Wood and its preparation
For simple bow almost any tree growing in middle lane Russia. Recommended:
Juniper
Hazel
Birch
Ash
Oak
Elm

Workpiece: cut down the proposed workpiece in winter, in frost (approx. 10-15 degrees).

The workpiece should not have large knots (growths, mechanical and thermal damage.

The length of the workpiece = the length of the bow + 30 cm (15 cm on each side for drying cracks, the occurrence of which is not excluded).

DO NOT REMOVE the bark from the resulting "log"!

Cover the ends of the workpiece with oil paint. Drying of wood should be even, in order to avoid the appearance of internal defects in the material. If this is not done, then the bow will not last long.

Dry the processed workpiece in a vertical position at room temperature. The air should not be too dry, otherwise the wood will dry out and the labor will be wasted. Drying time 2-5 months, depending on conditions.

Tip: look after yourself a harvest before winter if you don’t want to climb snowdrifts for several hours.
Primary processing

The resulting blank is a log (Fig. 1).


Our task is to get a board from this log (Fig. 2).

How to achieve this? There are several options, each of which is quite historical.

Ax processing

With a saw

By splitting with wedges (from harder wood).


The thickness of the board is equal to the width of the bow being made in the handle (for a Slavic bow, about 3 cm).

After receiving the board we need, it is necessary to mark it.

Visually check it for the presence of an oblique layer and other defects. According to the results of the inspection, make adjustments to the thickness of the bow at the site of the defect in the material (increase it).

Figure 3 shows the markup scheme.

Please note that we did not remove the bark from the workpiece. Do not damage the outer part of your future bow!


The excess part is separated from the bow by means of an ax (rough work), and then a knife and a planer (finishing work). With this treatment, you get the side profile of the bow.

After separating the bow, begin the formation of its frontal profile (Fig. 4).


The ratio of the width of the handle to the width of the end of the shoulder is approximately 3/2. At these stages of work, be extremely careful. It depends on the accuracy and accuracy of your work whether the limbs of the bow will work equally evenly or one will be more elastic than the other. At these stages, the bow cannot be bent - this can lead to splitting of the workpiece and its damage.

The section of your bow will depend on the thickness of the log you have prepared. It can vary from lentil to almost rectangular.

fig.5 (sections of bows)

Onion steaming (final stage)

At this stage, the bend of the bow is formed. Some manufacturers resort to soaking the workpiece in various infusions and solutions. The wood treated with water vapor has all the properties we need.

Why, in fact, steam onions?

Here are a few reasons to be aware of the manufacturing process:

If the wood dries out during the drying process (therefore, it is not recommended to bend the onion before steaming).

In the case when your primary preparation was not straight (which is not uncommon, and which should not be feared. The frontal profile of your weapon does not have to be straight at all. This will not affect the effectiveness of shooting, unless it will be inconvenient for another person to use your weapon. The main thing - convenient for you!)

If you are making a relatively short weapon (Slavic version 1 - 1.3 m).
If you intend to make a bow with a reverse bow.
In the case when you are making a "light" (for example, game) bow.
In order to give an aesthetic appearance.

At the beginning of the stage, your workpiece represents the following


You need, for example, to get this bend:
To do this, you need to steam the shoulders of the bow (the element being steamed becomes plastic and easily takes the bend that you set. Steam the shoulder of the bow until you can bend it easily for captivity).

The following parts are steamed (shown in white).


It is best to steam at the same time, so that then the onion shoulders dry out simultaneously and evenly.

After the shoulders are steamed, the bow is drawn into a special slipway prepared in advance for this particular bow.


Black color shows wooden bars, between which a "hot" bow is forced. The number, shape and location of the clamping bars depends on the shape of the bow you need.

In such a slipway, the onion dries up to 1 week. After that, it is taken out of the slipway, the ends of the bow are formed for the subsequent putting on of the bowstring (a place is being prepared for horn / bone tips or a "step" is simply cut out under the loop of the bowstring).

Note that we did not remove the bark from the "back" of the onion! When steaming and captivating in the slipway, part of the bark will peel off from the back of the onion. Separate it with a fingernail or wooden knife. ATTENTION! Do not damage the fibers on the back of the onion! If some of the bark remains, do not worry, gently sand it with sandpaper to a smooth state and your bow will take on a decent appearance.

The bow is almost ready. For the longevity of the bow, it must be protected from drying out or moisture. If you adhere to the historical and reconstructive direction in your work, then I recommend impregnating the bow with hot wax or melted fat (do not overdo it! The impregnation should be no more than 3 mm in depth, otherwise the bow will lose its elasticity), otherwise you can use varnish, modern paints or mastics.

Put on the string shortly before shooting, and take it off immediately after.

Sew a cover for the bow so as not to damage it during transportation and storage.

Store onions at room temperature and moderate humidity upright.

Shoot your bow at least once a month so that he doesn't get used to shooting.

Treat your bow with care, and it will answer you with faithful and long service!

How to make an arrow blank at home

The existing samples of the work of military historical clubs are made on an intuitive level and do not meet the requirements for historical bows and equipment (arrows, arrowheads, etc.), both in terms of the materials used and in terms of the results of firing from them . This state of affairs seems unacceptable to us. With all due respect to iron and people who are seriously involved in it, we cannot understand such a dismissive attitude towards historically reliable and practical shooting equipment.

The lack of information on historical small arms (thrown) weapons leads to the fact that archery competitions at various tournaments turn into a comedy worthy of prime time on leading TV channels. Armed with hybrids of a slingshot and a fishing rod or products made from car springs that fit the same cars and pull, masters of a well-aimed shot try to hit a half-meter target from a mind-blowing distance of 20-25 steps (15-18 meters). As a rule, they fail to do so. At least from the first shot. The suggestion that, with such weapons, English archers could send thousands of Frenchmen to the next world at the battles of Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt causes a mocking chuckle even from an inexperienced person. Of course, it takes practice to achieve acceptable shooting. However, practice alone is not enough. Reliable information is needed on the methods of correct and accurate shooting from historical bows, as well as technologies for making bows and equipment. Therefore, we are preparing a series of materials dedicated to the manufacture of historical throwing weapons, arrows and other equipment in the hope that this will partly remove the lack of information on this topic and inspire our colleagues, as well as just interested readers, to make their own bows, arrows, etc., as well as to search, research and exchange information on this topic. The first of the articles brought to your attention is devoted to the manufacture of arrows.

Most people perceive arrows as a stick with feathers and a tip. This is not entirely true. The "stick" has a well-defined length and shape, the appearance and size of the plumage can be very diverse, and the arrowheads have so many varieties that it is difficult to list. In this article, we will try to tell in a popular form how to start at home, without going into tricky technical details, to make the very “stick” that will not only fly competently, but also hit the target in obedience to your skill. So, we proceed to the first stage of manufacturing our arrow: the search for material for the shaft (now this will be called the "stick"). To begin with, throw out of your mind that you can go into the forest and cut the young shoots of a hazel or other shrub. Everything is much more complicated. The minimum that we can offer you is to take a walk around the building materials stores and find in them a product called a glazing bead (rectangular wooden slats), but at the most get ready for a little warm-up in the form of buying and further processing the board. Now about the secret, about the type of tree that we will use. There is a very rich selection of woods for making arrows. Each variety has its pros and cons when choosing. The main varieties that go to the arrows: oak, ash, beech, elm, birch, pine and the list goes on. Some varieties have good strength, but are hard and heavy, others are fragile, light and ductile. Well, perhaps one of the most important factors on this list is the availability and price of these types of wood. In our case, we will take pine as the most common in our area (Moscow), as well as the cheapest. This type of tree suits our needs. Pine is a fairly light and durable tree. Its abundance on sale and in a "free" state (at construction sites, summer cottages and in forests) allows you to make a rather picky choice. The criteria for choosing a board or bead for our workpiece are as follows:

She must be patient. Not dry, like badly dried fish, but aged. If the tree was simply dried, it is more sensitive to moisture (with further use, it can "lead").

Thickness (should be at least 2 cm for a board and 1.5 cm for a glazing bead, by the way, it does not make sense to take it thicker, since in this case "the stock will pull the pocket" in terms of processing).

Texture (the material for the workpiece should not have knots, the fibers should run parallel along the length of the workpiece).


So let's assume that you have found such material. Amazing. Then we move on to the next stage of our process - the selection of tools. In the work we need four items: a saw, a planer, a rasp or a bastard file, a file and sandpaper with a grain size of 60-80 (Euro marking). If you have a glazing bead as a starting material, then you will not need a planer, if a board, then get ready for a little warm-up. She will have to be squandered. Later in the process, we will explain how and where to apply these tools. Let's start with a lyrical digression. There are no identical people. Therefore, our workpiece in the future will have a strictly individual length. We explain. This is due to different arm lengths. How to determine your workpiece length for an arrow. Elementary. To do this, you will need a meter ruler. The method is simple. Stand up straight and take the ruler at zero with your right hand. Next, pinch between your index and thumb right hand a ruler at the 1 cm mark. Why this will be said below. Next, take your left hand to the side at a 90 degree angle to the body and clench your hand into a fist. Turn your head towards your left hand and at the same time put a ruler on the fist of your left hand. Now, if you know or have seen how a bow string is pulled, pull your hand with a ruler to your chin. Fix this position. Next, look under the index finger of your left hand, and you can see your desired length for the future workpiece. Add another 2 cm to the result (we need our 1 cm in order to make a cut for the bowstring in the future). The author of this article has an interference length of 76 cm, taking into account our 3 cm. For example, we will assume that you have the same length as mine. Now we can proceed directly to the manufacture of a wooden base for our future arrow.

Step 1. Take a board or bead and measure our 76 cm. Saw off. If you have a board, then use a planer to sharpen it to a thickness of 1-1.5 cm. Next, mark the board in width into pieces according to the dimensions obtained as a result of turning so that parts of a square section are obtained (the same glazing bead). Saw. If everything is done correctly, then you should get a smooth source material, as if you bought it in a store. By the way, there is nothing terrible, if it turned out to be a little crooked, this is fixable.


Step 2 Take what happened and use a rasp or a bastard file to give the workpiece a hexagonal shape. The main thing is to do everything carefully.

Step 3 Repeat everything in step 2 with the only difference being that you need to make an octagon out of a hexagon, with maximum attention and accuracy. Next, take a small piece of sandpaper and wrap it around what can now be called a blank for an arrow and hold it in your hand with the help of reciprocating movements to give a circular section. As soon as the shaft of the arrow is round and smooth to the touch, the work can be considered finished.


There is one thing left, and perhaps the most important thing, to consider your work ready for the further manufacture of the arrow, this is the measurement of thickness. The thickness should be 8-9 mm along the entire length. In general, it depends on a lot of factors and is one of the most important parameters of an arrow. In the following, we will talk about how to choose the right arrows depending on the bow you are using. In the following articles, we will tell you how to choose and put the plumage on an arrow, how to make a tip and how to choose it for an arrow, as well as how to make a simple machine for quickly making blanks for arrows.

Making fletching for an arrow

We think that everyone is more or less aware of what the feathers on the arrow are for - to stabilize the flight, i.e. so that during the flight the arrow flew exactly at the target, and not to the side, while also tumbling. Here we will talk in detail about how the plumage is made and installed on the arrow ...

The feathers of a wide variety of birds can be used to feather an arrow. Goose, turkey, turkey feathers, black grouse, capercaillie, etc. It is important that the feather be strong enough, long (about 10 cm) and have a width of at least 3 cm. In European bows for arrows, flight feathers of the left and right wing were used (tail feathers were also used in the East). There is no fundamental difference between the feathers of the right and left wings. However, it is important that one arrow has feathers from one wing (i.e. only from the right or only from the left wing). Goose feathers meet all our requirements (long, stiff and wide enough). In general, the choice of feathers for an arrow largely depends on what is easier to get in a particular region.


Based on our experience, we can say that we would not recommend using crow feathers, since they are very fragile (after a few shots, they will become disheveled and the pile will break off, as a result of which the flight of the arrow will become unpredictable), although it is worth noting that there are a lot of these feathers and they can be used for game arrows, since the life of the "toys" is short. So, let's assume that you have goose feathers or any other suitable feathers, then we go directly to the process of making plumage.

You will need: a sharp knife, glue ("Super Moment", PVA, etc.), threads and a needle.

In our case, the plumage will consist of three feathers, standing at an angle of 120 degrees to each other. The leading feather (one of the three) should be parallel to the layers of wood on the shaft, so that the cut under the bowstring (perpendicular to the leading feather) is subsequently located perpendicular to the layers (this is done so that the loads arising from the shot are distributed throughout the shaft, and did not fall on a separate layer of wood).


There are other plumage options (one-, two-, four-feather).

Look at the pen. He has a rod. On one side of the pen there is a pronounced groove in the center of the rod. Place the pen in front of you with the chute up. Next, using a knife, carefully cut the feather along this groove.


You should have two parts. We will use the wider one. For the arrow, we need three feathers.. If you did, then continue on. With all three parts of the plumage, we do the following: we cut the feather rod so that about 1 cm remains before the beginning of the pile (generally it is called differently). Then we go to the end of the feather and find a place where the thickness of the rod becomes less than 0.5-1 mm., And there we also cut it off (make sure that all our feathers have the same length). Then cut with scissors from the end of the pen approximately 0.5cm. pile (leaving the rod intact) - then there will be a rewind of plumage.


Done. Now we move on to installing feathers on the shaft of our arrow. Take the feathers, attach them to the shaft so that the thin ends of the plumage do not reach the end of the shaft by about 1 cm. Set the plumage so that you get 120 degree angles between the feathers. The next step is winding. To do this, holding the feathers with one hand, take the thread with the other hand and pass it under one of the feathers so that after you do this, the length of the skipped end is approximately 10 cm. Now, without cutting the thread, turn to turn, we wind the rods feathers (the skipped end of the thread is useful to you in order to tie a knot later, so winding is done over this "tail"). It's not scary if during winding the angles between the feathers (120 degrees) go astray, they can be easily corrected, say, in the middle of the rewinding process. After rewinding, we proceed to the process of "sewing" the plumage to the shaft. To do this, take a thread about 40 cm long and not very thick.

We insert the thread into the needle, but do not tie a knot, but we will sew "in one thread". Next, we tie one end of the thread to any feather at the base, where the rewind ends. We begin to sew feathers along the entire length in increments of about 1 cm, but so as not to disturb the texture of the feather if possible (do not break the villi). Keep in mind that the term "sewing on the plumage" refers to the process of winding the plumage by passing a needle and thread through the feather pile at the stem.


When the process is completed, with the rest of the thread we fix the feathers at the far (thin) end of the feather into a "bulk" (ie, not trying to put a coil to coil). According to the type of our first rewind, we fix the feather from behind (when the feathers are sewn, you can straighten them, because in the process of sewing they will bend into a spiral, but do not try to give the feathers a perfectly straight shape, this is useless and unnecessary). Now everything that happened (feathering, rewinds) should be slightly glued to the shaft with glue (try not to get glue on the pile itself, otherwise it will simply break when shooting in these places). Done. Then the last phase is shaping the plumage.


Keep in mind that big sizes plumage (length, width) allow the arrow to stabilize better in flight, but more dampen the speed of its flight, respectively, reducing the firing range. Too wide a nib will fray more on the bow and may injure the shooter's hand.

Due to its structure, the pile of the fly feather is bent along the edge. So, find the place where this bend begins - this will be the maximum height of your pen. Based on this, shape your plumage. There are many varieties of plumage forms, however, within the framework of this article

there is no opportunity to consider them in detail. We recommend that you start with a simple conical shape of the feather, expanding in the direction from the tip to the heel of the arrow, like rocket stabilizers. You did everything right and you like it. This is great, but if not, don't worry, everything will come with experience. Now make a cut in the “heel” of the arrow (this is the name of the place where the arrow is inserted into the bowstring), first with a metal file, and then with a rectangular file. The cut should go perpendicular to the leading pen (see above). The cut depth should be within 8-10mm. and width 2.5-3 mm. We recommend rounding the bottom of the kerf (grinding off corners and burrs) in order to reduce the risk of splitting the arrow.

How to make a cut in the heel of an arrow

I recommend making a cut of the following shape (see fig.). This design, as it were, snaps onto the bowstring, preventing the arrow from slipping. The narrowest point of the cut (shown by the arrow) should be slightly less than the diameter of the bowstring. Do not make the cut too narrow, otherwise, at the moment the arrow jumps off the bowstring, additional loads will appear on the heel of the arrow, which will affect the trajectory of its flight. At the same time, a kerf that is too wide spreads quickly and loses its holding properties.

You can make a cut of the specified shape as follows:

Drill a hole with a diameter equal to the diameter of the bowstring at a distance of 1 - 2 cm from the heel of the arrow.
With a thin hacksaw, saw through the cut from the heel to the hole.
With a file, give the cut the necessary shape.

This article is useful for novice reenactors or skilled fathers whose children yearned to play Robin Hoods. So, our goal is to create something that shoots, has an acceptable appearance, with little material costs and a minimum set of tools. The simplest to manufacture, but very effective and spectacular model is a composite longbow. The product consists of a shoulder handle and a bowstring. In order to make onions at home, you must have:

  • screwdriver or drill;
  • plane;
  • confirmation (furniture) drill;
  • chisel (semicircular) or knife;
  • electric or conventional jigsaw;
  • a large number of sandpaper with different grain sizes;
  • rasp.

Step one - handle

The material from which the handle is made depends on the expected tensile strength. If it is less than 10 kg, then a solid wood block of dense rocks can be taken. It can be beech, cherry, oak (very hard to process), in extreme cases, birch. Coniferous - pine or spruce are not suitable for this element. If the shoulders give a tension force of more than 10 kg, then a composite of several types of wood glued together is needed. Usually beech and walnut planks alternate.

For a monolithic handle, a bar of dry, seasoned wood 30x50x400 is taken. The wood fibers should run along the long side. There are many anatomical handle designs. Let's dwell on the most ergonomic of the simplest.

According to the template provided, we mark the wide side (50mm). Then mark the narrow side (30 mm). We divide into four parts across, into two along. On the second quarter from the top, select the shelf for the arrow, as shown in the photo. On the first and last quarter, we mark the places for fastening the shoulders. They are at a distance of 25 mm from the edge of the quarter.

We cut off according to the markings with a jigsaw, then we carry out roughing of the edges and corners with a rasp and a chisel. The main thing is not to get carried away when processing the "refinement of forms", otherwise the handle will not withstand even one shot. We process burrs and flaws with a rough sandpaper, then we bring zero gloss. We drill holes for the bolts with a confirmation drill on M6. Between the handle and the shoulders, it is advisable to install a leather pad made from an old belt.

We cover the semi-finished product with stain and varnish. A regular polish or furniture wax may work. In the end, the product should look something like this.



Step one and a half - we make a blank for the composite handle

We will prepare thin planks of various woods - beech and walnut. All of them will be of different thicknesses: walnut two strips of 15 mm and one 5 mm, beech two strips of 7 - 8 mm. The fibers in all slats of a composite preform designed for bending must be oriented along the long side. For a high-quality, snug fit, it is necessary to process the planks with a planer, sand them with medium sandpaper. For gluing, any specialized compound for wood is used. The substance is applied in a small strip along the entire length and rubbed with a thin layer over the surface. Carefully read the instructions for the adhesive, some formulations require the application of a substance on both surfaces. Next, the boards are connected and fixed with a clamp, make sure there are no gaps between the elements. Excess, protruding glue is removed.





Step Two - Shoulders

This element accounts for the greatest load and percentage of breakdowns. There are many options, consider the most popular of them.

Skis

Before shredding a pair of skis to pieces, make sure that no one else needs them. For a 40 cm handle, it is optimal to use ski cuts of 60 cm. Considering that 10 cm of the shoulder will be used for fastening, the total length of the bow will be 120 cm. This calculation is suitable for plastic cross-country skis with a metal insert. Using a square, we mark up and make a cut with a hacksaw for metal. Holes for fastening, also drilled with a drill for metal. At the ends of the skis, on both sides we cut grooves for the bowstring. The final product will turn out to be more powerful and more durable than a wooden one, however, its aesthetic component leaves much to be desired. Even when dyed, the shoulders of such a bow can be seen as a recycled product.

Lamella

Another peaceful element that can be easily adapted for "militaristic" purposes. The lamella is an elastic plywood structure, in which all layers are glued in one direction, along the product. You can buy it in any reputable furniture store, but better in a specialized one, where they sell fittings and goods for furniture makers. The cost is more than modest about 10 rubles apiece, dimensions: length 120 mm, width 50 mm with a thickness of 12 mm. The optimal length of one arm should be 700 mm.

Since the width of the element should be 30 mm at the handle, and 20 mm at the far end, there is no need to purchase two elastic elements. We cut the future shoulders along the entire length obliquely and get the required. Taking into account the lining on the handle of each element by 10 cm, the total length of the bow will be 160 cm.

It is impractical to make a smaller length of the shoulders from the lamellas, since too steep bending during tension increases the likelihood of breakage. The tension force of such a product will be in the range of 10-12 kg.

There is an opportunity to significantly strengthen the bow. To do this, you need to purchase 2 elastic elements 8 mm thick, glue them together. Epoxy can be used as an adhesive, adding a little less hardener to the composition in order to maintain the mobility of the mixture, otherwise it will burst and crumble when pulled. It is better to use a special glue with a high viscosity - PVA - Moment from the manufacturer Pritt Henkel. When connecting the lamellas, it is advisable to use clamps along the entire length as often as possible. The resulting blanks are processed similarly to the previous ones. The tension force of 16mm shoulders will be up to 18kg. To use them, a reinforced composite handle is required. In order to give the shoulders of the bow absolute symmetry, we put them together, fix them with a clamp, and carry out the final adjustment with two elements at the same time.

Another important detail is the bowstring shelf. It can be made from scraps of the same lamella.







This is done as follows:

  • Two parts are cut out slightly wider in size than the ends of the shoulders;
  • We attach the part to the end of the shoulder and drill two holes;
  • We glue the surfaces of the parts with glue, and hammer furniture dowels, also pre-treated with glue, into the holes;
  • We fasten for drying;
  • We draw an arbitrary shape;
  • We cut off all the excess with a jigsaw;
  • We make the final cleaning with sandpaper;
  • We make cuts at the end of the shelf 3 mm wide and 7-8 mm deep.

For such a reinforced bow, a Kevlar climbing sling with a thickness of at least 3.5 mm is used as a bowstring, which can be purchased at any travel store. But if you are not looking for easy ways, you can make a bowstring yourself.

Step three - string

Build a bowstring that has the necessary characteristics and is authentic (well, almost) appearance pretty easy. To do this, you need a spool of nylon thread, you can take Chinese ones from a fishing accessories store for 25 rubles. You will also need a board, a little longer than a bowstring, two nails without a hat and a coil. Having measured the required distance with a rope, we transfer the size to the board. We drive in nails and gently wind the nylon thread with uniform tension until a total thickness of 3-3.5 mm is reached. Using a spool, wrap the edges and center of the bowstring with the same thread. We are filming ready product with nails.

Step four - final

We collect all the details together, enjoy the product and the respect of friends.

The hunting bow is one of the oldest human tools used by our ancestors. These devices reached the apogee of their development in the Middle Ages - and the most powerful and accurate were not English ones (as long time presented in literature), and oriental bows: Arabic, Korean and Japanese. The aiming range of their shot, given the simplicity of design in comparison with modern high-tech products, reached 200-220 meters, the maximum range of the arrow was 870-880 meters, and the tension force was up to 80 kg! Hunting bows are used to this day, but the cost of some models is quite high. Therefore, we suggest that you make such a tool with your own hands.

What is a hunting bow and its varieties

Initially, hunting bows were made exclusively of wood and had a simple arched shape. Somewhat later, simple models were replaced by composite ones, which first used bone endings, and then more complex structures from separately assembled parts: a central handle, a pair of shoulders and endings. Now block compound (or Olympic) options have been added to them. However, they are not used for hunting.

Collapsible bow design

In general, the current classification of hunting bows is the following division:

  1. According to the material of manufacture:
    • traditional (made of wood);
    • composite (from several materials).
  2. According to the structure of the main part:
    • classic (D-shaped in a bent form, that is, with one bend);
    • recursive (M-shaped, with several bends).
  3. According to the number of components:
    • simple bows - from a single piece of material;
    • collapsible models - from several components.

Photo gallery: Modern hunting with industrial bows

Bow Mathews Compound bow VilingStore Compound bow Mathews CREED

Principle of operation

The principle of operation of classical bows (both traditional simple and recursive ones) is based on the creation of a pushing force that is imparted to the bowstring when the shoulders are straightened and provides the arrow with an initial speed that depends on the tension force. Wherein starting speed arrows in a simple design also depend on these factors, while in block models, eccentrics located at the ends, synchronized with each other by a system of separate cables, are responsible for accuracy and speed.

A professional compound bow is made mainly from expensive and high-strength materials (carbon and fiberglass, magnesium and aluminum alloys, etc.) and contains separate system optical aiming. In this regard, it is extremely difficult to make such a device on your own, and most importantly, very expensive. Therefore, further we will consider the assembly of hunting bows only of the classical type - both simple and complex recursive ones.

Photo gallery: Various designs of simple models


Materials and tools for manufacturing

To make a bow, you will need the following tools and materials:

  • hacksaw;
  • plane;
  • strong rope (for bowstring);
  • insulating tape;
  • plastic tube (for PVC bows) or wood (for traditional options).

As for wood, yew is considered the best - it was from this tree that the famous English bows were made in the old days. In the absence of this rare breed, you can use larch, mountain ash, ash, hazel, willow, cedar, juniper or elm. In other words, the material must be homogeneous, flexible and beautiful.

Believe it or not, this is a homemade compound bow!

Manufacturing instructions

simple model

When making a simple PVC hunting bow, you will need a piece of SCH 40 pipe about 2.5 cm thick and a length equal to the distance between the middle of the thigh and the fingertips of the outstretched hand. After measuring 1.5 cm from both sides, make cuts. Insert and fasten the bowstring into them so that the maximum tension is approximately equal to the length of the bow.

The length of a simple bow is longer than a compound bow.

Attach to the string so that the maximum tension is approximately equal to the length of the bow

Unfortunately, a simple plastic bow can hardly be called a full-fledged one. hunting weapon- this will require a much more complex composite structure, in which 2 short pieces of a thin tube (to strengthen the shoulders) about 10 cm long will be inserted into the main pipe. For the handle, you will need 1 piece of a slightly larger diameter.

Homemade bow made of PVC tube and wood. Bowstring - silk thread

When making a wooden structure, it will be necessary to cut (cut out) the main part of the bow about 5 cm wide in the central part and 1.5 cm in the side ones.

Photo gallery: Making onions in the forest from improvised means


Simple homemade bow design

Video: Homemade bow their PVC pipes

Composite

A real hunting bow should be composite, and in shape as close as possible to modern sports products. high class. As a base, it is better to use flexible and non-layered wood from the lower and dense layers of trees growing in dark areas of the forest. On the "horns" is good, for example, bird cherry, growing in open, dry, clearings far from the water.

The length of all three parts that form the kibit (base plus both horns) should not exceed 1.5 m - otherwise the bow can get more range, but much less accuracy.

Technology step by step manufacturing will be as follows:

  1. The cleaned blanks are dried (not in the sun!), All 3 parts are planed and dried again. Then the base and horns are given their final look and dried already in the bright sun.
  2. Kibiti elements are glued together with special store-bought glue or self-made fish glue (from digested bones or the swim bladder of large fish).
  3. Ready kibit is dipped into melted animal fat (or cedar resin) for impregnation.
  4. The joints are additionally pulled together with tendons or a dense flexible cord and impregnated again, after which the finished bow is processed to smoothness with a knife and, if desired, polished.

It is also possible to superficially glue the base with strips of birch bark, and the horns and ends with overlays made of natural horn (or metal). However, such strengthening and creation of layering is relevant only for weapons with a very high (more than 20 kg) tension force, which hardly makes sense when hunting birds and small animals with a bow - except in terms of decoration.

Photo gallery: DIY compound bows

Compound bows dried after gluing
Homemade compound bows

Video: How to make a compound bow at home

Accessories

Making all the components of the bow at home is even easier than the main structure.

bowstring

Can be spun from nylon cord, although real hunters prefer natural material. Which is usually blood-soaked and dried rawhide rolled into a tube 3-4 mm wide. Although it is inferior to modern, even inexpensive synthetic materials, in terms of performance. The skin should be replaced with tendons from the vertebral part of large animals - moose, cows, etc. Or a bunch of natural silk threads can be used.

The bowstring is put on simply - first with a loop on one horn, and then, bending the end of the bow resting on the ground, on the second. For a recurve bow, the distance between the string and the handle should be about 15 cm, and the string must be removed when storing the bow.

Video: How to make a bowstring

Arrows

The length of the arrows should be proportional to the length of the bow and the maximum amount of string tension. In practice, this means that with the bow drawn, the arrowhead must protrude at least a few centimeters beyond the bow.

The diameter is approximately 6 mm, and the entire axis of the arrow must be perfectly flat. For small game and poultry, light wood is taken - spruce, pine, birch. For more large animal- heavy and dense species (ash, hornbeam, oak). Arrows, like a torch, are pricked from logs, after which they are shaped into long and thin round cylinders.

In the end part, a cut is made under the bowstring, about 0.5 cm deep and slightly inferior to the bowstring in diameter. This is easy to check - an arrow mounted on a bowstring should not fall out of it, even if it is kept lowered vertically down. To do this, the feather is split in half, a segment 6-8 cm long is cut out from the middle, the tip of the feathers is trimmed, and at a distance of about 1.5 cm from the edge it is completely cleared (for tying the plumage blanks to the arrow axis). For one arrow, 3 blanks are taken, evenly spaced around the perimeter.

Plastic can also be used as a material for plumage.

In principle, instead of feathers, it is allowed to use plastic, thick paper and even hard leaves.

Arrowheads

At first, small birds can be hunted with arrows without tips. The main thing is that they are sharply sharpened and hardened over fire.

Any hard material that can be sharpened to the shape of a narrow rhombus or triangle can act as a tip. Previously, these were pieces of flint or bone, now you can use a tin shell from cans and even ordinary nails. Spoon arrowhead

Making good quality hunting bows on your own is quite a feasible task. Of course, they will be inferior to professional combat models, but they are quite suitable for hunting birds or small beast. Good luck!

Each person has their own hobbies. Archery today is considered a rather original and interesting pastime. For some people, it has become gambling entertainment or a game, while others are engaged in archery at a professional level. You can buy all the necessary equipment in the store, but it is worth remembering that the price of the finished set is quite high, but the quality is not always happy with it. Why not make it yourself? This article will help you figure out how to make a wooden bow at home, because the manufacturing technology is very simple.

How to make a wooden bow yourself?

You will need wood blanks, drawings, feathers, string thread, a hacksaw, a tip, a knife, an ax, a slipway and boiling water to work.

Important! There are many varieties of bows today, they are classified according to such parameters as shape, design, method of application and location of the shooting. The choice of base material depends on where you plan to use this weapon.

Work materials

You can make a real bow at home from:

  • tree.
  • PVC pipes.
  • Papers.
  • Plywood.

As a bowstring, you can use:

  • leg-split;
  • fishing line;
  • lavsan or nylon thread;
  • capron;
  • polypropylene.

Arrows are cut from pine or birch.


We make blanks

You can find a blank for a future product right on the street:

  • You can use any deciduous tree - elm, birch, hazel, yew, oak, bamboo, lemon, white locust or ash will do.
  • Choose a flexible, strong, straight branch, considering the length of the bow itself, plus 30-40 cm for stock.
  • Check that the wood is free of damage and knots.
  • You already have the main blank, do not remove the bark.
  • Cover the ends with oil paint, then lay it vertically so that it dries well.

Important! Lay the stick in such a way that it dries evenly, it is advisable to leave it for several months.

We give the product a shape

Your workpiece has dried out, it is time to process it to make a wooden bow at home:

  • You need to get a rectangular board from a log - an ax or a saw will help with this.
  • The thickness of the board should correspond to the width of the handle - approximately 3 cm. In case of defects, you can slightly increase the thickness.

Important! Use drawings when working.

  • Then make a markup on the side profile, remove all excess with an ax, finish the finishing work with a planer or a sharp knife.
  • You can go to the front profile. Here it is important to be especially careful and attentive so that the shoulders come out elastic and strong.

Important! At this stage of making a bow, it is forbidden to bend the workpiece, otherwise you will simply ruin it.

  • The width of the handle should be slightly larger than the width of the shoulder. It is better to make the cross section lenticular or rectangular - it all depends on the initial thickness of the workpiece.

Steaming

Now it's time to form the bend. For this, enterprises use the soaking method in special solutions, but since we do everything at home, we turn to the proven old-fashioned method.

Important! Both shoulders should be steamed at the same time so that drying also occurs evenly.

This is how steaming should be done in order to give the shoulders plasticity and the necessary bend:

  • Just hold the bow over boiling water until it bends easily.
  • Then place it in a ready-made slipway for several weeks to dry.

Important! The number, location and shape of the clips directly depend on what shape of the bow you want to get.

  • after waiting due time, take out the product, cut notches at the ends for attaching a bowstring.

bark processing

As you remember, the bark remained intact at all stages of work, but in the process of steaming and drying in the slipway, it can partially peel off:

  1. If this happens, use a wooden knife to separate it, doing everything as carefully as possible so as not to damage the fibers of the back of the product.
  2. If in some places it was not possible to remove the bark, then simply sand it to perfect smoothness.


Making a bowstring:

  • Make a rectangular shape from the bars, then drive in nails around the edges.
  • Tie a lavsan thread to one of the nails and wind it in a circle.

Important! Do this as tightly as possible so that sagging does not occur.

  • Then tie the ends of the threads and divide the bowstring into two strands.
  • Wrap the middle parts of the strands with nylon thread.
  • Without removing the bars, also wrap the ends to form loops for fastening.
  • Now you need to make a special guide for installing the boom. Use a piece of foam or wood. It is attached in the middle to form a right angle between the axis of the arrow and the bowstring.

Final stage

It often happens that the wood dries up, or, on the contrary, gains moisture, naturally, this negatively affects the properties and durability of the finished weapon. That is why you should impregnate a bow made of wood with melted wax or fat.

Important! If they were not found, you can use varnish, mastic or paint. The main thing here is not to overdo it, otherwise the product will lose its elasticity.

How to make arrows for a bow yourself?

You already know how to make a powerful bow at home, but you will need more arrows for its full functioning. Production takes place according to the following scheme.

Material selection:

  • Take carefully dried spruce, pine or birch boards.

Important! Their thickness should not exceed 3 cm. In length, they should not exceed the length of the bend of the product.

  • Check that there are no knots on the wood, so that all the fibers run parallel to the length of our workpiece.
  • Use straight dry branches, peeled to smoothness and straightened over hot coals.

Marking application:

  1. Saw off the board to the required length with a saw, then reduce its thickness to 1.5 cm.
  2. Mark the butt into squares, then cut along the marks along the marks.
  3. Give the blanks the shape of a hexagon with a file and a knife.
  4. Then make them round with sandpaper.
  5. As a result, you will receive a workpiece with a diameter of no more than 7-8 mm.

Plumage

It is not necessary to do this at all, but it is worth noting that the plumage contributes to the accuracy of the hit and stable flight.

Important! It is better to use strong feathers 3 cm wide and 10 cm long, for example, tail or flight feathers of capercaillie, goose or turkey.

Operating procedure:

  1. Cut each feather in half right down the center of the stem.
  2. Shorten the rod so that about 1 cm remains before the beginning of the pile, on the other hand, cut the pen in the place where the thickening decreases to 1 mm.
  3. Three feathers should be present on one arrow. Make sure they are the same length.
  4. Attach the feathers to the shaft, retreating 1 cm from the edge, on both sides, wind them with a thread to each other at an angle of 120 degrees.
  5. Sew each of them near the base, trying to maintain the integrity of the villi.
  6. Carefully glue the entire structure and give the desired shape to the shaft.
  7. The plumage can be inserted into the split groove or glued immediately.

Tip

For its manufacture, you will need a metal triangular plate, the thickness corresponding to the thickness of the shaft. Then make a notch in it for the tail of the triangle and insert the plate right there, securing it with a thread.

Comrade Hobbit started an interesting topic, well, at least interesting to me. "Onion". Everyone decides the degree of necessity and possible use of this weapon for himself, but in my opinion the topic is interesting and worthy of attention.

In search of information, I went to the Internet. Well, in general, people write a lot of things, something deserves attention, something does not. I wanted to find an option that was cheap and cheerful. To spend a minimum of effort and time, and at the output to get a more or less worthy result. Found. That's what I want to post.
Next comes the copy-paste.

There is enough information on the net about the manufacture of bows, bowstrings, arrows and quivers, but this is all quite scattered, so I decided to collect a description of the entire manufacturing process in one place. I will try to detail it with photos.
So the task is to make a bow, having a minimum of tools at home, quickly enough and with acceptable performance characteristics. As the first model, the compound longbow model is best suited. We will do it. For a complete set, we need to make: a handle, shoulders, a bowstring, arrows, and, if you really want to, a quiver. And do it cheaply.
The necessary set of tools is a drill or a screwdriver, a knife, a planer, an electric jigsaw or a saw, lots and lots of sanding paper.

Part one: the handle.
To make it, we need a bar of decent wood 30 * 50 mm, about 40 cm long. It must be chosen responsibly, pine will not work on it, you need at least birch, beech is better. We look at the annual rings of the workpiece. They should go along the wide side.
We mark the handle 4 times by 10 cm, as you can see in the photo, this is one of the design options, you can come up with something of your own. We cut the handle with a jigsaw or saw, drill 6 mm holes for furniture bolts and 3 mm blind holes along the edges and insert pieces of nails so that they stick out by five millimeters.
It makes no sense to immediately process the handle completely, the bow will still be adjusted, so we will leave the skinning for later.

Part two: shoulders.
The most controversial part is in materials, technologies and sizes.
I have tried many technologies - skis, veneer, composite shoulders, but it's not that. Absolutely by accident, at a local furniture factory, I found a Klondike of blanks for shoulders. It's called happiness elastic element and is a plywood, where all the layers go along, dimensions: length 120 cm, width 50 mm, thickness 12 mm, lightly varnished and has a large radius of curvature. In short, for the shoulders of the bow, that's it! I forgot to say - the price is just a song, about 10 rubles for a set of shoulders! Similar products can be found in offices that assemble furniture.
We mark the workpieces brought home as follows - we mark 15 mm obliquely from each edge, draw a cut place using the second workpiece (very convenient, given the curvature of the workpiece) and use a jigsaw from one piece of wood to make two!
Now is the time to decide on the size of the future miracle! English longbow - the prototype of the product was quite long. Less than 120 cm it makes no sense to do it, because. there will be a large bending angle of the shoulders, which means they will quickly fail. Also, the longbow has a more uniform force when pulling the bowstring. Our bow will be collapsible, so there is no need to worry about how to transport it. We arrived at the dacha / picnic / kebabs, assembled, shot, disassembled, brought home, put in a closet. For quick assembly / disassembly, only two hex keys are needed.
Something I digress. We have already decided that the length of the bow will be 160 cm (just kidding, decide for yourself).
Based on this, the length of the shoulders will be 70 cm, i.e. bow length minus 20 cm between the shoulders on the handle and divide in half. I last time I made bows (they are in the pictures) of 180 cm each. I didn’t measure the force, but it was convenient to shoot for both children and their parents.
We put the two blanks obtained together, we are surprised at the curvature of our hands, we select the part that will become the shoulders, we measure, saw off the excess. We apply it to the handle, drill a hole for a furniture nut with the largest hat (50 mm bolts and nuts for them are available in stores selling furniture fittings, for a ruble per bolt). Having taken out the pieces of the nail from the handle, we collect the bow and rejoice!
Shoulders are best marked with up arrows, like me, because they are not interchangeable! Now we insert one piece of the nail into the handle, assemble the bow, align the bow symmetrically and lightly press the handle, the nail will mark the place in the shoulder for the hole, drill a blind hole about 5 mm. We do the same with the second shoulder.
Now it's time for the long-awaited skinning! We cut out seats for the bowstring at a distance of 3 cm from the edge, cut out the handle, align the shoulders with a planer, cover all this beauty with varnish or paint. In short, creative freedom. One important point- the edge of the handle must be filled up so that there is a gap of 1-1.5 mm between the handle and the shoulder, otherwise there is a chance to break the shoulder in this place!

Part three: bowstring.
It is easy to make a bowstring that has the necessary characteristics and a decent appearance! Forget about Kevlar, Dacron and others like them! These materials, not only can you find horseradish, have one advantage, it is also the main drawback - they do not stretch! Those. if your children/slightly drunken comrades try to play with such a bowstring without an arrow, there is a real chance to change the limbs of the bow for new ones!
In short, we go to a fishing store and buy a spool of Chinese nylon thread for 25 rubles. There are threads different thickness, I liked those that are thicker. We also need a board / bar longer than the future bowstring and two large nails without a hat. I used two bars sewn with self-tapping screws. It is better to wrap the future bowstring with the help of a spool from the spool of a sewing machine from my mother. And if you cut out a U-shaped plate, drill a hole for the thread in the middle of the shelf and fix the coil in this fixture with a screw, winding the bowstring will be a pleasure!
It's time to decide on the length of the bowstring! Instead of a bowstring, we tie a rope, measure it with a tape measure, that's it! Remember that over time, under load, the bowstring will stretch.
We mark the measured distance on the previously prepared board / bar. We drill two holes, insert two nails without hats. We also mark the middle of the distance and 5 cm from the center in both directions. We tie a nylon thread to one of the nails, with a slight uniform tightness we wind it so that the total thickness of the bowstring is about 3 mm. We tie the ends of the bowstring and stretch the knot so that it stands about 5 cm from the center, only carefully, the bowstring can fly off the nail.


We take a device for winding, leave a tail of about 20 cm, start wrapping both strands of the bowstring in turn, wrap it around 10 cm each, wrap the tail together with the strand, after finishing we tie the winding with a simple knot. So we get the blanks of the bowstring loops.



We shift the loops back to the nails, wrap the loops, beautifully closing the ends of the braid, wrap 10 cm in the middle under the bowstring, close the ends. Everything, the string is ready!
Now how do you dress her? We dress on one shoulder of the bow, but not in the cut, but further. Then we hook the bowstring into the cut of the second shoulder, rest this shoulder on the floor so that it lies flat on the floor, resting on the bow handle, squeeze the second shoulder up and insert the bowstring into the cut. It is more convenient to do this together.

Part four: arrow.
An equally important detail of the shooting complex, so we do it carefully, although they are lost, broken, etc. on the shooters. We go to the hardware store and buy a bead 10 * 10 mm. We buy a lot of it, because. consumable material. We select carefully, straight, without knots. I took 4 rubles per meter.
It's time to decide on the length of the future arrow. To do this, we get up, pull the left hand with the index finger extended to the left parallel to the ground, look at this finger. The length of the arrow is the distance from the tip of the finger to the chin!
The blank for the arrow should be 5 cm longer than the future product.
We remove the edges of the glazing bead with a planer, bring it to a round state using the following device.
At the base are two suitable boards / pieces of plywood, pieces of a glazing bead with knots are nailed along the edge of one. A hefty evil skin on a rag basis is glued to both parts of the device. The length of the fixture is comparable to the length of the arrow, the width is about 10 cm. If desired, both parts can be sewn with a piece of leather along one side.


The principle of rounding is very simple, we clamp the workpiece into a screwdriver and at high speeds a couple of minutes of reciprocating movements. After that, in the hands, using sanding paper 100, 200, 600, only it is better to hold the paper through a rag so as not to get burned. As a result, we get an amazing quality arrow shaft with a diameter of about 9 mm. I tried a 500 watt drill, not that it twists the workpiece into a spiral.
cut off<технологический хвостик>, we make a cut perpendicular to the annual rings to a depth of 8-10 mm, we expand the cut with a flat file, we round the edges of the cut with it, we cut off 1-1.5 mm from above and below at a length of about 2 cm.
Part five: plumage.
I decided to make the manufacture of plumage in a separate part.
The goal is a simple weather-resistant bright plumage with good flight characteristics. For manufacturing, we need colored tape, aluminum tape, A4 paper. We cut the paper along the short edge to a width of 4 cm (4 * 21). We cut the aluminum tape 1 * 21 cm and fold it along the aluminum outward.




We unwind the colored tape with a sticky layer up on a flat surface, lay the paper so that 5 mm is left on both sides, glue strips of aluminum tape on these places and again a layer of colored tape on top. With one such blank, 4 feathers are obtained. So there are a lot of them to do.
Further, from any material at hand, we cut out a template for the future pen, the shape is for an amateur, the optimal dimensions are 8-10 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide.
We circle the pattern with a ballpoint pen, cut out the feather, not forgetting 1 cm of aluminum tape on both sides for further winding. Feathers are even more consumable than arrows, after successful shooting, the disheveled feathers on the arrows found can be cut off, the arrow cleaned with sandpaper and new feathers glued on!



So, we take an arrow, peel off the protective strip from the pen and carefully glue the pen at a distance of 3 cm from the edge of the arrow, and so on three times! The strips should touch each other. Next, we take colored tape, put it on a flat surface, which is not a pity, sticky layer up, cut off a piece of about 10 cm with a clerical knife, cut this piece into 5 ribbons 1 cm wide, glue three strips between the feathers, cut off the excess tape with the same knife, the remaining two pieces wrap the feathers on top and bottom. Plumage is ready!

Part six: tips. Theoretical.
About the tips. I will not quote what the law says about this, I will only say that the tips ordered a long time ago from the turner have rusted and disappeared somewhere. I did not put tips, an arrow without a tip (albeit from a compound bow) pierces a medium-sized head of cabbage through and through.
For those who like to shoot at each other, I can advise you to do<гуманизаторные наконечники>, are made simply, we take a strip of thick leather 1 cm wide, fold the strip in half, tie it to an arrow, then tie another strip crosswise, we wind a cross from the same leather on top. I myself have never done such a miracle.

Z.Y.
Well, I'll add my own. I myself have not yet had time to try out this technology: there is no turning around at home, and the workshop will be available only with the first warming. But the wait is not long and it pleases. If interested, I can post a report on the work done later.

And of course (since this is a copy-paste) I give