# How I build a longbow!



## Apex Predator

*How I build a longbow! FINISHED*

Thought you folks might like to see another side of woodworking. I wasn't sure which sub-forum to post this in, so if it needs to be moved I'll understand.

This bow will be my Cumberland straight longbow model. She will have an ebony riser with an osage canine accent. Here are the riser pieces laid out.










Notice my plexiglass template. This is mainly used to lay out how I want my accents.

Next I find the grain on each piece so that I layout the riser for the most strength. Notice how I draw lines on the cut end so that I can tell at a glance the grain is proper. The grain is really hard to see in the ebony. Then I cut each piece down to just over 1 1/2" wide. I want them the same width when I start to laminate them together. The thin piece will be used for accents behind the riser and on the tips.










I then cut my arch on the osage and sand it close to the line.










Then I trace the osage to the ebony and cut it outside the line.



















Next is a lot of fitting until no light shines between the pieces. Tomorrow you will see the next laminating step.


----------



## Apex Predator

Here I am using my plexiglass pattern to see how the canine accent will look.










Off to the bandsaw! I use this sander to take her to the line that I drew.



















Glue lines look fabulous!










Now I use my riser to draw a line on the cut-out piece of ebony. After the first test fitting I can see some high spots. I mark them like this and take it to the sander again. Lots of back and forth fitting and sanding here.










I have the pieces fitting well, so now I lay my template back on top to see how everything is gonna look.










Time for the second laminating stage for the riser!



















150 degrees for four hours ought to do it! Stay tuned!


----------



## johnv51

This is interesting. I used to hunt deer with a recurve. Compound bows are just about the only game in town now. Thanks for sharing your skills with us.


----------



## mics_54

inspiring.


----------



## frankp

johnv, really? I know a lot of places that you can still buy recurves, not to mention the custom bowyers out there making excellent bows. I had a roommate whose father made some wonderful bows (out of NC.) I found out the hard way I can't shoot his bows because I broke my elbow wrestling in high school and now can't lock out my elbow well enough to withstand the pull force of a good recurve. So now I can't shoot anything except a compound bow. Sucks, actually.


----------



## Apex Predator

Actually, there is quite a large number of traditional archers. There are probably 100 big name bowyers, and twice that many small ones like myself. One of the largest traditional only archery forums has well over 20,000 members.


----------



## Colt W. Knight

Very cool thread. I will be watching this closely, as I have long wanted to build my own bow. 

Thanks for taking the time to document the process.


----------



## Colt W. Knight

What kind of glue are you using there?


----------



## Apex Predator

I use EA-40 Smooth-on bow building epoxy. You can buy it from various traditional archery suppliers. Some have used other epoxies with good results, but most go back to the tried and true Smooth-on.


----------



## johnv51

Thanks for the info guys. I haven't hunted since the md 80's and based my observations on what I see in sporting goods stores and magazines. I should know to look deeper to find the truth.


----------



## Daren

Apex Predator said:


> Stay tuned!


I am...:icon_smile:


----------



## Apex Predator

This morning I started by sanding all the glue boogers off the sides of the riser. Then I layed out the riser with my template again.



















Now it's off to the bandsaw!










Then it's time to sand the fades. I start with the belt attachment on my combo sander, since it has 50 grit paper, then move on the the spindle attachment for finer work. The Rigid combo unit is the most used piece of equipment in my shop! For $200 it's a must have for the serious hobbiest or amatuer bowyer.










Notice the piece it's attached to. It's square to the sander and has an aluminum surface. This backing piece allows me to get the end of the fades super thin.










A little hand sanding at the very ends, and it is ready for glue-up! The riser will stay on this sanding block until ready to lay-up the bow. This will protect the very fragile fade-out ends.


----------



## johnep

Make another and put each stage on utube please.
Was that a piece of spring steel (car spring) I could see?
johnep


----------



## Apex Predator

This morning it's time to start on prepping the laminations. The light colored ones are vertically laminated bamboo flooring and are .120 at the butt, tapering .001 per inch of running length. 
The cherry is .065 and tapered the same. Here they are all layed out. The cherry is awesome! It will darken and the grain will pop when under the glass. I start by carefully measuring each lam at the fat end. These are always very close to what I ordered, if not exactly. I record all the data in my book for future reference.




























I then sand the ends of both lams together so that I can join them into one lam. This is for all except the belly lam, which will stay in two pieces.



















When I flip the top one over it should mate to the first one.


----------



## Apex Predator

I've drawn lines on my bench to use as guides to make sure I glue them together parallel.










I use a quality CA gel and an accelerator to join them.



















I want the joints as tight as possible for asthetics. You could have a gap here, and it would work fine because they are normally right behind the thick part of your riser. I like tight lines myself!










Next is sanding the edges of the lams to knock off the splinters. These can get trapped between lams, or under the glass and will look horrible if not taken care of.


----------



## jim douglas

This is great! Can't wait for the next steps.
Thanks,
jim


----------



## Apex Predator

I appreciate all the kind words!

My glass came yesterday, so this morning I am prepping everything for glue-up. The belly lams have to be trimmed down some in length. I tape the back side of the glass to keep off the smooth-on epoxy. 










Then it's time for a dry run. I clean all the lams with acetone, and stack them on the form in proper order. For this bow it will be glass, cherry, boo, boo, riser, cherry, and glass. This cherry is awesome, and quickly becoming my favorite!



















I put the pressure strips on top, and with hand pressure determine if the riser fades are going to fade like they are supposed to. I don't want any gaps here at all.



















You can see a shadow where the lams over-hang the riser in the last photo.

I have to pick up an extra bicycle inner tube and another seam roller today, and should then be all set for the lay-up.


----------



## Apex Predator

Time for lay-up! 

Here is my method for glue-up, which I don't think I've shared much of. It's really hard to take photos cause you are covered with epoxy! Don't really want to ruin my camera. Here you see the smooth-on all mixed up, a 1" wallpaper seam roller, and a wooden stick. I dab the epoxy down the lam and then roll it out with the roller. Works well for me.




























After the roller, I eye-ball the whole lam looking for this, a dry spot! Can't have those.










After all the bottom lams are buttered and stacked, I butter the riser bottom and clamp it on top of the stack. I make sure the center is indexed to my form.










Check out this cherry with smooth-on applied. This is close to what it will look like under the glass.


----------



## Apex Predator

Now I fold the plastic wrap over the bow from each side and secure the whole works with a couple of wraps of electrical tape. I'm careful here not to trap any plastic wrap between the lams.



















Next I place the pressure strips on top and start wrapping bicycle innertube clamps. I use lots of rubber here folks! About 7 strips per side. A typical bike tube will yeild 2-3 strips depending on the diameter of the tube. I pay special attention to the fadeouts here.










Then I set up my oven. It's a simple affair, but works great! During the colder months I will use four 100W bulbs. When it's warmer, like now, I use four 75W bulbs. My timer is a $6 job from Lowes. I want 140-160 degrees here for around five hours to set the smooth-on epoxy. My cover is made of pvc and plastic/foil water heater insulation.




























Medium-rare beef is what we are shooting for!  It takes about an hour to get up to full temperature.


----------



## junkhound

Apex, looks like top quality work. This is one of the most interesting threads I have ever read. Thanks for the time you've devoted to sharing this with us all. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Junkhound


----------



## Apex Predator

This morning I took her out of the form. Here is the blank with all the excess epoxy on the sides. I've always been one to use too much, but I sleep good after putting one in the oven. It only takes an hour, or even less to clean it up. First the bandsaw, then the belt sander.




























My favorite part of bow building is cleaning up the blank and peeling the tape! This one looks really good. Perfect glue lines and zero air bubbles under the glass.
I'm really liking the wood combos Josh chose!


----------



## Apex Predator

Next step is to mark the center of the riser. I use my fancy centering jig here to mark the center of the riser. Then I stretch a line that bi-sects the center, then mark the tip centers.




























Then I mark the top of the limbs 3" outside the fades, and make marks on either side of the tip centers for a 5/8" wide tip. I draw a straight lines from mark to mark.










Then I take it to the belt sander and take the limbs down to the line. After sanding there will be small fiberglass splinters on the edges, so be careful handling the bow.










I then take another little jig I made and make lines parallel to the limb edges on the last 10" of limb. I then taper the last 10" down to these lines at the tips, until my tips just fit in my nock groove line drawing jig. Lot's of jigs huh?


----------



## Apex Predator

I draw my lines with the little line jig in place, and then I cut shallow grooves. I progress through the grooves with three tools in order. I start with a tiny jewlers triangle file, then to the tile saw blade, and finally the chainsaw file. The three steps allows me to make any needed corrections each time I move up to the bigger tool.










This lady now gets her first stringing! Alignment looks good, the bottom limb is just a little stiffer, and she draws [email protected] Perfect for this stage of the game. I want her to be around 8# over my target draw weight, cause there is limb timing, tiller, and limb narrowing ahead.










Here she is with a little too low of brace. Need to find a little shorter string before I continue.










Now its time to build my overlays. I use my belt/spindle combo sander for this. The fence I use is square to the sandpaper. I thin pieces of osage and ebony for the overlays.




























I will laminate the overlays on tonight.


----------



## Apex Predator

I rough up the glass under the overlays with 80 grit by hand, then clean all the pieces with acetone. Do a dry run here to make sure everything mates well! Sometimes you have to get creative in your clamping. Overlays want to slide all over the place with epoxy on them. When using two pieces it's even worse. Then it's on to the smooth-on. Like always, I use too much! 





































My three headed monster supplies a little heat. I just want to keep everything nice and warm for several hours while the epoxy cures. Heat cures the epoxy faster and stronger.


----------



## IdaCurt

Very nice! I like the center line jig,are you on trad gang?


----------



## Apex Predator

Yes, I'm a sponsor over there on Tradgang. I'm on lot's of boards, and use the same handle on all of them.


----------



## Colt W. Knight

Do you also make Recurve bows?

Is there anyway to estimate the poundage on these bows before you make them? Are there anyways to tweak the poundage to get what you are after?


----------



## Apex Predator

There are several sites that sell materials that can give you an estimated stack height, but there are many factors that affect draw weight. Design is the biggest factor. The amount of curve has drastic effect. Everything I build goes into a recipe book of sorts. I have good notes on all the three different model longbows I build. 

If you come in heavy, you can narrow the sides some, or sand the glass on the limb faces. If you reduce a bows width profile in half you will loose half the draw weight. If you reduce the thickness of that limb things change really quick! I bow limb twice as thick is eight times as strong!

I only build longbows right now.


----------



## Apex Predator

Today I cleaned up the edge of the riser and tip overlays first. Then I start to work on the tips. I carry my string groove across the overlay on the tip. Then I start to shape them. First I have to narrow the tips, being carefull not to sand all my groove away. I continue to deepen them as the tips width narrows. Here are some photos.










I got on a roll and forgot to take some photos! I used my free standing belt sander for most of the tip shaping. Then I carefully sanded the joint with a dremel and then sandpaper by hand. Here are the tips 80 percent complete.




























Now to work on the riser overlay. I use my 1" belt sander to thin the bevel some, then I tape the glass and dremel up to the tape. Hand sanding finishes them out. The joint on the tips get the same treatment.

Here are some before and after photos.


----------



## Apex Predator

I got some work done on the riser as well! I'm gonna hate to put a piece of leather on this one. I'm really diggin' it!

I cut out the site window with a hacksaw and chisel.


----------



## Apex Predator

Not a lot to show right now. I've got her hand sanded down through 150 grit. After 220 grit I will fill the pores in the riser, then time to spray.


----------



## Apex Predator

I've got her sanded through 220 grit now. Here she is after the first coat of CA (super glue). This will fill the wood pores to give the riser a nice level look after spraying. I will sand this down with 220 grit. Ebony and osage aren't particularily porous, so this one coat may be enough. Some woods like wenge or walnut need quite a few leveling coats. This photo shows how dark the ebony will be under finish.


----------



## Apex Predator

When sanding down the super glue, you can easily see the low spots that need more sanding, or another application.


----------



## Apex Predator

Here she is folks!


----------



## Apex Predator

Here are a few more photos!


----------



## jim douglas

This is a great thread, thanks Apex. You inspired me to build a bow. I bought the Bow Builders book for a reference.
jim


----------



## Apex Predator

I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you have any questions on your journey, feel free to ask away. I'll do my best to help you.


----------



## Gravel7

*Tremendous!!*

What skill you possess! Very cool. I learned quite a bit from this thread. Have you ever had the feeling of, "I am so damn happy that I’m a guy" when you have seen one or more beautiful girls.....your just like "Thank God I am a guy" type of feeling...and you are just totally thankful.
That is exactly the way I feel when I read this post.....except for about woodworking. That longbow is so beautiful that it makes me excited that I was lucky enough to stumble into woodworking as one of my hobbies.....kind of a thank God type of feeling.


----------



## Colt W. Knight

Excellent. Do you make your own strings?
Do you make arrows?


----------



## Apex Predator

Thanks for the compliments folks! 

I do build strings and arrows.


----------



## kjhart0133

How about a pic of you drawing that baby back with an arrow nocked?

Kevin H.


----------



## Daren

Nice looking bow, I will go so far as to call it lovely. Thanks for the step by step. :thumbsup:


----------



## photo4u2c

*Finish question*

First of all "Awesome Build Along" thanks for sharing! my question is what do you use for finish and how do you apply it? like the look of your finished product.


----------



## phinds

beautiful joiner ... I can't image my ever getting curved pieces to fit together that well.


----------



## BWSmith

Having built alot of bows.....Very nice work!

Archery is such a wonderful sport/passion....building bows/tackle adds to the whole experience.It is a very natural extension for WW'ers.A suggestion for anyone contemplating is to start small.Build a 42 or 48",10# longbow for a grandchild,neice or nephew.BW


----------



## ihackwood

you got skills dude


----------



## txpaulie

Thanks for kicking this one back up to the top!:thumbsup:

Very impressive job!

I'm too old and weak to use a good longbow well now...:yes:

I miss it.

p


----------



## Gerry KIERNAN

Looking forward to the continuing saga. What a great job you are doing.

Gerry


----------



## renovatio

This thread is incredible, one of the most interesting projects I've ever seen. I'm a beginning woodworker that has wanted to make a longbow for a while, this inspired me to wait a while longer.


----------



## Ted Tolstad

That's a gorgeous bow. I have long wanted to get a longbow and try some traditional hunting. This has been an awesome thread. You are an artist sir.


----------



## ChiknNutz

Yes, very cool indeed. Love the craftsmanship that goes into this.


----------



## Apex Predator

photo4u2c said:


> First of all "Awesome Build Along" thanks for sharing! my question is what do you use for finish and how do you apply it? like the look of your finished product.


Sorry for deserting you folks for a while. 

I use Fullerplast, a catalyzed two part finish, and spray with an airbrush.


----------



## photo4u2c

thanks, i ordered that finish today looking forward to spraying it!


----------



## Apex Predator

Please use a chemical respirator, as this stuff is really nasty in the lungs!:thumbsup:


----------



## photo4u2c

any tricks in spraying this stuff?


----------



## Apex Predator

What kind of sprayer are you using? I'm only familiar with the Pasche single action air brush that I use.


----------



## photo4u2c

small binks airbrush, i also have a small touchup hvlp cheap gun that i dont like...


----------



## 27207

Just want to say... Wow. That's a work of art.


----------



## dat

looks nice, you did a great job on that.

do you bowhunt? or is it for target only?


----------

