Liberal Jeade IRL shooting a real 140lb Medieval Warbow

[Jeade]

jk

Actually, I need your help, cRPG community.
God knows why the fuck I'm actually asking you all, but I need your advice.

Over the last few months, I spent an unreasonable amount of time making a bow.
This was the first time I've actually attempted to make a bow outside of my experience as a little kid tying strings on bendy sticks and shooting tomato stakes at friends.
Everything was done using hand tools on a rickety ladder, some glue, and linen (for backing), and I've recently finished (mostly) the tillering process.

While I was tillering, though, I noticed this bow was incredibly weak, and realized I'd made it too long.
My issue was that I figured, well, the longer the bow, the smoother and easier the draw, so why not take it to 80 instead of something a little more typical like 68? Mistake.
It's currently 78 inches nock to nock, and for this bow to really be functional, I'd need to cut it down two inches on limb, below the current nocks, then reshape new nock points an inch further down.
That'd bring it to 72 inches (183 cm for you EU folk). It'd pull roughly 45 to 55 pounds (roughly 222 newtons or whatever the fuck kind of weight measurment you motherfuckers use in Europe).
I'd also have to grab the ol' surform rasp and cut down the side profile of the limbs to get a better taper, and this would take some time.

So, here's what I'm thinking. Two things, really:
I could either start on a new bow and work out the kinks I've had with my first, and call the first done; I learned from it, I made mistakes, and I now have the knowledge to get started on a better bow. Call it sentimental, why not?
OR
I could continue working on this bow and get a nice weight to it, finish it with sandpaper and seal it, and have a nice, functional bow.

Frankly, I don't know what to do.
I've spent so much time thinking about what to do, I probably could have already finished the damn thing.
So, I'm asking you all for advice. What do I do, cRPG?

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Sides one and two for tiller
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Linen backing
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[njames89]

Can I get a poll option for I bring no relevant information to this conversation but am interested?

[Jeade]

Can I get a poll option for I bring no relevant information to this conversation but am interested?

Yes.

[WITCHCRAFT]

Everything was done using hand tools on a rickety ladder, some glue, and linen (for backing)

Why were you standing on top of a ladder while you made a bow??? Is your house flooded?

[CALAMARI]

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[Jona]

Every summer when I've got not much else to do I typically spend my free time on some sort of crafting project. Two years back I decided to make my own bow, however I went the quick and easy route of making it out of PVC. I ended up making two. The first was simply made of two different-sized pipes cut down to size, stuffed inside one another, and then filled with a fiberglass rod to give it a little extra "oomph." This thing was roughly 4.5ft (1.5m) long, and had a draw weight of 55-60lb. That draw weight was pretty substantial imo, and the cheap arrows I bought were too flimsy to work with that amount of weight. So I learned from my mistakes and when I made my much fancier bow next, made by heating up and reshaping the PVC pipes, I went with a smaller version (modeled after a cavalry bow, it looks very similar to the horn bow in crpg) with a draw weight of only 25-30lb.

While I see that your bow is obviously much larger than either of the two I made, how is it that you find 55 lbs to be weak? My ~55lb bow could shoot arrows with enough force to snap them in half midair (as I said I was buying the cheap target shooting arrows that are rated for a max of ~20lbs of force), and when they didn't break they could go insanely far. Are you trying to make a historically accurate english longbow that you wouldn't ever be able to actually draw until you hulk out?

Anyways, to answer your question, I purposely made an easier model first, mainly to test whether or not you could make a "real" bow out of PVC. I rushed that one, and barely spent any extra time finely detailing it to make it look nice or anything. Then I used the information I gained from that one to craft my second bow, which was made in a completely different style. The second one was made by flattening a PVC pipe and then bending it around poles/bowls/round shit until it had a nice recurve to it. Then I cut a "V" in each end, bent them together and filled the gaps with epoxy. Finally I sanded the whole thing down, slapped a coat of black paint on it, threw some glued-together slices of leather onto it to make a little ledge for the arrow, and then used some black electrical tape to wrap around the grip and each end. It has a really cool kind of modern look to it, it almost looks like it is something SWAT would use if they ever ran around with bows. I'm happy with it, however after extensive use that summer It failed on my multiple times. The problem I had with it is I actually burnt the PVC in one little area when flattening it. The nice thing about using PVC though is when it fails it simply bends, the entire bow didn't splinter in my face like a fiberglass or wooden one would do. Then I just heated it up again and bent it back into place, again and again. Of course it gets progressively weaker over time with each failure, so right now I've just got it sitting in my garage, more or less just a display piece.

Even though my second bow was, well, my second attempt, I still view it as a learning experience more than any sort of final product. I started making bows out of PVC instead of wood because while I had plenty of free time, I didn't have THAT much free time. Also, I wanted to be able to spend as much time shooting targets as I was going to spend working on it, and if I had made a real bow out of wood it would have easily taken my entire summer to complete, and then I would be shipped off to school before I could have gotten around to shooting it at all. Now that I should hopefully have a lot more free time this summer, it might be time for me to put my previous bow-making experiences to good use and finally try my hand at making a bow out of wood. Long story short, I voted that you should learn from your experiences and move on to bigger and better things in the future. No reason you needed to make just one bow... if you enjoyed this process at all then you can easily turn this into a hobby, and that was merely your first attempt that you will laugh at 10 bows later.

[Jeade]

Why were you standing on top of a ladder while you made a bow??? Is your house flooded?

Well, kinda, but the floor is lava.

how is it that you find 55 lbs to be weak?

lolno, This thing is only pulling about 15 lbs. Maybe I worded that poorly in the post.
My elm bow is 45 lbs (I didn't make that one), and it's already beginning to feel like a breeze after just a few months.
55 lbs would be ideal.

Anyway, definitely give wood a shot, man.
I considered PVC but didn't know how to feel about it; I'm a bit of a traditionalist and wood seemed like the only option I'd be happy with.
Anyway, just spend some quality time with a red oak board and a surform rasp.
It shouldn't take but a week or two so long as you aren't too careful. That was my problem and why it took forever.

Either way, this is definitely a hobby and something I'd like to continue doing, so this first bow really is only one bow of many to come.

[Jona]

Oh, upon rereading it I see that yeah, that would be the ideal draw weight... gotcha. Reading comprehension = shit.

And yeah, I plan on moving on to work with real wood soon, just used PVC first since by comparison it was not only a breeze, but also super cheap. Not sure how much a wooden bow would take to make, but the PVC bow that was made out of a single pipe was only 3 bucks at most, the other was maybe 10. If I ever make another bow I would probably aim for the 45lb range, not because my 55lb is too difficult to draw, it just kills the fingers, man.

I think if you're looking to make a hobby out of it and definitely just leave this one as-is and move on. It'll be hilarious to look back on it in the future, and it will if nothing else be there to prove how far you've come. Also what did you make your bowstring out of? Was it store-bought? I would assume not since it looks... well... not store bought.

[Jeade]

Also what did you make your bowstring out of? Was it store-bought? I would assume not since it looks... well... not store bought.

Actually, it's partially store bought, but you'll need a Flemish string jig to get the job done.
The string I've got on there is made of Dacron B-50 (you can find that at an archery shop or 3riversarchery.com).
Basically, you get a spool of Dacron B-50 and some wax, then use the string jig to actually make a string.
It may take a try or two to get it right, but you'll get a super nice string out of it in the end.
The one I'm using in the photos is a Dacron string with a Flemish loop on one end and a simple timber hitch on the other, strictly for use as a long tillering string.

[Sandersson Jankins]

Man, you surely don't appear like what I would classify as a "liberal".

But I like your shoes. Nice.

[Behemoth_]

wow dude thats a sweet bow, now when some nasty dudes break into your house you can dawn the war paint and spring from the bushes and rain hell upon them

[Jona]

The one I'm using in the photos is a Dacron string with a Flemish loop on one end and a simple timber hitch on the other, strictly for use as a long tillering string.

Ah, so that little rat's tail dangling form the top is intentional? 

When I made my bow I found plenty of easy DIY strings... buy or make your own string jig, then buy some heavy duty string and some wax, and then follow steps 1-5 and you're done. However I made one of my bows to just match the bowstring that was on my dad's old fiberglass bow, and then I bough the other at a store since buying a spool of decent string woulda been more than that.

[WITCHCRAFT]

This thread makes me want to do a thread about flint knapping, atl-atl use, and other primitive/survival skills this summer. I'm still learning and my goal is to be able to fashion a functional (won't break after a handful of uses) spear with only found materials and no tools. I can make several decent heads for spears or throwing spears in a short amount of time (they're more like bullets than a forged sword, if you spend a ton of time making one really good one it's just gonna break when you use it). Fixing the spear/javelin head to a shaft is the part I'm not really good at.

There's something about simple weapons that are really aesthetically pleasing to me. The human form drawing a bow or hurling a javelin, muscles taught and placed just so to release energy. Some ancient Greek dudes who made marble statues agree with me.

The other thing I like about flint knapping is that for something like 90-75% of our species entire existence this was it - this was our greatest achievement. To take a commonplace, useless stone and a piece of wood and turn it into something that seeks flesh, something that can fly.

I'm also a total anthropology nerd so that might be part of it too.

[Sandersson Jankins]

This thread makes me want to do a thread about flint knapping, atl-atl use, and other primitive/survival skills this summer. I'm still learning and my goal is to be able to fashion a functional (won't break after a handful of uses) spear with only found materials and no tools. I can make several decent heads for spears or throwing spears in a short amount of time (they're more like bullets than a forged sword, if you spend a ton of time making one really good one it's just gonna break when you use it). Fixing the spear/javelin head to a shaft is the part I'm not really good at.

There's something about simple weapons that are really aesthetically pleasing to me. The human form drawing a bow or hurling a javelin, muscles taught and placed just so to release energy. Some ancient Greek dudes who made marble statues agree with me.

The other thing I like about flint knapping is that for something like 90-75% of our species entire existence this was it - this was our greatest achievement. To take a commonplace, useless stone and a piece of wood and turn it into something that seeks flesh, something that can fly.

I'm also a total anthropology nerd so that might be part of it too.

Man, I've probably said it before, but I'm sure that we could hang out, have a few drinks, and talk about myriad shit related to anthropology.

I was fortunate enough to take a basic anthropology course in college. It was taught by one of the top professors in Uganda, on "loan" to my college in GA. The man was fucking awesome.

I was a bit lazy and neglected the class (i would say it was to perform better in other classes, but it was really to play cRPG heh). I had about 10 writing assignments that I didn't do. I basically told him, and asked him what he could do for me.

He said if I could explain the concepts behind each writing assignment better than he could, he'd go ahead and give me an A in the class.

I got an A in the class. Fukken oath, I'm SURE everyone in the class would be PISSED if they found out I got a better grade than them doing literally no work.

You have any interest in linguistics? Noam Chomsky has some interesting work, particularly his "language acquisition device" theory. I find it no less than fucking mind-boggling that we could, on our own, spontaneously generate language from...what, simple grunts and body movements?

Absolutely astonishing. People don't realize how utterly amazing and improbable of a species we are. If they'd only keep it in mind, I think people would act like less of jackasses all the time.

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i'm not saying it was aliums but...

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it was ayyyylmaos

Anyway, for my suggestion, I'd suggest making a new one. You've made your mistakes, and you'll make a much better one this time. Then, in the future if you make more, you'll have a tangible, physical representation of the improvement of your work!

[njames89]

wow dude thats a sweet bow, now when some nasty dudes break into your house you can dawn the war paint and spring from the bushes and rain hell upon them

hahaha great image