Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Anyone interested in selfbows, or how to build one?

I cut and processed these in 2010. I'm about ready to make a new selfbow. I thought I might post a few pictures of the process in the next month or so if anyone is interested. These had to be split into staves with wedges, then all the sap wood removed and the back and ends covered in shellac. There's probably 15 staves here that have been stored in my attic.

Here's my last selfbow, a bamboo backed Osage.

I'm VERY interested.


That finished bow looks awesome, I love Osage.

Me too! That is a really nice looking, and apparently shooting, bow. I've made one osage bow, at a class my wife bought me and am working on finishing a kit bow, hickory backed cherry. Your work is WAY better than mine!

I'm definitely interested in seeing your progress on this. That bamboo backed osage you made is very impressive...

I am certainly interested....are you hunting with the bow pictured? Also, are the staves Osage as well? This is art! Bruce

Yes, they are all Osage. I started building Hickory bows but prefer Osage. All those logs are Osage that I carried on my shoulder about a half mile to the truck. Then they had to be split, quartered, and some eighthed, with wedges. Hardest wood in the world to split. You can get a wedge half way in and hit it wrong and it will spit the wedge ten feet in the air.

Then you use a draw knife and hatchet to get rid of about 1-2 inches of white sap wood. If you don't remove the sap wood the borers living in it will eat your wood as it dries. Even if you use pesticide and get rid of the larve, as the wood dries the white wood will split and carry the splits into your heart bow wood. When you buy a processed stave for $80 you are getting a bargain.

Here is a close up of a tip. I prefer narrow tips but thickness must be appropriately adjusted because you want the last 10-12 inches to be stiff and unbending.

Very interesting...beautiful tip...keep us updated on progress, if you will. Thanks

I love self bows. Your work is excellent. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys! I'll pull this thread up with some pictures in a few days when I get time to start a stave. Till then here's one of a shot in, unbraced BBO.


Braced


And one of my girl shooting with dad, just because she's so cute. It's a not a selfbow , but she has it going on.

What feathers on your selfbow arrows?

I assume they're wood arrows since it would be sacrilege to shoot carbons.

I use 5" or even 5 1/2". I've found tuning wood arrows to a selfbow requires trial and error with a lot of shafts of different spine and even some voodoo since the "charts" don't work so well. After building a few bows, it has gotten easier since my handles look similar.

Very nice, I am currently working on my 2nd osage selfbow.

They are true flight shield cut 4". I lucked up on some old Acme shafts. A friend bought out a company and these were shafts from the days when good shafts were available. They only vary a couple grains in a dozen, less that 5# spine variance and so straight they just require a quick hand straightening. My buddy gave me three dozen.

Really nice looking staves and finished bow. I really like the way you finished out the tips, good job.

I remember the days when Acme shafts were the only shafts they sold at the local archery shop and they had them by the thousands. I have one dozen remaining and wish I'd bought a lifetime supply back when I could.

Oh yeah, I'm interested. Making a bow that shoots fast enough without breaking is hard enough but from the looks of your sticks you've gone far beyond that. They glow in your photos, warm and lethal. Looking forward to seeing more from you. You have a few things to teach us.

I would enjoy seeing your build.

I made two White Oak self bows in the late 90's, I have a bow in 'hedge that was started and left to in the attic since 2000, I may get it and work on it when I find some time.

I used the Bowyer's Bibles, good reading if a guy is interested in the craft.