# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Making Stuff >  who makes bows?

## owl_girl

Im sorry if this post in inappropriate but Im wondering who all makes their own bows and would be willing to sell one and for how much? I was thinking about getting a bow sometime in the future and if I did I might like to get one from some one on the forum.  If you could PM me or something that would be great. I hope Im not breaking any rules but I dont know how else to ask

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## Ridge Wolf

Hi Owl Girl.. Try FVR. He has a post on it.. scroll down a little on it at this page. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ht=bows+arrows where he has pictures of a couple that he made..

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## FVR

Owl Girl, 

I don't build bows for sale anymore as the responsiblity to get them done in an appropriate amount of time, I can not do nowdays.

But, what are you looking for?  Longbow or recurve, wood of osage, hickory or other?  What weight are you looking for, 40, 45, or possible more?  Are you a lefty or a righty?

I ventured downstairs today, (have not been down there for awhile) and could not find anything that I could send ya.  

Get me some info and I will talk to a few friends and see what I can dig up.  I pref. trading and there are a few that owe me.

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## canid

i'm still sourcing some hardwoods, but i should have bamboo, walnut, red oak and a few others handy.

if you have anything in mind, please let me know aswell. the build wouldn't take long.

i'm sure one of us can handle what you'd like.

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## Beo

Owl Girl, I can hook up with a self bow or longbow. Need your draw length & the bow weight you want.

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## FVR

This is what makes traditional and primitive archery so great!

That's why I don't have any bows or arrowheads, give them all away.  Can always make more.

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## owl_girl

Thanks for answering guys, Im looking to get a longbow or recurve preferable recurve
backing on the bow would be preferable
at least 40 pounds 
is preferable
artificial backing  not animal parts
reinforced nocks are preferable but not horn
draw length 2 feet
would any of you be able to do that and how much would something like that cost? im just thinking about it right now

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## Rick

Hey Owl Girl - You might be interested in this thread. It's on the same subject. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...inning+hunting

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## canid

a hickory or bamboo laminate would suit hose needs. do you prefer dark or pale woods? something with some contrast?

i could do a hickory or bamboo backed black walnut or ash for under $30. don't know what it would be to ship. i can't do glassing yet, as i don't have the materials, but i have some good polyurethane finishes.

within a month or two i'll have much more at hand, but i'm trying to negotiate a startup loan and can't extend my materials inventory untill that is closed.

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## canid

or maybe something crazy:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## FVR

That is an awsome price, 30 bucks, wow!

Owlgirl, I'd take him up on that, def.  if I did not make my own, I'd take him up on that.

Jimmy Taylor sells a variety of wood backed selfbows, they are usually in the 50 dollar range.  They are longbows, not a bad deal.  Many sellers will buy them up and raise the price to 80 to 90 bucks, that's still a deal if you want to spend it.

So Canid, who are you?  do you reside over at Tradgang or Primitive Archer?  Show us some pics.

I finally finished the sinew backed osage flatbow for my good friend, he called today, the recurve he has been making is done.  We decided to build bows for each other, in our own styles.  He makes a beautiful osage recurve, and I make sinew backed osage sticks.

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## canid

for simple laminations of locally obtainable [non-exotic] hardwoods [and bamboo which i can get for free] that's about my cost in materials. i would ordinarily ask $200-400 for such a bow.

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## Rick

Canid - That is a wicked looking contraption. Just shows what the human mind can conjure up when we think out of the box. Nice!!

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## canid

i lurk at trad gang. i don't have any pics other than the primitive bows i made a few months ago here, as i'm just stepping into modern bowyery.

i mostly prefer self flatbows as i learned to make them as a child.

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## FVR

You're a good man.  

Jimmy mass produces them, I think he now has others making them for him.  They are basic board bows, he has the dimensions already calc. and can whip them out super fast.

He tought me how to make a flemish twist string years ago at a rendezvous.

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## canid

nice. i'm going to need to start making my own strings. i'm currently working with platted nylon 9 strand and it's not going to cut it for sale. i'll be building a flemish jig shortly.

the funny thing about laminates is that they are all essentially board bows. you can do a lot with board lumber. people seem to think poorly of board bows, but when you put an exotic wood backing [or even veneer under glass] on it, throw in some tip overlays and a nice riser, it's suddenly a high quality modern bow. i care more about the performance, durability, abuse resistance and sadly [since the consumer wants it] the cosmetics/furnishing.

i like self bows better, but appropriate staves are not easy to find here. hence my choice of red/sitka alder in my last selfbows.

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## FVR

I built board bows for years.  Tried a variety of woods from the local hardwood lumber store, stuck with hickory.  I have backed a few with hickory, built a couple osage board bows with bamboo backings.  They performed very well, ahhh, I traded them off.

After years of building, I have stuck with what I like.  60" osage flatbow, backed with sinew.  Don't even cover with snakeskin anymore, just 7 coats of a semi gloss clear spray paint and they are ready to go.

In a few weeks, I will be taking some more pics of the bow I made and gave away and I'll post them and my new osage recurve.

I have an osage stave downstairs right now, begging me to make it into a recurve.  This time, no sinew backing, just a plain old osage selfbow recurve.  

Now where did I put my recurve forms??????????

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## owl_girl

thats awesome canid! how many bows have you made?

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## canid

recurved selfbows, fun...

things i'll be building in the next month or so:

R/D full length caul form,
couple various recurving single limb cauls,
slight reflex straightening caul,
foam insulated electric kiln,
lam tapering jig,
an actual tillering tree,
a small belt sander from used bench grinder.

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## canid

hard to say. at least a dozen of any good quality and loads of quicky selfbows that 'gid 'er done'

what i'm stepping into new is applying what i know of lamination/glue-ups, glassing layups, finishing, and furniture grade woodworking to my utilitarian experience in bowyery.

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## canid

rick: i wish i'd come up with that balista bow, but i can't take credit. found the pic in a google search.

owl girl: my band saw and some other tools are on their way and i'm stocking up on hardwoods today. i still have what i need to start if you let me know what you'd like. i'm thinking a glass over wood laminate [the modern style] recurve in hickory or ash core. any thoughts? you like light woods, dark, rich red, contrast?

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## canid

ok, i've got my new bandsaw and i've got my shop mostly set up. i found some nice pieces of a great curl and bird's eye rock maple and what may or may not be a lyptus [the hardwoods specialist wasn't sure either] with a great character. i'm milling them down into overlay laminations.

grabbed some black walnut and ash aswell, so i'm workig on some black walnut cores. they look great with the maple on top.

owlgirl: get back to me if you're still interested.

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## Kelticfox

I'd be intertested in learning if you can point me in the right direction.....

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## canid

yeah, look for my thread about the uglybow and we can discuss it in there if you'd like.

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