1 Reply by RDinMT

(8 replies, posted in Bows)

Hi Bluelake,

Thanks for the link. I've built two bows for my children following pretty much the same process as that in the link. I think I have my lam. stack figured out to get me in the ball park. Next is to draw out the unstrung profile. The more one looks into it the more appreciation you get for the time spent by bowyers through the centuries developing these bows. Its one thing slapping some wood and fiberglass lams. together with epoxy, quite another carving wood and horn by hand and combining them into a work of art that slings arrows like they do.

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2 Reply by RDinMT

(35 replies, posted in Thumb Rings)

bluelake wrote:
Artemiz wrote:

Well, I just made a thumb tab out of a piece of old leather belt and drew my 64# compound and.....it feels just like I'm stepping on my thumb!  I suppose that's normal until the thumb gets use to the pressure.

As mentioned above, you might want to try boiling it, although some types of leather don't harden well.  Look up Cuir Bouilli on the Internet.  As an example: http://www.jeanturner.co.uk/static-cont … hnique.pdf

One way to harden leather is to soak it for  few seconds in melted bees wax. This goes back centuries when leather was used before steel for armor. The heating causes the leather to go through sort of a polymerization of the cell structure making it very hard.

I use this same procedure to stiffen and waterproof the sheaths for my knives. They become a very dark color and stiff.

I heat up the wax to liquid and hold the heat just before it begins to smoke. Best to use a test piece of leather to see how long you should leave it in before it's too much.

I would think this would work for a thumb tab as mentioned above, with the wax adding to the "slipperyness" of the leather upon release.

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3 Reply by RDinMT

(3 replies, posted in General Interest)

No, I'm a stock removal guy, use a grinder starting with precision ground high carbon tool steel. I have the the blade and pummel plate water jet cut but do everything else, including heat treat.

Forging is beyond my abilities and is an art in itself. I consider myself more of a tool maker than an artisan.

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4 Reply by RDinMT

(8 replies, posted in Bows)

WillScarlet wrote:

Let's see some of your knives, eh?   lol

I posted a link over on the general forum for some pics of my knife (thought it would be more appropriate than on the bow forum). So here you go: http://www.koreanarchery.org/punbb/view … 1408#p1408

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5 Topic by RDinMT

(3 replies, posted in General Interest)

Here is a link to one of my knives that was being sold on the secondary market, has a couple good pics ( I'm having a hard time transfering my own.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt … sh-Tool-A2

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6 Reply by RDinMT

(8 replies, posted in Bows)

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the help. If I can get a bow together that works I'll see if I can post some pictures.

Kanuk, thanks for the input. And yes we are neighbors, I'm in the Flathead Valley, so not too far from you. I have been up your way a little further, west of Edmonton a few times, really beautiful country. And thanks for taking the time to give me an idea of the basic dimensions for the limbs.

I hope I didn't come across in my first post as though I am trying to steal any ideas or take any business away from the current bowyers or dealers. This is strictly for my own enjoyment and I have no intentions of making bows for profit (already too busy making knives).

As far as purchasing a bow, I would be all for it but I would rather build with my own hands  if its feasible (an extension of my knife making). I have a couple guys that come over to my shop one night a week (boys club in the man cave) to work on knives of their own design and the idea of building bows came about last fall. They want to make take down recurves and I figured while we were at it I'd try something different. I'm also hoping to get my kids involved in the process as well so they will have more appreciation for whats involved in making stuff.

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7 Topic by RDinMT

(8 replies, posted in Bows)

Hello,

First time poster, found the website about a week ago but have known about trad. Korean bows for sometime.

The reason for my title is that I am wanting to build a bow that follows the lines and hopefully similar draw length of these wonderful Korean bows. I have built two small recurve bows for my children and enjoyed not only the process but the short length and how well they have performed (yes, I let my kids shoot them too big_smile ). The idea of making a bow as short as a trad. K. bow that can shoot an arrow with authority  and yet be drawn past 29" has intrigued me for some time.

I am hoping I can learn from the board members here some of the aspects of these bows that I should know in order to start experimenting. My plan is to use standard modern materials (wood core, fiberglass and carbon fiber laminations, epoxy etc.). I have no qualms about the fact I may fail miserably before I get what I want but that is half the fun, seeking the truth of the matter, as it were.

My main concern is figuring out what the basic limb dimensions should be ie. limb widths, thickness etc. I live in western Montana with a lot of traditional bow hunters but I have not been able to find anyone with a Hwarang or Kaya to look at. From what I have seen in the pictures it appears the limbs are thinner in the midsection, where the limbs bend/arc the most and then begin to get a little thicker towards the ends where the "static" ends start, and near the riser area. Is this the case?

The limbs also look very narrow compared to modern recurves here in the states. Do the limbs maintain a fairly even parallel width to the ends or is there a consistent taper?

I was also hoping someone with a Kaya bow pulling 40-45 lbs. might be able to measure the thickness of the limbs along their length so I will have a baseline to start from when ordering the laminations.

I hope I am not being too forward for a first time poster and appreciate any help I can get form everyone here. I'm a knife maker with about 400+ blades (not a forger but do all fazes of construction) under my belt and would be more than willing to help with any information I can offer on the subject.

Thanks for reading this and appreciate your time,

Rod

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