Homemade English Longbow - Hazel ~85lbs

[mechanic]

 Hazel is limited by strength. It has no real definition between sap and heart. The only way to make a strong leading edge is to leave it alone IE bark still on, or just bark shaved neatly and no damage to the outer skin. The belly is less critical but if you go much deeper than the center it loses all its rebound spring and becomes more spongey. The other main limitation is the weakness when making the tips. Thin tips give better acceleration but hazel wont allow tips as thin as I would like.

 I have no real experience with other woods. Ash I have tried once but it snapped in half after a marathon building session and put me off bow making for a while at all. I would like to get hold of some sinew and some horn to really make a deflex/reflex hazel bow that holds it's shape. That 85lb longbow I showed is almost certainly the most powerfull and dangerous bow I have ever made.



The two finger salute does indeed come from that time. The French were still the most powerfull medieval force for much of that time period. They had money, resources, armours and the courage to fight like no others in Europe.

[mechanic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3tNrX-gVuQ - archer anatomy

At the risk of being called a skrawny english fool :-) This quick clip shows the difference in strain on the back muscles between pulling a very light bow around 30-40lbs and pulling the 85lb longbow. Just incase people thought it looked too easy. I think I am quite a good example of what a young medieval archer would be built like. I never do any weight training and am only toned due to actualy activity. you can see the lopsided nature of the muscles that have developed over time from actualy doing the task intended for them.

[mechanic]

I know this is now becoming on obscessive self posting but I promise this will be the last one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMsY1Nk58Hw

Making of The Beast: This is almost certainly going to be more powerfull than the 85 pounder. Alot more powerfull.

[EskimoJoe]

I know this is now becoming on obscessive self posting but I promise this will be the last one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMsY1Nk58Hw

Making of The Beast: This is almost certainly going to be more powerfull than the 85 pounder. Alot more powerfull.

That is one SEXY bow! Nice to see how they're made, I found it quite enjoyable.
I watched it twice, to be honest... Once in the original state, the second time
with the weird 1911 filter. It so goes with your sanding along with the music 

[mechanic]

  1911 style was totaly awesome. It really fits.
Thanks for the encouragement sir!

[RTHolmes]

1911 style

[morfiend]

 Watch the vid Batty,you need to make a frow to split that wood and spot treating that plane iron like that!


  I'd cry if you did that to my footprint plane....  find an old lawnmower blade and take it to a grinder and you can beat on that all day long. I'm surprized you dont use a stringing frame but the vice seems to work well. Do you string it like that to equal out the limbs? Oh and do you really just use a rasp and sandpaper?  ever tried a spoke shave?



     

[mechanic]

It's my plane blade and I like using it It's got a nice flat spot on top where i've been hitting it by now.

I think they call the stringing frame a tiller. I just use my method as I'm lazy and yup it is to see how the bow curves and even out the arms.

Yessir I just use the rasp, plane blade and sand paper. It takes alot of effort but I see it as good excersize. Believe it or not, the sanding is the most annoying and energy sapping. I finish it all off with bee's wax polish from a tin. The belly of the bow is now as smooth as silk. In a week or so it will have dried out and be ready for some testing. If I fire it too much now it will permanetly bend and lose power.

I snuck in a quick test this morning with 'The Beast' and punctured a hole in an old car panel resting against the manure pile.

Thanks again guys for the encouragement and interest. It really is something I love to do.

[mechanic]

I know, I know, I promised I would not post anymore videos...

Here is me weighing the estimated 85lb hazel bow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu4afVp0f-c

90lb @ 28"

I also worked out the speed. Approx. 164 feet/second over 30 meters.