Red Oak Pyramid Bow

I'd been involved in archery and bowhunting when I was younger, shot an old PSE wheel bow, chased deer around the woods of New Hampshire. But life intervened and archery took a backseat. Anyways, some how I got a bug in my backside to build a bow over spring break.  I did a great deal of reading over at paleoplanet, tradgang and primitive archer, and I'd suggest anyone who chooses to follow this instructable do a fair share of reading over there before proceeding.

So, let's begin, shall we?

Step 1 First, a confession

This wasn't the first bow. No the first bow was built using these old Pop Mech plans. However, it was powerful weak, only 20lbs at 28"s. So after further research i found the description of pyramid bows. Not wanting to design another weak bow, I entered the dimensions of the Pop Mech bow into Solidworks and recorded the displacement under a 20 lb load. I then designed the the new bow in Solidworks such that an applied load of 50 Lb resulted in the same displacement as the other bow.

Comments

[steadfast1984]

another question, when its done, is it just your hand that supports the arrow on the handle, or is there anything you can buy that glues on? what kind of Bowstring do I buy that fits this 70" bow? thanks. do you just twist the bow string to ajust its size if there is only one kind of string to buy?

[Tool Using Animal]

Yep, I just shoot off my hand,can be a little dangerous if your arrow has a splinter. Once got an inch of fletching embedded in my finger. You can just make a small shelf from wood and glue it on, or buy a cheap stick-on rest, or wear a calfskin glove.

The string is 2 inches shorter than the nock to nock length. Yes you can use twisting to adjust the length.

I just bought a cheap 67" string off the net.

[MR.builderguy]

What do you use for a target?

[Tool Using Animal]

A cardboard box stuffed with cardboard.

[MR.builderguy]

interresting. I use a cedar shaving bale( wire-bound)

[steadfast1984]

thats what i did, a cardboard box stuffed with cardboard. got all the cardboard i could handle at the local grocery store. By the way. Finally finished my bow. works amazing. when i first tested it, i put a carbon arrow with a field tip through 4 pieces of cardboard and quarter inch into the side of my garage. all that from about 120 feet away. (give or take 5 feet) it really impressed me. i couldn't believe the power it punched.

[jcicolani]

You probably don't want to use carbon arrows on a wooden bow. There's just not enough mass to provide adequate resistance to the bow. It's essentially like dry-firing (firing the bow with no arrow). This is bad... With no resistance to the arms of the bow you can cause stress fractures which will, eventually, cause catastrophic failure, often accompanies with a shower of splinters and, at an extreme, the occasional impalement (seen it, not pretty).

[steadfast1984]

actually the carbon arrows are weighted. the ones I use are 7596 Goldentip arrows. +/- 2 Grain, +/-0.006 straight for hunting. Plus a 100grain field tip. there is even more weight when you use broad heads up to 400grain more or less. the weight between a wooden arrow and a carbon arrow is the same. the only difference is the material. Like i said, they add weight to the carbon arrows so they don't do exactly what you said.
the Goldtip 7595 have a coating that simulate wood grain.
I prefer carbon because they stay straight through their lifetime and are less likely to break.
I brought my hand made bow to the archery shop and these arrows are the ones the owner of the store recommended for my bow.

[esmith37]

"The more you know" *ding*

[Tool Using Animal]

I tried to get some hay bales, but couldn't find them, BTW nice looking bow!

[MR.builderguy]

I went to Lester shingle Co. in Sweet Home, Oregon.(they have a website)
It costs about $7.50.

[Tool Using Animal]

I'm about 95% sure this is the string I ordered.

http://www.dalehollowoutdoors.com/triple-trophy-dacron-bowstring-16st-67-blck.html

[MR.builderguy]

I ordered one off of Amazon.com. 58".

[meburnfire]

If it doesn't specify what kind of oak it is (my Home Depot doesn't), should i get it? Or would Maple be better for this kind of thing?

[esmith37]

You can tell red and white oak apart from the color of the wood. Red oak has a pinkish color to it, as you can see in the pictures on this page.

[AlienJim]

Red oak is a little bendier than white oak and red oak is better for bows than white although I used ash, which will make your bow a bit more power full and most likely harder to break, i made a red oak bow as my first and it snapped after about the tenth arrow I shot although it could have bin a bad piece of wood. and if you really want to use oak look up pics of white oak and red oak and then find out if it is red or white. also red oak glues better.

[Hazzard2theworld911]

well, i am not sure as to the exact type of Oak mattering; i think Red is just easier to work with, and tends to be more consistent from board to board.
Maple is another beast entirely! it's a very hard wood, used in high-tension and high-pressure applications that need to remain steady [think Guitar necks... they are almost always maple...]. maple just isn't that flexible, but you could try it, i suppose. let me know how it turns out!

[airgunguy123]

whats the draw weight and how far does it shoot

[PaulReynolds]

I added resin coat to one of my bows. Gave it a nice waterproof coat and contributed to its strenght.

[N)ˆ]

Just thinking, wouldn't thinning the bow from 1'' to 7/16'' be able to give you two bows because 7/16 is less than half?

[Tool Using Animal]

1" thick lumber is actually 3/4"

[pdxnative1964]

You want to taper the wood from the handle to the ends. the 7/16 is just at the tips.

[blaflair]

im making it out of ash. should i change the design at all? how strong is this bow?

[pdxnative1964]

Ash should work well. Remember, medieval English long bows were from Ash, and the could reach over 120 yards accurately & with killing force.

[Wi11]

Why is a hand plane yuck? lol, I love my planes, their infinitely more precise than any power tool. A finely set plane can remove thousandths of an inch at a time but can also be used for rapid material removal whenever necessary, something that could never be done by any woodworking power tool.

[Eruvador]

planes are for lazy people

[Wi11]

And a table saw or surface planer isn't? lol!

[flamekiller]

No, he means that real men use their teeth.

Agreed, though. A properly sharpened plane is an absolute joy to use (too much of a joy, I found, when I built my kayak ...).

[azurelupine]

Three layers of fiberglas, and a final of snakeskin (your choice) - I'm gonna use copperhead, simply because you can't swing a dead cat around here without stirring one up! Besides, glycerin tanned copperhead is a beautiful piece of leather.

[sconner1]

Bet that looks cool!

[theiceman]

great job with the bow... any thoughts on gluing several (maybe 3) layers of some type of cloth (silk, duck cloth) to the back of the bow to strengthen it and ward off splintering/cracking... that having been said, I personally like the finished look of the raw wood...  thanks for a great inst...

[sconner1]

I agree.
The grain is beautiful in the pic.
Especially with the wrapping. It's such natural look.

[Alpvax]

i am only 16 and know full well that my bows arent anywhere near as good. i make them from a straight hazel branch and as for backing... just leave the under layer of bark on, none of my bows have ever splintered, although after time they weaken (not made well enough)

[koga95]

i was 14 when i used elder wood. made 2, first one i used as wetwood. second i put in shed for like 2 weeks(ish) and it (2nd) worked amazing, broke window with it. =P

[flashu]

my grandpa and I used to make hazel wood bows when i was a kid, found though that the branches are best for arrows, as they tend to loose elasticity after a while. Got a compound at the moment, but definitely considering making this. Oak and birch are the best option for me at the moment.

[Alpvax]

yes, they lose elasticity, but our house is bordered by hazel trees, so when the bows weaken, just make a new one. find a long straight section, about an inch diameter, use that as the bow, remove the top, and you can make yourself some straight arrows. although i occasionally buy dowel to make arrows.

[shortw]

When I was a kid we used to make bows from hazel. We would cut the hazel in winter for use in the summer, we dry them for a long time. we found out the longer you dry them the longer they would last and do not peel the bark. I thought I would make one for my boy, but I am thinking of laminating it to prevent it to lose the elasticity and that should help.

[Alpvax]

I normally don't bother with the 6-month seasoning, just cut down and carve away part of the belly to make for a nice curve. Leaving the bark on the back of the bow helps prevent it splitting and snapping as easily.

[koga95]

not to shure of gorila glues effects on wood

[sconner1]

Gorilla glue is polyurethane based and cures chemically with moisture.
The instructions say to wipe a damp cloth on the wood before applying.
It doesn't take much and the moisture is used up in the chemical reaction.
Poly glue also expands as it cures forcing it's way into the porous wood.
You did clamp it well right?
Regular wood glue contains water so that has to dry out too.
Waterproof properties are a moot point since getting the wood wet will weaken and bend the wood long before the glue fails.
So it's really up to you what to use.