youre out in the wild, empty handed, no tools, no weapons
what do you do? how do you survive?
heres how to make a quick and easy longbow for hunting or defense
out of materials growing naturally in the woods
start with a nice ash oak hickory or other good hardwood tree
of the three, ash doesnt need to season before you use it
so its much better if you need the bow ASAP
hickory is a bit too flexible when green but when dried works better
oak is nice and rigid, lots of strength but may crack a bit when green
it is usually best when well seasoned, air dried 3-4 years
you need a young tree of good straight grain with no knots
5 to 8 feet long and about 2-3 inches in diameter at the small end
these are usually found in thickly wooded areas of older growth
the surrounding trees force a faster straighter growth
once you find your tree cut it down with a saw, machete or whatever you have
stone axes and seashells work, just slowly…lol
peel the bark off and make sure the grain is suitably straight and even
use a plane, machete or drawknife and shave one side back flat
do not cut deep enuff to go into the heartwood leave at least 1/4 inch of sapwood
1/2 inch is better, this will be the flexing part of your bow
you want a nice flat smooth face about 2 inches wide
try not to cut any of the fibers, if you can, split this portion off cleanly
on this face mark the center measuring in from the ends
mark down 5 inches and mark this as your hand grip area
draw lines on this face marking the shape of your bow
narrow for the grip then go wide and taper down to the tips
now cut down to your lines with knife, plane or machete
lay your bow on its side now and measure your grip
you want it around 1.5 to 2 inches from front to back, or what ever you like
leave the wood thicker above and below the grip
full original thickness of the log wont hurt, it just adds strength
the heartwood is ok, in the back, thicker, supportive parts
not in the bending portions, it tends to be brittle
now draw a line from the thicker portion out to the tips
youll want to leave the tips around 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick
and part way towards the center youll want it the same
as you do a few of these you will learn the tapers and thicknesses that work best for you
the center part around the grip needs to be heavy and thick so it doesnt bend easy
the farther out you get the thinner the bow is the more and easier it will bend
kind of like a leaf spring set, more leaves in the center give the spring strength
the same for the thickness of the wood
dont worry about bending or bowing the ends. it isnt needed
just notch them slightly for your string
this type of bow doesnt need to bend that far for power
if you need the ends curved forward it takes a while but is simple
i usually stick the last couple inches of each end over a header log
in one of my sheds, let gravity bow what it will
you dont need to cure the wood for the longbow
itll work fine as it is
if you do cure it, yeah, go ahead and bend it some
where you bend and how much is gonna depend on how thick th wood is
where it bends naturally and where you want it to bend
i cant give a definitive answer on that one
the more material you have to bend
the more power it takes to draw it
and the more power pushin your arrow out
recurves use bends to give more flex and spring with less material
a longbow just uses material, the thicker the stronger
the shape is importnt in how and where the wood flexes
and how fast it returns to its original position
like a leaf spring, they flex the easiest out where its thinnest
but the double and triple layers help push it back to where it started from
same for the thickier and thinner parts of a bow
you can make it narrower and thicker
but then it wont flex quite the same
may even stress and break
wider and thinner gives the bulk for strength
with more flexibility
bend a 2×4, see which way it bends easiest
its greatest strength is on edge
its greatest flexibility is the wide side
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