Yew Heavy Warbow. Beginner attempts to make 100lb warbow. Part IV. Tiller Problems to First Draw.
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Yew warbow. Part IV. Beginner bowyer attempts to make a 100lb warbow. The famous English yew longbow of medieval times was an awesome weapon of war - and I am chronicling my attempt to make a replica of a medieval warbow from a stave of yew. This fourth video shows my beginner's stumblings as I slowly progress through tillering problems to the first draw of the bow. My wish at the start was to make a bow that is similar in power to artillery bows used in the famous battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt during the One Hundred Years War - a bow that requires at least 100lbs of pull to fully draw back the bowstring. I am an inexperienced bowyer with just five bows' experience - so the challenge seems immense. Do join me to see if I can achieve my aim to build a 100lb war bow.
Thanks for watching. Comments, likes, shares, advice and subscriptions all very welcome.
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Irrespective of whether or not you hit the 100 lb draw target, it is a thing of real beauty that you've created and you should be proud as a Bowyer-In-Training to have achieved as much. I would love to own such a bow.
Yes! I'm delighted that I made that bow. Mick
Making an English Longbow would be a great college course and teach history at the same time.
That's a great idea! Mick
just found this series yesterday and told myself i couldnt wait until the next vid. Great work Mick!
Cheers Adam. Glad you enjoyed - one more war bow video in a week or so! Atb, Mick
Great job. I'm a beginning bowyer myself and I'd love to have a bow turn out so beautiful even if just for show. Gotta say, great job on the draw as well. Those muscles will build right up quick and you'll be sending the French running in no time if they haven't already. I kid, I kid.
well done . you are a very skilled intelligent man with a true eye for detail , not just your bows but your garden , sheds etc . you clearly take a great pride in whatever you put your mind to . I really enjoy watching you work . your attention to detail is fantastic . If you ever decide to sell one of your bows I would be very proud to own one . keep up the great work .
Thank you very much David, that's a very kind comment. Appreciate you watching! Mick
You should visit Oregon and we'll go out and hunt yew trees together
THIS video really helped me. I broke 2 bows by having a weak spot on them and I also didnt know how to fix it. Thank you :)
+Slashersvk Glad I helped in a small way! Mick
Nice bow very interesting video.
I find myself watching your videos over and over... there just so fun to watch. Very well filmed and edited.
As for the bow- I've learned the hard way that it's better to focus on good tiller the on draw weight. My first bow ranged from 20 to 25 pounds. No where near my target weight.
BTW, your videos realy gave me an urge to make myself an english longbow! So I have the laminated stave glued up, I'm just waiting for the glue to cure and I can start roughting it into shape and tillering it.
Cheers Mike.
Hi Mike, thanks for your interest and support - and especially for letting me know! Yes, in my limited experience, the tiller is way more important than draw weight. It seems the real skill and challenge comes when you try to achieve high draw weight and a great tiller. I certainly found it a challenge as you've seen in my videos. Good luck with your laminate bow - I hope you get the tiller and draw weight that you hope for. Atb, Mick
Great job Mick...
Thank you! Atb, Mick
Great video: Progess, heartbreak, gutted but then a Hollywood ending! Congratulations :)
Your problem yielded useful insights on tillering. Surprised that the aim is a perfect arc - I had expected the goal to be little or no curve in the handle area and all the curving to be either side. Also surprised at how precisely the experienced bowyers expect to fit an arc.
Looks like you are quite a gardener too, that's the nicest, tidiest garden I've seen in a long time. Enhances the viewing experience :)
Hi Tony, looks like you've viewed the lot! Thanks for the congrats, appreciated. Yes, the bow I wanted was a full compass bow - in the 'medieval style', bending through the handle and forming a near as perfect as possible arc. Yes the pro and highly experienced bowyers have a great eye for spotting the slightest deviation from that arc and one and all spotted my error, and all helped me get around it as best as a novice could. Thanks for noticing the garden - not all my own work though; my good lady keeps it in trim and helps provide that rather nice backdrop to some of my videos. Thanks again for watching and taking time to write your encouraging comments. That enhances the production experience!! Atb, Mick
Straight up beautiful bow I'd be very proud of it
After this project especially, I would call yourself an experienced Boyer to be sure. Well done sir!
Very nice piece of taxus baccata ;) I love that colors after finish and protect coat with oil ;) also shape of horn nocks. Good job Mick by the way. You did great job as this was your first warbow. Next will better ;)
Hi Simon and thank you for watching. Yew is beautiful wood, isn't it? Yes my first war bow and I've learned much - but I hope my next one is better! Atb, Mick
well done . a great first attempt not many would have the skill and patience you have.
Amazing work, Mick! It is lovely, and not one in ten thousand of us would even attempt such an endeavor. Bravo!
+jmfa57 Thank you John - it was a challenge for me I must say! Thanks for watching. Mick
Hi Mick. You doing a fantastic work, nice explaining. Im a beginner in archery art and your videos are gold for me, thank you very much.
Thank you Bogdan, glad I am of some help for you. Good luck! Mick
Great video for sure
Really looked like you 'put your back into that'. Looking forwards to the filed use.Very enjoyable these vids... REALLY relishing them. Even if it doesn't turn out exactly as you wished, it was a damn fine rehearsal Sir...
Bless you sir, lovely comment and much appreciated! All being well a video in a couple of weeks of me shooting in the fields (but I need lots of practise first - for me, it's a monster to draw!!). Thanks for watching and commenting and giving me lots of encouragement and support. Atb, Mick
Wonderful yew warbow with the sapwood running regularly all along , mine only three quarters of the length ..
Bravo, sir. Well done!
Hello, I am planning to build the same, although smaller and watched your series with great satisfaction. Pity that it does not bend evenly. Otherwise it is perfect and very beautiful. Good job and video.
PS: It's probably too late to mention that, and I have not built any bows myself, but I saw a video in which he shaves the bow while it is on the tiller. So he sees real time what he is doing.
Beautiful work sir! Your work is great inspiration!
outstanding...
Thank you Roy
Great job. Tanks for video
I thought it was taking a while for this vid to appear! I thought you may have snapped it! Not too shabby in the end though, Caroline and myself are having a discussion about where the arrow ended up at the end of the vid! :-0 the last clip should have been of Bev watering the plants with an arrow through her hat.
Ha ha! Fortunately the Good Lady was not in the garden when the first arrow flew. It would be irresponsible of me to say what I hit 😮 Safe to say, it wasn't Ibstock.....
These heavy bows will eventually tear up your rotator cuff of your shoulder, no matter how much muscle you have on your arms and torso. It is not made to withstand these kind of forces over time. Same goes for the exerciese program P90x, one handed pushups, professional baseball pitching etc.
Great work Sir!
Thank you John Paul! Atb, Mick
Well done sir, was a joy to watch the series. I bet you saw stars after letting that arrow loose. ;)
Gergely Guruz ;-)
The cause will likely have been in starting out with a "handle" and too much early thickness reduction adjacent to it, rather than just letting it be thickest at the centre of an unbroken taper running to each tip.. You will probably see the signs of the problem emerging if you review some of the earlier images. Also it would be my preference with any stave or draw-weight to establish a cleaner taper in all aspects while there is still a good amount of wood still to remove, before even going to the tillering post.
Hi Rod, thank you for your observations - all a learning experience for me and every comment I get I store up for the next bow. Thanks for watching. Mick
I confess that I only just found this thread, somewhat after the event and was sitting here on the edge of my seat after noticing that incipient hinge early on, but fortunately you had some good advice and effected a decent recovery. Some of the best advice I was ever given was to establish a good shape early in the process and regard the tillering process as in good part, simply the refining of the established shape.
That's a succinct sentence summing up what I have in broad terms learned Rod - getting the shape right in the first place is paramount, subject of course to the meanderings of the stave. I'm anxious now to have another go with some good yew but before that I have hazel as mentioned elsewhere - plus some blackthorn and a reasonable piece of yew still unharvested (for a light bow). All my mistakes/successes will be on RUclips throughout 2017!
I look forward to seeing the blackthorn bow especially. I've not yet found a piece of blackthorn that looked to me as if it had a bow that I might want within it. :-)
Hi Rod, well it may work it may not - whose to say? Worth a bash though; I've read that it should make a bow (fruit bearing, prunus family) but never found much information about that wood for bows. Rare here to find a long straight piece but this is pretty much longbow length and straight. Disaster or otherwise, I'll post the video in the spring I guess. Mick
that is a fantistic piece of work
Thank you!
Wonderfull work Mick!!!, very powerfull warbow, congrats!!
Great job man, thanks for putting this toghter!!
If you need to increase the draw weight of a bow a bit, you can either use steam, dry heat or boil the wood and bend it into a slight recurve shape. This will hopefully increase the draw weight by 5-15 pounds. There is also the option of putting a sinew backing however, it will no longer be a selfbow but it will increase the draw weight a bit.
Hi there and thanks for watching and giving advice - appreciated. The bow has settled around 100lb in draw weight and I am happy with that - but I did try for the first time recently reshaping a piece of yew with dry heat. And it worked! Thanks again for taking time to help me. Atb, Mick
+Mick Grewcock No problem! thank you for making these videos!
you want the bottom limb to be stiffer than the top limb anyways, looks awsome to me bro, nice job,
Yes, thank you - I have learned that now. Glad you like the bow! Thanks for watching. Mick
I think it's a really nice bow i don't see a problem with it. I would be happy if my bow turned out like yours!
love it
Already follow you on Instagram thought it was time to meet the man behind the pics.... Fantastic channel
Why hello! Thanks for coming over, appreciated. Mick
Man, I would kill to have that bow tillered down to 60 lbs @ 26" and it would be my range bow.
God bless you
Thank you Nikolai. Mick
50kgl = 50libres??? very good video . you are profecional !
Nikos Nikos 1kg = 2.2 pounds in weight. 50kg = 110lbs
I think I would've gone "Meh, good enough." somewhere around video three.
Maybe we are different then. Mick
Great video, Mick! Isn't the youtube help desk amazing?
Thanks Jim!! Swept me away - and all good, not a single negative. The power of people, eh? Take care and all the best, Mick
You've heard of Cunningham's Law? "The best way to get an answer on the internet is not to ask a question... It's to post the wrong answer." People do like to help, but I've experienced that they are way more motivated to CORRECT something than simply offer advice. I'm not suggesting that it's something to exploit, but it doesn't hurt to be aware of it! (For example, don't be afraid to be a beginner and post your failures to youtube!)
medium.com/@jussiahola/cunninghams-law-and-human-motivation-d88063fdc098#.8t27gm75f
Never knew the name, but he's been in action on my recent videos 😊 Something not right or not going to plan brings a surge of responses! Glad I know his name now, thanks! (in a similar vein, I wonder who is the patron saint of failures? I remember a friend wondering why a particularly complicated edit of mine with me in-camera got so few views. He had a lightbulb moment and said: "You'd have gone viral if you'd been struck by lightning!").
Patron Saint of failures? Might I suggest St. Murphy? ;-)
I was taught to finish my tillering with low to higher grade sanpaper.
Thank you John for underlining the purpose of this channel. I have been taught nothing. My learning, my frequent mistakes and much rarer successes are all on show in my videos as I self learn the making of bows. Throughout this journey, comments like yours and my own discoveries are informing my hands and eyes. I will never be a great bowyer, but if my ramblings inspire others to have a go then I will feel rewarded. And yes, I now do use sandpaper!
Great video)))🇺🇦
Wouldn't a semi circle silhouette tacked to the back of the tiller help you estimate things far better than eyeballing it at random?
Maybe, maybe not.
did you short some growth rings from the back? thats quiet a lot of sapwood.
Hello, yes the sapwood layer was quite thick - I removed some before working on the bow. Check out earlier video in the series when I did it. Thanks for watching. Atb, Mick
God, that music.
🤔
@@MickGrewcock but the bow rocks!
It is purely a dream bow.
te agradesco por la informacion .te sigo en tu canal espero proto terminar el mio .queria tener uno del maestro del longbow te ageadesco mick sigue con tus videos son muy buenos
Muchas gracias - buena suerte con sus arcos y seguir viendo! Mick
try using a piece of tire cut some belt slots in it then you won't bruise your self when you pull your draw knife.
Great advice, thank you. Mick
Nice longbow.can we make longbow from pine resin tree
Techitaniya Techitaniya Possibly - I have no experience of pine resin wood. But I have not heard of anyone using that wood. Good luck.
Waw! Splendid!!! What thickness?
About 33mm
what did you put in 6:29? Great job and the yew is fantastic wood, pity that where I live the climate is not one of the best to promote the growth of this tree
Tung oil. Some use boiled linseed oil or for a better finish Danish oil. Thanks for watching.
What are the dimensions of this bow? How thick are you in the middle and how thick at the ends. I want to make one but it be 130 lbs @ 34” draw length. I’ve watched all of them and you are pretty amazing at making it all seem simple.
Hi Zac. Have you made bows before? I'm just concerned that dimensions of the finished bow might not be a good place to start. With self bows, in my limited experience, the starting dimensions are more important. The type of wood, its maturity and ring count all have an affect on the eventual performance and therefore dimensions of the finished bow. Let me know and I'll help where I can. I just don't want to mislead you with dimensions that are wrong for your chosen bow. Mick
Could a warbow be made out of black locust
I don't think black locust would take that kind of compression or tension being in that D cross section...my buddy made an awesome flatbow out of black locust...I can't remember the draw wright. I think it was around 55 lbs, but it shot so smooth and seemed faster than other white woods and most osage bows of that weight.
i want one so bad and ive never shot a bow what the hell is wrong with me
I know the feeling and I can tell you the next thing to happen : You will think about that so hard that one day you will go to the forrest and look for good wood for making bow, you wil try to make bow, if it will break, you'll try to make another one and at some point, it will happen that you'll be succesful in that. You will shoot it, learn how to make better and better arrows and then you will start thinking about making better bow ... At this point, you'll be fully addicted to bow-making and fletching :D good luck in it anyway :-) (btw. all of previous words is my own experience :D )
I would like to know what's the different between longbow and flatbow?🤔
chin pang wong The working limbs of a flat bow in cross section are wide and thin and the bow has a distinct handle and sometimes an arrow shelf; the limbs of a longbow vary from D shaped through to flattened rectangle (depends upon wood used) and a longbow does not have a distinct handle or an arrow shelf. The longbow, as it’s name suggests, is usually as tall - or taller - than the user, much longer than most flatbows. Thanks for watching 🙏🙏
What oil finish did you use on the bow? its a really nice Warbow! Looking forward to see you shooting it
Hi Frederik, I used Tung oil for the first oiling. When it's finished I will wax it with beeswax. It's very hard to draw - I will need lots of practise!!! Atb, Mick
Nice video :) , can you tell me is hazel good for bows? And what kinds of wood i need to use for perfect bow ?
Hello, glad you enjoyed. Yes hazel can make a good bow. Have a look at this video: ruclips.net/video/tgyNyoO1CAY/видео.html
Most people agree that Taxus Baccata, European Yew, is an excellent bow wood - as is Pacific yew from USA/Canada. Ash and many other woods can make perfectly good bows.
Good luck if you make one. Atb, Mick
I watched and it is petty nice :), Can you tell me how far does the arrow goes when you shooting (in metters) ? I try to make a bow and arrow goes 10 m away xD. I wanna build a bow that the arrow can fly about 70-80m is that possible ?
Hello. The hazel bow sends an arrow about 140M. I have not yet tried the yew bow for distance. Experienced archers use bows like my yew war bow to send an arrow well over 200M. So yes, 70-80M is easily achievable. Good luck. Mick
Thank you i`ll try my best :)
Hello again Mick i just want to know is your bowstring on this warbow made of dacron or FF and ofcourse thank you in advance
Hi there, the string fitted now is Fast Flight. I tried Dacron B but it stretched too much. Dacron B is okay up to about 80lbs, after that I use FF. Cheers, Mick
Mick Grewcock Thank you so much for quick answer i also have b 50 but is there any material to replace Fast Flight,thank you in advance
black wolf Hi there, I am sure there are other brands of string material but I only know of fast flight. Hope that helps. Mick
geez and i struggle pulling back my 50 pound hickory longbow lol, good video. can some one give me a little insight, i want to oil my hickory longbow but i am not sure what i should use, when i purchased it years ago it already had some type of paste wax or something on it. lately i noticed that this paste has started to kind of wear down, what type of oil could i use on it?
You could try try-oil. Leaves a nice finish.Chack out Swiftwood bows on RUclips for advice on this.
Hi Mick, do you cover in any videos how to get around when the wood has a natural bend that goes the wrong way ? Thanks
Several. Look at my series about hazel bows and I think wonky yew bow. I use dry heat on veg oil covered wood (stops scorching) and a weight to draw it straight. Good luck.
@@MickGrewcock Your a star. cheers
telfordguy34uk Shout if stuck. Mick
@@MickGrewcock Thanks I will. Your wonky stick video answered the 3 questions I had ( for now )so it's choppy choppy time. I'll let you know when it breaks.
telfordguy34uk Good luck and don’t be pessimistic! Might work out great.
100 lb is very strong bow most of time bows are 50 lbs to 70 wow
any idea where i can get my hands on some yew logs i live in an area where it does not grow and haven't had much luck finding any online.
Hi, you are in the USA so I suggest Ravenbeak Natureworks www.ravenbeak.com/staves.html
They sell Pacific yew staves. Atb, Mick
thank you I've been looking for quite a while.
I was told that a longbows lower limb had to be slightly stiffer than the top ?
That is a statement often made about such bows. When I was making this bow, I was struggling to establish an even tiller - it is especially difficult with heavy draw weights, and a challenge for untutored beginners such as me. What I did learn on this and other builds was to let the bow tell me during tillering which limb is the strongest and then work with that. I hadn't the skill then and probably not now to choose a limb as either top or bottom and then successfully carry that through to a finished bow, such are the challenges for me of a self bow from usually wonky wood. Now that I am becoming (a little bit) more proficient, I adjust the balance point of the bow stave on the tiller tree so that I am pulling where the arrow would be nocked on the string and the 'balance point' (actually slightly off balance) of the bow being the arrow pass. This naturally aids the establishment of the upper and lower limb - but for me usually after quite a bit of trial and error.
The wood looks raw or unfinished, my question is how much does humidty factor in
It is neither raw nor unfinished, but I understand why you think that. I (and many others) do not over finish medieval style warbows - they are simply wiped with oil and that's it.
If I use impregnating instead of tung oil, is it the same?
Never tried impregnating oil so can’t comment. Apologies. Mick
I have a question, but does the width of the handle decrease gradually or to a certain extent?
There are several ways to do this - constant taper from the handle out to the tips in width and depth or a central section about 250mm parallel in width but tapered from the centre. The 'grip' is usually about 100mm and is offset 25mm from geometric centre of the bow. Hope that helps. Mick
@@MickGrewcock tank you
By the way, where did you get your stave from?
Warm up before pulling 100kg. 😲
100kg?
@@MickGrewcock woops 100 pounds. Lol, rotten imperial system.
another question how large is the central part, that is the one of the grip?
I am away from home so cannot measure for you. Measurements are not reliable indicators of draw weight in self bows. I started about 40mm wide/ deep and finished approximately 35mm wide and around 33mm deep but my memory might be wrong. Just make the bow to the weight you want - measuring can come later!
How many yards does the arrow reach with this bow?
About 180 yards
mick cuanto cuesta una de tus longbow y cuanto costaria comprarte uno y el envio a mexico
Hola Alfredo, gracias por tus mensajes y cumplidos! No vendo mis arcos Alfredo, lo siento pero todavía no estoy bastante seguro de hacer arcos para vender. Mis disculpas. Mick
What did you use to treat the wood at the end?
+Alexander Guest Tung oil. Thanks for watching! Mick
Cheers, Mick
one thing but how is the section?
Like a squashed box - naturally radiussed back, slightly buiging sides and shallow D belly.
@@MickGrewcock Great job
im always afraid when im tillering a bow.
Quite natural for me! As I learn, I am getting less anxious, but when I started bending a bow was quite a tense time. Even now the bigger bows come with a threat - I am bending a big spring and if it snaps then it could be dangerous. So I am like you, I feel a little nervous when bending wood. I guess I'll get calmer as my experience grows.
How much are those bows?
Hi Joshua. I don't sell my bows but a bow like that from a pro bowyer would cost around £500-£800 UK.
@@MickGrewcock how much is that in US dollars?
too much sap wood my friend.
+Ari Bonneville Hi Ari, thanks for that. First one - maybe sapwood thinner next one! Atb, Mick
So it is ok to take off some sap wood? I am going to try and make a yew bow and concerned about taking off some sap wood. Would it be ok to leave about 1/8 or so of sap wood? I have about 1/2 inch sap wood
wanna sell this bow? i love it !
Ho Mohamed, thank you but my bow is not for sale. Atb, Mick
I live in Cleveland Ohio
Hi there, there are many people in the US and Canada that make traditional bows - way more than in the UK. Some also make 'English' longbows as opposed to the similar (but not the same) American longbow. The woods used for many US made longbows are Osage and Pacific Yew - both make excellent bows. Suggest you search in your locality for bowyers. Atb, Mick
As an aside, the music is incredibly incongruent with the subject matter. It really detracted from the video.
Okay, respect your opinion. No one else has complained though.
Naked dino man music. lol
I actually liked the music. But a guy named Zisteau uses this same music in his video as the Naked Dino Man theme, so I immediately thought about it.
you should never draw a bow aiming up like that one slip and you could take someone's eye out or worse.
Hi Andrew - thanks for that. I understand! Mick
For 1 I don’t think anyone has a draw length of 32”and for 2 I doubt anyone can draw 32” at 110 pounds that’s let alone hold it back long enough to aim proper
Sir, it would appear that you are not familiar with English/Welsh heavy longbow/'warbow' archery and archers. Many, many archers use heavy longbows 100-150 pounds (and beyond up to 200lb for the highly skilled) and routinely draw 30"-32" depending upon their stature (I shoot with a gentleman with a draw of 35"). Look at my videos 'The Rove' and 'We Happy Few' for the style of archery appropriate for such bows. Thank you for watching.
Mick Grewcock do u have an anchor point on the face or do u just pull back as far as possible?
Mick Grewcock u are also right that I am not familiar with English/welsh heavy longbows as I shoot American recurve longbow and compound archerys
Why Not The anchor for target style shooting is easy to describe, a little less so for heavy bows. It is sometimes described as drawing to the ear and archers using heavy bows develop muscle memory to identify the point of loose. The whole technique of drawing a heavy bow is not easy to acquire and it takes time and practise. I am by no means a good exemplar. Watch the bearded man Nick Keogh in my video We Happy Few to see what I feel is a good example of one style of using these wonderful bows. Enjoy your archery!!! 👍👍🙏
A good first bow! Please get rid of the organ music??!! That was very annoying indeed!
Bill Murray Sorry about the music Bill!
Fuck you the organ music's great