and splitting video. many of the same concepts will apply to other woods. Bow weight is achieved through continually taking away wood until you reach your target weight. But, if your tiller is off when you reach that weight, you might need to make the bow lighter than desired to get to proper tiller. this is a common problem with beginning bowyers. Don't expect a great bow on your first attempt.
Hi again Clay, I got a nice stave, straight grain no twist, nice thick growth rings but pin knots the whole length. I've got it at one growth ring and 13 islands of pin knots that look like stepping stones the length of the bow. I left a 2 growth ring, 1" diameter pimple about 3/8" high around each. How do you deal with pin knots? What about ones near the edge of the stave? Thanks, Steve
+Steve Lardner some people leave the islands. I remove that wood. The tree will compensate for those knots by itself, hence the lumps around knots. For the knots on the edge, either remove them or leave them whole. Just don't cut through them.
Clay Hayes I understand what you're saying. I see that easily with regular knots but with these pin knots Its hard to see much thickening around them. There are one or two right on the edge so I'll shave down the side to see what this tree did and go with that for the others too. Thanks. Hope the hunting season is going well so far. Steve.
Clay, your videos are great. I recommend them whenever I can. With that said, I do have a question: I have a Shaggy Bark Hickory stave (just cut it down). Should I remove the bark right away or wait until it has dried? Thanks.
I found a discription were it says you can take hazelnut and dry it in two weeks. I cut a part of a hezelnut tree and removed the bark. Now while drying there is a big crack in the wood. Is there a chance I can still make a bow out of it?
I am a beginning bowyer, and I'm wondering why you only taper the limb tips. Instead of only tapering the last 8 inches of each limb, why not place a gradual taper down the whole width of the bow?
In your newer videos i’ve watched, you bend with a heat gun. Is there any particular reason why you steam bend this versus a heat gun? Maybe this was covered and I missed it.
Thanks Clay, I've already built one Osage bow watching your videos which is the best I've seen. The one I made come out at 55lbs and I really wanted a 70 or so but it shoots great. I moved to Alaska 2 yrs ago and that's why I wanted a 70, anyway I brought to nice Osage staves with me :-) and fixing to build another one, would it be a good idea to back it with sinew?? and I ordered snake skins to finish it off?? Thanks again for the awesome video's. maybe if your ever up in Alaska we can do a little hunting.
+Pat Smith Sinew is great stuff but a little finicky if you're hunting in wet areas. you'll have to be careful with it. Snake skin will help protect it though.
Thanks man , the world needs more people with the same understanding of life , but we seem to be loosing the battle there. But we can keep trying, great job on your videos and Thanks for passing your knowledge on to everyone , and in away that we can all follow along and expand our knowledge also.
Clay, I've got a pretty nice stave with 4-5" of reflex. I'm planing t leave it in. Is there anything in particular I should pay attention to and/or be cautious of while tillering?
I've run into a couple of problems. I've a 64" osage stave down to a single growth ring and rough tillered with about 4" of flex in each limb. My lower, longer limb has about 35 deg of twist beginning just past the handle section for about 12" then flattens out to around 10 deg at the tip. First off, is the twist going to be a problem? What if I want to put in some recurve? Second, in the same limb there is a 5/16" knot 4" from the tip. The stave is still 2" wide and the knot is 1/4" from one edge. Should I taper the tip with or without the knot? I could taper it leaving the entire knot and the 1/4" of grain to that edge or taper it inside the knot leaving a bit of indentation where the grain curves around the knot. Which will cause me less headache?
Steve Lardner Hi Steve, osage bows will often have some degree of propeller twist like you're describing. In a straight limbed bow this usually won't cause a problem. If you put much reflex or recurve into the tips it'll exacerbate the issue. A full on recurve, with the string touching the belly at the tips is out of the question because, with the twist, you'd never be able to keep a string on it. Second question - If you still have 2 inches of width 4" from the tip, you need to do a lot of tapering. I'd loose the knot.
Clay Hayes Thanks Clay. I figured the recurve was out but wasn't sure why. Thanks for the explanation. As far a the tapering goes and following the grain, I can either taper it to include the knot which keeps the best center line or offset the center line a bit to remove the knot but following the grain there would be an indentation where the grain curved around the knot. Which way would you suggest?
I split a Osage stave I bought like you did in this video. When chasing a ring on the interior piece the end grain looks rift sawn. As I chase the ring it looks like I am chasing two parallel rings because of this. Will that bow fail? Or should I shave the stave to make a crown? Thanks.
Okay I've got a question? At the end of the video you said that you were ready for floor tillering. How did you get rid of the limb twist on that one limb tip? Would you not have to straighten that out first?
With a bow that isn’t a true recurve, a little limb twist is ok. But it’s easy to remove with a heat gun or steam. I cover this in depth at Patreon.com/clayhayes
How would one go about following the grain on the side without a draw knife? The only tools I have available are a hatchet and a knife. Thanks a head of time.
+Bobby Fournier Hi Bobby, I was shooting a 65lb bow but dropped weight this past season to around 55lbs. you can kill the biggest critters in North America with a 55lb bow and a sharp broadhead in the right place. In my opinion too many trad archers over bow themselves.
Hi Clay, thanks for making his video, it is very informative! I have a newbie question for you. When carving the side profile, it seems like a lot of wood is sacrificed to give the handle depth. If one was willing to do a glued up riser, could the stave be bandsawed or split again to yield yet another stave? Thanks in advance!
I live in california and osage orange is rare here. How is hickory? Also, could someone buy a plank from lowes or home depot and make a bow from that, or would floor panels be better?
Great video! Making my first bow in a long time. I cut a nice osage tree and got two nice staves, 72 inches. Clay, what is the minimum amount of time I need to let it dry before beginning work. I know a year or two is ideal but I've heard one can start after a couple weeks. Re- tillering would probably need to be done after a year or so. What's your opinion?
Hi Mike, good to hear you're getting back into it. You can speed drying time by cutting your stave down to the rough outline of a bow. But, if you cut it down while it's still really green/wet, you run the risk of checking (developing longitudinal cracks) because the wood dries too fast. I'd rough it out, leaving the sapwood on the back, then let it dry for a few weeks before removing the sapwood. Then floor tiller and allow it to dry for a few more weeks. Bending the wood while it's still green will cause excessive string follow.ch
Great video. I'm building my first selfbow out of hickory before going to osage. I've been using The Traditional Bowyer's Bible by Jim Hamm et al. This video fills in virtually all the questions I had. A question I do have is what arc do you suggest for recurve, ie, # inches of arc over # inches of length? My bow is 59" without recurve and plan a 40#-45# draw at 27"
Hmm, I'm not usually very technical about my reflexed tips. I usually bend the last 12 - 14 inches on a radius about the same as a 55 gal drum... So that'd give about 3 inches or so of setback over that 12-14 inches.
Clay Hayes Great, thanks. Perfect timing. I can build my recurve template while I'm drying my roughed out bow using a\the light-bulb stove pipe method. Yeah, I gotta make up for inexperience with technique. That's a 1:4 drop, in "technical" terms. Thanks again. Steve
Hi Clay, I'm back. I'm having the most trouble with cleaning up the sides prior to layout. Using a dull drawknife and trying to follow the grain it keeps splintering ahead and it's made my stave so narrow I stopped using the drawknife and went to the rasp. A couple of my staves were probably too narrow to begin with but a couple were almost 5" across. What direction do you suggest starting with, the stave's wider end to narrow end or vice versa? I'm down to one seasoned stave so I'm looking for my best odds.
+Steve Lardner Hi Steve, osage is bad about that. Here's what I do. When I start to get a long bit of grain lifting and running into an area I don't want it to go I simply back out and come at it from the other direction. That way you cut that grain off instead of running it down deeper. Hope that helps. If you continue to have trouble shoot me an email and we'll chat. ch
+Clay Hayes Thanks Clay.That's what I did. It didn't seem to make much difference which direction I was coming from and wondered if you had advice. I've taken to using the rasp for anything less than 1/4" to my outline but it's tough to follow the grain even if I've got it outlined. No one ever said Osage was easy and I sure won't be the first!
Looking to make my first bow and I am not able to get the kind of wood you are using in this video. I am not sure if I have any dogwood growing around my property but I do have a lot of sweet gum, pine, white and red oak, and maybe a maple tree or two. Maybe an Ironwood tree here and there but I know it is illegal to cut an ironwood tree. I am very limited on what wood I can use. What would you recommend from the selection I have? There are a few spruce trees around as well and I hear that ash was a common wood used by native Americans hundreds of years ago. Not sure what an ash tree looks like though so I don't know for sure if I have any on the property. Any and all help would be appreciated.
Hmm, there are several woods referred to as "ironwood". Is it perhaps hornbeam (which makes a fine bow)? I'm not sure why it'd be illegal to cut. I've never used sweetgum. Some maples will make a good bow, others will not. Red Maple sucks, sugar maple is ok. You may also have common persimmon which makes a good bow. The oaks you mention should also make a serviceable bow. Black cherry also grows in association with many of the trees you mention. you should check on that one. I was thinking you were from the south until you mentioned spruce. are you in the northeast?
I am in north alabama but I guess spruce would not be accurate. Evergreen would be more accurate. Like different types of pine and other species of evergreen. I am not sure on the different types of Ironwood but My dad knows trees like the back of his hand being a veteran herblorist and such. He has an Ironwood planted in his front yard and told me they are endangered so they are protected. There are a few black cherry trees around that my grandfather planted years ago and I may try that wood out. The maples we have around on the property are the red maples so I won't be using that. I am very curious about Hedge wood. Not sure on the actual name of the tree itself but everyone calls them hedge bushes but they grow very tall and are very strong wood with reasonable flexibility. I made a half-asses bow out of it before and even though I didn't allow the wood to dry properly it was still strong, flexible and lasted a decent amount of time. Some of the hedge trees around are thick as my leg and as tall as the large oaks around here. I am mainly interested in this hedge wood because it has near the same density as white oak yet has the flexibility and snap of a green limb even when dry. I may have to just experiment around with a few of the different woods around here and see which ones work for my needs in a bow.
Mammongorothkar If you are in north AL, you should have osage nearby. it is often referred to as hedge, or hedge apple. It makes large green fruits that resemble a green orange. Take a look at the harvesting and splitting video to get an idea what to look for. Also, eastern redcedar should be close at hand but it'll need to be backed. Have your father give you the latin name of this "ironwood". I'm curious as to what you're talking about.
I will see what I can find. I will also see what I can find out from my Father on the Ironwood and what I can find online myself. I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for all the information bro.
Hi clay, I'm new to bow making and I'm starting out on a 52" flat bow, the stave is twisted though. I established a back and i roughed out the shape, will a 10-20 degree twist affect the shooting? If so, how much? Thanks
Hi Johnn, You should be able to make a bow with that degree of twist. I've made a few bows that look like airplane propellers. They shoot fine so long as you don't try to put much reflex in the limbs which only exacerbates the problem.
Het Clay! Great videos, thank you. I have a quick question, I live in Maine and was wondering if you've ever heard of a bow being made from Hornbeam? Thanks again!
Greg Cox Only three points have to be lined up. Both nocks and the center of the handle. So long as you've got those three points lined up, it matters not what the limbs do in between. You can use heat to bend the wood into alignment if needed to make those three points line up.
Mr. Hayes, GREAT video! Just a thought, however.....could the upper and lower limbs not have been split from the top & bottom of the riser instead of shaving it off and getting no use out of the shavings? At 19:00 of your video, you could have gotten enough out of the lower and upper part to have made a very nice take-down bow. In essence, you could have gotten THREE bows out of one stave. If that specimen split as good at 19:00 as it did earlier when you split it down the middle, one could have made a take-down bow out of the meat that you simply shaved off. As I said....just a thought on getting every ounce of precious Bodock as you possible can (especially when it split so nicely earlier where you will obviously have an easy build at the growth rings. In fact, splitting could have been the first thing you did just to see how well it would have worked. It certainly would have saved a great deal of shaving. Of course, you were simply teaching the basics of finding the perfect back for a bow. Waste of not.....still a GREAT video.
Hello I'm new in bowmaking and been wandering is it necesary for a arrow rest to be 1 inch abowe the center of the bow. Great chanel by the way. Best regards from Croatia
Clay Hayes, thanks for an answer a taught it will affect arrow flight if it's not 1-2 inc abowe the center, because I always put the arrow rest in the center of the bow. Still there is always problem with the arrow, it wobles in the air when I shoot it (must be arrow or the bow). Thank You again for the info. Best regards
I really like Hickory but to get the best out of it takes a fairly low moisture content, say 6% rather than 9%. Ash is OK, better still if heat treated (toasted)..
You can for a straight stave. But osage often times is curved so a straight string line would cause you to cut across the grain in order to make the bow conform to the line. I much prefer to lay the bow out along the natural grain and heat bend into alignment if needed.
+Brian Anuvattanachai the only thing different would be that you don't need to remove the sapwood for hickory. my fades are very short, maybe 3-4 inches.
Caleb Quevedo Martinez no creo tu pueda encontrar ese Madera en tu Pais se lama osage Orange / maclura pomifera mas facil para ti encontrar algo paresido Como por ejemplo El Brosimo saludos da florencia la original i no la de colombia i escusa por mi terible espanol.
my dad was a carpenter he had all the flash modern tools,he also had the old ones he kept,he had a draw knife i did not know what it was for it hung in his shed for years,thankyou for educateing me,what an amazing tool and you are an amazing carpenter.
I have mentioned it before and coming back to your first videos I´ll say it again... Best selfbow videos for me out there! there might be longer ones with more complex info... but this teaches principles rather than details! great work... makes me go back to buidling a bow! cheers
+Woodsmans Finest I appreciate that.
I've made several from easter red cedar, which is really a juniper. I backed them all with sinew. They were really snappy little things. Gave them away over the years..
I have watched this like 5 times, again and again I learn something new.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks Joel
I really enjoyed this video. You're an excellent instructor. I had a lot of ... fear? Before watching you. I now have so much more confidence.
You can do it!
great series of videos you have answered a lot of unanswered questions i had. I've looked at tons of videos on you tube and dvd. but this one is by far the best. Thanks a bunch.
wow. this is by far THE BEST freaking bow making video out there. thank you thank you thank you!
Glad you liked it. ch
+Clay Hayes when your cutting the sides do you really need to follow grain or can you just carve the bow even without waves
THE Justin Schmidt it is best to follow the grain if you cut through the grain and just draw a straight line it could cause a compromise in the tension strength of the bow. and can cause catastrophic failure. I've been making bows for the last 4 years it is addicting and fun.
A flatbow design, like the one we're making here, will work on many different woods. Some species of maple, such as vine, are supposed to be great bow woods. People also make bows with some oaks. With whitewoods, you will not neet to back the bow to one ring like in part 1. Just remove the bark, and that will be your back.
Yes, the "back" is the part that faces away from you when you're shooting the bow. It is the part that is under tension when the bow is drawn. The part that faces you is called the belly - it is being compressed as the bow is drawn. You could find a used draw knife at a pawn show or online, maybe ebay, for less than $15.
I just had to tell you thanks for the great information on building a bow. I make miniatures and bending the bow after using steam was a great help to me. The Jigs to support the bow was a great help also. Cane you use steam to straighten a arrow shaft as well.
Joelle Karma Yes you can use steam for arrows but, depending on the shaft material, it's not usually necessary.
what is a good way to straighten an arrow I am making them in 1/3 scale I do my best t o make them like actual sized Arrows. I am trying ot make them like a Japanese Longbow arrow..
I'm not sure what Rowan is, but Juniper is a great bow wood if it's backed. It needs some sort of backing, or it's very prone to exploding when drawn. Osage will give you some warning before breaking, but juniper will blow into a dozen pieces without warning. I'll get around to doing a vid on sinew or rawhide backing someday.
If it's a whole log, it could take over a year or more to dry. If it's split into a stave, you could start working on it now, get it to rough demensions, then let it dry for another month before finishing off. But, with that said, it depends on the humidity, drying conditions, size of the stave, etc.
I really appreciate you doing this video series. I went and cut me a great looking osage orange tree yesterday and can't wait to get going on this.
+Tom Petty Excellent Tom, good luck.
If you remove the bark during the spring, or early summer when the sap is flowing, it'll come off really easily. But, you need to coat the back with glue or latex paint to keep it from drying too fast. If you take the bark off a really green tree, and not seal it, it'll crack badly.
Hickory will make a fine bow. I also hear oceanspray will make a good bow, but I've never tried it. Do a search for "board bows" and you should come up with some info on buying lumber for bow building. I've never made a board bow. Also, you may find some Pacific Yew high in the mountins. It's one of the best bow woods out there.
You could use a large knife, or even a hatchet or machete. A draw knife is just a whole lot easier. You could probably find one online for less than $30.
Although I've never tried hornbeam, I've heard it makes a fine bow. I cut a stave down in Alabama a long time back, but never got around to trying it.
Eastern Hophornbeam makes a very good bow, I would pick it over osage any day..
just finished my first osage bow thanks to this video series,.. still need to recurve tips based on another hayes tvideo
very helpful clay
+ky colonel cool, thanks
Great Videos Clay.
In the UK we use a Shave Horse instead of a vice, which means you can sit outside and make your Bow - when the weather is nice.
Just a suggestion, you make lovely Bows by the way.
Kind regards
Davy
David Drysdale I've got a shaving horse as well and use it sometimes, It's nice to be able to work outside isn't it.. These vids were made in the winter though.
Excellent "How To" series. Thanks!
Odee Dillon Thanks, share it with others.
Clay Hayes Already done, sir, on FaceBook.
True craftsman mate. Very good video
thanks
perhapse, but it's hard to tell without seeing it. Removing the bark while a tree is really green allows it to dry too fast. That's why it cracked.
Clay , Thank YOU !!! One more step I have for making my first self bow !!!
You’re welcome
ive made a few out of juniper and they work well.
yup! I just noticed a couple of longitudinal cracks yesterday. Had to cut off about four inches of the stave. I kind of expected that since I cut the tree a few days ago(spring). Maybe it will be salvagable. I covered the ends in wood glue again and will give it some more drying time before working it down to a rough outline. Thanks Clay.
Mike Dixon its takes approximately 2 years for the stave to dry
Although you could make a bow from pine or spruce, they would be pretty far down the list. You may have access to Pacific Yew up there. Yew is a very good bow wood. Also, many fruit tree's such as choke cherry would do well. Do some research and see what the natives used in your area.
very detailed and well explained processes. great video
Thank you Lazar.
Great! Thanks for the reply, I just wanted to try something different. Plus we don't have any Hickory or Osage up here.
thank you clay,its so interesting ,god bless from bonkers Britain
WOW, this is awesome! Dude I’ve learned a lot from this video!
excellent instruction just what I have been looking for thanks. look at that straighten right out
Firstly, thank you for these amazing videos! very helpful indeed. I have just steamed and centered the bow I am working on - Osage flat bow.
1. How long should one wait until tillering after the steaming. 2. One end has a natural recurve from the shape of the stave, should the other end be steam recurved, or is it ok to leave as the natural shape. Thanks your contribution to bow making is immense!
By the way, great series of instructional videos!!!
I'm glad to see people getting into bowmaking, and glad to help. Check out my website for more info.
I just find out why my bow are breaking sometime because of his natural knots of the wood 😉 but now I know the "Island making" techniques 😊 I was amazed 🤙 it save a lot of my bow stave😂 I come from a pacific island 🏝️ we don't have the same wood no hickory no Osage orange no maple but I found what i was looking for a wood call "Miro" i just finished the eleven one (bow) it shoot like 57 _58 lbs
Thanks again claye hayes🤙🤙🤙
Is that new zealand miro?
Fantastic Video Tutorial. Thank you so much. I cannot wait to make mine.
Great video's they have been a great help,my question for you is how long should I let my stave season before I start to carving? I'm working on a hickory stave right now that I cut back in December. Thanks for your time...
Muy buen video muy educativo.que tipo de madera usas para fabricar tu arco quiero empezar a fabricar mi propio arco
Constructive criticism. Sharpen that drawknife and use a froe to split the wood. I know you explained the dull knife, but control with a sharp knife is better. Great video!
I live in northern Norway, and we have a very limited amount of trees here because of our climate. the trees we have are Aspen, Willow, Birch, Spruce, Pine, Rowan and Juniper.
which one of these whould you recommend using for a bow?
Hi Clay,
When you lay out the bow, you go one inch over and three under the center line. I'm new to bow making, but the way I learned was to make it equally two inches either side. Would you talk about the difference between the two methods and what are the benefits/ detractors for each?
Thanks for the vid clay and the book. Just made my first bow out of a nice piece of walnut. Draws 50lbs at 80 inches and shoots about 20fps. Gonna recurve the ends and see if i can get it to stick an arrow in the target at 10 yards. Just wondering, we have no osage in europe so i planted a few seeds 3 years ago and have about 2 dozen saplings growing well. Whats the minimum age you can get a bow out of an osage tree do you reckon?
Age is hard to say because the growth is so variable. I like the trees to be 8-12 inches diameter but you could probably get away with something in the 4 inch range.
I know this video is 8 years old... But dose the same process of following the ring on the back of the bow applies to an oak stave?
You’d work oak different than Osage.
Hi Clay,
Thanks for the great videos. I would like to make a bow and I have two questions. First, what should I be looking for in a limb or log when trying to determine what would make a good stave material (I will probably be using black walnut as that is the most abundant thing we have around here)? Second, what determines the draw weight? In other words, I would like something in the 50-65# range...how do I not end up with something that pulls at 25#? Thanks in advance...I look forward to reading your book.
nscheibe1 For the "what to look for" question, check out the osage harvesting and splitting video. many of the same concepts will apply to other woods. Bow weight is achieved through continually taking away wood until you reach your target weight. But, if your tiller is off when you reach that weight, you might need to make the bow lighter than desired to get to proper tiller. this is a common problem with beginning bowyers. Don't expect a great bow on your first attempt.
In theory you could use a stop cut at the handle and split it the same way you did the first time right or am I thinking wrong
Hi again Clay,
I got a nice stave, straight grain no twist, nice thick growth rings but pin knots the whole length. I've got it at one growth ring and 13 islands of pin knots that look like stepping stones the length of the bow. I left a 2 growth ring, 1" diameter pimple about 3/8" high around each.
How do you deal with pin knots? What about ones near the edge of the stave?
Thanks, Steve
+Steve Lardner some people leave the islands. I remove that wood. The tree will compensate for those knots by itself, hence the lumps around knots. For the knots on the edge, either remove them or leave them whole. Just don't cut through them.
Clay Hayes I understand what you're saying. I see that easily with regular knots but with these pin knots Its hard to see much thickening around them. There are one or two right on the edge so I'll shave down the side to see what this tree did and go with that for the others too. Thanks. Hope the hunting season is going well so far.
Steve.
Clay, your videos are great. I recommend them whenever I can. With that said, I do have a question: I have a Shaggy Bark Hickory stave (just cut it down). Should I remove the bark right away or wait until it has dried? Thanks.
I found a discription were it says you can take hazelnut and dry it in two weeks. I cut a part of a hezelnut tree and removed the bark. Now while drying there is a big crack in the wood. Is there a chance I can still make a bow out of it?
E ae amigo tudo bem, sou Brasileiro e sempre vejo seus videos, gostaria de poder ter essa natureza bela que você tem ai, belo vídeo grande abraço...
I am a beginning bowyer, and I'm wondering why you only taper the limb tips. Instead of only tapering the last 8 inches of each limb, why not place a gradual taper down the whole width of the bow?
man! great job! both bow and video! really really helpfull thank you so much!!
In your newer videos i’ve watched, you bend with a heat gun. Is there any particular reason why you steam bend this versus a heat gun? Maybe this was covered and I missed it.
Thats amazingly awesome.
Is this the bow you use currently it seems like it has a similar curve tooo the limb like the one you using most recently has
Can you tell me more about your vest.I’d like to get one. Thanks
I'm going to be making a Hickory bow sometime soon. Any tips you could share since you've made your bow?
+Nicholas Stillman I'm planning on making a video showing how to make a bow from hickory pick axe handles soon.
Thanks Clay, I've already built one Osage bow watching your videos which is the best I've seen. The one I made come out at 55lbs and I really wanted a 70 or so but it shoots great. I moved to Alaska 2 yrs ago and that's why I wanted a 70, anyway I brought to nice Osage staves with me :-) and fixing to build another one, would it be a good idea to back it with sinew?? and I ordered snake skins to finish it off?? Thanks again for the awesome video's. maybe if your ever up in Alaska we can do a little hunting.
+Pat Smith Sinew is great stuff but a little finicky if you're hunting in wet areas. you'll have to be careful with it. Snake skin will help protect it though.
Thanks man , the world needs more people with the same understanding of life , but we seem to be loosing the battle there. But we can keep trying, great job on your videos and Thanks for passing your knowledge on to everyone , and in away that we can all follow along and expand our knowledge also.
Clay, I've got a pretty nice stave with 4-5" of reflex. I'm planing t leave it in. Is there anything in particular I should pay attention to and/or be cautious of while tillering?
+Steve Lardner I treat them the same as a straight stave.
I've run into a couple of problems. I've a 64" osage stave down to a single growth ring and rough tillered with about 4" of flex in each limb. My lower, longer limb has about 35 deg of twist beginning just past the handle section for about 12" then flattens out to around 10 deg at the tip. First off, is the twist going to be a problem? What if I want to put in some recurve? Second, in the same limb there is a 5/16" knot 4" from the tip. The stave is still 2" wide and the knot is 1/4" from one edge. Should I taper the tip with or without the knot? I could taper it leaving the entire knot and the 1/4" of grain to that edge or taper it inside the knot leaving a bit of indentation where the grain curves around the knot. Which will cause me less headache?
Steve Lardner Hi Steve, osage bows will often have some degree of propeller twist like you're describing. In a straight limbed bow this usually won't cause a problem. If you put much reflex or recurve into the tips it'll exacerbate the issue. A full on recurve, with the string touching the belly at the tips is out of the question because, with the twist, you'd never be able to keep a string on it. Second question - If you still have 2 inches of width 4" from the tip, you need to do a lot of tapering. I'd loose the knot.
Clay Hayes
Thanks Clay. I figured the recurve was out but wasn't sure why. Thanks for the explanation. As far a the tapering goes and following the grain, I can either taper it to include the knot which keeps the best center line or offset the center line a bit to remove the knot but following the grain there would be an indentation where the grain curved around the knot. Which way would you suggest?
Steve Lardner
Belay my last. I didn't see the last sentence of your post. Thanks!
I split a Osage stave I bought like you did in this video. When chasing a ring on the interior piece the end grain looks rift sawn. As I chase the ring it looks like I am chasing two parallel rings because of this. Will that bow fail? Or should I shave the stave to make a crown? Thanks.
I’d take it down to one ring rather than leaving the two exposed.
Okay I've got a question? At the end of the video you said that you were ready for floor tillering. How did you get rid of the limb twist on that one limb tip? Would you not have to straighten that out first?
With a bow that isn’t a true recurve, a little limb twist is ok. But it’s easy to remove with a heat gun or steam. I cover this in depth at Patreon.com/clayhayes
How would one go about following the grain on the side without a draw knife? The only tools I have available are a hatchet and a knife. Thanks a head of time.
River Carson you could do it with those tools. You would just have to be a lot more careful.
That's what I've been doing. I had hoped there was some easier way. thanks anyways.
River Carson I know it's been three years, but you could get a peice of barstock and make your own drawknife.
hey clay,
just wondering what poundage you use for hunting. Deer vs bear vs small game please! Recurve bow, as well.
+Bobby Fournier Hi Bobby, I was shooting a 65lb bow but dropped weight this past season to around 55lbs. you can kill the biggest critters in North America with a 55lb bow and a sharp broadhead in the right place. In my opinion too many trad archers over bow themselves.
+Clay Hayes was that wight something you worked up to? When you take a shot how long do you hold at full draw?
+Bobby Fournier That's one of the reasons I dropped weight. I was never able to hold 65 lbs. I can hold 55 for 20 seconds or so with out shaking.
Hi Clay, thanks for making his video, it is very informative! I have a newbie question for you. When carving the side profile, it seems like a lot of wood is sacrificed to give the handle depth. If one was willing to do a glued up riser, could the stave be bandsawed or split again to yield yet another stave? Thanks in advance!
+Jeffrey Burton it sure could. But there's a lot of stress in the riser section so you need some good glue.
I live in california and osage orange is rare here. How is hickory? Also, could someone buy a plank from lowes or home depot and make a bow from that, or would floor panels be better?
Great video! Making my first bow in a long time. I cut a nice osage tree and got two nice staves, 72 inches. Clay, what is the minimum amount of time I need to let it dry before beginning work. I know a year or two is ideal but I've heard one can start after a couple weeks. Re- tillering would probably need to be done after a year or so. What's your opinion?
Hi Mike, good to hear you're getting back into it. You can speed drying time by cutting your stave down to the rough outline of a bow. But, if you cut it down while it's still really green/wet, you run the risk of checking (developing longitudinal cracks) because the wood dries too fast. I'd rough it out, leaving the sapwood on the back, then let it dry for a few weeks before removing the sapwood. Then floor tiller and allow it to dry for a few more weeks. Bending the wood while it's still green will cause excessive string follow.ch
Great video. I'm building my first selfbow out of hickory before going to osage. I've been using The Traditional Bowyer's Bible by Jim Hamm et al. This video fills in virtually all the questions I had. A question I do have is what arc do you suggest for recurve, ie, # inches of arc over # inches of length? My bow is 59" without recurve and plan a 40#-45# draw at 27"
Hmm, I'm not usually very technical about my reflexed tips. I usually bend the last 12 - 14 inches on a radius about the same as a 55 gal drum... So that'd give about 3 inches or so of setback over that 12-14 inches.
Clay Hayes Great, thanks. Perfect timing. I can build my recurve template while I'm drying my roughed out bow using a\the light-bulb stove pipe method. Yeah, I gotta make up for inexperience with technique. That's a 1:4 drop, in "technical" terms. Thanks again. Steve
Hi Clay, I'm back. I'm having the most trouble with cleaning up the sides prior to layout. Using a dull drawknife and trying to follow the grain it keeps splintering ahead and it's made my stave so narrow I stopped using the drawknife and went to the rasp. A couple of my staves were probably too narrow to begin with but a couple were almost 5" across. What direction do you suggest starting with, the stave's wider end to narrow end or vice versa? I'm down to one seasoned stave so I'm looking for my best odds.
+Steve Lardner Hi Steve, osage is bad about that. Here's what I do. When I start to get a long bit of grain lifting and running into an area I don't want it to go I simply back out and come at it from the other direction. That way you cut that grain off instead of running it down deeper. Hope that helps. If you continue to have trouble shoot me an email and we'll chat. ch
+Clay Hayes Thanks Clay.That's what I did. It didn't seem to make much difference which direction I was coming from and wondered if you had advice. I've taken to using the rasp for anything less than 1/4" to my outline but it's tough to follow the grain even if I've got it outlined. No one ever said Osage was easy and I sure won't be the first!
+Steve Lardner a rasp is a good choice in that case. so long as you're pretty much in line with the grain.
+Clay Hayes It works okay. I then follow it up using the drawknife like a scraper, vertical or even tilted towards me.
Looking to make my first bow and I am not able to get the kind of wood you are using in this video. I am not sure if I have any dogwood growing around my property but I do have a lot of sweet gum, pine, white and red oak, and maybe a maple tree or two. Maybe an Ironwood tree here and there but I know it is illegal to cut an ironwood tree. I am very limited on what wood I can use. What would you recommend from the selection I have? There are a few spruce trees around as well and I hear that ash was a common wood used by native Americans hundreds of years ago. Not sure what an ash tree looks like though so I don't know for sure if I have any on the property. Any and all help would be appreciated.
Hmm, there are several woods referred to as "ironwood". Is it perhaps hornbeam (which makes a fine bow)? I'm not sure why it'd be illegal to cut. I've never used sweetgum. Some maples will make a good bow, others will not. Red Maple sucks, sugar maple is ok. You may also have common persimmon which makes a good bow. The oaks you mention should also make a serviceable bow. Black cherry also grows in association with many of the trees you mention. you should check on that one. I was thinking you were from the south until you mentioned spruce. are you in the northeast?
I am in north alabama but I guess spruce would not be accurate. Evergreen would be more accurate. Like different types of pine and other species of evergreen. I am not sure on the different types of Ironwood but My dad knows trees like the back of his hand being a veteran herblorist and such. He has an Ironwood planted in his front yard and told me they are endangered so they are protected. There are a few black cherry trees around that my grandfather planted years ago and I may try that wood out. The maples we have around on the property are the red maples so I won't be using that. I am very curious about Hedge wood. Not sure on the actual name of the tree itself but everyone calls them hedge bushes but they grow very tall and are very strong wood with reasonable flexibility. I made a half-asses bow out of it before and even though I didn't allow the wood to dry properly it was still strong, flexible and lasted a decent amount of time. Some of the hedge trees around are thick as my leg and as tall as the large oaks around here. I am mainly interested in this hedge wood because it has near the same density as white oak yet has the flexibility and snap of a green limb even when dry. I may have to just experiment around with a few of the different woods around here and see which ones work for my needs in a bow.
Mammongorothkar If you are in north AL, you should have osage nearby. it is often referred to as hedge, or hedge apple. It makes large green fruits that resemble a green orange. Take a look at the harvesting and splitting video to get an idea what to look for. Also, eastern redcedar should be close at hand but it'll need to be backed. Have your father give you the latin name of this "ironwood". I'm curious as to what you're talking about.
I will see what I can find. I will also see what I can find out from my Father on the Ironwood and what I can find online myself. I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for all the information bro.
Hi! Tell me what the total length of onions? and the length of the tapering at the ends?
Hi clay, I'm new to bow making and I'm starting out on a 52" flat bow, the stave is twisted though. I established a back and i roughed out the shape, will a 10-20 degree twist affect the shooting? If so, how much? Thanks
Hi Johnn, You should be able to make a bow with that degree of twist. I've made a few bows that look like airplane propellers. They shoot fine so long as you don't try to put much reflex in the limbs which only exacerbates the problem.
Het Clay! Great videos, thank you. I have a quick question, I live in Maine and was wondering if you've ever heard of a bow being made from Hornbeam? Thanks again!
Clay's book mentions 2 species of hornbeam as decent bow woods i believe
Clay,
What is it that you use to hold the string in place when you're seeing how far to bend the stave?
it's just a little metal hook with a leather pad on it.
Still not sure what it looks like but you did give me an idea. I'll use big fishhook.
after you steam the bow can you start tillering or do you need to wait for the wood to dry out again ?
You need to wait. You can also use dry heat but you have to pay attention so you don’t drive too much moisture out.
Does it work with teak as backing and oak as belly??? (6 feet longbow)
So...it dont matter if the bow is straight. You end to follow the grain?
Greg Cox Only three points have to be lined up. Both nocks and the center of the handle. So long as you've got those three points lined up, it matters not what the limbs do in between. You can use heat to bend the wood into alignment if needed to make those three points line up.
Thank you!
Mr. Hayes, GREAT video! Just a thought, however.....could the upper and lower limbs not have been split from the top & bottom of the riser instead of shaving it off and getting no use out of the shavings? At 19:00 of your video, you could have gotten enough out of the lower and upper part to have made a very nice take-down bow. In essence, you could have gotten THREE bows out of one stave.
If that specimen split as good at 19:00 as it did earlier when you split it down the middle, one could have made a take-down bow out of the meat that you simply shaved off. As I said....just a thought on getting every ounce of precious Bodock as you possible can (especially when it split so nicely earlier where you will obviously have an easy build at the growth rings. In fact, splitting could have been the first thing you did just to see how well it would have worked. It certainly would have saved a great deal of shaving.
Of course, you were simply teaching the basics of finding the perfect back for a bow. Waste of not.....still a GREAT video.
Yes, you could do something like that but building a takedown is a lot more work and I've got plenty of wood.
Probably, but I've never worked with it.
Sam Forner, yes, they will.
How long did you let the wood dry before you started to work on it?
Depends on the drying conditions and how big the wood is. A year on a split stave is not unreasonable.
Clay Hayes could you speed the process
I have a cedar stave that is full of nots do yo you have any advice for me on its my first attempt to make a bow
back it with something durable. Don't be afraid to mess up. That's how you learn.
Thank you for the advice
Hello I'm new in bowmaking and been wandering is it necesary for a arrow rest to be 1 inch abowe the center of the bow.
Great chanel by the way. Best regards from Croatia
no, some people put the rest right in the center, others put it two inches above center. I split the difference.
Clay Hayes, thanks for an answer a taught it will affect arrow flight if it's not 1-2 inc abowe the center, because I always put the arrow rest in the center of the bow. Still there is always problem with the arrow, it wobles in the air when I shoot it (must be arrow or the bow). Thank You again for the info.
Best regards
whats the name of the peeling tool? good vid
+rjravaz draw knife
+Clay Hayes Would you recommend a spokeshave?
I don't use one. In my opinion, they don't work well on Osage. they would work better on whitewoods.
Subbed after the intro :D
dokus426 nice..
Clay Hayes Awesome video! Can you make a video on how to make the arrow holder that is attached to you bow in the intro? Or on how to make a quiver?
dokus426 I'll get around to it one day. There's lots of things on the list that I just need to find the time for.
Clay Hayes Okay, thx. Great channel.
Thank for shearing
would hardwoods like hickory or ash work for a bow?
I really like Hickory but to get the best out of it takes a fairly low moisture content, say 6% rather than 9%.
Ash is OK, better still if heat treated (toasted)..
Rowan is British English for Mountain Ash.
Thanks!
You bet!
Why not use chalk line for your center line, then for each side of the center line?
You can for a straight stave. But osage often times is curved so a straight string line would cause you to cut across the grain in order to make the bow conform to the line. I much prefer to lay the bow out along the natural grain and heat bend into alignment if needed.
How long do you leave it clamped after steaming?
+climber6916 until it cools completely. A few hours maybe.
+Clay Hayes I want to make a bow except out of hickory do I have to do any design modifications and also how long are the fades?
+Brian Anuvattanachai the only thing different would be that you don't need to remove the sapwood for hickory. my fades are very short, maybe 3-4 inches.
+Clay Hayes another question if you don't mind how come you moved the handle three inches down?
Instead of splitting the staved why not cut them evenly with a saw so you don't have the ragged edge?
Cutting doesn’t follow the grain like splitting does.
hey man iam colombian and i have a dude, what kind of wood you use?
thank you
and sorry some worlds cant understand
and i know, my english is bad
I'm not sure what kind of wood you have down there. I'd research what the natives used and go from there.
Caleb Quevedo Martinez no creo tu pueda encontrar ese Madera en tu Pais se lama osage Orange / maclura pomifera mas facil para ti encontrar algo paresido Como por ejemplo El Brosimo saludos da florencia la original i no la de colombia i escusa por mi terible espanol.
How long do I need to wait on it to be cold off ?
A few hours maybe. You can run cold water over the steamed area to cool it faster.
ty :)
Would hazelnut wood work?
I could take a photo. Can I send it somehow to you?
thanks
nice
Ok thanks
rhat line aint in the middle. Well could be the cam. angle
Umm, no habla espanol....