Constr Arco

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FABRICACION TRADICIONAL DE UN ARCO.

VOLVER A TAL LER DEL ARQUEROPreguntas ms frecuentes (PMF) sobre la construccin general de un arco.

ltima modificacin: 12 de Diciembre de 1997Otros grupos: rec.org.sca

Escrito por: Rob McNeur y Pip Sullivan [email protected] traducido alespaol por Gustavo Olivares A.

(con autorizacin del autor para traducirlo y distribuirlo)

Contenidos:Confeccin de un arco tradicional

Tipos de maderaPreparacin de la madera

Lnea ideal de la beta y nudos en la maderaOtras maderas aparte de madera de tejo y naranjo americanoArco cortoArco largoLabrando el arcoEl proceso inicialLabranza precisaAjustando los culatines finalesExtras opcionalesRecurvarEnderezarForma sencilla de respaldar con cueroLectura recomendada

AgradecimientosPensamientos finales

Este no es realmente un PMF, sino un Po (preguntas ocasionales)

Fabricacin tradicional de un arco

Este documento est hecho para dar guas en la construccin de su propio arco tradicional, principalmente enel estilo de pieza completa (en ingls, take-down =arco desmontable de dos piezas). Para aquellos interesadosen los arcos tradicionales compuestos y/o recurvados, recomiendo la parte la seccin turca-oriental de lasPMF. (Me disculpo por la calidad del los grficos ascii usados, pero no pude encontrar otra forma pararepresentar algunos de los conceptos). Los arcos no desmontables (self-bows) son aquellos hechos totalmentede madera, ya sea de uno o dos paletas, usualmente unidas por el mango, dando una largo nico.

Tipos de madera

Algunas de ellas son mejores para los arcos sencillos, otras para hacer lminas para arcos compuestos. (Sesuponen que son las preferencias para el Hemisferio Norte, Inglaterra, Europa, etc. Algunas o todas ellaspueden estar disponibles, pero solamente algunas en los Estados Unidos)

Tejo (por supuesto), naranjo americano, olmo, fresno (alguno de ellos), nogal americano, roble, abedul,algarrobo negro, nogal, cedro, enebro, mora, arce, etc. De las variantes de fresno en los Estados Unidos: arcefuerte: blanco, rojo, verde, texas y orgn. Fresnos dbiles =negro, azul (ambos pueden ser adecuados para unarco).Las principales opciones para Nueva Zelandia y Australia incluyen: taw, rewarewa (probablemente),manuka/kanuka (rbol neozeolands del t), naranjo americano, arrayn de Tazmania, eucaliptus manchado,


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fresno alpino, fresno plateado.Regiones del Pacfico: bamb, chirimoyo (que es distinto al chirimoyo de Nueva Zelandia), palma negra.

Tratamiento de la maderaEl principal criterio es que la madera debe ser tratada (secada) muy lentamente. Si lo adquiri en el comercio(de un aserradero) ha sido probablemente secado al horno. Esto regularmente est bien si se hace de la formacorrecta, aunque a veces esto puede debilitar ligeramente la madera si se ha hecho rpidamente o un secadoexcesivo. La opinin general entre arqueros es que el secado por aire es lejos mejor (para algunas vigas comoel naranjo americano no es recomendable el secado por horno). Sin embargo, es generalmente difcil adquirirmadera ya adecuadamente secada sin tener tener que hacerlo personalmente (en un largo perodo de tiempo).Adems la madera viene con la humedad adecuada a su regin. Esto es especialmente relevante si la maderaest importada, secada al horno en un lugar y usada en una regin con mayor o menor humedad. Si est muyseca, (debajo del 10% de humedad) lo ms probable es que la madera est debilitada. Sin embargo, como lamayora de las personal no tiene el equipamiento para probarlo, supondremos que generalmente la humedades la adecuada.

Preparacin

Idealmente, la madera debera estar en capas en vez de aserrada, preferante las paletas del arco debieran estaren capas de un leo/rama el cual es de 4-6 pulgadas de dimetro. Esto significa que es ms probable que lamadera siga la veta, mientras que al serruchar lo ms frecuente es cortar a travs de la veta. La mayora de laspaletas de arco siguen la veta de la madera, y es menos probable que se rompa, y ms probable que sea fuerte.Si la veta corre a travs de las paletas en cualquier ngulo, esto debilita al arco en cierto punto, y esta cantidadcorresponde a la inclinacin del ngulo de la veta. Usualmente la parte de la savia va al reverso del arco,particularmente en la tradicional seccin D del longbow. La alineacin de la veta no es tan crtica cuando seusa un limn, el cual es recomendable para principiantes.

Lneas ideales de la veta y nudos en la madera

(Ntese que las variaciones son perfectamente posibles, pero a mayor diferencia del ideal, lo ms probableque una vez completado el arco ser ms dbil y propicio a romperse al usarse o construirse).

Atrs anillos

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(exageracin de las lneas de las vetas del arco en una vistalateral)

Vista posterior del arco ____________________\__________________/\________________/\______________/\____________/Panza del arco


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La veta debe correr derecha a travs del largo del listn de principio a fin. Si est chueca en relacin a latabla, debe modificarse el diseo para seguir la veta. Simpre, la parte trasera del arco debe seguir la lnea de laveta y la frontal (la panza) del arco debe seguir la lnea trasera (con el apropiado remate requerido). De esta

forma, si hay ms nudos en la madera, usted debe alterar el diseo para permitir ms madera para rellenar yapoyar el nudo ms debil de la madera (o puntos). Ejemplo, si la veta se sumerge en la paleta, entonces elarco debe ser moldeado para seguir la curva (desde el punto de vista de la veta)

(aqu el hundimiento de la veta se sigue en el arco, resultando en un arco con una curva en un brazo. Si no sehubiese seguido, la veta se rompera, debilitndose en este punto)

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Con paletas torcidas, lo mejor es unir dos piezas hermanas del mismo madero (ej dos piezas separadas unaal lado de la otra del mismo madero y la cual puede tener similares torceduras) y unirla al mango usanso unaZ o EMPALME DE COLA DE PEZ (como se muestra abajo). Esto asegura que ambas paletas seancomplementarias, incluso si estn malamente torcidas.

Empalme -Z Empalme de cola de pescado

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Esto puede hacerse si no es capaz de encontrar un pedazo entero de madera para hacer un duela completa.Dos mitades pueden unirse ya sea con las uniones ya sugeridas, de tal forma que la juntura est en el mangodel arco y entonces cubierta por el montaje del mango, etc.

Un par de consejos en el diseo de arcos

Una es del tipo longbow no desmontable (D-style), la otra para un arco no desmontable plano. Ninguna puedetomarse como el diseo, pero ambos son fcilmente modificables para acomodar diferentes clases demaderas, preferencias individuales, peso preferido, tiraje del arco, etc. Ambos arcos pueden componersecon un listn de cuero crudo, tela, cuerda fibrosa, nogal, etc, pero se hace preferentemente para ayudar a unarpida recuperacin del enderezamiento y adems provee alguna proteccin a la parte posterior del arco. Para


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hacer esto, usted necesitar un cordel, lpiz, sierra, lija de mano y/o un cuchillo y/o raspadora, papel. Ademsse recomienda algo para evitar dao entre los bloques de madera mientras se componen. Los profesionalesgeneralmente aceleran este proceso con sierras sin fin, pero surge la tendencia de desperdiciar muchas paletas

hasta saber lo que se est haciendo.Preparacin inicial de la parte trasera del arco

Esta parte debe ser la que estuvo ms cerca de la cscara del rbol si puede ser determinado (ej: madera desavia - esto particularmente para el tejo). En muchos arcos, el reverso se hace de la parte con savia del tronco,con el grueso del arco en el ncleo del corazn de la madera. De usar la parte con savia o no, dependefundamentalmente del tipo de tronco que se est usando. La savia del tejo tiene propiedades que la hacen idealpara ser dejadas en el reverso del arco. Con muchas especies, toda la madera con savia es removida y elreverso del arco se convierte en la primera proyeccin de la madera dura (ver ms abajo para ver unadiscusin ms completa sobre maderas blancas). Si la parte con savia se ha dejado para formar el reverso delarco, debe ser adelgazada de tal forma que slo llegue hasta un tercio del total de anchura del arco terminado.La mayora de la fuerza del arco viene de la madera dura.

Los arcos pueden ser totalmente hechos de madera de savia en muchas especies, pero ligeros cambios debenhacerse en los siguientes diseos para acomodar arcos de madera blancas. (Vase Maderas distintas al tejo ynaranjo americano para ms detalles). Antes de empezar a trabajar con la paleta, el reverso de sta debe sertratada hasta que todo el largo del reverso no tengo un solo nudo, ej: no hay anillos o cueros que se vean poratrs. Esto significa seguir la veta sin importar que torcedura ocurra en la veta y en la duela. Esto debe hacersecon herramientas, manualmente, en vez de una sierra, ya que puede ser la principal razn de debilitamiento enel arco terminado. Si los nudos son cortados en cualquier parte en el reverso del arco, esta ser la parte conms probabilidad de partirse al momento del rompimiento. Una vez que el reverso est limpio hasta el mismotamao que el nudo, el arco puede ser escogido.

Maderas distintas al tejo y naranjo americano

(De: [email protected] (Stephen & KristaFraser)

Probablemente una de las preguntas ms comunes que es escuchado es Se puede hacer un arco de unamadera que no sea tejo o naranjo americano?. Mi respuesta rpida : no slo se puede, sino que, en algunoscasos es preferible. Primeramente, las maderas blancas no necesitan mucha precaucin en trminos de maderade savia y madera de ncleo. Con el tejo y naranjo americano, la cscara y resto de madera impura deben serremovida para producir un arco de buena calidad. Para el principiante esta es una tarea intimidante. Sinembargo, las maderas blancas no requieren tratamiento especial. Una vez seca, se remueve simplemente lacorteza y la madera expuesta se convierte en el reverso del arco. Segundo, los troncos de tejo pueden costarUS$120 ahora, mientras que mucha gente tiene la abilidad de ir y cortar su propio arce, fresno, roble blanco,abedul o mora por una pequea suma o sin costo. Generalmente, uno puede sacar uno a dos paletas de unrbol de madera blanca. Yo, personalmente, me rehso a cortar un rbol a menos que pueda sacar 5 arcos porlo menos. A veces toma un poco observar, como puede ser dos horas en contraposicin a la semana o algo porel estilo que puede tomar ver el rbol perfecto de tejo si es que tal cosa existe en realidad.

Hablando de las virtudes de los arcos de maderas blancas, es que es imposible apreciarlos en su totalidad sinhablar previamente de los diseos de arcos y cmo pueden afectar el rendimiento.Si usted es una persona impaciente, y ya ha hecho su primer arco de alguna madera comn de acuerdo a lasdimensiones dadas en estas PMF, usted probablemente ha encontrado que el arco resultante a tomado unacantidad masiva o aguatamiento. Ambos trminos se refieren a al monto en que el arco se encorva por lapanza cuando el arco no est tenso.El seguimiento de la cuerda o fijacin no es un gran problema a menos que la fijacin sea extrema (todosobre 3 pulgadas). Nuevamente, si usted fabric un arco de madera blanca (madera comn) de acuerdo a lasdimensiones de estas PMF, usted habr probablemente construdo un arco entre 6 a 10 pulgadas de fijacin.Fije arropes del arco en la velocidad de las flechas un factor que es muy importante en la construccin dearcos. Por qu? Porque a mayor velocidad de la flecha significa una trayectoria ms plana y por lo tantohaciendo ms fcil el apuntar a variadas distancias. Adems, si usted es un cazador, apreciar la penetracinde la flecha dentro del objetivo para asegurar un rpida, limpia muerte.


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Entonces cmo podemos hacer que un arco de maderas blancas con el mismo peso, velocidad de disparo ytiraje como uno de calidad fina? Simple. Haga su arco ms amplio en el caso del arco plano o ms largo (en elcaso del longbow).

La mayora de los arqueros estn de acuerdo que las maderas blancas requieren un aumento del 20 al 30% deaumento en anchura o largo para equipararse en rendimiento y velocidad a un arco de madera fina. En el casodel arco plano, este aumento slo se aplica a la mxima anchura del arco. En el caso del longbow, esto va paratodo el arco.Aunque 67 es por lejos el largo base ms eficiente, esto es prcticamente imposible si se hace un longbowdel tipo D con una madera blanca. En mi experiencia, he encontrado que 79 pulgadas es un buen inicio. Unavez hecho, no he tenido que ajustar ningn otro aspecto o dimensin del arma. Con arcos planos de maderablanca, yo siempre uso 2 1/8 pulgadas en el punto ms ancho de la manilla manteniendo la misma anchura ygrosor como si fuera un arco con madera fina.Recuerde que estos incrementos se aplican solamente en la parte ms extensa (en trminos del arco plano) otodo el largo en el caso del longbow. No ajuste otra dimensiones... estos cambios harn el trabajo.A modo de revisin rpida, veamos las ventajas y desventajas de hacer arcos de maderas blancas. Ventajas: Barato Fcil adquisicin Ms variedad El exterior del rbol se convierte en el reverso del arco. No se requiere trabajo extra.

Desventajas: Requiere paletas ms amplias o largas No es tan prestigioso como las maderas finas.

Cuando comparo mi arco con el resto de los arqueros, siempre sufro un pequeo mpetu. Viene de saber queno gast un peso en mi madera, que mis maderos no estn bajo peligro como el resto, y que el arco en si esms fcil de trabajar. Esto me permite usar ms tiempo para disparar, y menos para raspar

Arco plano

Vista superior

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1+| -----3/4" 7/8" ancho del agarre

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Posterior ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Guata \ /

(Ntese, el arco est dibujado para un largo de 67, diseado para un arrastre de 28. Si su arco es ms corto oms largo, cambie el largo total por 2 por cada 1 de modificacin de arrastre (ej. Un arrastre de 26 da unlargo de 63). La seccin del agarre (c-c) se mantiene, el resto (c-e) debe alterarse en proporcin). Adems elmango en el lado de la panza 8c-c) puede ser parte del arco en si, o tambin puede ser un segundo pedazo demadera pegado a la panza para dar el ancho necesario.Primero, trace una lnea a travs todo el largo del reverso, por la mitad del arco, usando una regla o una lneade cuerda. Marque la mitad del largo de la duela 33,5 de cada lado. (a) El amngo debe ser de 2 (a-b) enambos lados, (dando un mango de 4 de largo b-b). De c-d (12) la duela se mantiene del mismo ancho (1 y

pulgadas de anchura total o 7/8 en ambos lados de la lnea central).Desde d-e, la anchura del arco disminuye gradualmente en lnea recta a un espesor final aproximado a 5/8(5/16 en ambos lados de la lnea central). Una vez que estn marcados en el reverso, pueden ser moldeados ysuavizados con lija, dando la forma bruta.Por el lado, el grosor del mango (b-b) debe ser aproximado a 1 5/8, disminuyendo gradualmente hastaparoximadamente 1 en (c) y despus disminuyendo hasta en (e). Una vez que la forma bsica estcompleta, la panza puede ser trabajada hasta alcanzar el peso requerido usando herramientas ms finas. Lapanza se mantiene plana por toda su extensin y la disminucin hacia las puntas se mantiene constante. (Verlabrando arcos para detalles del trabajo del peso)

Longbow de una pieza

Vista superior

^5/8amplioV

^||=1 & 1/4" anchura del mangov

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Vista lateral

--------- c b a b c

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Panza

Para marcar el arco, dibuje una lnea del largo total del reverso, justo por el centro del arco, usando un regla ouna lnea de cuerda. Marque en la mitad del largo de la paleta 33,5 desde cada punta. (a) El mango debe serde 1 desde (a-b) en la duela superior y 3 desde la suela inferior, (dando un mango de 4 b-b perosignificando que la duela superior es 1 ms larga que la de abajo). Desde b-b, el ancho debe ser aproximado


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a 1 de amplitud (5/8 desde ambos lados de la lnea central) y desde b-c el descenso es suave hasta llevar a5/8 de amplitud (5/16 de ambos lados de la lnea central)Una vez que estn las marcas en el reverso, pueden moldearse (cortando fuera de la lnea para permitir un

poquito ms de madera) entonces finalizando con lija y cepillador, dando la forma general.Desde el lado, el grosor del mango (b-b) debe ser alrededor de 1 , disminuyendo gradualmente hasta ungrosor de en (c). Una vez terminado esta forma, la panza puede ser tratada para obtener el peso requeridousando herramientas ms finas. Este estilo de arco tiene el centro de la panza manteniendo el alto y los ladosde la panza completamente redondeados.

Reverso

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\ /-------Panza

(el reverso se mantiene recto, o ligeramente convexo siguiendola lnea natural de los anillos de las vetas y en los lados y el la panzasesuponen que son redondeados a una forma "D" . La madera es cortada conlijadora, cuchillo, u otra herramienta hasta que el mango adecuado sea seamantenido, asegurando siempre que la pendiente del mango se mantengaconstante desde el mango hasta la punta.)

(Ver Curvando arcos para detalles sobre el trabajo del peso)

Curvando arcos

El proceso de curvado de arcos es aquel en que se busca alcanzar una tirada requerida con un peso requerido yasegurar que ambas paletas estn balanceadas y asegurar que el arco de la tirada es parejo con respecto acada una. La mayora del trabajo aqu es remover simplemente madera que no encorve suficientemente, y NOremoviendo madera de donde encorve demasiado. El resultado final es una arco que estira parejamente portodo su largo (la excepcin usual es el mango, aunque en algunos arcos, incluso en el mango se estiraligeramente)

El proceso inicial

Inicialmente, la madera se raspa parejamente del largo de cada paleta del arco. Despus que una pequeacantidad de madera ha sido removida, descanse la paleta en el suelo, tome la otra punta de la paleta en unamano, agarre el centro del arco y presinelo contra el mango. La idea es que las paletas comienzaen adoblarse parejamente. Una vez que ambas paletas se han doblado como 5-6 pulgadas hacia delante estandoparado (vertical), estamos listos para un tillering ms preciso. Los nocks iniciales se cortan a del final decada paleta, sesgando con un ngulo de 45 grados del reverso a la guata, usando algo como una escofinacircular de 5/32, un cochillo de bolsillo, o una hoja de 4mm de una sierra elctrica.. Con prctica, las pruebasen el suelo pueden ser usadas para obtener algo as como 20-30 libras del tiraje deseado, pero cuando seempieza es recomendable ser un poco ms cauteloso. (El chequeo del suelo es descansar una de las puntas delas paletas en el suelo y tomar la punta del mango de la paleta superior. Al presionar en el mango causa que lapaleta sostenida al suelo se flexibilice, y la cantidad de fleccin es determinada por la cantidad de presinaplicado al mango.)

Tillering preciso


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La manera ms fcil de hacer esto es tener un palito de tiller y un par de cuerdas para arco. La primera cuerdaes una muy pesada y muy larga de tal forma que el arco pueda ser encordado sin torcer el arco. La otra cuerdase usa ms tarde una vez que el arco comienza a flectarse alrededor de una tirada de 12. La otra alternativa es

tener una polea pegada a la mesa de trabajo con el mango del arco apuntando al suelo o tabln, dispngalo detal forma que usted pueda sostener la cuerda y an mantenerse lo suficientemente lejos para comparar eldesarrollo de las curvaturas. Con una balanza de platillos, tambin puede usarse para determinar la tirada delarco.

Tambin es til trazar las curvaturas requeridas en la muralla o en el papel de tal forma que el arco enformacin tenga un punto de comparacin. Mientras las curvaturas sean delineadas correctamente, esto ayudaa que ambas paletas sean perfectamente coincidentes cuando estn completas.

El palito para el tillering

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punta del palitopara el tiller

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El palo se hace ms largo de lo que usted tirar del arco, hasta 36 de largo es bueno, con ranuras cada unapulgada cortadas en ambos lados. Las ranuras finales deben ser redondeadas para no desgastar la cuerda. Elpalito se coloca en el centro del arco, introduciendo la cuerda en la ranura ms cercana a l. Esto se usa tantopara mostrar el tiraje y tambin el cunto (en largo) se ha tensado el arco. Si la base del palito se engancha auna balanza de platillos y la cuerda se tenza directamente en las ranuras, la presin hacia abajo del palito se

muestra como el tiraje en la balanza. (La cuerda debe ser dejada tranquila en relacin al palito para chequearel tiraje). Tambin, La cuerda puede ser deslizada en cualquiera de las ranuras para mantener el arco en unestado curvado mientras usted puede ver y comprobar la curva que surge. Tambin es til trazar la forma delarco en el muro/suelo para varios librajes para comprobar forma/flexibilidad. Esta es una importanteprecaucin si usted planea hacer varios arcos distintos. Una vez que la primera cuerda (la ms larga) se hacolocado, el arco se coloca en el palito y la cuerda tirada hasta que el arco tenga una pequea curvaconstantemente. De la primera vez que el arco es doblado, la curvatura debe ser hecha desde una muypequea hasta el estado final deseado, fleccionndola ligeramente en cada etapa. Una vez que comienza adoblarse, no debe ser tirado a un libraje mayor que el diseado originalmente. (De hecho, debe ser trabajadopara un libraje mayor que el presupuestado ya que probable que pierda un par de libras en la terminacin).Una vez que los nocks del arco se han alcanzado curvatura de 12-14 en comparacin a su estado original, lacuerda original puede reemplazar a la ms larga y ser usada para pruebas.La panza del arco debe mostrar la unin del crecimiento de los anillos en la mitad del arco a medida que se

fabrica, y stas deben correr suavemente hasta las puntas como la suave progresin del adelgazamiento.Mientras la panza del arco es puesta en el palito y tirado suavemente, mire bien ambas paletas. Si ambas nocurvan parejamente, marque las partes que no se doblan adecuadamente, saque el palito y trabaje parareducirla un poco ms. Si estas son las reas que se doblan demasiado, no toque estas reas a menos queambos lados ya hayan sido trabajados para que la curva sea ms pareja. Ambas paletas deben desarrollar lamisma curva, de tal forma que debe ser bastante constante y pareja desde el mango a los nocks.Para cada etapa, y cada vez que el arco ha sido probado, chequee la curvatura de las paletas. Compruebe,obtenga uniformidad, entonces pruebe el tiraje del arco. Entonces dispare con el arco en diferentes distanciasvarias veces (10-15), para ejercitar la madera. Esto permite a la madera debilitarse lentamente y ser posibledoblarla.Una vez que las curvas son parejas, tome la cuerda en la ranura siguiente del palito y repita el procedimientohasta obtener el libraje deseado. El libraje final debe alrededor de 2 a 4 libras ms alto que lo deseado.

Terminaciones ms los tiros iniciales del arco causarn que ste baje 2 a 4 libras de tal forma que se logra el


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libraje esperado. Cuando el arco esta listo, es preferible pegarle una delgada capa de madera por el reverso delmango, diseado para un agarre ms cmodo. Una vez que el arco est pulido, puede ser sellado con unpolmero decente o similar a prueba de agua, sellador y protector.

Luego ajustar los nocks y el mango como se indic. Si se desea, se puede componer el mango con una lminaantes de pegar el mango. Esta lonja aumenta ligaramente el libraje. Una vez que el arco ha logrado el tirajedeseado, NUNCA debe ser extendido ms hall de su libraje. Al hacerlo, se arriega grandemente a astillar elarco. Entonces, no lo preste a otro arquero sin supervizarlo cuidadosamente.

Poner los nocks finales

Los nocks finales pueden ser cortados a delante de cada paleta, inclinado a un ngulo de 45 grados desdela parte posterior de la panza, usando una raspadora circular de 5/32, un cuchillo de bolsillo o un diente de4mm de una sierra elctrica. Debe tenerse cuidado de mantener limpio el reverso del arco porque nonecesariamente se logra el corte o funciona al poner los nocks. Al hacerlo es probable que se corten las vetas,debilitando las paletas.Como un alternativa, muchos longbows se equipan con nocks de asta o de cuernos, deslizado sobre la punta

de cada paleta y fijados con pegamento. Esto ayuda a proteger a la madera de la raspadura y tambin es muydecorativo. Para hacerlos, tome una asta o cuerno de hasta 4 de largo y de -3/4 por la base. Al final de lapaleta debe tomar la forma de un cono de alrededor de de mader, y la base del nock de cuerno taladreadapara que quepa. Pula o corte los nocks dentro del cuerno, entonces esparza un buen pegamento para maderas aprueba de agua al final de la paleta y deslice los cuernos formados, mantenindolos firmemente en posicinhasta que el pegamento se seque.

Tambin como alternativa para cortar nocks, es posible hacer un nudo firme alrededor de los puntos paranocks y pegarlos aqu. La cuerda se desliza entonces sobre las puntas y se ubica por el nudo del nervio.

Opciones

El arco completado puede tener el mango forrado en cuero, cuerda o algo similar si se desea. Un rosaflechas(o descanso) de madera o cuero puede ser montado en el mango del arco. Generalmente el cuero, hueso o una

concha puede ponerse dentro del mango o pegada en la superficie externa del mango para proteger a lamadera del roce de la flecha. El rosaflecha (=descanso de la flecha) es un pequeo molde triangular decualquier material en el cual la flecha descansa mientras se apunta y dispara. Algunos arqueros prefieren quela flecha descance sobre la punta del dedo ndice, otros el rosaflecha.

Recurvado

Recurvar usualmente aumenta significantemente el libraje del arco, sin necesitar una tirada mayor. Recurvares doblar las puntas de las extremidades (o todo la extremidad) hacia atrs. Si esto se hace mientras la maderaest hmeda o caliente, la madera mantendr la curvatura cuando no est tensa, haciendo el arco incluso msflexive cuando se tira.Los recurvados pueden ser hechos de distintas formas. Una es pegar ms capitas de madera en las puntas delarco con un ngulo igual a la duela originalmente. Ejemplo:

Reverso de la paleta del arco

__/ /

) (

-------------------------- / /

/ /------------------------/--/

(Al pegar este agregado se da un efecto recurvadorinstantneo dando un tiraje ligeramente mayor a la flecha,pero no es la forma ideal)


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Panza del arco

El mtodo normal para recurvar un arco es mantener el rea a ser recurvada sobre el pito de una tetera de agua

por algn tiempo, de tal forma que el vapor ablande las fibras de la madera. Despus de un rato (20 minutos ams) las fibras de la madera se habrn ablandado lo suficiente para que la paleta sea lo suficientementeflexible. Haga la forma deseada (generalmente ayudndose de algo curvo para dar la forma querida) yentonces permitir en secado y enfriamiento lento. Asegrese que ambas paletas sean recurvadas del mismotamao, una vez ms comprobando que la curvatura de ambas paletas sea la misma siempre. Cualquierdiferencia al flectarse las paletas pondr un presin mayor y desbalanceada en cualquier parte del arco,posiblemente de afectos fatales (para el arco).

Enderezamiento

Las paletas hechas de troncos enroscados como el naranjo americano, puede ser enderezado con unacuidadosa aplicacin de calor de una estufa a gas si se puede prevenir que el leo se consuma, con unaproteccin de cera, grasa o algo similar. Este mtodo tambin se usa para corregir arcos que han desarrollado

curvaturas o remolinos durante el uso. Cuidadosamente y lentamente calentado el arco , ste reblandece unpoco y puede moldearse a la forma deseada y volver a enfriar lentamente. Todo el arco debe ser calentado almismo tiempo, no en etapas, por lo que esto puede hacerse con una caera con ambos extremos tapados, y elcalor aplicado a la caera, en vez de hacerlo directamente al arco. Mientras que la madera no se recaliente nise queme, debera recobrar su lnea recta y recobrar la mayora (si no todo) el libraje perdido. Esto no ser,por supuesto, permanente pero realza grandemente la vida efectiva del arco.

Cmo componer fcilmente el arco con cuero crudo.(De: I.Priesnall [email protected] )

Acabo de encontrar una buena fuente de cuero crudo para componer arcos en la tienda de mascotas local.

Venden huesos de mascar para perros que son como de 18 pulgadas de ancho, compuestos de un tubo con unnudo en cada extremo, dando una idea de hueso de fmur usado. He preguntado en otras tiendas de mascotaspor estos grandes huesos y estn preparadas para ordenarlos para mi.La primera tarea es elegir un buen material. Estos huesos son de un tipo de color piel sucio. Evite aquelloscon fallas obvias, como salpicaduras, y trate de elegir aquellos con una coloracin pareja. Son trasnparentes,de tal forma que se ve la superficie afeada, pero no he tenido problemas, incluso en las zones muy delgadasdel material.Para despegarlo, usted debe remojar todo el hueso en agua fra por dos das. Los nudos de los extremosentonces pueden ser deshechos fcilmente. Mis huesos consisten en una sola pieza de cuero crudo dealrededor de 36 pulgadas, 6 de ancho, enrollado en un tubo y empaquetado con retazos de cuero de alrededorde 6 a 11 pulgadas. Una vez que las piezas de cuero han sido separadas y mientras an estn mojadas (ahorason de una suciedad ms blanca), puede tocar la superficie. El lado del pelo est bien, pero la parte interiorpuede ser un poco spera. Uso un regla de acero y la paso por tod la superficie un par de veces. Esto remueve

muchos pedacitos sueltos.Despus ponga el cuero en un bao de agua fra con dos onzas (un escazo puado) de soda de limpieza porgaln y disulvalo. Djelo 24 horas para desengrasar el cuero.Saque el pellejo del bao, lmpielo bien con un chorro de agua y luego enrrllelo en un saco hmedo por 24horas. Esto suministra la suficiente humedad para trabajar, pero sin dejarlo mojarlo.He compuesto arcos con este cuero. Los arcos con paletas son ms fciles porque su reverso es ligeramentecurvo, por lo que lo ver primero. El mejor pegamento es el de cuero. Funciona como por un encanto. Pongaun puado de grnulos de pegamento en un viejo tiesto metlico y djelo reposar por la noche juesto con elagua fra suficiente para cubrilo. Si no tiene un tiesto para pegamento, cubra la base de la cacerola conmrmol o guijarro para que pueda liberar la base durante el cocido. Llene el espacio entre el tiesto y el platillocon agua y caliente toda la mezcla hasta que el pegamento sea lquido. Adelgace con agua para obtener unaconsistencia de jarabe. Revuelva bien. Saque la cuchara del pegamento y mire los borbotones. Si sube consalpicaduras, est muy delgada. Si no fluye fcilmente - muy gruesa. Un delgado y consistente flujo es lo


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adecuado. Tome su arco y limpie el reverso con lija fina para dar una superficie libre de grasa. Y ogeneralmente lo limpio varias veces con un trapo mojado en acetona para asegurarme realmente que est librede grasa.

Ayuda si el arco est algo curvo antes de componerlo. Ate una cuerda firmemente en la punta del nock, use undestornillador o una palanca para hacer un nudo en la mitad de la cuerda y tuerza la palanca como 2 detorcin. Desate la palanca de la cuerda. Monte el arco en un tornillo de banco con el reverso curvadoapuntando hacia arriba.

Tan pronto como el arco est limpio y libre de grasa, dibuje una sueva estela de pegamento caliente en lasuperficie para sellarla y aparejarla. Permita que el pegamento que escurre se seque y fije (durante la noche).Mientras tanto, usted puede cortar el cuero usando un cuchillo. Hgalo en una superficie limpia porque noquerr ensuciar no darle aspereza mientras est mojado el cuero. No apriete el cuero al ejustarlo al arco,porque ste al secarse se encoge. Lo ideal es que la piel est unida, preferentemente bajo el mango. Y o usouna juntura como la siguiente:

\\.. \\

____________\\_________donde el rebalse es de 0,3 a 0,4. Lo he hecho de dos formas: la forma correcta, donde usted corta en ngulodel cuero hmedo usando un cuchillo afilado antes de componer. Y la forma tonta: componer la mitad delarco. Despus de un da, retome el pagodo en la juntura y componga el otro lado del arco, usando un generosorebalse del cuero de 1 pulgada. Cuando la compostura est seca, usted puede moler/lijar el sobrante, dejanteun asuperficie lisa.Componer el arco es una operacin sencilla. Tenga todo listo antes de empezar. Asegrese que el pegamentoest tibio y escurra como jarabe. Dibuje una suave lnea en el reverso del arco, orpimiendo los lados. Ponga elcuero para respaldar en su lugar, desde el centro y suavemente hacia el final de las paletas. Pege las junturas.No se preocupe si el pegamento se seca inmediatamente: la humedad del cuero causa que se hince y formauna unin. Ahora tome un retazo, de mnimo 2 pulgadas de ancho (como el de los primeros auxilios) y,comenzando del mango, vende el arco y compngalo firmemente. Cubra con el vendaje una pulgada.Asegrelos firmemente con una cuerda. Slo para asegurarse, yo generalmente recubro sobre con otrovendaje.Contenga su impaciencia. Remueva el vendaje despus de 48 horas. Nuevamente agarre las junturas y losnocks con cuerda. Permita que el arco se seque por lo menos una semana. Un mes es mejor. Entoncesremueva el poste y la cuerda que se us para tensionar el arco y doblarlo.La tabla ahora est dura como un clavo. Cuidadosamente saque el exceso usando un cuchillo de garfio (comolos usados en carpas). Las puntas speras pueden ser pulidas con Surform, y el ajuste final se hace con unrebajador de rayos, hecho para un cortado fino. Permita que curar el arco durante otro mes ms antes determinarlo. Y o lijo la superficie de las tablas con papel de lija, dando una superficie muy suave, antes dedecorar y barnizar el arco. Yo uso barniz para yates. Varias capas, lijando entre capas. Ponga particularatencin a los lados y junturas, donde la lluvia puede colarse.Usted tambin puede usar la misma tcnica para otras partes del arco. Ya que mi ltimo arco fue de solamente3mm de ancho en la terminacin de los nocks, molde nocks de una tabla con una veta delgada, doblado sobreuna fina pieza de un listn de madera, para luego pegarla y asirla.

Componer un arco plano (de un tronco o listn) es similar, pero he encontrado que usar un distribuidor depresin en la forma de tira de aluminio con una seccin de forma T. Lo pongo con el rea ms plana encontacto el reverso vendado, entonces ato todo firmemente con una cuerda.

Tenga la precaucin que, una vez barnizado, el listn de respaldo queda casi transparente. Entonces ustedpuede ver la veta de la madera a travs del respaldo. Puede ver adems cualquier burbuja e imperfeccin ensu tcnica de pegado!He encontrado que un respaldo de un listn es inmensamente fuerte. Tambin se recupera rpidamente:cuando est suelto, usted puede ver al arco volver a tomar su conformacin normal. Tiene un inconveniente,que es relativamente pesado y no mejora el tiro del arco. Pero por otro lado, es como una armadura de placas,y protege al arco contra brusquedades y raspaduras, a la vez que otros arqueros pueden hacer un intento conel orgullo y diversin de uno.


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At left are the back and side views of the upper limb and handleof the flat bow. Above are sketches showing how the handle andnocks are finished and how a shooting tab, tiller, and peg are made

The tiller serves to hold the bow bent forinspection during construction and, as itwill be used often, should be carefully andaccurately made.

The string for tillering must be farstronger than the one ultimately used forshootingat least 60 strands of No. 20linen thread. Lay up twenty strands 18in. longer than the bow, stretch themsmoothly, and wax them together. Maketwo more sets and tie the three together.With the tied ends over a hook twist eachof the three groups of thread individuallyto the right and have an assistant hold thetwist in. Now take all three and lay themround each other to the left, as if makingrope. The right-hand twist makes themgrip one another and cling together. Putthe string under tension and rub thorough-ly with beeswax. Work it round and com-pact by rubbing with a small piece ofleather held between the fingers. Tie apermanent loop (bowline) at one end and

use a timber hitch to fastenthe lower end to the bow.

Later you will need ashooting string, and becausea breaking string endangersnot only the bow but thearcher and bystanders as well,it is better for a beginner tobuy a few strings. When oneof these becomes frayed, takeit apart, study the make-up,read a bit on the subject, and

try to make one yourself.You will soon be able to pro-duce a creditable string.

The notches at the ends ofthe bow, or "nocks" as anarcher calls them, are bestput in with a small round file.At the side, near the back,the nocks are half round,slanting across the side to-ward the grip and flaringslightly to give room for thestring to change direction asthe bow is drawn. Theyshould not extend across the

back of the bow as this wouldseriously weaken the bow tip.Slip the loop down over

the upper tip, draw the stringdown the bow, and fasten itat the lower nock with a tim-ber hitch. Have the stringabout 3 in. shorter than thelength of the bow, that is,measuring from nock to nock.

out to the tips to markthe thickness of the bow,following the dimensionson the drawing. Both edgesof the stave should bemarked. Now mark theprofile of the riser at thegrip, dipping it boldly intothe run of the belly ateach side of the handle.If the stave did not comewith a piece glued on toform the handle, you will,

of course, have to cut asuitable block of hardwoodabout by 1 by 8 in.and glue it on.

Set the bow in the vise,belly up, and shave off thewood above the lines justdrawn. For the deeperpart of the cut near thetips, a drawknife may be used with caution;but nearer the handle where the cut is shal-low, a spokeshave and small block plane aresafer. When the bow has been worked to arectangular cross section over its wholelength, except at the riser, which is rounded,you are ready to test it for curve.

This work has probably consumed an eve-ning, and you are obliged to lay the bowaway until you have more spare time. Be-fore you do so, rub the whole bow with shel-lac to prevent any possible checking orabsorption of water.

You now need what is known as a "tiller"for testing the bow, as well as a temporaryor working bowstring and a shooting tab forprotecting the fingers. The tiller is a pieceof scrap wood about 7/8 by 3 by 30 in.,notched at 2- or 3-in. intervals as shown tocatch the bowstring and notched at one endto fit over the handle of the bow. As the tillermay be used later on the finished handle, it is

just as well to pad the end jaw with leather.

Using an old T-square to mark the lines showing the height of thebelly of the bow. The vise is faced with removable wooden jaws


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Testing the curve of the tillered bow on a grid-iron chalked on the floor. In circle: Using a

spokeshave to cut the bel ly down to guide l ines

Place the bow in the vise and have anassistant pull carefully on the lower tipwhile you pull the upper and slip the loopin place in the nock. Do not push on thelimbs, for a breaking bow nearly alwaysthrows splinters forward with murderousforce. The string is likely to stretch con-siderably, and you will have to adjust thetimber hitch several times before you holdthe bow bent to any great depth.

S soon as you have a bend of some 5or six in. in the bow, place the tiller

on the handle and hold the bow, back down,on the floor, steadying it with your toes.Then pull the string up a few notches onthe tiller with both hands. Have your as-sistant ready with a piece of chalk to markany section which does not bend evenly,or the whole bow must contribute to theshot to obtain the utmost efficiency.

Let the bow down, unbrace itthat is,slip the loop out of the upper nockandreplace in the vise for scraping at thespots marked by the chalk. To make surethat the whole section is reduced evenly,rub the part to be scraped with soft pen-cil lead. By scraping the marks away, youremove a thin layer of wood and will not

risk reducing one side more than the other.Flat bows bend in a different arc than

ordinary long bowspractically a perfect

arc, slightly flattened in the center oppositethe grip. So slight is this flattening thatthe radius of the curve of each limb shouldbe the same as the length of the drawinthis case 28 in. If a template like thaton the following page is laid on the floorand the bow worked down carefully untilit fits neatly within the arcs, you are prac-tically sure to produce a bow which willgive flat trajectory, good distance, andlittle jar. Do not keep the bow at fulldraw more than a few seconds at a time.

Generally speaking, the bend shouldshowfirst in the center of the limbs, thenin toward the grip, and lastly in the thirdof the limbs nearest the tips. Allowing thetips to bend too early in the work weakensthem excessively and produces what areknown as "whip ends."

Finally the corners of the limbs arerounded slightly to lessen the danger ofdenting. Draw a line 1/16 in. each side ofthe back corners and 3/32 in. from thebelly corners and round only to these lines.Sand with No. 6/0 garnet paper until fairlysmooth and rub on a good coat of shellac.

The bow is now ready to shoot for the

first time. Although it is not essential, agood practice in breaking in a new bow

is to select arrows considerably heavierthan those to be used later. If heavy ar-

arrows are available, use them for about200 shots, as this works the bow downwithout permitting it to recoil too sharply.Bitch hunting arrows 3/8 in. in diameter

OUTDOOR SPORTS

Especial care and delicacy arerequired in trimming down thetips or ends of the limbs wherethe bow is narrow. The bestsafeguard is to test the bendfrequently by using the tiller

Slight reductions are made with theblade of a penknife or a steel scraper.The wood is first marked with softpencil so no spots will be overlooked

51

are about the right weight for this purpose;otherwise use cheap birch target arrows.

They can be obtained from archery dealersor sporting goods stores for so little thatit hardly pays to attempt to make them.Besides the shooting tab to protect thefingers, an arm guard or "bracer" is neededto prevent the bowstring from bruising theleft forearm. The conventional bracer ismade of heavy leather, but a piece offiber or thin, narrow strip of hardwood maybe tied on to serve the purpose.

Now tiller the bow again. It will havelost weight and changed shape slightly,and will need further correction.

Glue on a thin piece of white pine toround out the back of the bow. Taper itin gracefully to meet the back of the bow,and round it into the sides. A serviceablegrip is made by serving the bow with crab

line, chalk line, or braided trolling line. Thetotal length of the grip should be about 4.in., the winding occupying 3 in. of thisspace and the balance being covered byleather circlets . The upper circlet has aprojection at the left of the bow; thisserves as an arrow plate and prevents ar-rows from wearing the wood as they leavethe bow. Use rather thick leather so itmay be whittled away from the undersideto a thickness equal to the string binding.The outer edge is trimmed to a featheredge and the ends thinned to make a neatjoint; then the leather is dampened, gluecoated, and bound in place with narrowstrips of cloth un ti l dry. As soon as theleather is dry, shellac the whole handle.The cord may then be painted as suits thebowyer's fancy, and another coat of shel-lac applied to protect the color.

LUSH, velvet, leather, and gimp braidare also used to pad handles, but cord

affords a firm grip and is very durable.Once the new bow has been well tested

and has proved itself satisfactory it shouldbe cleaned carefully. Remove al l too lmarks and thoroughly sand it with the fin-est garnet paper. Th in some white shellac

about fifty percent with alcohol, turn alittle on a soft, lintless cotton cloth, andrub the bow briskly until the shellac hasdried and a surface begins to show. It w i l lbe necessary to work a short section at atime and to go over the whole bow severaltimes to build up a shellac surface. Smoothlightly with very fine paper or steel wooland rub with furniture or piano polishun ti l a dul l gloss finish results. This meth-od builds up a surface so thin that it willnot crack with bending, yet thoroughlywater resistant and beautiful to the eye.A bow carefully waxed and polished aftereach field day soon takes on a fine luster,

and the surface becomes toughened.If, after a month or so of regular shoot-

ing, the bow is found too strong for com-fort, it can be reduced to suit.

So far as the making of various typesof arrows, bowstrings, bracers, quivers,targets, and other archery tackle is con-cerned, there are several excellent hand-books and a variety of booklets that givedetailed information.

Keep the bow unbraced when not in use.Hang it from a peg or lay it on a shelf oracross a pair of pegs supporting the middleth ir d of the bow. A good bow rack can bemade by drivin g sharp-pointed finishing

nails from which the heads have been

A

P


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Wrapping the grip with crab line. The lineis clove-hitched to a convenient nail or hook

clipped part way into a plaster wall and

slipping over them dowels in which a holehas been bored. The holes in the dowelsshould be a close fit. If the nails aredriven at a slight upward angle and thedowels are cut to fit the wall closely, theeffect will be that of wooden pins set in theplaster. If the nails alone were used, theiron would corrode and leave unsightlymarks on the bow.

lA


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Tom Jennings of S. & J. Archery checks the weight oi a finished laminated recurve bow with spring scaleand graduated base board. Glass and core lamination thicknesses largely determine weight of each bow.

114


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How to Make

a Recurve BowThe knowledge gained through the experience of making yourown bow makes this more than just a prideful accomplishment.

SOONER or later the enthusiastic archer gets a yen to make his own bow.His reasons may be economical or experimental, but whatever they are,

his skill as a craftsman should be equal to his enthusiasm or his venture intobow-making could prove dismal and costly. It's one thing to get a slat or stave

of lemonwood and whittle out a simple bow that will perform to a fair degreeof satisfaction, but the beginner who attempts to make a laminated recurvebow is tackling the most difficult project in the critical field of bow-making.There are so many variables and pitfalls in the construction of a laminated bowthat to turn out a successful job on the first try is an achievement in itself. Yet,the thrill of accomplishment and the knowledge gained through this experiencemake it a worthwhile venture, even if it takes two tries to succeed.

Today's modern bow is made up of laminations of wood and Fiberglas, thewood serving as a neutral core or spacer between two laminations of Fiberglas.Actually it is the Fiberglas that does the work of the bow, carrying 88 percentof the load while the wood core carries only 12 percent. As you increase thespacing between the two Fiberglas laminations by using a thicker core, you

automatically increase the strength of the bow by the square. Thus, if youdouble the thickness of the core, you increase the weight of the bow four times.Since the thickness of the laminations is measured in thousandths of an jnch,it is easy to see how just a few thousandths of an inch more thickness in thecore can make a bow too heavy for your use.

There are several woods that are suitable for bow-making, among themhickory, Osage orange, yew and lemonwood. However, maple is the most com-mon core wood used in glass-faced and backed bows because it is a consistentlyhard dense wood, very straight-grained, and readily available in good cleargrades. The beginner is wise to use maple rather than some of the other woodswhich are tricky to handle because of knots and twisty grain patterns.

To make things easier for the beginner, there is a bow kit available that con-

Core laminations are cut from same block ofhard maple in order to insure matched limbs.

Kit contains all materials needed for mak-ing laminated recurve bow in weight desired.


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Glue up risen and base core laminations; dampunit to straight bar to insure good glue lines.

tains all the necessary woods, Fiberglas andglues to make a custom, 5-foot 6-inch re-curve bow. The wood sections and Fiber-glas strips are of uniform thickness andthe wood is cut from matched sections ofhard maple wood of the finest quality. Thekit, which sells for $24.95, is put out by

S. & J. Archery, 10945 Burbank Blvd.,North Hollywood, Calif., makers of customSmithwick bows, and provides all the nec-essary materials to make a custom bow, asshown in the photos in this chapter.

Before making a bow, however, it is agood idea to acquaint yourself with theanatomy of a bow and the terms used todenote its various parts. As shown in thediagram on this page, the bow, when heldvertically, has an upper and lower limb,each extending from the central handle orgrip. The smooth ledge cut into the upperpart of the grip on the side where thearrow will travel is called the arrow rest orplate. The side of the bow facing awayfrom the archer is called the back, whilethe side facing the archer is called the bellyor face. The belly portions on either endof the handle that taper inward towardthe limbs are called the fadeouts or dips.At the end of each limb is a string groovewhich is called the nock, known respec-tively as the upper and lower nock. Thebowstring has a reinforced center section

called the serving; the little ball of stringlocated opposite the arrow plate and used

After glue has dried, clean off edges of bow as-sembly and lay out curve it is to be cut down to.


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Use a bond saw or jig saw to cut out this curve,taking care not to cut into fade-out lamination.

117

to take the guesswork out of nocking thearrow is called the nocking point.

To make the custom bow shown in thephotos, you will need the following ma-terials, all of which are supplied in the bowkit mentioned above, and can be purchasedas a unit or as separate items:

The thicknesses of the glass and corelaminations determine to a large extent theweight of the finished bow and should becarefully selected with that in mind. It ispractically impossible to draw up a formulathat will give you the correct thicknessesfor any specific weight bow because of themany other factors that can affect yourbow weight. For instance, your bow weightwill be affected also by the length of thebow, the design and amount of recurve,its width and taper, and the type wood usedin the core. A long center-section riser


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will shorten the working limbs and in-crease the weight of the bow, while ashorter grip section will allow you longerworking limbs and thus lighten the bow.It takes very little to add or subtract 10

pounds from the weight of a bow and, forthis reason, anyone building a laminatedbow of his own design can never be surewhat weight it will be until he can actuallytest the bow.

Bow makers make many bows and do aconsiderable amount of experimenting be-fore they establish a standard of operationfor any one bow, and because this has beendone with the Smithwick Custom Bow, itis possible to order a bow kit for the weightbow you wish to make. The kit will thenhave laminations of the correct thickness togive you the right basis from which to start.Even then, the success of your ultimateweight goal will depend on how skillfullyyou shape and taper the limbs. Once thebillet or roughed-out bow is completed,you cannot add any more weight to it. Youcan only take weight off.

As a general rule, the following lamina-tion thickness specifications will, if appliedto the bow design shown, produce a bowthat will correspond closely to the desiredweight you wish to achieve: for a 50 lb.bow: .175-inch core, .050-inch back glassand .060-inch belly glass; for a 40 lb. bow:.175-inch core, .042-inch back glass and.048-inch belly glass; for a 25-30 lb. bow:.160-inch core, .040-inch back glass and.045-inch belly glass.

The lighter 25-30 lb. bow is usually alady's bow and requires additional changesin the tapering of the billet to bring theweight down without reducing the thick-ness of the limbs too much. This is because

there is a ratio between the thickness andthe width of the limbs where the bow givesthe best performance.

With all your materials laid out, youare now ready for the first step in makingyour bow. This step consists of gluing theriser blocks to the core laminations. How-ever, before applying any glue, it is a goodidea to assemble the component parts dryand familiarize yourself with the positioneach piece occupies so that there will beno mistakes when the glue is applied. Oncethe glue has been applied, you must joinand clamp the pieces together withoutdelay in order to get a perfect bond. Tomake sure that the pieces are positionedproperly, mark the center line across theside edge of each piece. When all units areassembled, the center lines should coincideto form a straight line across the edge ofthe risers.

In this first step, you glue together onlythe three riser blocks, the fade-out lamina-tion, and one pair of core laminations. Thepair of core laminatioris are laid end to endunder the riser blocks to form a con-tinuous 6-foot long core as shown in thediagram. This core comes in two sections;in order to assure perfectly matched upperand lower limbs, two 36-inch lengths ofcore lamination are cut from the same 36-

Taper fadeout into base lamination. Extreme caremust be taken to avoid gouging base lamination.

End of fadeout blends into base lamination. Whendone right, there won't be any detectable ridge.


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Glue second pair of core laminations, Fiberglasfacings to bow assembly and secure to bow form.

Inner-tube strips or tape can be used to secureassembly to bow form to establish recurve shape.

inch long block of hard maple. The twopieces, coming from the same section of

wood, are as closely matched in grain andwood characteristics as is possible toachieve. This is true also of the second pairof core laminations which are glued to theassembly in another operation.

The wood portions can be cemented to-gether with any good wood glue, such asurea-base glues or Elmer's Glue. The gluesupplied with the kit is Urac No. 185, whichis used with a Urac hardener. Apply theglue evenly with a 1-1/2-in. brush to bothsurfaces being joined and clamp the as-sembly firmly between blocks and astraight bar of wood or metal. The straightbar is important for insuring good gluelines. Use enough clamps to distribute thepressure evenly along the entire area being


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Glued bow assembly is clamped to steel form anddried in heating chamber in professional set-up.

Howard Hill dries his bows with heat of a blowtorch directed into improvised drying chamber.

glued. Allow 24 hours drying time, the firstsix hours at at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit.A closed car in the summer sun will usuallyget at least this hot. Another trick is towrap the glued assembly in a sheet ofcanvas that has been treated for water-

proofing and let this lie in the direct sun.The heat will build up in the canvaswrapping to a very high degree. HowardHill improvises a drying chamber bywrapping a length of 10-inch stovepipewith asbestos, closing it off at both ends,but leaving a small enough opening at oneend through which to direct the heat of ablowtorch.

While the assembly is drying, make awooden form for shaping the billet. Thisform should be bandsawed out of a 2-inch

thick solid wood block that is seven incheswide and 70 inches long. In the absence ofsolid wood, plywood can be used by lam-inating two lengths of 3/4-in. and onelength of 1/2-in. plywood together to buildup the 2-inch thickness required. Cut theform out to the shape shown in the diagram,making sure that both ends of the form cutout are identical in shape. The best wayto assure this is to make a template, fromheavy cardboard or thin sheet metal, of onehalf of the desired shape, then trace thisonto the form block, first on one end of the

block and then, flopped, on the other endof the block. The form, when cut out,should be perfectly square to insure a firmeven base for clamping the glued lamina-tions. After cutting out the recurve con-tour, draw a line on the form parallel to

After drying by heat at recommended temperature, bindings are taken off and billet is removed fromform. Billet will have taken recurve shape. Clean and square up both sides of the billet by sanding.


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this shape and spaced three inches fromit and cut away the excess wood along thisline. The precision and evenness withwhich you make this form will determinethe quality of your finished bow to a greatdegree.

After the bow assembly has dried, cleanthe excess glue off both sides of the risersection and then lay out the curve it is tobe cut down to as shown in diagram (StepNo. 3). Since both sides of the riser sectionfadeouts are the same shape and equallydistant from the center line, a half tem-plate can be used in both positions to tracethe curve onto the riser section. The fade-out mustbe a very gradual curve into thebase or core lamination. This is essential tothe final tiller of the bow.

Use a band saw or jig saw to cut out thiscurve but do not cut into the fade-outlamination. The gradation of the fadeoutis too critical an operation to be done witha saw. It should be done by careful sand-ing, preferably using a drum sander, untilthe fadeout gradually blends into the corelamination. Be very careful not to cut intothe core lamination or leave even theslightest ridge at the end of the fadeout.Cutting into the core lamination willweaken the bow at that point, while leav-ing a ridge will stiffen the limb, add to the

bow's weight, and interfere with the bow'sperformance.

The next step is to glue the second pair ofcore laminations to the bow assembly. Thisoperation is performed in the bow form inorder to establish the recurve shape. The

Cover outer Fiberglas surfaces with masking tapefor protection and to facilitate marking layout

Using a flexible tape measure or rule, establish

the center of the bow, taking care to be precise

Now draw two center lines on the bow. one crosswise and the other lengthwise. All measurements shouldbe very carefully made as even a slight error will be reflected in the accuracy of the finished bow.


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Measure exact distance from, center to end ofeither fadeout. Mark off equal distance other limb. Mark off bow tips for required width, then layout limb tapers from end of fadeout to bow tip.

best way to do this is to set the two stripsend to end and secure them together tempo-rarily with masking tape across their out-er surfaces. Then apply glue to the innersurfaces of both strips and the back surfaceof the bow assembly. Now join the lamina-tions together, centering the taped jointwith the center line on the riser section andlining it up with the center line on the bow

form. Do this in the form, using a C-clampon the center line to clamp the assembly tothe form. Then, starting at the center pointand using loops cut from an old inner tube,numerous clamps or masking tape, securethe laminations firmly to the form. To facil-itate removal of the billet from the form,wax paper should be placed between theform and the laminations. Also, because therubber loops and tape, when tightly woundaround the assembly, exert most of thepressure on the edges of the laminations

and very little in the middle, a spacer strip,consisting of "a strip of wood 1/16 in. thickand 1/8 inch narrower than the laminations,should be laid along the top of the billetand centered to leave a 1/16-in. marginalong each side before the tape or rubber

loops are wound around the assembly. Thisspacer strip will equalize the pressure ex-erted over the entire surface and insure agood glue line. No glue is applied to thisspacer strip.

As you work your way toward the bowtips, the laminations will be forced downinto the form and will take the shape of thecurve cut into the form. Do this along both

ends, securing the entire length, then setthe form into a hot place to dry. Becauseextreme heat may melt natural rubber,loops preferably should be cut from oneof the synthetic-type tubes which are moreheat resistant. Dry the billet at no less than100 degrees F. When the glue dries, thelaminations will retain the shape of theform. Clean off the excess glue from thesides of the core and, with No. 1/2 grit sand-paper, clean off any wax that might havetransferred to the core from the wax paper.

The next step is to apply the Fiberglasto the bow assembly. The Fiberglas is ob-tained in two thicknesses, the heavier stripsbeing used on the belly of the bow and thelighter ones on the back. Rough the sidesof the glass to be glued (either side can be


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Cut away the excess limb. Clean and iacethe edges up to the layout lines, round-ing Fiberglas slightly with a mill file.

Having determined which is to be the up-per limb and which the lower, lay out thehandle and sight window and cut to shape.


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Following the photos on these pages, rough shapethe bow handle, on a disc sander if you have one.

Curve top surface of the arrow rest slightly sothat shaft does not rest on too broad a surface.

used) with very coarse sandpaper, prefer-ably using a drum sander, to remove all theglaze. Do not be afraid to sand.

Next, join the two strips of back glass endto end with masking tape applied to the sideopposite the one roughed up for gluing andlay this glass, rough side up, into the form.The wooden bow assembly then sets in onthis, and the belly glass, joined end to endwith masking tape like the back glass, isset on top of the whole assembly. This is a

"dry run" to make sure that all the com-ponent parts are properly sanded and readyfor gluing. It is a good idea to cover theouter surfaces of both the back and bellyglass with masking tape. The tape will keepthe glass clean and provide a surface formeasuring and marking off the limb tapersto be cut later.

Now, using M-74 plastic glue and C-31hardener, apply glue to the roughened glasssurfaces first, then to both sides of thewood core, using a 1-1/2-in. brush. Plasticglue and hardener should be applied imme-diately after they are mixed. The glue ismixed four parts adhesive to one parthardener by weight. Add the hardener tothe resin and stir for five minutes. Themaximum time you can allow the mixedglue to set in the pot is five to 10 minutes.

However, once it is spread on the lamina-tions and glass, you have 30 minutes to joinand clamp the pieces together. Glue sur-faces must be absolutely free of moisture.

After you've glued the surfaces, set theminto the form with a spacer strip laid acrossthe top as was done when gluing the secondpair of laminations to the first, and afterlining up the center mark with the one onthe form, use a C-clamp over the centermark to hold the assembly to the form.

Then, as was done before, wrap the billettightly to the form with loops of inner-tuberubber or masking tape, starting from thecenter point and working your way towardthe tips. The glass will take the shape ofthe curved form as you carry the wrappingsoutward. Be sure to save some of the plasticglue and hardener (in unmixed form) forthe tip blocks. Dry the billet with heat ofat least 120 degrees F., but not over 140 de-grees, for six hours, then let harden for an-other 48 hours. Important: this glue willnot function properly without observing

the stated degree of temperature.You now have the completed billet. Clean

and square up both sides of the billet withvery coarse sandpaper, using your discsander. Leave the masking tape on the bowfor use in marking the layout. Now draw


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Final shaping is done with files. You can shape the sighting window to your own requirements, therebeing no hard rales concerning the location oi the window or the depth to which is should be cut.

two center lines on the bow, one lengthwiseand the other crosswise. From the cross-wise center line, measure the distance tothe exact end of the fadeout on one sideand draw another crossline at this point.Then measure an equal distance on theother side of the center line and draw an-other line across the bow belly. These linesat the ends of the fadeout will mark thepoints from which the bow limbs begin totaper toward the tips.

Next, at the tips of the bow, measure %inch from each side of the longitudinalcenter line. This will give you %-inchwide bow tips. Now draw diagonal linesfrom these bow tip marks to the outer endsof the fadeout cross lines and you will havethe correct limb taper as shown in diagram.For a 25 to 30 lb. lady's bow, the billet,which is normally 1-5/8 in. wide, shouldbe narrowed down on a disc sander to awidth of 1-1/2 in. and the limb tapershould end up with 5/8-inch-wide tips in-stead of 3/4-inch.

After marking off the limb tapers, cutaway the excess limb along these lines andthen clean and face the edges up to the lay-out lines. Round the glass slightly on theface and back with a mill file, but do not goto too much trouble because these Limbs

are rough width at the tips and will bechanged when the bow is lined up.

Next, locate the points for the stringgrooves by measuring 33 inches each wayfrom the center line with a flexible tape orrule, letting the rule follow the curve ofthe bow along the belly. Use a small roundrat-tail file and file the string grooves 1/8inch deep on both sides of the tip, round-ing them off slightly to prevent their cut-ting the tillering string.

You are now ready to string the bow fortillering. The tiller is the shape of the bowat strung position. Use a string with largeloops for the tillering string. After stringingup the bow, check its limbs for evenness bysighting along the string from tip to themiddle of the main part of the limb asshown in photo. If the recurve twists to oneside of the middle of the limb, removematerial on that side and refile the stringgroove on that side. Repeat this processuntil the recurve is in the middle of themain part of the bow.

After the tips are in line, sight along eachside of the limb and file out any bumps youmay see. In doing this, you may change thetiller of the bow, so check frequently to seethat the recurves do not take on an off-sidetwist. If they do, you can correct it by tak-


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String grooves, 1/8 inch deep, are filed into bothsides of each bow tip using small rat-tail file.

Glue tip blocks to bow tips over string grooves;Fiberglas should be well roughened before gluing.

Shape bow tips to the contour of the bow limbs.File string grooves into tips with rat-tail file.

Finishing off the bow, file string grooves alongthe recurve cm belly side of each of the limbs.

ing off sufficient material from the side towhich the limb twists to even out the limb.

Before the handle can be shaped out, youmust determine which limb will be theupper limb, since the upper limb should beweaker than the lower limb. This is becausewhen drawing the bow, you will be exert-ing more palm pressure below the centerline on your grip, as well as putting moretension on the lower half of the bow stringdue to having two fingers below the nockof the arrow and only one above it. To

equalize this, the lower limb of the bowshould be a little stiffer than the upperlimb, and you determine this by measuringthe distance between the bow string andthe limb curve at the point of the fadeouton both limbs. The points along the limbsat which you take this measure should be

equidistant from the center line of the bow.The weaker limb should then measure 3/16inch more between limb face and stringthan the stronger limb and this limb shouldbe used as the upper limb. If it measuresless than 3/16 inch, you can lighten the limbby rounding the face glass slightly.

Having tillered the bow and determinedwhich is to be the upper limb, you can nowmark the handle for the grip and windowcutout as shown in diagram, lining it up sothat the window cutout is on the upper

limb. Cut out the handle as shown in photoswith files and disc sander; round out thehandle and sight window to the desiredshape as shown in diagram. You can shapethis to your own taste, there being no hardand fast rules concerning the location ofthe sight window and the depth to which it


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String the bow and check thelimbs foi evenness by sighting along the bowstring from

tip to tip. If recurve tendsto twist to one side, correc-tion can be made by removingadditional material from sideto which limb twists, refilingstring groove on that side.

should be cut. However, it should not becut to a depth greater than 1/8 inch from

the longitudinal center line as shown. Thissight window should be cut on the left sideof the bow (as bow is seen by archer whenshooting) for right-handed shooters, on theopposite side from that shown in the dia-gram for left-handed shooters. File a slightcurve into the top surface of the arrow restso that the shaft does not rest on too broada surface when shooting.

Filially, cement the tip blocks to the bowtips over the string grooves. Finish off thetips by shaping them down to the contourof the bow limbs and filing the stringgrooves into them with a rat-tail file.

Your bow is now ready for sanding andpainting. Sand to a fine smoothness andpaint with clear varnish or lacquer.

SOME FINAL TIPS:

1. When removing masking tape, stripfrom center of bow out toward tips so asnot to lift any glass splinters along theedges. Use care.

2. When filing bow, always file towardglass to avoid chipping.

3. Before any clamping, always have a"dry run" before applying glue.

4. Remember, you must use heat to curethis glue right.

5. Glass surfaces to be glued must beroughed thoroughly.

6. Extreme care should be used in fade-out to avoid gouging base lamination orhave fadeout end too abruptly.

7. Do not get impatient to shoot bow be-fore it is finished.

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Making a Flight BowFew flight bows are commercially produced, and the construction of

his own record-making bow is the dream of many an ambitious archer


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THE flight bow is the ultimate in thebowyer's field. Many flight bows are

made, shot once and then abandoned. Or,they may shatter during that single useand go into discard that way. Just thesame, flight bows serve a valid purpose inthe archers' world, for they are somewhat

like the Formula cars in international rac-ingpaving the way for future develop-ments based on their performance.

To make a record-setting flight bow isthe aim and dream of many a bowyeragoal all too seldom realized. Because flightbows are the final word in bowyery theyare seldom, if ever, commercially pro-duced. You just cannot go into yournearest tackle shop and buy a flight bowYou may be able to have one made foryou, if you're lucky, but essentially the

flight bow is a personal thing. It conformsto you and to your ideas. It may be theresult of months of planning and days ofwork and when once it's finished, you willbe faced with the decision as to whether ornot you'll overdraw just once, in the biggamble which mayor may notpay off.

For these reasons, any plans for a flightbow must be offered somewhat diffidently.They are the end product of someone else'sthinkingnot yoursand they may notembody the ideas and principles which you,as a bowyer, feel are necessary for suc-

cess. However, the bow which resultedfrom these particular plans is a lovelything, light in the hand, sweet in per-formance with no harshness on the hand.Surprisingly enough, there seems to beno drastic stacking up at the end of thedraw and there is comparatively littlepinch. However, since all good flightshooting today is done by means of thehook, the matter of finger-pinch is rela-tively unimportant.

The plans have been designed by Frank

Bilson, one of England's foremost archers,and in his capacity as head of the YeomanBow Company, a liveryman of the Wor-shipful Company of Bowyers. These thenare the plans and specifications of theYeoman Flight Bow (Copyright 1960)

Many flight bows, following the prec-edent established by the Turkish and Per-sian bowyers, carry the big siyahs, or ears,which impart additional impetus and cast.Now siyahs were developed long beforeour new synthetics and it is our contentionthat using modern fiberglass, it is no longer

necessary to incorporate them in flight bowdesign. Since the siyah is not an integralpart of the limb-arcs, it is slow moving inrelationship to the bow itself. Thus, withthe materials available today, i.e. those


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Elongated view of the bow shows powerful curveswhich impart cast; retain smoothness in shooting.

Here the bow is braced. Comparison shows way inwhich power is converted within bow when braced.

Ornamental nock beautifies bow. Thin strips ofplastic strengthen any inherent weakness in bow.

View of the braced bow, showing a part of upperlimb cut away to form "semi-center shot" section.

With center-shot device, force of the string is

exerted down center of bow with greatest effect.

This is a view of the finished handle of a good

target bow. Also shown is laminated handle riser.


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The "feather" arrow rest is seen above. This isgreat aid to efficient use of plastic fletchings.

After taking laminated bow from clamps, excessglue must then be removed from handle and limbs.

which inherently do the work formerly

given to the siyah, the addition of the earsresults in a lowered performance.

Dr. Paul Klopsteg has advanced thetheory that the ideal bow for cast wouldbe based on the principle of the uncoilingarc. These plans are adaptations of histheory using fiberglass both for the back-ing and the facing in the two limbs.

MATERIALS

For a 48" bow you will need the fol-lowing materials:

Four (4) Maple Laminations24-1/2"xl-7/8"The taper on these should run from .68thousandths of an inch down to .45. Anadditional .15 thousandths will give you,in your finished bow, an increased drawweight of approximately 20 pounds. There-after the draw weight increase is partiallynullified by the mass increase.

One (1) Handle Riser. This should beof any good hardwood, with walnut beinga good choice. 8-1/2" in length, the risertapers at both ends.

Four (4) Fiberglass Strips 24-1/4"xl-7/8"Personally I prefer Bo-tuff, but any similarmaterial can be used. Get strips whichmeasure .40 thousandths in thickness.

Twelve (12) C-clamps. Glue. Urac-185by preference. One (1) Former. See in-structions which follow. Rubber wrapping.Thin plywood battens. Grease-proof pa-per.

INSTRUCTIONS

The former is cut according to the scale

shown. Your material is any block ofsufficient length and thickness, free fromknots and twists. The basing line, alongwhich the inch-stations are located, shouldbe perfectly flat. If a block of sufficientthickness is not available, you can makeone by gluing sheets of plywood together

in order to get the right dimension. The

width must be a minimum 1-3/4" and it maybe advisable to have it an inch wider. Sincethis is a one-step glue-up, you can use thespare width to place brads, in order to holdthe materials in position.

When the former is cut, you can routout the excess material along the base lineso that the jig follows the working area.This is not essential, but unless you areusing extra large C-clamps, it will facili-tate the clamping. Be sure that the work-ing surface is absolutely flat and free from

splintering.Cover the former with two layers of yourgrease-proof paper, holding it in positionwith Scotch tape or thumb tacks. This willkeep the bow from sticking to the jig withany expressed glue.

Prepare the fiberglass and the lamina-tions carefully. The pair of lams whichwill be on the back of the bow will havea 1/2" overlap at the center and accord-ingly must be feathered or chamfered toform a smooth overlay. Set up your series

in a dry run, clamping as you go so thatwhen you are ready to glue you will knowwhat you are doing.

With the backing down and the first pairof lams, you are ready to set the handleriser. Since this block will come abovethe line of the bow belly the lams and glasswill not meet over it and they must befeathered down to lie as smoothly as pos-sible.

Having finished your dry run, you willnow do your actual gluing up. There are

six surfaces to be coveredthe insides ofthe glass and both sides of the laminations.Make sure that with the latter the taperruns along the outside of the pairs and thatthe flat sides are together. If you are usingUrac-185, work carefully in a room withas low a temperature as you can manage.


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A wheel with lamb's wool buffer is used here toapply final glossy finish to the nock of the bow.

French curve would come in handy to mark curva-ture of handle riser, but other ways can be used.

If French curves are unavailable then cut yourown patterns in reverse and use them for marking.

Finish the bow with series of coats of plastic-based elasticized varnish, to protect from wear.

Shaft (left) and footing (center) are used whenyou decide to make your own target arrow (right).

Successive stages show how the gradual roundingof the shaft is done with planes and sandpaper.

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Being a heat-curing adhesive, the lowerroom temperature will give you more timeto finish the work.

Once your glue is applied, thoroughlybut not too thickly, cover your glass-lam-ination sandwich with more grease-proof

paper. Over this lay a strip of rubberwrapping, 2" wide and running slightlylonger than your bow. Now take yourbattens and lay them along the surface, inthe place of the more conventional pres-sure blocks.

Apply your clamps, working out alongboth limbs from the center and puttingminimum pressure on at first. When allthe clamps are in place go back to thehandle and increase the pressure on eachin turn. Don't attempt to tighten thembeyond hand pressure since this will glue-starve your joinings.

Now set your bow aside in a warm, dryplace. The ideal temperature is just above80 and it should be maintained for at leastfive days. By that time the glue shouldhave made a specific weld, but rememberthat Urac and other urea-based adhesivesmake a firmer bond as times passes.

The limbs of the bow should now be re-duced according to the profile given here.The best method is to cut With a hack saw,the blade having been turned flat so as togive you a firm guide as you cut. Makethe cut 1/16 wider than the profile andfinish by rounding both back and facetoward the core. During this process youshould tiller the bow, as you wouldany other, remembering that if your lami-nations have been tapered correctly and

your gluing-up done with equal pressuresdown along both limbs, the curves shouldneed very little fixing.

Lay out the arrow rest on your handleriser, remembering that the view givenhere is from the back of the bow. Remove

the wood with a draw shave and finish offwith a file. The handle can then be cov-ered with leather.

Nocks are cut with a file, rounding themin carefully so as to avoid any friction onthe string. At the throat of the nocks,bring a groove down the back of the re-curve so that the string will lie there whenthe bow is braced. Due to the working ofthese curves the string will not entirelyclear them until the bow is nearly at fulldraw. It is vitally important that thesenocks are exactly in the center of the re-curves, since to off-center them in anyway will cause twist and may easily ruinyour bow.

This finished bow is designed to take atwenty-four inch arrow and will give you

just about 45 pounds at full draw. Youmay want to overdraw it, to gain that extrafew yards, but it is not a course that canbe recommended. Far better to practiceuntil you are sure that you are getting themaximum flight from your arrow beforeyou experiment with overdrawing. Asnapping or shattering bow is not only dan-gerous but it represents the waste of allyour time and energy spent in making it.

Psychologically, too, careful handling isgreatly to your advantage, because gettinggradually used to your bow will imbue youwith the confidence you need.

Now comes the fined partof making your arrow. Itis finished by a carefulsanding of the shaft Itcalls for meticulous andtime-consuming work, butit's still a pleasure to

many archers who desirea set of matched arrows.


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By Sam Brown

Hunting game with bow and* -*- arrow packs a real wallop.There's a thrill in seeing an arrowgo winging toward its mark. Evena clo se miss is fun. So ma nysportsmen have adopted this sportthat some states have exclusivebow-and-arrow hunting reserveswhere firearms are prohibited.

A bow for huntingshould be as short aspract ical , ranging inlength from 4 ft. 8 in. to

5 ft. 6 in. It should be aplain bow, able to standa lot of knocking around.

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The drawing weight need not be excessive; you canbring down the toughest game in the country, including moose, bear and wild boar, with a 45 to 50-1b. bow and a steel broadhe ad arrow. Most hun te rsprefer a flat or semiflat bow. The dem oun tab le typeof semiflat bow described here is popular becauseof ease of transportation, and the knockdown handlein no way affects smooth, fast shoot ing. If thi s isyour first bow, by all means make it of lemonwood,as this compact and nearly grainless wood permitsmechanical shaping without any regard to grain

struc ture . If you wan t the best, however, use osageorange or boam . Yew is good, too, although a littletoo soft for rough usage. All bow woods exce pt lemonwood require careful following of the grain.

Sta rt by rough ing out the back of the bow. Osageorange is perfect in this respect; just peel off thebark, and the remaining layer of sapwood, about Viain. thick, is just right. Yew and boam have mor esapwood and will req uir e tri mmi ng down. This canbe done best on a band saw as in Figs. 1 and 2,mounting the stave on a guide board and then saw-

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- . - . - . . : - ; -

ing on a line the required distance awayfrom the heart wood . Pins holding the staveshould be a snug drive fit in holes drilledsquarely across the chord of the grain, asindica ted in Fig. 1, If th er e is too muchheartwood, it can be trimmed down withthe same setup . Where the re is jus t a littleextra wood on the heart side, a planer headin the drill press will remove it in a jiffy,Fig. 3. In the abse nce of power tools, the

staves can be trimmed with a drawknife.The first stage of cutting gives you a flatstick about % by l

x/z in. with a thin layer

of white sapwood on the back as shown inFig. 5. He re you can see why it is easy towork with lemon wood; you have no sap-wood to worry about, and the compactgrain permits ripping and jointing tostra ight lines. All the othe r woods will becrooked, the back of the bow followingevery dip and curve in the grain. Afterband-sawing, smooth up the back of thebow -with drawknife and scraper, following the grain. Fig. 4 shows tabl e of net

sizes for bows of different woods.On the back of the stave, draw the out

line shown in Fig. 5, band-saw to shape andtap er the belly side as in Fig. 6. You willcut across tKo grain to some extent inboth operations, but it is only on the backof bow that you positively must followthe grain. Glue th e han dle riser in place,Fig. 8, and then band-saw it both waysto the shape shown in Fig. 7. Bot h limbsof the bow are treated in the same wayexcept that the upper limb should be 2

in. longer than the lower one, as in Fig. 9.The demountable feature is accomplished

by fitting the limbs of the bow inside ameta l tube. You can buy telescoping tube sfor this purpose, or you can make yourown. Fig. 14 shows the gener al na tu re ofthe assembly. The short inside tub e ispinned to the lower limb and the long outertube is pinned solidly to the upper limb,the lower limb being a slide fit inside the

outer tube, where it is held rigidly bymeans of a setscrew. Maki ng you r owntelescoping tube is just a matter of turningand boring, Fig. 12, and then squeezing theassembled tubes in a vise as in Fig. 13, toget the re qui re d oval section. It is advisable to heat the work, otherwise the steelmay crack at the should er port ion. Theoriginal fit of the round tubes should notbe too snug.

Figs. 10 and 11 show the final stage ofshaping the bow, rounding off the bellywith a drawknife or coarse and fine rasps.Osage orange may be so knotty as to require entire shaping by filing. Wheneveryou run into a knot, leave a little extrawood to compensate for the natural weakness cause d by the defect. Fini sh off th elimbs by scraping with a hook scraper ora piece of broken glass.

As you work down the belly side, tillerthe bow frequently as shown in Fig. 15,checking its drawing weight, and moreimportan t, the ben d of the limbs. Someworkers tiller against a -wall and use a gridof pencil lines to check for equal bending.

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However, good results can be obtained by eyeinspection alone, and by noting if the string tendsto pull off to one side as you pul l it back . Th e bowshould be rigid through the handle, and almostrigid the full length of the handl e riser. Star ting a

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