First Bow and Atlatl - Red Oak

[Mud Hawk]

A few projects going on... both made from Red Oak (board). Will post follow up pics here as they progress.

First is a short flatbow. Only 50" inches tip to tip. I wanted to make a small bow to get around in the brush easier. Some of Ishi's favorite bows were only around 44". I also read that bows tended to be short when used on horse back. I have make a tillering setup to make sure the curve distribution is good and figure out the poundage. It will be backed but I haven't gotten that far yet. The belly of it is tapered as well but no pic of that.







The second is an atlatl of my own design. The head has extra weight to substitute using a stone weight. The handle is designed to catch on the meat of your hand so it doesn't fly out at the end of the swing. I still need to make a spur, but it will ride along the pictured groove and the holes are for binding it on. Should make a dandy head thumper too .









Uggg... late for work or I would go into more detail. Just previews for now.

[cgode]

Looks great Mud, your off to a good start on both. Can't wait to see the field trials!!

[ghost recon]

Very nice, great craftsmanship on both.

[silver lake]

Wow you do nice work, look forward to the finished product. I've read the same thing about the shorter bows being used on horseback and it makes sense.

[Amber]

Where did you go for a bow making tutorial? Funny thing is I was looking last night to see if one could be made from mesquite. I found online some osage blanks, but would really prefer to make one from local wood.

[meetmaker]

The time I spend in the woods with my own bows and arrows is very special. A thin veneer of hickory for backing will add durability and performance. Tillering that bow to 50 lbs. at a max. draw length of 24 inches should throw a snappy arrow. You are starting into something great.

[Mud Hawk]

Thanks for the input guys and gal . Having an early anniversary celebration with my wife (Tiffany bracelet wink wink). I will write back tomorrow because I have some informative tidbits to share...

[Buckeye]

Cool, nice woodwork as well.

I remember from a Quanah Parker book that the Comanche used to bury their bow staves in bison dung to soften them before bending them...any plans for that

[Mud Hawk]

Amber, this site is very informative and contains some important fundamentals: http://poorfolkbows.com/

As far as harvesting your own wooden staves... I highly suggest buying the book "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol 1" first. It has a complete chapter on what to look for in a bow wood. The gist of it is that you want nice fat rings of what is called late wood (early wood rings are worthless). I had cut a 3" diameter black walnut sapling earlier this year and there were too many flaws in it. I didn't want to kill another tree so I went with the red oak board. Maybe in time I will try and harvest my own staves, but I want to see if I enjoy making them first.

As far as mequite (Texas Ironwood) there are mixed opinions on it for bow making. You can read a sampling here: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-from-mesqiute

Buckeye: NOPE! heheh.

[rmartin]

Nice job Mud, can't wait to see the finished product.