Written· by

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THE ART OF MAKIN'G

. PRIMITIVE B,OW'S

.- ANnl ARROW'S

D. C. Waldorf with illustrations and photos by Valerie Waldorf

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TIUE ARTI OF MAKING

PRIMIT1VE B10'W'S A,ND

ARROWS

WrlUell by D. C. Wald.orf with ill ustradonsand P hotos by Valerie Waldorf

l' AJIU,,E OF CON'fE[\lTS

IN'T'Rf}lJUCTION' . ' , .. " . " , " " . " " . " " . " . " " " " . " . , . , , , , .. " :I

L TOOLS J\.NU \VOODS FOR BOW MAKING .. " _ " " .. " .. - "." " 4

n, MAKING THE S'IMPLiE SELF BOW ""." _,,, ,,,, .. ,,,, ,, ,, _ .. "" .. 7

Ill. no"v DESIGN" __ , , , . " .. " __ , . , " . , .. , - , ., , . , , ' . , 18

nr. SINlEW BACKIN'G " .. "" " _ .. , , " , .. , , ' , , " , - . , , , - , .. :24.

V. MAKING.o\ HOW STRIN'G .. " _ , , .. , . " .. , .. , - " . , , , , .. , " 31.

VI. !J\oIAKIN',G ARRO\'VS .. " " , , . , _ " , .. ,. - - , " " .. , - .. , . " ; . ' 34

VII. QlUVERS, __ , , , _ , , , , . . . . . , _ .. , , . " .. " .. , - - , " " , - , , . , 44

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INT.RODUCTION

S(J:m.~ time ago my Father gave me a shoe box full of papers and pictures, these things he had Iound while cleaning house. The paperswere mostly FI8PIWI cards .and those old childhood photos were even liess inspiring, Save one. n""'8S a little boy wearing a cowboy hat, with a toy s, .. 'or.a at his side and a bow and a rrow in his ha nds, This was the a u thor tit 7 OF 8 years old and the recellt photo nf me with. a. short. powerful Plains bow further documents a life-long interest in the history of weapons and archery .. The boy never grew up, he just got bigger. At the age of 10 1 made lIly first bow consisting of etrips of split bamboo lashed together with kite string, a sort of crude lammation. Its cast was about 90 yardswhen the wlnd was bIowing in the right direction. 1 made my first Osage bow 'when li was a bout ]6 and the a q uisi tion of a .22; rifle soon put ]t in the closet, but only temporarily. As my interest in flint knapping' gre .. v I began to make arrows Upped with flint points. Thes e 1 sold at a. r choologic al society mee Lings and black powder shoots, and it wasn'tlong before I was making bows and qUiV'8I'S to go alongwith them. In the last 10 years we have probubly made over 5,0 outfits, some of them quite elaborate and costly, My wife is good at sewing and beading and she didmosr of l he work on l he qiLUV91'S, \'\' hiLe I made th e bows and the arrows . Much ofwhat we havB learned frUID our past experiences has gone into this book, which Is filled with pr actical knowledge gained mostly hy trial and error ..

Because this book is about making serviceable archery tackle, it contains little about hist~II''Y or ethnology. If you are interested in what kind of bow or arrow was used by a particular group uf people, you will have to look at some of the other books written a bon t this subject, s orne of which are listed .in the bibUography _ However; must of them will not provide accurate step-by-step instructions 011 how to make yOUI' own equipment, Some of the d'BS]~]]S. Ior bows, arrm'l.ls,a.nd quivers are not. authentic (American Indian] while others are, the ones shown in this book a re too best and most prac tical, The tools and techniques {OJ: making these can be applied to other designs that the reader may wish to replicate, Also in. this. book youwill fi nd short cu ts and modern substitutas for certain raw materials. it is up to you whether you wish to use them nr nnt, The ancients would have used power tools and waxed nylon if they had had them; However, there is such a thing as going too far.

The advent of the compound bow has dea]t a cruel blow to teaditionalareheey and to some, using a "bow with training wheels" is a sacrilegious act. To me, shootinga beautiful Plai[ls bow that has had its. back covered with sinew and ra ltlesnake skin Or

rhe author ut an early OgH.

The utrther as he is today. He never grew up, he j us t go t b,iggar.

mastertng the power of a yev ... ·]ongbow stirs ancient memories in a pr imitive soul. 1 am not an Indian, but arch erv Is 8.S much a part of early Europe Eli swell as the Americas, One only has to look at the 5000 yoar nkl Levantine rock p .. !inUngs, one of which hus been reprod uced un the co v ar, to re a] il.fl how m ueh ,,1 part of our heritage archery is. If this book serves to return only d few to the way of the trudltional ar-

3 cher, then it wHi have been worth the w·I'iting.

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NomaUi[li!'w hal kind of oo't\ you. pila8 to moe, ~rt)u~ a cqui fie thBp:roper lools. W r~-ou are a purist thl!JTI the' hds y~ru \jl;·mn need l'll m he those lha ~ were iJ sfld by pruhL~ 1,0 r i,~ MaD.. i\ pdmi.tiv~ looi kit for bow making would Include an a xo w llh a head mAde of per.;1;ed and polished grun ll~~ or !:1 dtpped flint one with aground and l)IJiH:sh~d bll, A square-sac lion, Thmish Hint axetovoMd bc m~~ Ichake fur all, axe. Tu lhisI ¥co""01Jd iJdd &0 adze "rDMll.sh~l~.several nllke knivC$ ro I'.I!d@ bOID heall'J h]ad~ :!ilmck from 8 COte . h'~g or <DJ~llr:lV' Ii!i~~r,a h",\f\1-",OIOOOO~u1 ,jiilnd ~mBnJug', [tat ~itJill"ll~r sl.!.'lili as sandStone !!lrpwm ice. The aXle which is usedte cu I dO\Wlll·tim: h'OO en also '1m used to rough. oti'tllie slave afte:t i l has been spJ lt f:r~m the- ~~2 wi.th '~he w,ediges, armd ma~., The~d~e is ned fOil fin~f:' 'wo], l!: and the nAi ke knives a nd Semd~ slones are used for the fiIl'Fd, finiriih,

In m'cl~r to moke and then usa the stU!HI tocls I ha ~~e~.[I;!i;~ descrtbed, one must be a fhnlL .kn:BpPiJl' of OCiInsid;f!lf-Rbte rQ)!;;~r~fl!lTl.ce.Evcn lhnughthase too~s are ~he most e.r£ici.e.nt of Wheir typs.ilhcy ~ re not haOOled in the samama n Qm" asthese of steel or In'Iii!~~ BOl' ms~ilfil;le' .. [fue lla!mru~:a:h al!!.e\'I!il1. ,c:u~ ,,,1Il!!IlKII o:Illrm.Em as: fa5~ OJ s 3r :[Ij[or!.'em slreeID be omdhriM jts edgt: ml1cb.ilollger.IIO\\r-C'oi<-:er. it can 00 quJcUy damagOOI if j I. is not used iN ilh theprn,Per s,tmliic a nd cutting an8~g·

_H yfliU 're no~ ]1i1J [01 mFl.t km]pip'.~ng you mi~ III e onskIer the tool Sl '1JJ:ed by the ~ rnn Age \'\1i ~ It". M:e.n nnd In.f:J Plains hldians, 'rhese same t 0018 canst ill he f o~mrd at you r local hardwa ru flllLore 01' in lh~ Sear'!> 'ID"oo~ Cai~a~Qg .. An 8J\!B orlilal,chet. ~ S~jedge .bammler aruI \,,,,-edges,a gUl.ld. sharp ~hl;!HUl knifa or large f.liM!k!e~ knifv. a smaU. Scn~,L1 \\'000 rasp and some sam!pa,pcr .. ~ BI.fuat "s ~eded 't:o imi;)l,e, a b(n~ Oil' l'l.o;:;o.

J have a fuUy ,elIi,[mip'~ shDp mId. m.ybrn ... lIlRkmg tool::; inrJudeo ,cham ;saw. a draw knile _d 'spIJ!{p. shalle 3S well alii a band saw .bcU sander, and u lr.is,e mollJilllled nn rr~yw(Jd;.1i:lUm~d~whi,(;h helds the :s~~we while I'm working on u, "Vl~h these rnodemtcols I hu ve ell t down i he lime i t ~i;tk~s ln make a sel f hnw ,b' o:m a week 0 r mare to <J mtwe fivls hou rs. If you a ru intJe!f\8:st,~d in making mmf,e than u couple of OO'"'!'l, .I :!i~l thaI ~'Ou get a draw 'kini[,e a~.d a 8[N {k~ SM \toe, or at ~{'.asl a draw knife_ '.rankly. [ love these louIs ;'lUd~. wotdd be lool. witmm.t 1h~, lttw,1 mm Ihe \'\iork ~.tmlll dJ, ,easier .~~~--a~'. ence \fun hll<\: ~ SMil.dw a:l!!.d r.n~ed .dI ~In !!be. mrWlu' IIIIU]~.rn.a1!'.ts arc ~JHe. who is goinl:: 110 know huw runS it ·tool ¥o~ Ill' \\ hat ,:ooJsynu !.!sed.to do the job?Wb.d you a!l'e oiler ~s ~ltmll'O; that ]Quk!'l gQ~d. SihQld s good, and almve'sJl is !Oafe,

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Osage- nrange. hickory,. OIJm mon locust. Pad fi(; Y{lW. ash. Eastern red cedf:l.~ .Roch~ MOMIilJ~l.!tn junjper",wlNrih: oak i\lS wen as SORC on~e'U"!!, we[['1t! th~ woods used hy Ih~ N erth Amefl,ei~n lndians fOE maki ng 1'l(rw5, Below, lhrLlI~t'l trees S!N'!' ltsto d <J long w ilh lhrei r hetan lea 1 ~'),B mes and in erder n f a8siI'8J bilitv, 'rho enesatthetcp are ~ hie best, beu\G h~['1dye1 I1Irfl'l'!;.~ 'Me sud having a high :res.islmitCB to s~ring FoliIo'W. lite mle!i toward Uhte bottom am softer 0:1' mO:l'IE! brittle Oli' ha\""e m.Ol'oe of a. t.Ernd en c~ I n fol1oQ'lIi1I.c ~mg. (A. btl,...! rI!llUo~'Ii"stla.e.= string: ~.., hen. it sitaJ.~ 'idig;h L~}· bEml :8!ner bGing WlSII.ir"llIlg .llllw ~Il:~el' g;lI'ad~ \\'oomos!lmu1d be ~,ine\\ ba.ckoo and nU oo",'!; undee 50 i nehes s.b.ould be bo eked (lir li.noo ,foOr safu.ly ~k~. For further hemp tn idenu.r~ili6:S[ltree!l~i{)U rn.a.y "'im '~(1 t'lJ.lii$~U Qi!1JS' [![~he many bee irlelllmkaHoill glll i de~. a vaila w.e!1!t tho li urn ~'y or a t a beckstcre.

(J.!'.l,AGiE ORAN'GE - M,~,dl.il nil .poU'ilij;ern rCOWUJNLO:ClJtu' '~'ifilohmio p$elji~.lrurJu)(!!do rAIOPn:::Yll\V ~. 'rwrus b.re~flfujia

ru;"ru1' m:O:::OI:Y - Caryn lHico:rlllJ !llobF(!' \,;\mfI, A, SH- "'nudnm; m'lIeFiioon~

'\:II.:~: OM( ,~ QUiIl'U.ti.5 '~I

U'S"I"mL:'\"l" .Rm CEDAR - lllllipems ~irgfujnntJ ROCKY MT. JUN.lPml ~ J'mIipenJ:!i scnpo1.ari.mn.

Of a ]]~heh[ll!'!l W(){i ds J ha'l.!'iffi' wOFk~rl. (Jll.ltSide o~ the more exotic: tr@ph.11'!11 types; OS!;],go ora nge is my fm vo m~il!ffi sndthe Indiflns preferred it A.~ well, Legend has l t tha t t~r~ s I res was named ~ f~er 'thlii 0 sa ge Indrua [:IS whe used .~~ fur I he.i r bews, and f~r Ulle ,eH@1V!;"u!'ange eolnr of its, wood. :iFo:rt~~a~rB~y forme. [ live m South wesk!r;Q. !\;IiSSllun i~ what 'Wa5 Osageterrlluli1l bIll also ~he original renter nr 'I:hi:!; krn;:'~ d!U!stdtllwtimm- Hr!l!!!"e bi .~ lO~rk Hills i~ is. bO'li'IIlI1, as . "00"" dm'k"'. w hieh is 8 C:fJF:~1 inn 0 f "bois fj!' arc". French for ""wf'JoOd rOt th.e 0010\1'8". Ot.ll:Dier popuhrr names ure bedge or 'hedgea.ppJe, Bcr.;anse Os~s.e m(~de such. a good n ~I tural f!Etn[;s it~ d~fl~ I'~b~~iml! wal:i: ~N3aHy Bxp~md~d by fanners and ranchers ue[Mfl b~d-jGd wlrecams il'l~o gB"Il.eJral use, It is now founu tn/aI' much of the Eusl,erIlL U,S,. as wen A~ UI.e Centrul and Sow;.tbJ~ru Fill~jns. EVroo after wjl:lG!~el],cir1:g was linvcrtl~od Ihis, looe was sl in handy fo:r'po~' s because its \\l'0N:I, l:-" lEIS sum I li'f!si:9tan:t. Hedgp. apple not on]y ref,ers to 'il! Ii: tree inn bas somelhing to say abou~ ~ts irui t. ",,'bi.clru .ffi gBletm in ooTnr .ba.s \Io-riliil~IIE!'d :srmru" le_ i!. n balllll: the 3m;: or 3. saHib.... The easiest way ~/I!lI locat.e am Osage tree is ("0 "HIi! l Ul!1IW fall whentha fruil husri.pe:ned. TnlFacl, these· ,lWoonbalJs .. i11 rcmR.in m the tJi'eli!':: UO'I' SmII.S t]m:c arteli' lhe IBcll~es hfl\!'e fa UQl1i .mel [his mak_o s it iJ'i sy [0 spott m ~'I l'ly winter,

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Osage trees can be found growing in (1)811 COUll· I.ry 01' near the bank of a small stream as well as in hSQgB rows. The river bottom trees are the ones I prefer because Lhey are straighter, the growth rings are larger and easier to follow with. the dl'r~w knife and they hu W) f e'Ne!' knn ls beca USH, the small, de ad branches on the trunk may be pruned by flooding, Those tha t grow on bn lei knu bs 0 I' open pra ~ ries o lten h n ve 'l \Ii,.' is led grain in their trunks, this is ca used by constant or unevenwindpressure on the tree's branches which forces it to grow in 8 spiral, Because they grow ina drier environment, trees on high grOlmd will have more growth rings per inch. this might make a stiffer bow if you can overcome the twist in the longuudinal grain.

If you can't find an. Osage treethat someonew'Ull let you cut you might look For' some old fence posts 01" some B:f.l';; .... ones, Sometimes a farm supply store will have- Osage. or more often, locust posts for' sate. Also, locust trees are more common than Osage'. On u recent trip through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, I saw hundreds of them growing ill hrushy, second growth woods in bel ween the fields. One must be aware that there are two kinds of locust, one that grows larger and has small t horns 0 n I he branches at the base of each leaf, and one that is armed with b.1ll!.ge three inch thorns 8111 over the trunkand beanches, The OO{Wtl,on 10r.UFiL [Robinia pseudoacacia] has small thorns and this is the one you wan t beca use its wood is hard, dense and llextble like that of Osage. In fad i~ may be to your advantage to use' locust because it is straighter of grain with fewer knots and will produce larger staves for longbows.

Ash and hickory are not as good as Osage and locust, I would consider them as a second choice, For those who live on the West COGst. Paralic 'jevj,' may be a poss:ibumy, although difficult to obtain. This rare, slow growing conifer may now be protected in some areas, The yew sta vcs J ha ve were cut 25 yea I'S ago and I W<:J S vEl 1''1 lu cky to gel them. Though soft like pine; this wood is not as easy tn work as one might think. The growth rings avert .. lge 40 to the inch, so one has to cons.dee that he may be Gutting a tree that took 200 to 300 years to grow. just for an uld stick bow that, with care, ma.y l,LSL 1.0 year's,

U an else [ails 01' you don't want to mess around cu tting your own wood, \'Ii hich is followed hy U ()Ie rio d of <~ year Or so while you wait Ior il t1.1 season, then you might want to buy a stave or two, Hickory and Locust staves <Ire available as well as the more exo tie W oods like purpleheart and goncalo elves, In the back of this book you will find listed a company that spectulizcs in rare woods. Here you will also find sources (N' other things mentioned in .. this volume.

If you are lucky enough to find a deudstandtng

tree or an old post that is well seasoned and has nul been damaged by insects 111' 1'L'lL, a bow can he made from these immediately. However, a freshly cut log will have to be air dried for a minimum of six months before a.how can be made from il. I have made bows from wood that wasseasoned for as Iittla as H yt1(lr to as long as 25 yea rs. Os ug e tha t is 10 (H; 12 Y ears o ld ~ s the very best i yew that has seas oned 3 to '7 years is good (Pope 1923:.56]. Some wuuds, like hickory, ash and cedar may become brittle with too much drying. Also, do not use kiln dried wnod, it is no good for bows, Care in selecting and seasoning your \\It1fJd will result in a safe but lively bow with superior cast [speed and r angn J and loss 0 fat erndency 10 Iollow the string.

The straightest trees and posts that arc at least tJ inches iin diometer should be selected, those I. h M t are l!.mdel' 5 feet will make Plains bows, those s to 5 feet will make Eastern \.Voodland bows and longb U"\'~. Theoreticu llv, a G inc: h d ~{1 me let log she uid yie]d four slaves when quartered, As soon as they are cut, coat the ends of tho log with paraffin to keep them from drying 'Out too fasL This prevents unwanted splitting and checking of the end grain,

A t this stage, there are two w a ys you can go.

The Plains Indian split his log into S ~ ~Ives j mmedi 8. Lp.1 Y aftee cutting. The tree was usualdy felled in the winter vvh.en the sap was down, [this ]8 alwu ys [1 guod time, nu rna It eD' W 1"1 i ch wa y yo u choose], Next, the staves were worked down into half finished bows and gr 13'8J sed 'Nell with boar fut UI' Ialluw and hung up inlhe top or the lodge near the smoke hole, [In a hot attic or hanging from the ceiling above your wood stove or: furnace would IJe a good substitute]. Here it \\'8S cured in the Pisin::;;: heat and smoke for six months, after which it was finished, de-greased ~.~r!d the back lined v1,ii~h sinew, Because they were most often backed with sinew, these fast cured bows usually worked wen and followed the string very ljtfle. In fac+, ill~~ny or them became reflexed [revers. ad when unstrung] be-cause the sinew shrank as it drisd, This of course, added considerubly 10 !he speed and power of the bow.

For all my bows, especially the larger woodland and English types, I prof er u long er (: uri n g ti III e in which the l~)gis dried fnr at least six months In a cool, dry place, Then. it can be splitinto staves and dried another six mon ths t (I a yen r in <~ ho Het en vi ronmen L Even though the ends of your log are covered with paraffin, one or two cracks will open up, These will {0110,\; tho lateral grain of the wood and it is these cracks you should exploit to the fullest because the log is telling you whore it wants to be split. If ynu use the 1<J I'gesl. and deepest of these, your log will almost always split perfectly,

The u u Uior with O'n n~(Ig,e lQg and ~ledge h{lrn'n"lle:r •

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This log 8pH~ inti) six stuve'!>. j'Oll'If of w!lid] mad'€! bows.

II. MAKING THE SIMPLE SELF BOW

A self bow or stick bow is made froma single piece of wood and next tu the atl-all is one of Man's oldest projectile weapons . .A self bow has no laminations 01' sinew backing, however, it may be made of two pieces of wood joined at Llle handle by a splice when good, cleat' staves of suitable length cannot be found. In this chapter I will sho .. v yon how to make a self bO~N from an Osage orange stave. Here we are going to concentrate on the basics while the next chapter will cover various bow designswith details pertaining to them.

The photographs that accompany this section show the making of ,two bcw S 0 f the same design, They are bo th Pl a i us Indian bows of re otangula r cross-section with a recessed grip and recurved Ups. The first stave presented a problem and had to be shortened by six inches, the second stavu ' .... ent without a hitch and made a heuutiful 52 inch how. Because the first w;:1$ cut to 46 inches and also had a longitudinal crack in the tip below one nnck, il ,."ras decided to leavs this bow unfinished and USH it to ilIus tra te the sec linn on sinew ba cling, 1 could ha \0'(1 re-s ho ~ this sequence using another piece o f wfJod, but the reader would not have had the benefit 0 f seeillg a problem and its solution. 'l,.Vith Osage. such Ll'O Ll bles a re the rule, not the exception.

Most of my Osage staves run between 4, and 5 Vz. feet in length, are 1.I'~angular in cross-section with the bark sWlclinging to. one side, This bark side, will become the back of tho bow and is 1 Vol to3 inches wide, (The k~ ck of 'I he. bow is the side that fa GBS away from. the shooter, the belly is the side lhe shooter sees when he J raw s the how.] The length and width of your slave and the placement of knets and n a w s in it will be the determining £<01 C((j~'~Q; when it comes time to decide whal kind of bow you want to make, bn L fir st the- ha r k must be rEmlOVC d.

Place the stave in your vise "mel sh'ip oli thebark "villi the druw knife 0[' rest one end on the ground and carefully hue off the bark 'with your axe Or' hatchet. If the trss was cut when the sap was down and has been d.·ying· [m- a year the bark should come off quite easily, If your stave is too wide to fil in the vise or it has sharp edges then il[ rna y be necessary to trim <HJ.d :flatten lhe side a hit sothe vise willhold it more fi.l'mly. I have a problem with my O]dviflA in that 1 ha vs to really tigh ten up in 0 rde l' to keep the stave level. To prevent this teeter-tottering I have a rope fastened to the leg of another bench not lar Irom the vise. This rope I loop over' the opposite end of the stave, thus stabilizing it. This way I don't huve to squeeze the wood so hard that it] S da mag ed. Ref! l~ ly, a woodworking vise should be used instead of a corn mon m etal vise.

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Now Ilhat lhe bark is gone you can study the "longitudinal grain" [fiber direction] und Iook f(lJ' flaws, The longitudinal gnlin will be represented by fine striations 01' pin stripes running parallel to one another along thelength of tho stove. These striations will flow around ]nrge knots, humps, and undulations in thewood. The plan for your huw must be laid out rjmning along ilus grain and missing most of the major knots and other flaws. Another thing, and perhaps the most important, is the back of the bow when finisherlmust not have "cross-grain" in H. You. cut across the grain when you cut through growth rings. When in between grnwlh rings, follm" ... - ing the "radial grain", your tool will cut smoothly. \\' hen ell tting through a ring the tool will S C ru pe and chatter a bit and a darker colored, rough area will be readily vu~ible. This is the boundary between two layers [If growth and you have to chase these buundaries (Iff your stave in order to being [he back into onesingle ring.

If the longitudinal grain runsstruighl undlhere are no major knots then yO!] can continue to whittle ~W~!y the while sap ,· .. mod until you get down to the harder, darker heart wood. I usuullv wN't through only vne or two growth rings aFter r>8'moviing the sap wood, however, if a problem arises, such ~IS spl~ts in tho grain due to drying, worm holes. 01' other blem ishes, then I may have to go deeper, Sometimes the stave Is so badly flawed that there is nnlhing I can dow it hit, j\bOll l 211 % 0 f the staves split out end up on the woodpile, An amateur just starting out should figure half of his slaves wLH make bows and hulf of these will he good ones.

With ell the heavy work done on the back (If your- bow it is now time to- 1<.1.'1 OU~ the plan. first a line is struck down the center of your stave following the- longitudinal grain, If your S1 ave has a 10 r ge knot or t1,\,0 your plan may have to he laid out off center in order In miss them 01' if the- tree \\'815 twisted it may have to be laid out diagonally, After the cE~nl·er line is drawn, a halh,,;tlYPOin'l if', found on it and anuther line is dra wn across it at a right angle, this marks the exact center of your bow. Now, t'i,~;·O more horizontal lines are d~'awn, nne. 2 inches below the center and one 2 inches above. these delineate tho handle or grip area. [If you ~lt~Ve h~g hands you might w~":H11 to expand this a bit by adding a half inch or so.] Using these lines as a beginning, you can lay nul anyone of the designs S!WWfI in this book that will fit on your stave,

The next step is the removal of eL11 lhe excess wood off the sides tight up to within ·US of an inch or so of the outline of your chosen design. In urrier to easily mach the sides you will have to. turn the

FINGER .JOINT in handle of yew longbow"

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BACK

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A cross-grained DOW or arrow shaft will break along the do tte d line.

A bow no. t made lH3.ra11el to the longitudinal grain" averi though true to. the rad.i al grain" may br e ak by twisting •

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A hi gh ground! 0 sage. No te t.he spiral growth of longi +ud.i naf gr,ain.

worm hales thai; , ~ . ......r-- go all the way through the stave

deep .sp.l i +s in Lorigf. tudinal grain

larg-e knot in working section of the limo

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"II "

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~- bent or twisted so s.everly that correction by he ating and.

bending is dif'ficul t

C ATJSES FOR REJEC TIO N

slave on Us sida H1I fh III vise' SO ~e jaws oomemgel1v.cr on the hsekand ben 'if. lithe be~~y s.~dJe COml\liS~O 8. sharp edge it 'Vii ill ha V~ i(U he flattened to $l,U()W 'for {II klBtle~' hold" You ll,!;1]']J saf,e:iy remove! ,~]l of the ex· cess wood dl!)~?Ii1EI. ttl' W ithJn. a.qtlftf'ter o:~ an ~nch of the fiIDshoo thick:nes::; Oifthe handle. If~-O!!ll have a ~ sa""'~u cam. grit 1ihf'!' OO~l ~:v.. 50 1iffil.e!:s kn,;;: la!)'l\6: Ie\!c!l ud 'flaj:l.fi w~ Itheibo,w b1ank, mil11eavmg !n!1 im:b OD, tbfl' sides, for fm:ishiI:Jg.,

.Prom, :fIla,'!,:!,T nn ca ['elm and aocura tewM]irk wi lh th~ a:rnw buf€! will bersq uirod, This tool wiLl rem~ve iii lot olF wood. f8sl, y~i!l[:8!na c~ !l!:~U~r C1lJ1~ Ith~ .~]mb ,off o oow lif'me k.meis p~lled into (he \\\t-.:ilCl!d st the woon; qgme'. If ')'lIubawe DIFJVll,!:F .,edlihis (001 before. J0U, ~h_tJu]idlpt8Citioo !1D]iI. ;I scrn1!ll jIlieoe. ~aI:m;g ,C<J rom. HOle: of ho"," it follows tbe grf:l~n 'of cuts l'h_l'\oqb il as '!ifOU 'Va~' ilie aq:~e of the blad:e and tbepower and length or the stro1e.

The BpO,.!ke shave is a s<1ier b:m] bJ use, beceuse m1;e!~.ts f:ollJ.JlSlin ilie p~~me:, it \\l' ~Uod.Iy[leill1ulve wood ~Im ttl!!: form or Ehin s!ba vin~s. It will] lam :man)· smokes ~iltb 1IIi£,tH~ Ito E!(J,uai l.ll.Ut li!:a!iiiI Ib~' ·dt)lli c .iD Q!!!.e! s~·ro I, of ithH I .. awbru'ie. U uatUy]l: u.'i;O~e sJl'OIiie- p.CII:\1'e .for worl in ,llfG'aswhli!re Ute gram maybe .liough or ,Cut .. ly, ThJese areas afl~ to be [o_d arnund sman bilO~S and at the tips of lil,o' limhs " .. 'nora the gl:'oLn feathers ot!t I a]:!!Ul use it f~)r SOme HDJ11Shing JI!JJS~ 'b€lEmB saa~1I,g> ~l h.e].p$: ~£Ism.oo~h o1!illI~]];etc(!)~ mai'ks Wflft bjf ili.e dr.n,... .miJe.

NoYi C~e5iae' W!!'rd,,.al'l,, rLni~ ltiebem,.M tWs. s~~gc the l:imn aT,e ilBpercd ,Ilnd til.cred aRd' ilhlll hanrlle or f'~~cr i:srormOO. Pi.r.!!'1 a line is d ro\\'Il down lbon~s~dJes. lbiis dennea tes ~he handle a nd the

thiclmess of Lheimbs wit~. 114, inchtn :spa.refor fin.i~M[,g.:VVble'.['\e ~his U~~ is dl'w~~~~inbf} de~errmirn~ ed byfrha de:~ign Y'(!'iU. have ohcsea. th.e weiSh.t [pull] vou desire,. ElJDd. by ~my Haws or undolancns i,r!! 1h1:l 8 rain. Afte r the lin.e!l!l hgJveitlee 1'1 dravali Ibo b~lli1D. is pklmbad!. in lhcv1lse. bally up .. Rt!d tlim ,excess .~ i ~.!\erUllim'f !!:,(l:MO.ed dg'~D fu t.h~__e lin es, ~ itilrl ~'e d:riHlIoT liruife and spO~ Sib<lllf-e.

Before a ho",," can be HUB;(\€!d. m§tc.lle:s rol' Ute how s~rffirng must be cu t lntn Ul,eiSid~ ~ of the b~wne<~ r the ends (If' Il he lim bs, ln doing th is I flu L eu t slets a'b~r~~ 3'/16 inch detJ,p end l!h melt! d(lI~"D from [he Ups: using a llama'W .. 'fhis hifoUo\1Icd bry' \\ridening, and sbapingli\i'iLh a i:ack,.,kmr e and :SruoJl1.rnt4:Bii me .. For Wlerv-g ,;rnd i~.8IiiJ!l!.g Isu.m;g l1a bo""TMriitli. a 'sopeciaJI string I call a ··till.el'in,g atring". OlIO si£e flts all. Felli' mnre 1]11 D1Ia.l:ing 8!tri:n81s 3nds~[i!llging l"1O'iLU' btwrp'['o~ Ji)'(iI.ri y., see the cb~lpt(lr ~n :s't rin.gs,

"Till'Il'H.·ing" is UU,1 act of b"inging a bovr in ~ (I 'be]3fJJC0:, tial i~. making ~he OO\~ 'bfl<f1d in MI even ave with mUt Ii rnhs being ,o~a~ ~n stmngHli. The 'hi11'«1 tiller is defi,\r€d .~ me' d!N;\~ Umlrn:LJSed! ~iO .hgld 'tho ~'! at di'jiare11l~ ck,OI\\'~e,ttsths so it CH lbe ellttmi:nGd_ TI~h;, tool looks lil!ke! thai liJ1e:p on 0, sailbaal rudder ,perhaipls t!llls i~~ltllierle' the RamS 'f~etually originated., In HIm t;.fi~' with til t~ Bow and Arrow, PI:)P(} hA,S, givel\iil.!l.~ ~I pe:de.r:t descF.iplir.m 0:1 the' ~me:r 31UJ, h.O'W .1 l IS used. ···T.iI1Ie 'tm~r ~ £I. piece of b£l,lu'd ~ root~ong. h~'al mcbes wide and one inch thick. hl'll"ins: :;)J \f~ti:aped n~im D~ ItJm~O\i,',er 'l}liIld .~~ m IOn'Om kand1e and small no~ch~ On it'S Siid~ h'i~o, Uilcb&ll'<lpaM ror II dtql;)liIce nf II.w"en:tY-leight inches. 'rhese are to hold the s h'i n~"

S trop..ger 1 imb . a,e mO,\!"8lj'!TOCI d.

bere'.

Othe'r limb nay have to be

Severe bend .• , Remov@ IflOO d

~\.

TILL'ERI:NG DEVISE INMS~

bit

Lay the braced bow on the floor, place the end of the tiller on the handle while you ::deady the ttller upright. Then put your foot on Ihe how next to the tiller and draw the string up until it slips in the fit'sl . notch, say twelva inches from the handle. If the curve

ofthe bow 1.5 fairly symatrical, deaw the string a fO'w inches more. If ugain it describes a porfecl ~II.·~, raise the str.ing still farther. A perfect aro for a bow should he a trifle Hat at the center. If on tho other hand, one limb OJ'a part of it does not bend as it should. this must be reduced carefully by shaving it fur a space of several inches over the spot and the bow tested again,

Proceeding vel']' cautiously. at the same lime not k eepi ng the bow drawn mort: I han a second. or I. wo at a time, you ulflma le Iy get the two limbs so tha t they bend ueEII'ly the same and the general distrlbution or 'Ihe curve is equal throughout.

As a matter of Iacl, a great deal of experience is needed here. By marking a correct fiwm on the floor with chalk, a novice TIl ,I Y fi l his bow to his outline." (Pope 1923: 51.,62).

As DI'. Pope said, tillermg requires some experience and should be done e~llLiously. Here are a few things that 1 havelearned that I wish to pass along, These lips, if followed, might suve you some gdd., Vvnen the bow is fir-st st rung and a severe bend appears, it should be unstrung immediately. /1, severe bend is found at the weakest spot on lha limb, this place will bend more than the rest of the bow and it US;UdUy O(:(:Ui"S just below the half way po~nL between the handle and tho tip. 1["0 correct this, more wood should he scraped off the limb above tho bend <md 'Inwards the tip, This will make mo,-e of [hie ltmb bend, thus taking the presure 0 lf 0 f that spot. {In some e(l ses i ~ rna y be necessary to I'BmOVO sorn e wood (I f f the section below the bend dnd tOW8. rods the handle as well.l If this c-ondition is not corrected and tho bo, .. ' is drawn. even slightly. the wood cells mi the belly will collapse, If the bow does not break, there will alw a ys be a wea k spot at th ispoin t.. If one ]jm b bends 1'1](: el y a nd Lila other stays straight. i.l~:s lhe slraighl. limb that is the stronger and it LS lha (me that should be tillercd to match Ihe other, When tillering, try to remove d S Ii ~ IIp. wood as possible , in some OJ ses iI only tales a few passes with the spoke shave or file, Over tillering will weaken your bow. On the other lhhlld, if the bow is fully tillered but too strong, shoot it for a while, if you Coin. and break. it in, If it's still too strong, then more wood should be removed evenl y a long the limb s and tho bo w re-li lle red if necessary.

The handle section makes up about 20 lu 25,0/4~ of the bow's total length and if should be stiff enough that it dues nul be-nd. The working or bending por!.ion or the how takes up to 50 to 70'Vo of the bow's

length, depending upon' the de-sign, thts percentage being divided almost equally between the upper and lower limbs. On a recurve bow the recurved lips are stiff and they bend very little. Because they take up <J lmost 30 %. the w or kin g cu rves are shortened . there forethe bow will he sh'ong er and the tips will ad like levers, .1 ddi n g additional sp Bed to tb e bo w' s cast. A 1011gBI' bow without recurved lips \\,H! have more working curve and will be slower. Bows thai have short working cueves should be made of IhE'! best wuud wu~:h no knots or flaws ill their working parts. A small knot in the handle OF close to the tips can be tolerated jf it goes straight through from hack to belly and does not displace '1.000 much of the longitudinal gruin, These percentages of working as opposed to static portions of your bow should always be kept in mind w hi1 e hlle D"i.llg and. while heating and bending reCUI"Ves and. reflexes.

If tile hmbs are te btl beul bv heating, depending upon the circumstances, this may bs done befor-e; (111.11 ri Jl g., Ol~ alter tills ring, If the bow if', a short PLains bo w I will bend the tips belors tillermz boca us e I~ know that tb e s tresses ]D tile limbs will be cha nged and (b e bow may have to be re-tillered. l\ longer bow can be recurved any time Mlp.'r tillering because I bend only the Iast Ihree or four inches: this does not effect the limbs enough that they have to be readjusted. Occasionally :r get a blank which has a limb bent to the side or one that has one limb Ieaning toward the shooter and the other a.way. These conditioOns I can om ree! by be ud ingthem into proper alignmeat before I illering. Also, a reflex oun be set into the bow using this method,

For me, heating and bending Is a simple operation, All I kIVA to do is wet down the area [am going

lo bend so the flame from mv gas stove won't scorch the wood, then Thea I. it by waving it slow ly hack and forth above the fire. 'i,;Vhen the how isiusl hot enough that I can't hold onto it I pul. il. in my bending jig, [see photo). He H ~IP and leave it IDltH it's coot If you do n 't have a j.ig or don't want to build one, you can step on ymu bow or put it in the fork of a tree until it cools. Remember, don't scorch or burntho wood ~Inc] don't ' '1.1')1 to make such a tight bend that the wood Is cracked o r crystallized,

}\ Hel' lillertng and bending ths only thing that 's len is to scrape off all the maim tool marks with 8J knife, sand tu <:1 smooth finish with sandpaper and steel wool, and then apply a couple of coats of varnish or linseed oil. If yuu decide to sinew back your bow. finishing will have 10 wait until the sinew and glue has or'i,ed completely. Also.: a leather eovel'~ng Gall be glued and. sewn on to the gl"ip area. This not only adds a nice touch bul males for a mow oomfortable handle,

j

I

UI

Henwving Ule baTk with Q dmw kIijfe.

Wor.king into tile' .heart wood, Note the rotlgll area and the linbl I drew to c1nrify HIe div.ision be hv e~{i gn)~'Il th rjngs,

After tho OOGk W(lS brought into a s.lngle grmtl'th ring. the sides of'the- st:ave l·.rere fudher ,trimm'ed for Q be rtsr fit inth.e vis e"

H

Dro.wing a canter line _following the longitudinul grain.

The 52 Inch stave had u very bad bend u t nne end-

To compensate. I sawed .off fi .inclles.

Sculling I)ffthe end of the stove V!litll the hacksaw.

12

The (it!si,gn ,luid 01)£ (In the hock of the shortened stove. colored in block jot daTU},. Note the curve in the tip of the uppe,r limb, this will hove ,[0 be s l rn fgh ;f,en ed hy heating and bending.

..,

_- ..

-I>. 't-·-

~'"

I. -

Marking the stave for renH)1lni of excess 1'U'(JlOa oJ! th e I)eJJy.

13

You GU n n;~m ave th f:J eXGeS 50 Vii om) off th e belly with an axe or a ann ... knife,

--,-

I'D this case J remorod it with th.e bo:nd ,a"",l. If yan fl!}l~'()'w your lmcs .r:lIref!!lllly, all' mojor cutscun be mucl'!} thJs[.\ruy.

Working l..rnn the spoke s.hu¥e to smoolli the sides '0'· tI1~ limbs- X(I'lc' Irhe'wu;g.~ 'sprJI~ ~USl dood' ,uf' Ih ,tool lhls; is wheiNi Ole porn 'Ii\'cnt W'la~liid a !>Dlcill knot The spo e shave and jjJe' Qf-(l lhe oost tool for l!;"m1)ou. ingthc~-e rough spars..

Be.forn illleriIlg. the crouked end of the blank hod hJl hfl s'troiyJlffined hy beu!ing UI1i!1 be.nding.liere a is WQd down so lhnt ir will not be, s,coN.:hed when heot.(9id.

H~rIDg Hite Do" D 'l!r' eooJ!l!rner,o, IB)'gm • - e. Onfy Utatpo.-lion (I fhp. limb ,,·hetethe bend i lo OCCUF S'hauld be heated. lind Uti:;; should be mo~cd fxIck ond fotlh. in and ont oj the hetd so U!Ii W nU'tiJm' pr9vClfill scorching.

Using the bending jig; whe'll cool, the hp stayed straight l.lt.'hilG I had tlle jig set up I went on to bend tllof:~ recurves in the tips,

15

Cutting in the recess tor lhe griV

On short bows. before cutting in the necks, 1 w,in l;e8t the hIler by bending it while it is in the vise,

Cutting in I.he necks wHh the hOGksnw,

The finished nocks, and jHting the t.mering st.ring.

-, j"

I.

1

...

CJefJ.ning them ()Id H.rifll the knife.,

16

Tilis bow~'V·(JS l)fH·.fecdy tillered lvhen strung. Beenuse it was so short u[ldH hod (l smoil crock just below the flock on the upper limb, .! JeH it I.Inj"i[l.rt;:hed and used jt to ilIustrnte the section on sinelv backing.

l/llhen nearly finished, this bow needed tiHering. Here 1 nm romovmg Q SUtfIn umount of l'l,roud with. the spoke shnve to ffi(lke bOoth lim be.') bend eqUfJ n y .

Another bow st;ove was s,eJeGted and w!Jrked down [:}w snmewny os the Jirst Thelon.gitudil.·wl grain in this stnve was nnu.::h struighter, ullow. ing me to lny OIJt the plan duscr to center ..

finishi:ng W(1S occompiished ht' SCI'tlpi:ng with the jw;k-hI!,ij"e and then scndmg W1ti1 sGlndptipOf, aJter which two coats of Unseed oiiwere rubbed into the wood ..

A If'mthe.r covering L'(m be sewn on USi.fiR either a spira.! stil,cn VI' Cl. bosebnl1 ~titch.

s:hl@![IgC:r <.liS lfu~' Uqujd h]d~' glue] l[lIs:ed baSEl c.nafM!,e to uom~' to full Co !lire., Tb]~ :m EI y~ake u long as 6 months, This :~B 8 .l'[o(!ldall.·SWfi8IiJ.l fa I' lhe USB of pm!Ll\dQ~ed,hi.d.e I':"tij;(lWhlc:h cures w~es:s~m :2;we~bj IiIlo"",Bmut this in I.bH chap~ef' onshu~\t.\fLng.

N:€lI1.3~ CAUrlO~ FLA." .m:ll]J~1l. This; is.a .~~ OIF bow 'lIILsOOby ·the ktdlatnS of NDrlher~ and [;e,n~.l!\Bl Cali fom~H and 11 19. one of ·the bes~ o:£thc primitiV€l t~rpe8. 'Fhis (hra.ll7ld:l1g is a composite mlutl.e up or senr'9ill ha ve s SIan.

M ost ofthe old bows wore made of Pacific Yf!;;'W, w,ere l['lom4'@' I~, EU],i:[!JJ[;h.es ]Icn~s, ~\;~thru l~mh.sf:Jri(lllIl1l2 to 4\ inches wide a:l1d fron'!. !5/UI b) :lIh ~di!hthiciL The handle ''11m; U8UBll~r oval in eruss-saetian amd tb!l ~!i.bs were Ra! 'CD ~c ibel[~f emil _ThV,e;( Q1ilJ '6!El boJ:d. .Ii!iQ a WFJ ia;~ O. The'1m:I:ig, OO}"e!rs ~'!OO ~he sap \\I'oodond seemed. ID igno,.reltbsli'udia1 grain sO!!lIlJ.E:!whal.. pe:rhaps :rel~~ns o,]JJ.~he ~~new ThJaddng. w hich was a]w~~ y~ wen 8'X(){:U too; the fID est sin~w woek I ever ;~aw WI1IS On one of these bows, Even ~houJY~~ I~hp. b;eckiDJg trI\i'~S ~,rdly ab(1trl[~B :lncb, lliidk .. U\.8.~ added Up! tn alu I. witbthew.w .Wim~ 3 to <1 .incbes ""ide. &n:;.a~se: of ·thE sine~, snd 1II.c :r8CUl''olIes bm ~ irnmIto the t i.,s, . ~ '-w.s:~ad a. ~p, li'len:eN. \li1Ii~h ~rlainl~ added. to ~lheiF mst

NO.i, SUD:l.UMT SlOW. Pe:irrbaps Ilhe oJIdest l:no'ViI'n ~'lDd dQclim"Jimted .Amer~ciiln fudiiilirJi b~WI;, it w~s taken rl~Ol1l1 an lIndiHIl who wasshot whUQ mthe process ~f runsackhig "t hnuse in Sudbury, M_gsacbi~'Sen~. l'l'lllflJ '!::veiDl too.kplaClc im 1 G!!i!JI a[]lJd~hQ oow has been m the collection orliml Peabody ""tMsoeumail: HaNam :5_0016:2,6. The dil"3\!oTifig,s Qnd TI!leas_~WI e.l!!1is of ·dlcbc,~.' iI!Ii.N! copied rNmNmj~,e' American. fi'ows. b~ T. ~IL fhufiiUmt .. the 'photos aFe· en pa,9 3,1 and 8 desc:ripHon is fOlund on page 32. n~mnt(lil1l slltfJJt~sth[lt [)ir_Pttlpe made an exSi.ct nd:p~]c~ of thts bow and iL was fOllUld~{l have !\l, dr~wwei~h:t IOf 46 lbs. ~I iL .2;8 inchesa nd a 'cast 'of [:78 ya["d~. (Hamilton t 982: 3 t, 32) If yoowa~~ aa aulhellUc Eastern Woodlo od bow, this is ~It.

Now tth,iil!~ ]~~WllI1iIdP.l'S:htl~'!td the' hHS~C'i\i (I r lmw making, it iA time fm.' yo u to OIJ!Hlider w hat lyp~ of b(!w y~u w ~sh to makaand cheese on e or two of [M {%E"~qlPl-s ~hfl1l\\:'!l1Iinthis ()h.aP~'CI-. Y nur choke ~\'ID!l1 depend !II!.po.nthe si7.e or~'{jIur ~Lo.ve. the~iod O:~il\!ood. W':3~ you iN lend to do 1i!il~b yov iboll\~. and. o'r ~. 1-'0'" me,",e~ of sliiU mndipa!itienot'!'.

NIIl a, l.IiIOW 'ltVl1'HImC'lANGULAi CROS's,..

SIE.{iU[lN. FOIl.' the first. ~~meif. 'this ~s thE! calsiJE!s.t (1,1 a~l ~yp M ~o m~~o, '[ have rnude man)f bo ws OIf this du~jgn from 40inch~ 11 un up~o 60 iFl(';has, The buw il~u$trD ~'ed~s a. :stro.igh1i:.mat ,r.r:!cLBlfiJ..gij ~ U rplecs nf Osa~e otangc 41 .irI.ches 1@ngU:ll8~ ha s beelilli. reCur~ ad a:( 'the tips .. JIt is thickened oIidy s~ig'btb' .Ii l the lllUlidJie wh ere Uisaboul 1:- iUBiilmmhes 'Wilde and. 5J~16, Inehes lhlck. Ets sides tBif'8'f bl' 5..~S, .imI;hes v.' ili:IS, _d 5/16 lhid at a point just below lb.€l nucb. Th€I measure-F.L~eDt at l m]Ei-.milm:!bi~; 1m x 5!1 (;,. This iStDB I1Hl'8!S~[t.:,. meat nf the wood cnlv, this how has. a s ~new baclUng 1!8 inch thick, which adds to the bow's liI])t'ing and ~GI~\f'or·. Ithas ;[1 dl'B 'Ow ~",'eigll t O~r 4:0 lbs. ~I!. ~. 8illl!cbcs. and 1 ite limbs [o]]Q\" h'l-'1J' growth r~s 'f!xBlctly l.l\riU't unl~ B 1!lOrnOl'!l ola. '~sibfl"_ at lbeba_rll:He..

The g]1 iiEtd:!! ~. lllincal ~.ha,vea'l~llrleson~ m.6aL<qJRS 1-1/6K '9/116 al ~:he biDdle., :U8 :K ate <I lm1d,",-imD, !lIa, x. 5/16 8:~~he ~ ips JwtbemO\'\r the nocks. and it f011uws l w[I gro'w ~fuJF.~!ii' (I ~ lfue ffiips" goes mt.olll t:M:ru m id~ lim b u uri a po]' 1.~t1 n. ,of a fourth at lhoe han dle . [Th.e gww til rings nn OS!lIge orallg!ll a;vel'age 31 [6. thick and are seen fin the sides 2nJJi b(;lU~ only. l~ U1Jey appear OOI.tihR baok.flmbow m.ay breat. a:~fhispaint.) ,ufil"'$L Ihis 'M"wb~~d :M rtlCliIn-es at 'lhc E ips -e by adding tJbc:s~ ~1t:s.'Gati1"'.a:s m_c~as.ed¥l;-hi1e its ~·eiighl ~ta¥OOI a,l 35 lbs, III 26 mc'h~s.

Recurving lh B Ups adds lolite speed 01:£ a bow whHB' addmg: 11]I~Hewf aIDty'lo .~ la; wl!j~~bL .A~SOI, sfuJ(rr'h~!!:liI1Lg, asw ell .9.$ smew backing . will add speed. 8Jll;d wei!:h L !iI S dear ly s~~oM,rn by lh(!s E! two uxu mptes. The shor~er 1ooI1Ii~· shot the SaiID,e s.i~e arrow 10 'to 15 ya:rds fal"li.boj' than t.h€I LOIilMer~!. The only other way to mc-maSl! ,9.1ooi~~·s. Slft!1!l.~ io:;. to mtd.1eitbc limbs thi'ckcr <J!ndro:l:' \\irl~·.

NO .. x,ucrANG1t:!LJ\I. 1I0t:ViVQB lRH[JiSs.m ElANm([]l. 'fhisoo\\r is s;im:ija]' to No. 1 fill!iCeplt it rus Jl]arl~Ow~f and ~hir.le~r and has a FiI3'Gr)ti;~ecl.~F::ip. Tllfl reason fut, thsnarrcwmg ~f tho handle i~nfJl only uor orm1Lfort but ~n make tho UI'mw shent elosee tu ,(If!~NII'. n lliom inc.bes long. 1~l!6· K .Y2: at the widl'lst pein l jusl a lxwe andbaJow the handle. _ KH/lS a ~ Ilhe· centM or I he blEUill.illc~ '13.116 X 3.'8 all llilid-wb and li:U8, X 318 a~ the: tips. n lsma:de' Qf Osage. ba:s li8 inch o.f sinew _ 0.1l. its ba c and is 40 Ills. ala·~ iuc.bes.

Atths' time u r ~h is wriUrJ.!i .t:ht:. si ne w j o,b Was .on]y

two w~eh olrl fJ.nd I Hunklh~~ bow will j:llOll a little u!,

·r

I.cnglh.lil.ockfO nocl 66, iiI!iI!!!hes

Length ever-all •.•.. __ •..••.....• 61~U8mcht'!S Grip , .......•........... ,1<H16·· X 15116" ,\Vide Mh:;l WAy from gl,' up te nod

Upper ]umh •• , • - ., , •• , .9(11.6" X 1~7!B" wiele l.r;w,er illn,'!I.b •••••.• , ...... 9Hr." X m~3f4L" w~die Below uocka

C~r ]jm.b •.••• - •••••..• 310" X. 3/4" ,\Vide Lu1l"ie~ ii_b .........•.. _ . 5!~16," Xlil!" ~'Ii'~ds

Nate; Thebac '~1Q\:V of lhe bow as J dre\,v it shnw9 it s·tl'lJ h::hed ~Yit'. tfuc$.]d~' vle\'l!·s hOl1!!'~ it c:u.r1l'ed~lS it fc:dloWBd th~ string from being left SL1'IJ1'lg for Sif.l1 .rna ny Y'Gl'ri'Il'S,

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NO. 2 1'9

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NO.5,. EASTERN \'\'OOULAND FLAT BO\'\!

WITH RECURVEU ur-,ms. Perhaps the best all around design, this bow is a modified version of the Sudbury. It has been shortened and recurvcd making it Iook more like a modern bow as well as being made of Osage instead of hickorv. Also, the handle is ve ry na .'l'O'w so Hie a rrow will pass closer t o the center of the bow, If the b ~L ndl e' of l his de sign could 118 fu rth el; mod i fied as shown in 5- A it would shout center and have the added benefit M (In arrow rest. I haven't done this yel. hul I'm giving it some thought.

r hnve made many bows like this. some as short as 4B inches to as long as 63 inches, the one Hi ustr a ted is pro bs lJlym y bes l e [fort to date, It Is 63 Inch efl long, 13/16 X 1-3/8 at the center of theh ~nl~ dle, i-a/a x % at HI(i: wid ee t po in l a 1)0 ve and below the handle, 1."1/8 X 3.18. at mid-Itmb, and 5/a X 318 at lh e lipsjus t below the nooks. It wa s hewn {rum u 20 year old Os age stave givun to me by aft iend. Whe11 he saw the finished product he- had to have it back and I couldn't blame- hfm, He is an avid deer hunterand all he has to do is wait until ;3. deer 'with his name on Il Gomes dose enough and I am sure that this 53 I b. poison slinger 'will do its wo r kw ell,

NO.6, TRADn10NAL FLAT BOW. In the days before fiberglas and wood lamina ted re curves, this was the bow everybody had. Since theyh(lvEl not been in generaluse fn1' 0'1/'8'['30 years they are now caned traditional. My Father and Grandfather shd bows just like this one and U. is with some feeling of nostalgia Ihat I make and shoot them today. The specimen illustrated WBIS cut from an old lcmonwoud bow blank that probably came from the Stemler Ar~ chary Comp~Lny, now long Gut of business, It is 65 inelias long, 7i8 X 1-3i8 at the-center ofthe handle, 11!~ X % at the widest point <.I hove and b elow the handle, 1-5/113 X 9/15 at mid-limb, and 3/B X 3/a just below the nook ..

I don't think you can get lemonwood anymore, however. others have come to lake its place, purpleheart, goncalo alves, satinwood, and the hardest of all, 1PB from Brazil. Also, there is nothing to slop you from making a nat how from any of the North American woods listed in this book, providong: 8J stave long enough Can he round, Because exotic woods g enw s leadil y in a tropic al environment thov have very little, if any ,raciiaJ grain and the longi tu d 1 n .. ) 1 gr n in is SO s lr a.ig h l the staves. come 8iS sawed hoards a bout 2 inches 'wide, :YlJ inch thick, and about 6 feet long. Usually the slave itself is not thick enough, so ~L sheet piece of the same wood is included and itis glued on the belly to form the handle riser.

I recently purchased a purplsheart stave ft'()m \,Voods Unusual, and .i~ really is a beautiful purple color, especially 'i.1Vhen finished with a coat of W<~I~ co Danish Oil Finish. Along with it came a little in-

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struction pamphlet 'which included a table that gave the dimensions fot bows of different weights. Now I don't know whether these figures leave room £01' tillering and finishing or nut. The tables were worked out using Pacific yew and an; very helpful for getting ILhH proper dimensions, though the weights may IJe approximate and will d efhl] tel y be diff Brent for other woods ,. I chose 40 lbs, tor the lemon wood '6 lave and got 45. I made the purpleheart blank the same size, and it was so strong I had to. reduce the thickness of the limbs. considerably in 'Order to gel it to whsra 1 could manage it, If I had left it at ! he dimensions given r or 40 11)s. it 'would ha ve we ighed at least 70.

Keepi n g lh e purpleheart in mind, I wish to add a note 0 f caution. First of all, these staves 8~re not chea p, if you mess one up you will be out some bucks .. Purplehe .. ar L is not the ha rdest of tropic ali woods but it's harder than 0S.81,g8, therefore it has almost no . tolerance for severe bending. The ltm bs must be tepered wen so that they bend evenly for most of their length. This must be dons before' stringing and tillering SI) as II) greatly reduce the chance of a severe bend. Because of this, I would not try to make a how ifF o:m this wo ad much shor-ter than 68 inches. If something goe:~wrong. the stave cannot be salvaged hy m.aking a PIa ins bnw out off it, and, I thiink recurving by he-a ting 8iOO bending would not he a very good idea either. Need]ess to say, [he same company that SIHUS these tropical woods also sells El ft. hickory and ash staves and I recommend the novice bover start with one of these.

NO.7, OLD ENGIJSH LONGIJOW. The IHgeIldery English longbow conjur BS up visions of long tl ~~10 battles whe.'e armored knights .fell clutching at the heavy shafts that transfixed their bodies, their cham mail and steelplat eswere no protec tion a gains L the archers' deadly probes,' Todav we marvel at the always accurate shooting of Robin Hood, who lived and h unted in Sherwood F crest, or the exploits 0 f the Thompson brothers in post-Civil 'War Florida, and those of Dr. Saxton Pope and Howard Hill in the 20's and 30's. For me, tho most vivid and teal vision of all w~.s the raos~ilg of the lvInry Hose in 1982,. She was King Henry VHI's flag ship ut thebattle or Portsmouth Harbor on Hwtfaleful day of July lOJ, 1545.

The J'vJOtjf Rose ha d been [HIed nut with additional artillery and extra OlI'>8W, many of them arChBES, This proved to be her undoing, fOl~ in a sud(l en sh 01'18' bre eze she capsized and s auk, navs r ha ving had the chance to join the battle, At this time the English were experimenting wilh heavy guns on ships that were not properly designed to carry them, and lNhHe artillery , ... 'as evolving rapidly, slow loading smgle shot muzzle loaders would be the only small firearms in general USH until the middle ofthe 1. 9th

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NO~ 6

NO.7

Centu ry " At this time fhe long bow was still being useel and it 'would rem aln a superior wea pOD. un til the Invention of the Colt rev(Jhei' find the Henry rifle. However, due to the changes in demographics and poli tics, the use o f [he longbow was Hi ready declining in the time 0 f Henry VHI.

To become a rnfli L,H'Y archer, you had to he able to 100SB 12 rounds a minute, {In striking a 3· foot dlameter target 250 yards away. The bow you would use would be made of a six foot stove or Spanish or Italian yew and would ha ve a dra \'l' weight of 80~o 100 lbs, at 28 mche S, In order to master such a weapon you would have to have st ... rrted shooting almost as soon as you could walk. In fact, the law altha t time required every man to have a bow and PI's. dice wi [h ]t so many hou rs a week"

- ' If you find what I jus [ said hSi rd to believe then ha ve a look ~tI, VIi hat was discove red on the Mary Rose, 139 longbows, some In such a state of preserva lion that they (lOU M be strung and shot once again .. Along with these bows were f ound 2500 arrows and the skeleton of one of the archers 'iN ho used them. "Careful analysis of'[this man's] skeleton confirmed that he was a prcfessionul archer. Two of his middle vertebrae had been pulled forward and twisted to the left ~mggesti ug chronic pressere on his spine from tha t side, Also, his lower le ft arm bone VIi as noticeably enlarged and flattened, the result of prolonged strain. Obv.iously he had been right handed and ha d spent long hours at th e butts, as archery ra nges 8I'e called." (Ru]e HJ8:1: 6oEii.5). Dead men do tell tales!

After r-eading about the bows Iound on. the Mnry Hose I suddenly becurne interested in the old yew stave I'd been SHying. This was Pacific y08W, which is on a pa l' with that from Spa in and Italy, [Eug]]sh yew is not as good]. Itwas over 6 feet long and because it is hardto find an Oregon yew trss that doesn't have any big knots in .it .f0.1" such a length, it had a fingur join L s plice in its center. 1: knew the glue was old find I worried about it just long enough to g-et the bow half finished. It broke during tm,ering and li had to re-spl.ice it. thus cutting it down to .') 1/2 iBElt and removing the thicker porfiou of its. center. After

. i'e~lmering i tweighed in at a disa ppuinttng 40 l hs.

Just recenUy I gol some more yew and I'm going to tryil again. There is 15'0 much yet to be learnedand each new piece 0 f.l.mod is a lesson in it sel L Yew is very scarce and difficult to work and the longbows d esign doesn't help.

If you are going to make a longbow Lsug gest you make vour first nne out of hickory 01' ash .. Even though these are not the bust woods for shorter ho,\ls (neither is yew, for thal matter) they are mnre than adequate fen' longbows and six fool staves. are easily o ht ained ..

,The 72. inch specimen illustrated is a fairly

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Slwotillj4 til e yew .longbow. In this photo the ligh t colored sop wood un ,~he back is: denrJy v.isjble. Also, the arrow I'm shooting is tao long, for IHB is should be 2'fi Inches.

powerful weapon ~Ind the dimensions are based on those given hy Pope for a yew bow. 1 ¥4 X t·1/8 at I he cente r, 1-118 X 1. a t mid-lim b, 1 X % at threE: fourths, and 5la X 1.-1: at just below the necks. True English longbows have a D-shapad cross-section with the sligh Uy concave ba ck f orm i ng the straight part of the D and th e belly the rounded part [Tbts DI. shaped ceoss-secticn is just the opposIte or that found on a California Hat U(lw,} H yew is used. the yellow sap wood isIef'l on because this tree has 40 01' SIO growth rings to the inch and it is ulmost impossible ~(D foUow the radial gWID. The sap wood forms a kmd of backing .. Also, the heavy longbows found on the Mary Hose once had nooks made of COw horn: yew is soft and the hom tips kepi, the, string from cutting Sind splitting the wood, No matter what wood WU use, the U-shaped cross-section musttaper and narrow eV1en]y towards the tips and. the round belly must be tillered w ith glf' ea II. C<'lJ' H so too m uoh wood is not removed in anyone- place. Longbows seem to be more sensitive to tillurblg than flat bows, this is why OJ good on e ] s ha I'd to make and I wouldn't recom mend star-

2·2 ling one for a first pro] eel.

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1i~(]IU 81i\1J oont on ma~ a Cf!rillinwe or bill"' because it was used by lIf!lives m }I'our f.lFea O'fY(lU. i IJlS~ happen ~JD like tha l :s~y[e" then .I SU(gg€st ~"QU ~ ry and make it no matter w ha t, bBCi1! use you won' t ]]e happy until youhavu thet patticular bm. ... In your h(I!]'JJds" NO\i\oi i ~ ymI BI'Ie oP(.'mIII.ro sU,8ges:tioi!l!S:. FIe<ilJid ()in.

H you have had lillie e'.!([lJsrienoe rug "'OOd\:\fIork~ inFl'Dll' }"Ouha\ .. 's B mii]]mw:g (!if efJ_1!iJipID!n!lmak.e a 'bow 1 ib::)!ol. 1 (IIii' :'\:0l.2.aJiJ.d p1 ilD 100000.~BdJmg a w,eei: on 'mlieprojcct. If )'"flJU are .~ 10 do 50meUlilng that "1(11) M\."€! np.lIer doue ber ore.then i~ is a!l"<al<1S \'\'ise te d.o ~tS~OMi~W. Us:iln~ an Hllie and apoekal lnife the ~\,i()ld; wm naturally proceed at a sloweE pace and this hes its atlvant"l:!!!~i because you ha\i·erno:n'e' time In stud.y ~h~ gF8Im a n.d maJl!;fli d.ec~'i01l'S.

U·yuU l'Il!8.ke a oo\.v umiel' 50mclles, then CU~1' ~ewlJJali:kingl~ OF atleas] bacld. it \l,iUlJ .. NW hide' .. Then if.it bl'ulIs ill '!.\MiU !Il~~ ~a"eli' ~nding a !lJim b in:t([l your face. ~I lffiUue l\~fi[l'ned aboull Lihel'oDRer wll'.'Sbrel'il1:ing then it hli a good ideD to back. I hiilm. """', i~I",8ni'i/ru:de 8~S(!l.These pmcedures w illbe discussod in detail In thefo]]g,wing chapter.

OvB[ dMWWg¥tJU]' how is, dillIl;geriOIYS<. Make Anli use 8 rli"O~7!I'liI Qi~he Pf1U(lilli: ]e,ngUil and spm:e \1I1e::ight f~r yuur oow .. '{'!lV OlrI'O'W9 should. be no lan..nerLbHn half It he: IB:~tIiJJ olf )"Our oo~. It 'Wim.clli Slner'll' haded rlaiins ~. ~1I1 tale an fiI"roli;~ 2"1 jJldh~ long. hO\\"ever. lo 00 onllie sa'fm side. H~c1:f 110\'1' should take an ar.r-ow ,OJ" Iaeh IO~ lwn Isssthan h<.!!U its .~englh_ [f you shoot eI. 28 in ch arrow you should rna ke your long bow 01' woodland how a t Iesst 513, inches he(lu U:l)B I'll btnv 1Illilliat ~Si d Fa",~~]]. t.ol h Ell I F ]fSi~en81lh is di<mgeflij)usl '!j cl.ose to OOinS, fiver moa wn.

freel Bear .in bis, Arue'Ji's .Brble gives us .. t'li'llry Ii!~ lIiI.es'cirip'l ion of :5jpm.e. "In !TIMi1de,. LOI pcn!D.nll, pm. PE'j'~Y. OiI1iro~'S UilL.-.;too ma~Qbed ill s:pin{l to fhe cko\\ \l1Gight or youx bow. 'Spino' TieIal's lo ~B sti~lness or the shaft. Whe:o.aIDI. a [,["Ow .15 I\ete~ sed. a bench: !!il'O).1,nd In~ bow haw:U~ bef~!'€ straisMening ijut in fun flight, If l'hl';) arrow Sht1U is not nf 11:t1G <cor:['e:CL~Hff" ness!" 01[" spme, it \iVill bernd eHher b:m ~~me Of' too m.ud~ ~Ddtl!1I1S be ~hJ'Q'""l1 off eeurse .. Arrows thaI a re too sUff klrthe bn'ti"s dra\.\ weigh.t may nolbrntd 'enough amiI.",,~i1JIlI:le~efl!!lm fl;' off to ~he left. AmrrI\\-.$lllat alii! tN li:mlbe:r ufO even m~n: er:mt.~r. o~d D!la~!n)· Qrf ei~hc[ m m.e right orleft...Two oows may have E!1Iaclll ¥ ~llie 11Oam.e dra~," WGi!:Ih~s, ye~ l~fitGI' nl,.~y ht:!vlJ much mJ)I'B cas l or shoot an ~H'n)W fa star th~n the 0'1 hur , T!H~ faster bow will n~quir,('l a s.tH'f~r tHrOw Ulan. Ilhe mQ':r~ s]nggis:h '0018:. 111(1 o~d. En;g:l i sh ]onghlfJ~.,.r design, wUh a ba~dl[l section an inch or rnOn;l ",dde at tho arto~v pa~. ctJlIoofoJi an ~!irrOW sprn.e 'Vf:1'1' close to o'~"'~IT!I. as ,th~, gh.dtbad ~be~:lIll w[dll!.b o~ ~~. ~ b:umd around m£ore a could .n:!SU.Gill! 'straight mgbll. ,Mmlcrn oow:s arem.w:b. cLo:;er to beinl1! 'oontsr shot" and are Ihus nlJiore loierant ~ I' s]y]UC va riaUinH" [Sea r

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l.:\!ttIo.t d~es aU lid s modern. stuff About ar,roi\NS havete do winiruprilnili:~ bow desigll? wen. U has alet ln do~'(.ith [t Flriit tof all, if yo~ are ml!likin~ a '!CIt] % authentic Plain S bow tha 'I shoots arrowsmade of d.ngwo od 01' ca nc, don' t e XPHct pinpoint ace !lira cy (I t. lon.g:r.rli ngus:. Tfue!'l~ b~ws w eee .,te]Jl:died to be us. ed On hurse back they d~]ivo:red lilu~ir shorL II rmws ",itfu greod ,~oo at ... lm.os1pu1ut blank F~. n),~s Mi ~s ideaJ (or bui:~B.lO hlInt:m:g8Hl~\\',a:!I':Fi8i.re' ,un 1!!h.e ID(!IV,e w~ eli1l mosl shots ~ ere made at OJ distance of !50ieet 0[' !c'Ss.

l ba li,!'1f:!' r~t!nd that II[lOst O[ my Aakrs bows will sn,L"lot t o the left slightly, eSlHiicia,n Y 1.11058 with ou t recessed handles. 11u;;)~H'FOWl'l olso wohibUe bef@FB' slra igh~miDI~g o~d .. tms, ]ed me to th ink My p'l'irnm"1I9 a!H'O'WSwC'OOFeaUyPOOl' until I !Shol thelD. out 0 r ffi~ \~ife:·s mmlern taJ]cgelbo"",.Bo,~', ~hai a d.iU(lrel!!.oo~ I~ ~'Il"<Jst!:i.e 00"'· ... no'l: dle ~ro",-s. lha~ \-\"<11:5 81. Ira~iI:_ BeeaJuse these' P1aifis arrowsy,:eu' .~ shoE1. even shafts thai \!I,'lEl:re spine tested ;;d a~ .l:tUe ;:IS 25 Ills. wo u ld not be~M:I around th ehandla s o they wn bblcd and flew uff 011 a l!Jna:~nt

There I'lrt) SeVe!1'9.~ ~t)l1JJtiolDS[[I ~his pmbllf!m. One is to ]e~rn tDI ~bolJt the ~;n'l;'. as is. oompcTIsoU Ilg ~or Ush:lm~.nCfa.sies. l!l,-uu can hl~ small rorn.;ug targels al 2(11 or 30 ~eetic\itb regma:!!'.ii.t\< llienJon .are read\' ~o S(!I m-abibllt [bp[i!Hg. Yau win nover becom.e 8 ch <1mp~onship 8 rChCr\1.'Hh this DuLin. btl lail: lea~11 you: can pu~ meat ,ao lh~ table, end totha lndtans, Ut8 ~. l!-'I!:[Jj~ all ilia t mattered, The ether WeL y is to alter Lb.!';) des i:grl of yUUII' bow. If you w If:! 11 to retal n U U thenticit y, the lknbs: of the' bOll![ can be r:;'I]''ired ou~ se the!,:' ill r~ uff ~!.d sligfuUy {ollie .Ieil, tbusihe slrinE: \l!iJJ CWliU,} ~p.li"' lobbing.iln linc .. ".ith the left side of the Ex ....... 1"Il1!is, is dimcilliU flJll do, tOI :til ""ide ~",~-O\"'lm',e •• i~ 1Q,-jJJurb ,re,Ui'r wcUfor 11 a frO'li, btil"'s~nd ~n05e witTh1l rncefiecl handles, The last and pt'Thaps best solutien ism break with traditrnn. and make A ,(le~dBr sllialt bCl~!Ii" with a ~mradllG like l~~'lt illU,gtl,atcd in 5·1\ GI' m:l'lh ene <l1,t the 10n,9 B!r bows and use aFr(rW~ that are l h~ proper s.plin~.

~'\s rnr a serious hlmting buwOI' tl!lrgt.i bo'w, I \\, €Il!lld cnns lder o.nlytbe last three 'o\ith apreferance' towsmXo. 5 ailld 6_ No m iii U~r\lo'b i [: 1iru~o]i cliR. ~'Un hun l ilflg bow s'llould be as hea.vy 8$yOO can ,male il and s~ iH sboOit 8 r.curatel y .. Your targe I bow. un ~~~e olhcr hll:!.oo., Isl1l~u~d b~ll:ghtGr b~r.~l ~~S!]) y10 U ~ re gOing to ShO{l,t ]t a lol more" If H't;'l too heavy ~t w'jU m.~ke YVll]f m.ul1lcles 100rs fwd you will get tiH~d, lhu8 at:L"IlF3CY wil]] :5uEFe!['.

If Y{JU lmve .m.ade' u ::ood bow and ¥ou ha,\'e \~'I!)[{'b:rl u:p to n. and n be:g,il1>'5to feel iigh~.it can he m ii1d!!!lb.eilll¥ier ~~: IB1JH~~g iUl.mdi! ~11' s" o~f =,ch U-b_ I IOl'\~~rer. ,il shnu1d ne ... er be sho:r~el'lcd 00 muchlkai: i I. is ml;er d"{t~, f.!ndl:his shflu1d 00 dane .only to OO'Oll'S lh.d a]['t8' so. ~ urn!:!: the yiHtvl(:lr.o (iWlll. 't'o :spare.

S~D.€I'"· bac~m::.: abo"~ is not aresl dimc.~,dt ~o b. ~lh.e hal'dp.~t pad is oble'lfiing lhi? raw ma~eil."i9Jli!i.~~H!! sinew and tho glue, At the time oitbiA writing, I know for c:~rtu tn o r only QUO place whet€! you can get slnew and [ ,!.'lI!llL aware of ~nly hvt~ brands of hide gluu, ,~nd fhey !l1I_foOfadl~c8.lt.I.y dHrere:Dltirom eacc.h o~her. The simIlew OOmes frem yon IJ:iIiGiJ 1 sbl~htuf"house Uf you Tt!o7Cire' !!:!at J\ilcik}: e1!lD~:b ~u haveJdlloo a door jjjlr' a huff8.llrrI 01'lyt)uli"~aiS1:buli1l~) and·1!lI:rn. hide' ,:luu I)(lm~ m 3 liquid or a dry. PO,\\<oofcd [orm.

Th,€!: ~'l sinew i~, found in two are-as fin the 8J]1J]m .• ]], ~he bad <'L! f!d~b.oI1l' ]eg:s., 1fue' t:w,d S~]1J.ew is {~I flot, Iiberous strip abou L 18 inohOii1 ]()ng, stnobes wide, and 1/8 ineh think which lies parallel and next tethe spine ootwiP.~n thQ fat and the mea t, I[LQ(II k U II a T~oone staak, the grlst]e right undee the snrreunding fat 'is sinew. J Th aleg !;·:WL"W'!I· 9 re rordlik~ and m:al\ic up me' ~udo~ ~!; .. Wcfu m.O\r~' the h_r. One nuts d\:)w:m!. kom llilt! D.!lH!" to ~l1e :f:m]l!E of ~he hoof.. ~'plitIDlg at the hOf'.l. The other runs do,,\rn. lb.e bad .or the leg and alb":lcbm; to lhe back or mhe .hoot. On a ClJiW, the liJ~lckle:lldofiS: a~e sEl''Vo:red and contrac:t when ~he' legs are e1iJt 0 if below fh ~ knee, 8.0 all y,ou.~,m g~twm be p]efl~8 about 4inr.h,es liJng- The onus fl~orn the fl"cml u [ M'iJ!~ to,g ,ti I'e 10 ~Q ,5 ln r.heshm,g and ab out 1,1 tach I:!bticlk. t he:!u~ am ffihe oltiL.esyou want.

1be he tendons tb~l mille off a deer. elk. ur buI~ ,[8110 arc mud!!. 10000goi'. mild. 'lx:cause th ss se 8~als fua;~.e fo~er' li!'lgs Ull i'iJ,Q a d!lilffiE$tiC' H,rt\' .l_tiful mck ilnd frtllilt cords can be' used. Aliso, thei f' sm:e¥!ft\"m be lou~(lr a nd harder '10 split oocause they lead sucb <u:;lj'~fllw\res,.E~~en though CI)I\:'I.o1 S,iD~IW 'isu'llhe iU:.llS,t ~n. that it wm not r€'flI3X yom' ltmwa'$ mueh, it is n~dily available to anvone w:ilHng to do a little werk to Hcl it One adv~nLage nhasts U'lat irs free, if y(Jij uan slo:oo~ch tI l r~p ·to the sla ughtCl'h(U1511l a~d VII hat follows.

We U"l'C~WO sreugh~cr1hon~es m our- BOOi:!. The r.ifSt "'"e \'ilo~~JOO! was a lri.!,l: O'M!lffi!l: amd ~ astedlhc bess if b8 hi! d any sinew I could have, He gar:o."C m.e aftlIlr ny look, ~vent Hilk:1 the back ..,..he.M ~bDy were processi.ilg the mUiI.t, and came out '1i'11.tl!I n half dozen neck tenrlQrn]~, NOl\iI[ nec!l;~~mdoIls 8JI'I(J.~ remit l'lllllg, ~ l"ilfJ!lfJ!gW(1IJf in shApe I H bou ~ l}i inoh thick, flab by and c ream eelored wh Oil fresh.Whon dry they ~l'rA .'ock haI"d, cen· [lJO~ hi'! pm,mdJadwi III any G:UeCiL, And 'Ii\tO[:l' ~. spUtlnto long fioo'I'S- Tibese tenduns are sometimes C1\Ued <~Oho"!"' or «clile, .. 1ng gum--. _i\s .. kid [nllIiltmlOOr fR' lcl6g., ,iees ~rI11~ ,in Oliil.G of m~ Mother \\1 ,drr~.@, ~~ FIIIBoSts.1 cl1e~lfoo. Ol!1l ~t fl.!''' ~I[I bolU". nls",',BSHlll !!'"bat I wan led_ I hied. to oM[J~ailnf!obim lha~w.ffi:lat Ip'l'e:fm'~ rOO. wast:hc sine.nf off the hack or leg. .. Oh! lo'\l"'hnl you w(~nl, is s:i"'el"sk~n,·· '"S]h,'t1I's"kio" or ··si]l!er

Uss,"u:" is '~hat the!~' can. bae'k S,i.llBW I1Q'W' U df.l~rs because it appf.l8irs shiv)" :1lilvel', er brilBnn~ \'li'h]~e w hentt is fresh Sind moist. UnforttlJJ),llely he was unwilling, to let me hHve any,

About OJ w~~k l.a1 ~r [ found ancther slauPtG:rho~SEi'. thit;: one was ill m,uch sm~Uor, r~nllliIy 1"U n oJllE!I'ali on and. ilhcy , .. 'ere much mOm eeop€! rati.\'B.Th..", ~~!d. ma 'U!;lI ~ I oould. h .. ~-e aU dir.~ OO1i!If !ep .1 1.'Ii"anted, b,1Jj( the bad '5~· ",oW'd~\rre 10 W".;J!!i!~ Ul!!I!tiJllhe~' had ahom.burge'r cow. because mmoviIIg lht! '~ck strap' ll\flJ uld mess up !.be look 0 r lhe: ~teaksNow w hen [m~king £(1]" huEf.f!lo sirlille'l.'!J, tMs, ll!Nlli"ks. to my udvrmtagfJ. bflC~USB a lui of buffalo [Ire turned in I 0 hem bu tg~r afid~(lm etlmes the sinew find si ts ,,~ray (Dnlolili1Le trade blankef~ot black JIi'@liArcJ;@it'illnoolcs .•

Ii day or hvo latar they c81led us and ~i(lld. (ISm come .m arnund erne o·c.lod bcfurn-e [he guC: truck sh;owed up. i~ h~IH" a:~d. tnMrl)T miles laiiOr' ,",,'ill! \,:eIiS saa rn1in:g @l[~back m~! .p~ace S~)lll"~ dil~'li1l Mki, "", 55 salon drum ['Un or cow I€!g-l:'. This wassni fig b:iI be {l lovely JuJy nr~er1lOOlili! We' s:pmllLIi f:lJ!!!!r' hOllI'S m. the' b~g fli'l!Wi cutil:irl:rug: t e.~don:s ollJll [l fUl'Os!il! ]e,g~. Alolilg ,J b(ll!1~ the time wew~ro fin]shing: ~ ]ittle, [hin mun appeared 0 u l .~n. the haUl illg pen, His beady lilt _ Ue ey8s SIj{~l r kled frl()m behind darkgla $ISlSW bich :stij,.ck out IOf a face OOI:l1J.JIl~et€ly COl.l'erro 1\.·~thhl'l.if. (I d u believe there <\Ii iii!!! trolls in Missouri]. Ho ];101'<IJD!pl1'y Ichased Oil heifer in te 'l!bs 5nool nexttoHS, pulled. 001 a gun ;Jiliird ~d. ..~:t: ail Dadd~·~" \l\!lg the' J'1I111iIlJ' OO!l twaat dJ!J\Vn w.ilth a thud he \i\-ashRard Il.O Sa'y. ··E gOI four mOM tor ya. 11Loy've fleall fn:~\b.too~"

"Thal'~: okay." I l'eJl.lied, "] thiiIlk \~ehalile cmo~1gh.··

1'0 remove t!i:fil'sinew rr"om a cow'slag, carefullyspUt the hide down the ~hln from. knee te hoof and pc ~I. U backTIiile ,'l~ne"~T lies in H .llItacss IOf [,[jJj land gelslie along tlbebQtle. ItIs freed by slipping a sharp lwiife bet~-een it .andtihc bone a~d. cut ling .it.lOQSO from [he rknee to hoof. . .. ner~, mes.qoffaJlt aiiltdI8risti!.e' .bet:!>, heen i"Cmo.,,~ :rrom UteLe,g. the lenrl:ons ml;iiS~be! care r u~lypulli.,(] 01J' cut out 00 !;In you have len are I he gJeeming '\fIJ hUe enrds, eac.b a.bm:d l he s.i2c of a pencil Your :l!ine'w w~n dEY ~as.te!t,. s:p]il. 'El'e!I1:Ilc'U',and wun'L flUnk if uU '11m eXC(:Hi~ :fl0~h is trimmed .away" U you 're lucky larliQ~gh to lwu .. ,e s:ott c[lb (:lid of :iOOme back '~~rl,e~~, tlds shuukl b@ cW:£i!~ed as l.!!:r!B~.t ][ ~ ll,p.am.e dry Hod still h il'!I !l;omellD.\wnnl ed fleSh. don"t \!'I.'O:r.ii'Y ;'[IOOlil1lt iL This·""" ill. comE ofr l\lheD. ~\'OU, poWld tile t>in~~ in. propar'8liian Jor ~pJin~~~

After a "'0011. or 91) 00] d qi'ling .in. aJ v.ra rm. sumiifg s,pol tbatwas nul of the Wfly of ;my arumfl1s thaI MlSl:ltw;:Ior ~o :make a meal of them, ~'fiIlIC tendons or sh'lp8 slilmdd tIP. lI'e'8Jdy £0]' pr€lcessin!j:, n lhe~ 81Ft]

, l I

..

>,

completely dry they should be v,ery hard" stiff and translucent amber in color, The back strap willhave some very fins lines in it .. vhich denote the Hbers ,,,dlUe the leg tendons may he clear. Both will turn white when. they a re pounded vigcrously with a rock or mallet and the fibers will start to separate. Alae, any unwanted tissues thuI are not sinew will peel off.

Pounding and twisting and sepa I_'~I ting should contin ue until the sinew has been split into hundreds of single fibers. COliN leg tend on s win s plrt into VHl'y fine, soft hairs without too much work. The back stri ps will spli l even easier, but are coarser [a bou L like mano-filament fishing ]ine]. Deer h!Jg tendons are the hardest to process, those I got [I.'nm 3 taxidermist friel1d 'I,\tere dried hut not cleaned and this. added to the difficulty because the tough membrane E'8'qu ir ed a lot 0 f pounding and pullingto remove from the sinew. This isv .... hy Lprefer back straps when r can get them, because both deer and buffalo handle just as easiliy as those from a cow.

To make lhings easier later on I leave ahou! 1 inch on the end unpounded a rid start splitting from that spot downward, leaving all the strands attachad at this end. Thts saves hours of sorting loose pieces. I often leave the Y impounded [on li8g sinew] and split from there downward, The strands ate so intertwined at the Y th ... t separating them is almost imposslble. 'IIVhen I'm all finished spliUlng I win have several large bunches with hundreds of strands, all a ttached at o:ne end .. Now I S 1,1 b-di vide these big bunnhes into smaller bunches .. These will be about % inch in diameter at the end where they are fastened together and may con ~a in ! 5 to 100 strands. After this operation you will no doubt h,we some loose strands; they can be gathered and sorted accordmg to the length and kno t ted together on one end. These will always make several small bundles of various lengthsand are good for filling gaps.

The amoun l (I f sine w it takes to cover the hack of a bow depends on the bow's 1 eng til and width. (the area to be covered] and the thickness desired. The last bow I sinewed aL the time of this writing was 48 inches tong, lY2 inches wide J u~L above and below the recessed gdpwith limbs tapering to !'i/Binc hes wide. To COVHl' its back 10 <J depth of lIB inch it took IWfJ large buffalo back straps. Four large, deer leg tendons were used to Gover the 46 X i-t/ainch l')ow featured in this chapter, so I would guess that it would take at least B COiW legs for this same' iob, There is as much glue, on the back of a bow as there is sinew. so it's hard to calculate jus l ex <J ctlv how much you will need.

As far as gl ue is concerned, there is no substitute fOT hide gliue, it is made of Ihe same protein stuff as is Ilhe Sin01N. In fact, if you boil sinew long enough it w ill tUN! into glue _ The Indians 0 btain-

ed their glue by boiling down hide scrapings, hoof sha v i ng sa ndsincw s craps. There are tw 0 kind S 0 f hide glue, one comes in .. liquid form and the other Gomes in a dry. pov ... .dered Iorm, both will .... vork but each has its advantages and disadvantages,

The first three bows I sinewed E used some liQuid hide glue I got from a friend in Ohio, it was mads by f!! chemical company in Columbus, Ohio, And at the beginning it seemed to work woll, However, it tnok the stuff forever to g'8t hard. Laubin said he was shooting his bows Iwo weeks after sinewing, but mine were sHU a bit sticky and soft at the end of three weeks [Laubin 1980: )56). Finally after a mon Lh they were sHff enough that they could be shot. At this time r finish ed the bows, pu ttlng sna ke skins on lw 0 of U1A~n ond then apply]ng a thin coal of some kind of varnish my ,vile used on ·her paintings.

A month later I took my prizes to the big black powder shoot at Friendship, Indiana. This was (me of the hottest and stickiest ALlgust shoots on record, and the be .... vs went limp about the same lime [" did. Even with the varnish and the snake skin it seemed ~hey WBrH bsnt on taking had: all the moisture they had giv1en up and all I could do was take lhern back to the- motel and sitthem on. a chair next to the aucondftioner .. It took the better part of that nine day even l before th8Y ware dry enough to be d ispla YBd. At that same meeting I mentioned the sinew and.glue fiasco in a conversation 'with George, my Sioux Indian W~"~end, and he chuckled and said, "The \'Vhitu Man never learns.' Then he went 01'1 to tell me he used the dry powdered stuff, the same thing Lauhin used"

After fooHng around with ho Lhkinds uf glue I have learned a 101 and this I wish to pass onbecause i l will save you a lot of lime and trouble. Th.8' label on a bottle of liquid hide glue says, "Long ossemblv time", and thal's just what it means. This glue COntarns some agent that keeps it from [elling before Ws 1.1 sed und this is wha t p reven lsi t from hardening when used in fMlSS_ This agent can be counteracted by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a half cup of gh.le. It's the acid in the vinegar IhM docs the trick. This will make your liquid hide glue ha N!en much faster, but stlll nolo as fast as the powdered type.

The powdered glue if> closer to what the old timers us eel and it c an be fotmd in la rge, wens tucked art supply stores. Mine come from the art supply center in the basement of the Toledo Art Museum and it is the same glue that was used by the artists whcpalnted the beautiful old paintings ws sav ... · upsl.ail·s .. They would mix it in hot 'wa.l.el" thin it out and. brush it onto theu- C$.UVHSBS to protect the cloth I i bers from the deterior a ling e ff ects of their Gil paints. tha t's why 300 YH a r old paintings are still around.

-..

Top: huffalo back strap sine~'v_ Bottom, left to

right: deer leg tenuorI wilh toUgl1 covering: the sums tendon wi,th the COTler1ng pounded off; splil into sedkms.; separated into rnony smnH strands;' suhd1vklecl into sIDoll bunches,

Pounding the sinew .·dth U J'O(;k.

Sp.litting slnsw into ~muH rhrends, 1eov1ng thern all uUuGhed n~ one end,

Two types of hide glue.

26

The ins lructions on the ha nk of the can tell you to mix] ounce of glue to ]_ 2. ounces of water. this is fop canvas sizing. Yom ghu3' should be a ]jUle Ihinnsr than corn syrup, start ,,,rUh half ami half and add more water or powder as needed until the tight consistency is leached, .A water temperature of WO degrees is recommended for mixing, don't let it boil Wht)ll thoroughly mixed and dissolved the glua can he kept at 120 degrees, this is a comfortable 'w'otkrng temperature and the glue will not !~IL A double boiler is a big help here, however, if' you don't have one you will have to !keep reheating. Before I got a dou ble boiler 1 us ed to keep the glue pun inside a higgel' pan of hot water, UwI way I wouldn't have to reheat it so often. Still, with each reheating I had to add more water beceuse the glue was thickening due to evaporation,

When lhi is hot g1 ua cools it j ellsand 10s,8's its stickiness and thishappens VElry fast, HO when applying your sinew you have to work quickly, You have less loon V~ In un LJ!le or so to place each. bundle 0 f sinew on the bow and smooth it out, When"lhe job is done the glue begins to cool rmmediately, First il will be Jelly.like after which it becomes mom like pul .. ber and. it gets cold and clammy to the touch, then it w ill start to harden. After two wO[Jl[:lks it will be rock hard and the bow will be ready' fo., testing. Because the liquid glue dr le s slower. you might consider using it on your first bow, this willgive you more Hme to gain experience in placing the sinew. However, don't expect yOUI' bow to draw up mto a :n .. &IH'x, fm~ some reason the liquid glue effects the sinew's <J bility to do this. On the other hand" the powdered glue will. ca us e 8 rafle x, if the backing is hea vy enough ,.

Before sinewing can begin, the back of the bow must be prepared by roughing H upwith a rasp 01.' COurse sandpaper. To. do this I put a brand nsw medium grit belt on my bell sa ndor and sand the bur .. :k: of the bow UghUy so that the wood is scratched and some fibers pulled up, but no stock is removed. This leaves a coarse and splinterv aurfaca which is perfect because Ihe glue sticks to il sowell, H you Iast cured your bow, Indian style, the wood will no doubt be jmprcgnated with grease, To get this grease out so the glue wHl fully adhere, the bow should be washed In hot water and a 10% solution of lye, after which il is rinsed thoroughly nnd dried, I usually wnrk with dry, well seasoned wood with. no sap or grease to cause a problem and after scwding I try to keep my oily hands off Ihe back of the hCH"" until sinswing begins.

The proceduee for glueing the sinew onto the back of your bow is. fairly simple, Once you have prepared Yllur glue, put a thin coaling (If it on the roughened wood, then di.p one of the longest bundles of s i ne win I (I tho glue and sw i sh U around, When it

SprendiIlg the gJlIe' OIl i.htf buck of the bUill',

Dipping sinew into tlu'J glue.

is: well coated and soft, puH it through yOUi' Ilngers to remove the excess glue. This firat bundle will be laid down the center of the back of tha how wUh its end wrapping around the tip of thelimb 8IJJ!l!CI running down the heHy for about "1 ~(~ inches,: The next two bundles wjll run parallel and down each side of' the longer first strand, From this bsgirming you will Ii'llW work towards the grip area by laying down bundle after bundle, carefullv smoothingthem down as you go, staggering 1lnd oveda pping s bg flUy so tha it he joints won't Iall in line with one another, 'Ill/hen you reach the handle. start (ll the ether til) and work towards the center again.

\~ilU:lJlwOl'Ung with the hot glue, you will have to be p,'er.ise.in yourplacement of the sinew, because t he glue- sets s,o las t the- strand s cannot he moved around uols.ily GIlDe they ure laid down. The little boodles ar-e easier to work if the ends wherstho strands are fastened together tIl'fl left on while dipping in the glue, These ends ke,sp the strands together while providing handles for your fingers and as tim sinew is laiddown, the so e:nds a re snipped off w ith the scissors. During this operation yuur fingers and the scissors will get sticky so you will have to keep washing them off. TI1is is vvhy I do my sinewing near the kJ lchen sink.

The first luyer of sinewwill be about i/ie inch thick .v hen i t dries, so un 0 lher course VIi ill have to be added in a day 01' so to bring it up to llm of an inch. Actually. you can let a bow stand for a month and still add more sinew to j L r 01' as long as no grease or Nlinl has been put on the back. A powerful. composit bow with rellexed limbs such asths Turkish bowswill have half of their thickness made up of sine wand it may takeseveral courses to rea ell this depth. After the lest course has had lime to dry you may wish to go back over it again. adding single strands to rill in any low spots, this evens everything up and makes 101" a smoother iob.

The slnewing complete, your bow must he cured and then finished, As mentioned before if you used lhe liquid glue il will be throe weeks to a month before yo L1 can test it and ~ I S hould dry an OJ deI! tional month before vurniehing. Bows Sinev,redwitn powdered glue will he- ready for testing and finis hi i]g as soon HS the glue guts rock hard. which can he In ~b sl i ttle as a week to ten days. Hsa t and high humkHty will slow the drying process. especially if liquid glue is used, U your house is air conditioned. this wm help. or you may wi~h to sinew your how in Ihe 'winter time when the CL i r' is drier. Bows wi lh v,e ry heavy ba nks may bkfl as Ionzas a Y00<1I' to cure to where you know lor certain what thev're goingto do,

If tho sinew has been applied evenly to a bt1w that was weJ!1 tillercd.~herl it should not have to he Iillered again, Should this not be the case, then re-

Removi'ng excess glue Iv-UII the fmgers.

Laying c;l'own the first strand.

28

Smoothing jt down with the forefin,ger.

First .1aye.r of sinew comp1ete. Ii wW dry for 0 doy Or' two and-then (mother course win he klid on,

ttllering or adding more sinew to the weaker limb may he the solution. Hawaver-, don't alter the wood or the sinew unril the bow bas been shot a few times, Il rnay s sttl e in and be j ust hoe.

Alter the bow has been tested and you're satisfied with it, the bells and all other areas not covered by sinew should he sanded and steel-wooled to a smooth finish. after 'which the entire bow can be varnished if no other decoration is desired, The Indians used If) grease lheir bows with bear fat or deer fat, Ibis Is okay and it's authenttc. but if you live in tho aas t where th e hurnidi L y is high, I sugges t you use t w 0 coats. 0 f Zar varnish ,. Be Iter yet, cover th at ugly sinew with. a nice rattlesnake skin and then varnish it.

Since rattlesnakes ure never around ·when 1 want them, I buy my skins already tanned and 1 get the dry ones, not those that aloe coated with Vaseline. Whl~e the- skins are soaking in a pan of warm water the bow isgi veri t'l co 8. t 0 f Ilq uid hi d e glue, TIlt) glue should be applied only to where you want the skin to stick. this is the bad and the sides of the bow, (Note: If you use thepowdered glue you will have to br ush it on just ahea d (If th e skin as yuu roll it out arid you had better make sure you have it lined up because you won't he able to move it once it's down .. ) Now a skin is removed from the pan and all the excsss water is daubed off. then His rolled lip so that when unrolled em the bow, Ihe scale side is out and the nosh side is in, I use two s,IrlElil30 to 35 inch skins on a 48 inch how. they are large' enough In Cover a limb 1 V2 inches. wide, When placing the-ill on, they are unrolled starting with the head end at the center of the handle and ending with the 18 Il at the lip, Arter unrolllng they can be stretched around a bit so the diamond pattern is in line with tht~ canter of the bow. Then some of the excess skin is trimmed off So that only a Jlttlo bit overlaps onto the- bellv, 'WUh both skins glued down the whole how is wrapped spirally in a gauze bandage and left to dry for a week, \!\'hHH completely dry tile gauze is. removed ami the remaining excess skin is trimmed with fJ razor blade 01" exacto krri f 8', No w the bow can be Hnishedw ith tw (I Goats of Zar varnish and a leather covering wrapped around lhe handle. The reason I use Zar varnish is ber:<:3 use it is flexi ole a n d will bend with the 00\\' without cracking, i l i~ also very hard and does fl good job of prntecting the snake skin,

Now if snakes don't turn you no and you still want some decoration un your bow you can paint Indian stvle designs on it using casein tempera paint mixed with water and a little glue .. These paints are ve ~'y dose lo w ha t the Indian 5 us I3d and they will stick to fhe sine w wi thou t P Baling, Also, you might consider covering the sinew with raw hide, this handles the same way as the snake skins and il

29 makes a much nicer surface to ·pailll on.

j' .

.fioWng on th'E! dC:m1P skin; after the g!u e hns heen applied.

Trimmmg off some of thsexcess skin wHh the ~Gr(:;SCH's,

After hein...~ wrupped with gauzn, I,he bow is left 30 ~o dry for (l we.ek.

-r

Sm:sw t, .... M, the ~m malb:::riai Ule'~MfI!ns~O:Jd ruU' 1ITlo_ st:ll'iinp und the .!!!!!lliI!king, or Ihem is anart in irnillll. T om.ake 8, sl ringiih~f Misted st fa nds uf sifiel."I~ together by' :~OmDg mbem on the tlMsb , .. 1tb the palm of the Ito nd, As the strin,!1! 8mw ~n length .fil.ate tlhreadslWler.e splieed m. The !5lli1e~v W~S wo:rledli,vMle irL~w<J't:O damp and ~ C:QS[ oniJ,ldo slue w~s added wh'!,!11 the sl.l'l.ng w as finished, Franld 1', I huveto 8!dmi t, I have f1~VEli,r made a &inc::wbowsh'ing, HOWeVfJf, I ha Vf:J talked at l'l;[:ngt.h Vi" i tb pcophll w he did, and they S81]di il~ was a ]ot OF WOirkror Sij1muthing that didn't las~ v~:r)r ~R l1!I h![!ii1 1'llSOO. Sinew 00\",' i!! ~ rings \", e,;n' out. quiclily a.ndthey'.re' not. wo'rth a hoot in the rain, ~n [ad. boots and battles we~['Ie ,caUed n rr when clouds ~aIihBfed.

¥~n, ago ?a."h.e:!I1!l wei s~iiU 'h"u:;:S:i:oll'Ei' bough~ bl!Iw,s.l had ~ Am bJ.c ,,;jiilhitihe! :seni~lg 'triD;g: ooroing UIIlWm.1lltL so' I ra_n some ~'iIJlil~ ~onled!tg cord U\'loti' it dI ::I series o:r half .biltD'irles, ~h i:s &!t~,ccl the probJem. Wben the rest of the string wen.t to pieces I made a !I.');hoiJ.c fiC!W stri.ng out of Ihe same cord and. lfIis. one di![dI!n'~ wea r (au.t:, NICI~~1 an of the bows ~ make have strings just Ul'8< U-~ a t· first o11Je ,and l'IJIO onehas cOffi!(ll ba ck to me yet ~~king F o.r areplaeement. One fellow did o:rdE'!'t' :'1. :l:iparG to go aklll.!jJwHh One of my bows" blJ.l!t it has beel'JJ 5 ye':flfS and. i don !'~tMnkhe has 1J.lJiiI [[l'd uR, ~e!t

'Fihe he rd!B!:i,t part of ma.lillg ~hf! string is ~ettjn:g tlhe cord. OIl'.igLoaUy it was msed by l!\\Ileclri(:i!a.Jlsfor lyii.og buncI1es of wires b)ge1ior ad .m.ay yel!:Je a'lfa~f;!lible tbflllugh :m!iI. Ol!ruJtll':it. lha ~ sells elBctrirnl suppi.e:5.iBe~~ B it rMlb :S-lffil muc.b ruib si1i1C"1'~".m.]ljj)\· ~f'ad.iIilg ~s'ts Lmi l!!I1.aclpu",dcf ~. :!ib{l~s h;avc smrl.ed. lo tilemi it .. 11.. mD has abou l 500 yard'S on it and art the time of this writing 'they w~'r,e selling for anl)und $B., I'ha:t :$eem:s like a lot of 't:w:me and a lot o[mllJll:lley • but ,au eaaalso ~!i'~ ~II in place of sinew on 'i{fjJ11l![' 8:i:J)O~'S iA,nd you can s,~" y,Qur 'rr!l~V,er llog!elhlilr w ilhiL However, this S ttl ff wtll not take the pla OA of re al fiiLtL€l w whenIt cernes to 'bR,ck i ng OJ bow, and hide glu~ wm n(lt slid to 1t v~r'y well,

To m~]ko ill b~iW sbh.l!g Olll[ o:U wu",~d ]].y].olll., I use a .e; x..'li. \\;t~t.h two nai!; dri\FMI. m. il ]0.1' wra.ppmg posts. T1nB. is: my '''string jig". If I'm going lOmaKe a one loop sLl'imrig I se'l [Ihc nails SOiJl "",:ill be 3 Or 4inch~ lonser iliaHiiJl. the OO'M.·. The ]oop:d end :is the~mflilro(i! \ilc ,clii.d whlilie flu: otl!.er' ,e~ is sirnJp~~' UOOI. tms~[Ml!k1es an ad· jm;;mll!ite !!l!lring. 11Ie h'tliIl l!ilmps l'i"i ng i!S,m.ade5ffiI1or~ef' 1haEI.the bo'lf • 1'0 d~Lermin8'1:.he proper .lenmgtlI, sil:rms ~hebow with Ui!!1lI ti1leilr!ing siring and w.easure from nod to noel. For fI~nnghow., cO:l'~ect)y strung, the distanoe betwe~!l I he sbrWg1md the belly or the b()~~ a~ Il~le lI'I~i rtdlcsh~u~m 1iJ:f.i the\>v~ dt h of yQl1llif dosed ns: I plus the (m I flll'O'l ~hBd th um b (H,'A, bo u I G inches, Th i.!il

ii'! s call'ed.a '·rlS~men·' _ Foil:' a :sho:r~P~~, H~' ~I li'Ii":iU be: less, ,01 beut ,4 I~r I~ incfues.

TIe mine end ofyoill'l"oU of string lo One of the T1 .. dls ,,;tlli a single hel r hitch lcavms: a tail a bout 3 .f:eet 1o:n,g: ha nsing free, NO""w go bud: and forth between thepests unW m~"(lu ha~"G ,aD!1!mlb~rr of :strands ,spann~[ilg ~h:~ 'cUSt,i~CI8. A bow nf30 UJt>. v"mt3ilie 6, one of i50 h'i hs g, 60 and. above" 10 01' more. When you hava I'~9.chedlhe desired number ~)f strands, untie the t~til end i'll1!rl bring it arn III nd UH:1 pest and c onfleet it \''!.I']lh lhe 'roU end, ThE~i $hmlld h~ ~ied log:eU'WJl' ;:d about :2 y~ jnch~s, llelm~ the post and[ in€! ImU oE r:otring cui. fr;ec leaving Wltollier 1.8 ll nbo~t a futd long. ,'\itorthis .kno~, is ~ ied fuc~aik should be p!llJlUed 00 Ihe .. t.-~od st~ l:!.'HlpuU ~hrough I!b.elmot and tighten a nl~-l(lfi(! s~:raEtdls.

'ThenE!:lf.l S tep is tjjjlil:i:easer~es ,of ~1li~rrh~h:::lhn wiil:blWile taimsB~\le and Wluw the jllllining bot. Ua.ybe 1 I) U1' J 2: htk:.hes \lo.iIlitle needed ~o oocwre'IDe :sbort~a:i1. tli fLeli' which 3 10008 hitches, !ue made and the lail'rs GiilIdpa:s~oo. through l hem rno>!:t to the str~n.e. Whif' .. :n these httches are t~ghtlellle:d. UalL\lI'lfj;!!>t ofthe tall can be ]:luUer! undee and it s end snipped ofL

N oW take the long La il and CJlJflUnu.e tieing h~ t· ehes, sude by side, until the loop gets m~nowm" The h:mp shnuldbe leftl.:;t!tge' enough so thill!t it slips. [j,[I)WU lha ]]]nb tl3.SUy" hn)lll.re:veF, ill ~hollldcl nOlt he so 18i:rge tnat iilt comes oul or the IUlGb ltI.~b.w:l, the 'OOw is sl"'IJ~.

Wnw you .MVll' d.elell'mim;!(l the me (lif }'""OU!I' .Ioop, i~ is made byfolilol\\.Tjng hal[ lb.e numoor of strands a'S the~' divide and go <lli'Omi];di 'me nail, Onoo lhe,lwp ~s: f_shed about tihree tiT rUlIiIr" 'h~tiCbcs ,a~e' 1ied j~ L betoo'r"-'he~ an tite!>ka:oouE 0IITf.m8 ~Qgfdher. llf iI1tE~ail is a.fooli @Ii so IGng ,1 can be used as 8 • 'stri.ng kee[!et"' by licmgit toi.be' nod, n~uskeeping \,""WF string in place if i l ",.,-m not stay by itselr ~vhcn ~he bow is unstrung .. 011', I h~s tail can be rimshied 'O[W andremoee d 03:15 '\f~[JU dld the @lhtw,

If you u re rnakm.g a two loop :lUring thu other snd should be whipped in the fiiauHl ,fash~(ln, then tho 81 ring can be ramOi\! ~d from the Us filnd placed on lhe bow" .. I!! ~~IiII~]fi) loo~ stl!'.ing wm hI'! mmu\l'cdhmm the jig by first laking off tbe llmI.W hip,ped. end. (Ih.e slliWg shou.ldbo bllt 'h}~hl wh(m lhi5 is do:..ne J. h~isting i l up a ])]1 SO aU the strands sl:B}- togelhar and then tig. m,g a .kn!i)l in III e "'e'rj end-

:"Iio m.iiluer ",m!E.b ~~~ o~ peMHlililrnlt :strirrnID.!!;: Y'Olill 1lIlS!~e ~1] III wil~ h ~\'C 1m. r~iII1JO:f!i:e i~ tin 111!~ a,f1?..!{;I~\lhe~ the aflnilVl' ts pl8C~t lI'h:is "~T\!tns string'" is made hy m;:l rkillg Z mc.b.es a hove and below \lihcre the ar'"" row rests when !locked and then w.hipping ""~rhh ... U hih::bB:S be~ween these p(l~HI!';. Thi:~wiU~ake about 3 felBt orr h~,"inlf2. Aft~r th:e first knot i'!; [~i~d ~ hie t>huf't ta i~ is ],eft A.long ~ h e sh:i l1g tu btl, cov~rled by sue·,

311l

ceeding knots and 'when finishing the last three should be left loose and lhe ending tail P.<lSSIE';(j through them und pulled down just ]jke you did for tb e loop s, This makes a nic e, n aa t j 0 band the tails won' t come undone. Sin ce the tillsring s I. ri ng is used fur lillering bows, II doesn't need. a serving string. HO'lNeVBJ[', thtsextra long single loop string should have i ls end whipped Ior a foot or so, this allows il ln be tied and untied easily without fraying. I have two of these strings. one [01' my longbows find one

ror shorter bows under 56 inches,

VIlhen working with waxed nylon, one shouk remember that single knots will slip and ccme un done ... hen tension is placed on the string. This is wh:

I tlhv<'lYs He a series of hitches wilh the tatls ahovi and below a splice. Also, a string , .... rill stretch a hi; a t firs L A single Io op string can be adjusted by reU~ iug its. nn-lcoped end, ~ Lwo loop string is edjuste bykIloWng:il once 01' twice just below the Inops.

Going back unrJ forth betwElGu thfl nnils with theroll ofwuxed nylon, Nolo the ;1 foot long tClil,

Tieing tbe two ends to:;:e!Jmr ofter the desired mmlner of strands JHJ s been reoehcd.

~ I

Forming tile loop by tieing (l 8,8'1' i es of h alj hi tciles t1wt will go around the unit

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\

l

Bon! string with string HeApeI' GIld finished sinew backe'd bow "With snakeskin Covel'. Note the sinew Joshing. This not only dosed the crack just beloli~' the neck, but it oisn served 1;0 protect the ,sflaIr€'.f>kin from nny nbmsion coused by tllf! string.

Tieing off the tail so that it won 'r COme tmdone.

The correct woy to' string (l bow.

33

Wha~ good isa lXJI\.\<\viithouf 81'f\O\li;"S11:hebow. flO matter htlwbe.3utUulIy \.., ro~t.w1l1 no( resli7;c i~s, fll.>U$~ pnlentii\lilm:!l~i] tbe ?;a.JJ.IO ]w,re, lime'. aad Cl.lre f11[ifJ spent in rna k iug ~ ~s 8JI"r~ws. MV 8J1ll!iliHnt]C ~m~OW!l have shaft Ii:! made from do,g W Clod shoots, fle~ch1ng lashed on with !!mt)w, g~.uect with hide glue I OUld hoo rig of flint u r sheet iron. The be'sil ur (lOWS [pel"f'OI':m II nee ~ld'5H~ I ever made for my l~~", S W,Qru ~hflse with Port Orfurd c~dar sh~dls, [eetherJii In hed on Vi<ith \'\I'll iIlOO nylon coni, glued ""i,ihplOJsHc :model oemelli, and pmnt~l "rimh m:oclC'I:"n rtie~d Of targ;el trups,. hi! this ~-'h"llPle;r 1 ",,;111 sbml~ y~1!I! h~I!N ~o mm lMl:h lypes O'f aril."Oo\\.'S and l ba we aIoo:tdded dutalj)[ed illusuat[unlj of some or 1iIo olhp.1" types of (U'OOli\\'S thaljnu mo,y find intarusl i ng.

Tn e Ii rs,~ is ue]J hll m,:fJJk.t.n.&:' :!fOItH' pr]miti.\~e a Fi"Ow:¥l is th e colli~ cU ns (I F' she 01l:!> fmc ~he shafts. For m yffiI''" l'OW5, I use red Qogwood,f3Il:;o called @s,iel' [Cornus stoIO~llife:r~l' or .stiH dogwood rC~JrnU:5 strictu], [havlf1!' also used loth~I.· straiglli!it. bu l I.ul~dentif[ed ha f\d\'\i"O'od 'shoots as weU as Cane. J:]ogwood Iilioo'l:s (actuaill' 1 iny sapJi~~gslcm lJ,e found grt1\,\,ing infue :rkh soil fir 1;.~k.OO1itPII~. ~r ~r0ua.relud;. e.I:lmIgh[u rind fI. ~ ~.1i hilills lftn. c_ IOY'Pf"llmted.the-re~~~ru~rn .~ m.aD~' ur tl!U;:5I1:s:ll~ts SCiIlIt 0l!1!1I. as ithe 'tree aHe:mpEs 'to gFO,"'" back. This hap,peoOO 00.00 when my neigh\)()r 'lriml1lr edl .. his sti rr dogwood hedge, guess "rho got. ~ the CU I~, t_g:s:. I~ the 'soult. eJl'U F!E!!gin:ms o:f Ute COl!Hlitl'Y ,. ,r:~.ne ~ ... as used t;1 g IISL!! ~ d!~al hythe [1:ld~a:fiS amd I have madu some c.m€: a rrcws with ha~rdwood fOl'eshai'ts liko the One iUu.stra.h;ld. The hardest pm.'t off making Ihess shah:s t6 $U raJdi[~g dOWJl U~~ ~ oint" and ,g;rilUlllB: tht: fOf'ocs.:haft ~o fit properrly.

MtOT )-lIlU ha ..... e cut yuu'!' shoots in. February of hi1aroh ,. they should 1Je S'l,r,~PJlOOl uf their bar':, s;titi"~t iig~~len"ed a lri I, bJ oo]'[dms: \I,;til.iJ'e UID.ey am :6J'Li!I. moist 3Jil.d ~llen Ueom ab!!!!ndl:e ollldlc.n in ill w8:FDl. My p']aee to seawn. [ka:d s~ cane ~t bali. not ~1tId ~ ~me tOI 1"01 enD be cut <1111 his Hme. or grefln Cane can. 00 cui in ~be soummc!riirne.lIoWlt" ... rell'. these mut),l b6 dirtied until sun <md gohie;n yell]f)r~i\i' in 'CJCKior. (::fIHlie win not shrink much while green shoots may lQ$B 20 %. Sheut fir h at arB jus L under V2 inch in d1am,leb:l], will m·ak@ sllJ.aft~ IiLi]<'3i' .!]/[J6 when peelE!;!]. amJ drieri, By ioe ~tH~Y DII'Po d.ry H[<ough I hat they e'll1 l)l)! lal!en ('rom the buudWe and J]!l3dl\! intOI Mii'OWS.

IJog-nooo sbooLs can. be used lo maim ei LI~e:r P~l;tm~ 0]" ~'Ii'~l~Hld. ,lEI!:r~'1i,. ·flhe stamm:cmam Pta ins allM!f>!ii 9<1lS~ il'o a,b)ul 23:mtln€$ to:m.g t.drile ~!h~' \I,; ~ 5baft (:a 11 be 26 'to 30 rnnches in lengl:b. C'mne a ,-rows ..... iLl be lOIl~J!r beca.1JSe the furce.'Ihaft will cx.ll1!nd their len.g1h ann~ her 4 tQ 6 ~nches. These :'If'f'Im'IfS a rOfl.I1I. d.:ara ~Vn blEl'YolLllid l llie .iillrilrrt bu'~ w e~n t]1f!! two ~h ~ f~.s.,.

DJg\~iood sha £l!l atel .f1Di!;hOO by ,cuU ingm IBog{h. whl:u:l:ing urf <J1it}<prromineJil!l[ .knots. s~rA~gbtemncby hea ling Sind bmnllirng, ~en tfuey .3100 'sandell dOl\im and the nods $::1li\i\o' ed out !\md filed ~moOith. KBSp]ng nH~1 :~b~iHF!rOiWld fll'lld ~1:rtligM while ~s!:!lJ:l:l:n~ was a prob]'911\. This was solved by some] in~ them between ~I p ~i r Ol~ gJ'(mwled sandstone ful~ eke. ~ use woof1en hlocks ru\"E!ln:~d with !lal1l(tpapar. lsee P~U)~iO) .. As~.eD.~ Uoned OOI~lii"e. ~he iOUlits on C •. UU~ have to be sanded. hO\. ... -cvcr, I leave on€l ioifi~. ~oo. aoo,,-e which I cUl the nd. this p.rll1!lIreats SIlIl:iUing.1b.e ~m_ 1i!!lI.~ a~'Cpijil~the ~d.tlrc 10l~ end !liI[dlEl :s;~o.:d ~ kg couM .OO.FN~f til!!:! sha n jllS~ bebo". it. BtllbMS or e;X..~ E;:odI:3\<~<efe a tmds mark of PliainsamOi\\'li aDd lllrete, ~ •. big hs'J:p wlGJ[J 1be Tr.n:.i8j)J drew dD:cm by p~n{:hi[lg the no~k bo~wE;len hisijl.1!llmb fimdJ fglli'eFi;li!.~lEl·I' •. Th,~s i~ called thL!l pI'imBEY l!'Ble;;tlilO. Tha secondary release, where the mlddle and LhLrd finger assist~(l wffiISi~1:!:m used, Tijcl~~j' V!,!'IE! use thjl) 'Me(l~terraI~~!!n release, (t~ of the .ro['tefQgl!3r Wri1Plju~d areund the sl ring I'll OOi\,.re thennck and second and lh:iirdb:elow h &'II it m no lenger n~SS8Fyto gO' 10 aU (he trouble of w~IDng ~he sUrls G!liMliI 1'0 rom'! 8xpooded !liloob IIliml!~~ ~ OM.ur,ant. SIiI~" ~u[~e]illtic M'ro'.'S 1!J:r~M Il!!rs sowr ·liD S;hM~ ~ ndla n flt}ie.

[r lOU. are:n't up ·kl Spi:!ndirn'lg ho!Jlil's in a stream bed looking {Dr stra iSM sapfiDg~,thcn ~mlU can use 5116 bird:! dU1l'l'e:lI'Qds,.3'ij ca]]bcl1'hir.koll'J1 Fam~~;u,ls. or tume r yet,PI:lI'1, Orford cedar arrow shafts, The d.owel rods com!t;) f:rum the Ium ber y~nd i the ra mrods from::l. black ~owde,r gUll shop and nUllS rnust be exam.~l'lloo ("..'lwelu.Uy., cincckffi:g [1"'[' :sllrB igblhlJ!~ssand ~I1I[]1iile w:ill h cross-grain shuulcl he rejeclJed.Thc cOOla r s.hafts are spin(!:(1 ~u!d you s.b.mald. buy III use !.hat fit your 00'0;. hJ~'l;t.lHrg€!m"cllu:ry gb~J)8 \\liU still ~a1j;G theln. hfJ"", e\-e .... li'jTIjll\liill gc~ ~hem ell.M[per if l!'lJiIU u]'l('l'e!ll"' ntmllli Ill.,i themmdived From AJ1OIIIile\iVOOd Pftldlli£'lS. \\1!.en I uscl;h~m~mlIed shafts it alw~ys ,(luI theililock in across the radial groin 00 as to lesson the cllance of :spUnmg ..

f'o~ netcfuin~ I \ltle~urkf.ly taU fe9Jtne:rs. Thu fF; l'ight tail Ieathersl Mo~[ people use win~$, t1t1~ 1 U59 tuil f co thel's bee a us 91 tnEl'Y are (lGLSi el' to cut and trim. and in the cas~ ,of lOillllg, ~Olol~'. I~dtan~t~'m nell,ch~~s: tlliey stretch out and may dawn bBU,el!'. The 'QIdy drawback is that tvkuy ~ail r~albersare 1111.001 a~ durable as ru.rk~~, \\ling res;tfuers. bu~ neilher l~ere' 'tho D!illi';" iiUe~liI~ ~;e8Uler:!l.&lIm P!'1000,CiOfJ ~ that the· Dnciellm!ifus used. Uwi~ you i!'l.re a Al.~rU~ l~F~eJ hunter thB:iiil Yo'-il{l ~ ur-by fea.the:rs m ~iJbe' bam ~'O eomr: hy,hnwtilve,.r. tbeT's ];'5, a]wnys Lhe'rendmwus or l he IfId]a~1 efts and c:r .. flI ~:toli'e. Most archor)! alor,as sell pnl.ClJt 'i'O~1 !he.rs bl!l!~ they arc' lutll sm3!U Fol."

I

.II

SIOtJX

IlJms. VEN~RES

BIN.D BLUNT

35

ESKI:~m FISHING .~RROW

(After .Ma~an)

I'
I
I,
I I
J!!i.'j i
I'
I,~.
1 .11 '.

j

11 :,nj,

APACHE CANE SHAFT

ESKIMO HARPOON Armow

w no t rUlllI li\r8!I1.t. I ,gCllt. my bronze ~u:W';[(CJf taU feel.h!l\llrs, rrom fit:hw<:Irb:. Son. mc. and I buy ~h(lm by the pound. That" S about 400 fc.athf:rs to the pound SID i r you ha~c£:riends \'Ou can sa""il= by CllttlOJI' 1"ID1Ilm" realhers 8~d. :s'hltfl ~,hl, QjU antiq',.,

:U~,;ruhs,ablJ1!DI~iB r E!;I'JJ lhers (0 male aI, dOUD 3t'roft~. i r~mu don't m.ess ODe llJl,S(JI .v~an on spliftin;g about 20. To split my' r[l;;J~hGrs fuse 8 ~el'y shilrip extmlo bUifc and j[ lay mem down on a ooardwbUI'! I'm c!ltli~the quills up the ~ len tee, Afte.r Sl:tli II iog all. tho Wti~tfufU:S m~akfl One ,A,nd make at'Bmp.ta~e by r.1Lll~~ HilS' it to ahout smches and! trimmmg with scissors scthat an inch. snd U hlilf of bare quill i!ii IL'ilfLfur'W ard \) r the vei n Sind '1 inch i~ le [t behind, t hem I trim the ~1eiID, down to <:lll)ou~~, inch. H you ws.~:w~ veins iUl1lI!l:o:r~haJffiJl. 5, Y2 in~b.fl!l Ot" ~t!]](j!r 1i:fuan Wi. inch th~ ~ t~: 'Oh,~1 hut 1 have futmd tl;lf.n;~ to be the OJ)UliI1um:. Most oflho a~m\\'S I used 10 mob:: roril:be~ouffisls: 'bud big- 8'f!f JcOJ thets but they ne~ sloi!'ierthoo the ones I .Wiade fo r ttly 1II'",'TIIII~Il:, 'Us_II!! UJ:eliiemph.'llte lea tiber BS, a guld'e., .~.!IilO'l!lii~ II!:ld ~he o~h em'S. aw:ilJe:f' ~~ffli&h dte e'lI;r:~: ,illll1 is ca,rewmy tr,immeil ~~Ir ~'l1itlb. me' knile. \\'ben sJlltle Jf!rdhen a ro I:ut andlf'immed ) SUfi theM! eut a ccording to left or r-igh l hand s:piral, thea 8a Iher ~h(!m into gmUiPs, o[ Utr.ee' and tape fbemoo,setffiJler.

'Therrleare f~wlJways I~a:9h my Jaalhars onthe sbdt ,tbe easiest w ayis: tuUe: them on back \I!,' ueds '1 ~T1 r. h below ths nook Iii. nd then fold them over ~ nd lash down lheir :fuI'wurd ~nd1J. This W8S dono a ]ot in Contr,al and. SOl!1til Arne r~ua and ~h.B:r~ W!llIS 1\0 nsed ~o ghlif: ~he E~<:Itfu(J:rs dnlrn. The o,the:r W(;1'1I is to' ],9J~' ~1i!oth:r~ feathers ~ll,mllg t he 5haftat eqwA I, in tervals and lm.R themat the nocl'f!utl Hnot, as alwa ~Js. and then at the rO"'~!l'anJ end withthe roo lhe ~bcingpull~ r.xII dO\\'II!!I.'Yiiilh a pair oroocdl~~ plierS justbeSu[\C the' la~hing ·i:s.fini£hOOl .. n~ ] al'll~ m.'Clli~·'W as, used llllJ North iU!:reriaii ~ind the ~ea;il:heffi aad IIJi p. 1'05mogs bolh \1i;'urn giud Th is l YfJ0 or ifJet~. '(bough f!Jn~e lime ffinsumiIIg. is oo'lter ber..a use the rca~olS ~hl.y close to Ilhesh;:ll1l and wlll Pelt loosen wl ~h shooting ur ~vhcp. the ~empera I UI'(l or huaridi ty chsnges.

~r ~i[IIOl>,,"h,USGd for !ut~~r~g it shulUld bCSioahd in W 1lJ rm \!Ii a I ei" to (ii oft€'n i t ~nd thr'fl ads (J f It bfJUlt liE! 10 '18 inches should lJA L.LstJd. Back strap sinAW would be yo u r best bet F 0[" .mos to r m yarrVW1l I use waxed nyloFJi thfl.~ l:l,~lS been l:IilH'~ h1!t~ nne~' sli'runds f.;m~j \I\i"heFJ. i I ~~i gtllt!iJd "~~]1th JPWa!l1 g,f: m()'IJ~1 cement it l{!:oks j UlSl like sinfilM and in; waterproof. Si nt.:e this cord is; slippery rutd bots on thel.;:Ji:lh~s aflll' ugly, I may du,...·n a loop that ~ unde r I hit: 10 II hing <Wrl. ,catches the tOlil at lhe tI~&'Ul'1i oriI.~V.hen rilll.'qhed ~ l'!II6ipllll!l! the .Ioop ~er ,;\I r.. If';ul o~n.dl ~ii1s. ~:see pholo)Ll'h i drrem·~ \'1~orki,or rr·6~. sinell'!:' and I G'E a half .hilCh 8n:1u nd I he !lh.t n to hold the 'lai] down .md then i ~Ju.e file lastlings .find Ihe Feathers \~iLb .bidegllle.

for 8ulhenlic: tU'r'O"-'sluse mn~ 01' steel. he .. ~ds

th.at I mall::e ~nyse] f ,rOll' auo,ws I shool. a,U ~bi} ~ i,mc 1. use' modern field !!:Ir large~ tips. lI'emmlt flint. ,,,,.rro,,'\! beads of Modern milile are gettingha 1'(1 to find ber.:o u se most commEH·..c~fd mapp:::rn tm~'9f!II includ- 00) don'l WO:Ilid 10 [wI witlili U-m. II 'jOlll du nnd SQ.e rot sale. dan't 00 :tou11l'li'is.1.!d i.r the:~' Me :$;5 8 pi~r:c or mlJf\C 'OT good !mes ..• l\.lCluaUy. small aF.m""~ li!!O~ts or o 'bs.idia n . boUle glass. or cberfrJales arc not that hard to make once you ~ct the hang of it. The' Art u/ f-·Hn~ J:(n,rrvping and SLory jn Stone" ths Gther t~'o bm)!~~ in lh isseries .. will be v~ry helpful ~ r Yf1iU deetde tfJ do a U.Ule chipp ing. Th e metal lbiJe8ids C8.n he cui[ fl'um sc raps O[ sheet stee] VI' Ilh a ha cks a W and a m~, they CAn a ~ so be pUI'ch.as~d, The mode r'll poi ntsc an iju f()iOOd at am a ~'cru:H'Y til hop OF ordered by lin III tl, SlonA .. rnd st t:s] b[Q~dIle9ids a rf! setin M[OOves:t!ll!~ with, the' h.ack:sa l'li'. l hen th(y~: a.le ghm:edi and ~;ilJshcd down. (]igllOfl9 tl:Lf!' myLb lh.d these heads, W8'M ~e~ perpendicular foii' omimals and borimnLal rOl' humans and j6t SiB~l!:hem. in IjWlle"\Ti~h Ilhsl!locls]!.. 1lJ.e rn.wrn socimlc;d ~m: <3!mpus.~ Qnand >II :srn:p_cb or nail! used 110 diimpile lhcm 50 th9\" l~ 1!ID"l s~ide ClIff casl,.

f:or deenration 1 u;'~u(lny paint Ired. !,ellow. and blaek btilDdt; on. the area or 1he n etchmg before the feathers are .pl!!ll on. Ahic", Ugh.mmg gf'Oilves can be cut ~ntQ~he shan bf:!l~o I'i@ er a ft,sr [1euc:hin,g., 'fh~ Inri i ~n,~beli(:lii'lfSd tha tLil,eflE: grou!i;"e:~, usuall y 3iWl num ber, w ould ca l[]s·e their ~H'rOWS to ny str~} ill' h t~r and strib with the !)OWel' and speed or lis:h Lnlng:, I drm.'lkrmw]f they 'ic'i,l,ere pu.l on wocdland arrows hut they 'I,~ er,e a big thlng with U~e Plains lndi .m~, AgF!l!Q1, I hoy ore a lot of ext ea wurk. (,'lvam loll]]en I use 0 nice V -gouge (sse photo). s:o 1 musHy put t:hem OJlli .my suthenne display arrOWS,

Bef~re c.losing,~el me t(lU \,"O!lIl a secreL No m uth~r' w hill I~ou. alI'a:Eing lor :!lha 115 jj]lf'lilo,w e ai'(\er~ly ~fOM make ~[Il:trl!r' ~:rrol!;"::';. thc:r,e":W. :8!1""~1~'9 be ~'h~ HI{l~li'I'iU n:~r better IL~l'In olber:::;, l'ofmd tlIem. ShCHd each or ytlIu r a roows separaooly a dOjT~D of so times ;] t tho same d.Nlr\,.. ;jn!.l ;:l ~ the same target, l'hou!l that 5hool ~l ra~ghter call 11 f!: ifm~ah::d and llIIier Joed. The next Um~~'(~n ihm]'!: ~ol:m'Pre:!!~, yOO1l' [rilend$ i' u so these ~ [rows,. 'l!'l,en you h~~\I't:1 Or! ~y yourself to~)ll':lt:n ~ i r you l.hi~::ii.

Cutting cr dogn.'ood sGl)hng.

-;;.

Peeling I.ho sa.pIing wH.h (1 knife.

Special sunding blocks for smoothing the .~huft.

Tifl1ng Lf1.e shoots into G bU.ndle in preparation for drying.

37

Afr~er be1ng Gl.ll to length, 00 rough nock is made with the hncksnrv.

Splitting (l' jenther with I.he exacto kni.fe.

38

FInishing with tile' exocto knife and rnt tnil jde.

Using ihe template jenlher CIS n guide .. the oIher featllers are cut to length ..

Trimming the vein.

Tr lrmnir~.g the !lock en d using tlle ternpln te fefJale~[' us a WIkle.

On Some of my arrows 1 JA'(n:e 0 little decorative toil, wlijd, is .being trimmed to the propnr length.

Ci1Uing off tile excess pith with n very sharp ex nctolimife.

L(JsIling the feathers on backwards. SQuth American style. Note the loop le/l lO (;n (dlth,e toil.

After sorting into .Ief! nnd rigl1t hand piles" the jeothfl.fS ere divided into bundles of three. Note tile tape used DO hold them together.

Usillg th,p, nm:nl,ie-JH)sed p1iers to pull the loop tmd,er the iashing, ajter Mlflicfl tht! tu.ils or,e cut off.

foWing the /auth€lfS ovt! r.

The f]e~ch~ng conlplj(~'t&" th~ leOll] is pu.~kd Ul'lder oo.d trimmed off. the ~ume as W(JS done (ur the UIJper In'S hmg.

When Jos:mng h hart cnmpjete. !ncteatlll'lrs are 6gM:eJ1P-f~ by p:uJJj~ an {ileffl t1itltl .~:Il~ pfieJrS..

Losh ina ;fea!fmrs on N'orlh Aulp.rican s lyle. Either st.rle' tlr fas&U!!J eem 00 d{lne~ .. -Uh ~ SUIP.IH>; of ",cured n vhm_ The lnrxcd nlclhn is be~.r beaHlSH ~mu ,can use it r:(1nt:iRUI~l,slr iI'llithuut spHejng .and W~wah)rp1"ci(Jf,

VVit.h lashings complete. 0 FttJ{'! bit of the feather moy protrude, cut these QjJ with the Hxncio knife ..

~ : I ".

\ .. '

}"

Gluing the _feathers (wd the [ashings. .Ploshc .mode,' cement is used jor waxed nylon (Incl h.rde ghre is used for SiJieIV,

If woxea nylon is used, then the hend is gLued with superglue for msurcnce. If srnew was usud, then gli..!H it with hide giue,

Lnshing on n tHnt armwru'liIJd.

Three arrows Innde by the nutnor. Top: South AUIf.lI'icon .b~tyle f~etchjIi:g. josbed' with nyl()fL Center: Bains style target crrosv, hJsned TVllith nylon split into fine threads. Bottom; rmthcntrc P1ains arrow vdth dogwond shoft, lightening g roovss and .fle tc1tin g held in place ~ ... ' i til sjnew and hide glue.

r

Papel' JJo_tterns fnr r>teel arrotc ... -Il(e'uds. steps ,for maI~ing stoel Clrrow~w(l'ds. and tl"lI'CO .flInt ()I'1·Qwl1,.ead!J.

43

--.-1< ~__ _ _

LigMe'Hing grooves C(m he cut in lviIh a small i/gouge, alter which they (jTf) painted Lo'l.ith red point.

VB. QlllVERS

The two basic types of quivers that win he covered in this chapter are the woodland and the Plains. These are the two we mos t often S9B in museums. the La tter be i rug mm:',e common. The woodland q ui vel'S efthe East Co~stwere made of woven fibers so they looked like V9FY long" U<:jlj"l'(]W, baskets ,. however .• nrim al skins were also used, The two woodland quivers illustrated are both made of leather and are more durable. The Plams outfit has a shorter quive.l:' and includes a ease for G~1fI:yi1'lg the unstrung bow when not in use, They were made of buckskin, cow rude [0 Hen w irh tile hair left on l, buf ~ falo hide, beaver, otter, mountain Hun ~md others. Thesets shown herawere either [Hade by the author and his wife or were drawn from o]d sp ecunens. These ViI ill give you SODle ideas, you can copy them, design your own or use some' of the techniques. Sind materials mentioned to help YoOU make copies of other specimens you have seen,

OLD OJlD\'V A QUIVER •. The only old woodland quiver that I have ever seen is 'one shown in a photo OIl page 68 of Beads: Their Use' By Upper G reot .Lakes I.ndians, This beautiful q~l.iv,e[' is about .38 inches long and 8 inches w ide at the mouth, the hag or pad tha L held the arrows was about 2; 7 i nches deep and a round disk of hard lea t.her VII as carefully sewn. into it to lorm the bottom ,. Its cuff was covered wi th red wool cloth and beadedin a floral pattern. Itwas thought to have be-en made by an Ojibwa around 1875 from a piece of brain tanned moose hide. ToO me, this is the ultimatewoodland quiver and I'm hoping Valerie wjl] make a replica for me someday, at least she has gone so far- as to illustrate H ror this book so that we may shO:lt€ its beauty with you.,

MODERN WOOllLANIJ Q:UWER. The details of the woodland type quiver I am now using havealso been illustrated, Note that it is equipped wil:ha "stiffensr' to keep it from bending and pushing the arrows up and out as it lies. across the back. EHC<IUSe the Indians used soft and not hard lea ther, every one of these quivers had a slick tied to either the outside or the inside, The straps were fastened to this stiek and in the case of this quiver, t het w 0 loops the. t hold tho bow when L~lis oull'it is hung up 0]' carried ar€ also fastened ito H.

The 60 inch. bow tha tth i s qui ve r goes with has tl peculiar but uselul antler tine arrow rest and this hangs upon the first loop. thus pre venti rig the bow from sliding out. If yOUl' how does not have an. arI'OW rest like this, then it may have to he tied down to the quiver. I don't know if loops wei'e used in UlI.08 old Jays but J Iind them convenient and both quiver and how look nic e hanging togHthur. The lealhe I" I used was double suede elk hide and the ]ower and

upper cuffs ~I re decorated with a balone shell disks.

This type of quiver can he used 'with any of the ]oDgoar bows shown in this book or it will serve a modern bow just as well, The onily thing toremember is, that the Indians used sinew Ior lashing on the fletching, and they made their quivers deep enough to cover all bu~ l the last inch a nd a he l:f 0 f their arrows. This. protected them from moisture, This is not necessary for modern arrows or for arrows having nylon lashing, however; I like to make my quivers in the oId style,

OLD Q,JIB\fLfA QUIYER

'!'

I'IlODERN \!irOODLAND QUIVER

J

'II '1\

Va:ri.ous rrH~th,ods for making

a rlm I,or tbe qui v,e.r •

I

Harlc, Le a t;ne,ll:' oval.,

Quive'l' wi th r'ound botto,IDt i is sewn tog,eth,er insi de, out and a hard 1 e ather oval i s glued in. lfhen it is turned.,

~ ~ .. .

L .!u~.:~" ".1

Simole E raigc'lt bottomed.

Q u: ver incl ude s the' fringe T;vhe'n i t i s sewn to ge the r •

45

O.l1'lmlL'ij rtA~1NS Qun'Ei: .. Al'i!r.fIl 10\1\7 CASE.

Thou:;:h !'d]rurn 8. r<lli'~~ y. them u rA quitB<I fell'!! old Pla i ns ou dB ~ A till ann) nd tha t can be ~.x<;l mined, '~htw'f![m!' e ~v fl know m(B~e OJ. bout them, OV(Jl' the yea rfl we have l11iJJ.atsoml~ heaI.l:Ufu'~ Plains qlli v{U' and bow ease combinaliuns out of b~am. tanned buekskln, beaver, P1.f'1Wlta1n liOJl ~d oUe' skins, My Nor1heru jplain~ Iq;m.?iC1i is MEU!iI.c ,o:f b~aJM. tannN, blU::h\.in.il~ is tille' s.im pLp-!s [ ~f tb:es~' aad also !ieF\'~ kl.repri!l:-.eilll~ .tln,~ standard.

mt~nl~lS p18i.t~TItlS oi'redd 0 lh ~iIIl'~fCri~d 'l'!j'ltfu Fifld, yelluw ,black. unrl whit c be!flds S~Wn em U5W,ill 'the l.azcy stitch method, lAn'Jr' good bouk on Indian hesdwlH'l ~w~U help ~jomr"v~l h U'l!~ detatl $ofi:lcll!>'~ng mild em'Fe et p~lll~rm .. ] Jf you. don'llike to d<i loo~ad~\i'ol'k LhecmTs can be painted Oli' len plain. ·,IDe' 'stiffener \!\;as lied ~€1 tIm (] I!Itsitifal OJ! l'l)q ~G: seem and lhen oo,wliled! \,.i~ a long Sti'iip 11 r~",oo~ 'l Mdie ,do'I'h, wllid. W<J:S 5leWliJI nil spi.r!:lJJy with. W<!il!iud nylon. Thp. .nyloI! is U5ed m pla.ee oK sitnll\~; .1'0[' aU lhe !jef\!!li~ W0' do, ]t~s much ]lnIH:~ convemant to U~~ and will nel l'ot The head1Ower~ Sfl wn on w ita ~pm': i!\lI bead i Ilg thread w hie h is also bener ~h8n sine,>", 8D.cl. fO;if eas~or touse. ',Ihe bottom of th L"I qui'io.oe:[ does n(il~. have cD I'mmd. hard. lea lJber

piece. i1 ",,:'05, just 00"".[1. t.ogethcr" (inside outl IDalt'.pural"WJigtbe fringe end ~Hen Lu~.ned. Dhcl;!clioil"ls f~F making: 1m ~h typtHI ef boUoms en elea r1 j" mustI'aJtud" The ndvantage uf lila r01"U1JJ. bottom is that H increasesthe ql!.!!i ver's capad.l.y while ~1r.HI!ll,re.nll1l,g ~l~1ll cham .. ", tor an UOOVi." to pnb through.

Two 116, .mch buckskin thongs .. hIo~, tJ\I'el' ,and p;:t~_ ~~h a ~ or 1m mtes Pmitc.ha:! i Illo tJhe 00'"' ca~. :s'1'3p limd quh,<er", boM th,-= $Ell (o,getb::'F.\\~~l\ed nylon can alan hel![sml. ffflpeciaJIy on [u.r sets, aUhoMiRb \'1.;1 l h buck!lkin lh();rtgs the kn(l~8 I'md trailin~ tans add l[l the dccoratiOIlL. Whena~,semb]iFIIg the Plain'" qui vsrund 11.0'''' ca filO ,keep the Eu llo wing in mind. Orig.im'!Hy, Plains outltts "!'!!;~~iI"'le w(D,rn over lht! left !ihuulrler in:s~ct1d o~ the righ l.\.'Vboo hunt ing or 6ghliQg 'th~:~'!':ere b~l amlmd mId~1' Ihe 1eftmm $l!II mba! the ~ li'iI'~'WS :5badl:: l!IIY( in fmml~ .1 ~ \ . ais1l: IUlire1,. I:hism~de llie. ea~1!' ~o get at. We a'.u:aysmade ours su ~hey bWIllig oVElIi' lhe'F~ghl show.de!r sincl;.! lhey WI;tOO m .]de fot \olilbHQ Men,. Wfl@ SfJE!rned to like ! his tru, ~.ll hett,er, OM f!uivers seen in museums I'I'IJly be d0I1@ eHflr[JI' way, they jJ'r,~ so old thul; many of themhave [a U€iD. ,spaid and SOm.e rs.p.' i I' wo.rkwf!;!; dmllt! on them ~<ea.FS a~el" they W~'Te collected.

The' uudlO,f'S Norli1vrn .Plains qujl'~r, mflde (If bruin ~Wili'lfld huckskin ()Iud bs(ulMd in. ~hclnzy srih;;/J sty~€,

46

OLD APACHE qUIVER. This (lId Apache quiver we found in the Firelnnds Museum in. Norwalk, Ohio, It is made of the hide from a n unborn horse [the hal r sUU on) and has narrow and broad serrated fdngB on a wide belt thatgoes around the middle .. The broad fringes were painted with red and. b]U9 stripes and spo ts., 'Jhestiffanerwas tied on with thongs spaoed about 13\108'1''1'' L wu tuohos, and the strap wa s a lSI) fastened on by thongs. This quiver OnCH had a simple, undecorated. detachable bow case thut would have been tied to the strap thongs .. It is probable that the Apaches removed the case when the bow was in use, and because it Vilas not pf.H·manenUy attached to the quiver, this may explain why this and some other Apache quivers I have seenbod no how eases ..

Detnifs of the brain tanned bLlckskin set snOt.l,,ing beadl\1:ork ond doth sewn to tlle sti.ff,ener.

OLD APACHE QUIVER

Detail of bottom and cross-section of q[uiver.

•

Va.Ierie wit.hfH1 jnot moun tarn lion skJn,

The skin all strctcheri O!1l end pegged down. w.Hb template!> l.rl~iIig in place.

KIOWA MOUNTAINLfON QUIVER AND BOW CASE, This is an improved replica. of the magnificent Kiowa outfiit shown on pages 434, 435, and 506 of The My:stic Warriors vI the Ba1ns [M.~lils 1972). It \.I,i'<1S made hom OJ single' (3 Vi: foot mountain lion skin using the body fop the quiverand bow case, I:he legs for pnd of the straps and appendages on. the case, und part of the lail for the pendent hanging from the mouth of the quiver. 11m head was later used for the flap on the strike-o-lignt bag which goes with this set. \Ale enlarged HIe hide by dampening It, stretching and tacking it down. Wh!;JB the hide driedwe had gained 4 inches on the sides and 'INS used almost every scrap on the constrnchn\U of this set The improvcmen lswe madewere in hacking the hide with red wed doth and sewing it toge'LhHl' withwaxed nylon, By gluemg I~ ed cloth to eve rry pie-ce bcio ~'e it is. sewn toge l her, U insures strength and long life. The bfdes of cats a:nd other thin-sklnned f1!l!.I' bearing animals simply will not last unless they are backed. The first mountain lion set we built over 7 year-s ago fell apart

Details of the mouths of the bow case cuKi quiver, The bl3(1{iwurk wos done QV,tH"" n round edgG ronde by n .r" strip of clotb thnt was sewn onIo the fur s.iide. then roiled over and he]d down W1t11 a spiml stitch.

because this was nnl done. The hide was an oily" home-tanned affair, not commercially tanned, ami the sst was stored in a hot closet try its owner, which only helped speed Us' deterioration, Fur glnning the cloth to the bide 1 US08 "Aleen's 'facky An Purpose Clua", it'sthe best because it doesn't get stiff and. H wnn"I bleed through the doth. It can he found in craft supply stores or art stores, Because the hide W<lS worth so much, we made a paper pattern and carefully studied the posslbilitics before (:uti.ing,. U really takes a lot of nerve to go affer a $300 moun-

tUln lion with a pair of scissors!

For those who are interested, building and decorating of the qOlver and bow case ,'equired 62 h ours and anotherS 0 or 60 hours went into the snake skin covered, sinew hacked bow, (the surne how shown in the chapter on sinewing], and the >5 authentic anGWS with dogwood shafts and s111.e'\T lashings. The next time you sell;l a bow and (ll't't)W set like rhts CIne fOol' sale, don't gape at the price, just enjoy its beauty, If sold, the maker " .... ill have earned every penny.

This Ulagn.ij.icflnI. muuntoin .lion bow und arrow set required over ·.l20 mun hours to complete 49

NEZ P'E_RCE OTI'ER QUIVER AND BOW CASE. l hree hig otters and a months work: went into the Nez Perc s SB't which W as ,pa ~ terned after PLA TIE LXXX'V1H and PLATE XC of North American Buws, An-OlVS, and Quivers i[Masm:;k-1891J.~g,2}- It has two pendants made from the otters" tails, one for the QUlLV'8[' and one for the bow casa.Both are cuvered

"...,Uh I"ed cknh and a combination of lazy stitch and appliqned bsadwork. It bas an 8 foot wool strap decorated with a strip of otter fur and a pair of beaded awl cases" The bow that belong'S to this set ~s of Osage backed with sinew andis described in detail in Ghap~er HI, (Nij,. "1, Bow with. rectangular crosssection).

•

De~t{.liJs uf mouths of quiver and bowcose show.ing

bso dwar k on the ami b1e taus.

Th tee otters and (1 mon ths [vor_1t went into this Nez Perce outfit.

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Foradditianal copies and other VOOk8 ofinterest:

AU types of ie« thers

ACME WOOD PRODUCTS Box 6.'36

M vrtle PCl.in t, 0 regen 97458

MOSCOW HIDE AND FUR P,O. Box 891[8

1''ll1G8 cow, Idaho B 3 1) 43

Port Orford ceda.r orrow sIw.[ts

S\VEETLAND ARCHERY PRODUCTS '1 0'10 Arrowsmi th St.

Eugene. Oregon 97402

HDNES .FURS Rf 4, Box 14

sr. Maries, ID .83861

VlhB'n writing to these companies please send u self addressed-stamped envelope or enclose $1 for their catalogs .

. Now that you '1"'13' finished reading th.is (mol;; you should he nblu to make 0 simple Plcdns OU rM like this n~te. The .'52' inch bo~v is of Osage orange, the (~tJ'ivE!'r cm.d how GOSH is n:l(J.dH of split cowhide. Ow throe ta.:rget cmd tr)l;I' stone tipped WTCIWS hove Port Orford ceder slmlt.s,

!iii]

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BmUOGRAFHY

19'77" B8'ods: Their Use' By Upper Crcot .Lakes Indlons, Gt'and Rapids Public Museum. Publication N'i); 3" Grand Rapids, Michigan

Bear, FrEId

1.968 'The Archer's Bibl~, Doubleday and Co., Garden C~Ly, New York DeaIJ, F,\-"i., L.e, Chadwick and \lViHiam Gowen

Ohio Trees, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Ll.S, Forest Service

1. neo Encydopecliu or vVood, Sterling Publishing Cc., New York Grimm, WilHam C.

·U::I70 Home Guide to Trees, Sjuuos, ~.nJ WildfLowers, Benanzs Books, Nfl'W York

Hamiltml, T.M"

1982 Noti,re Amsrzcon Bows. Missouri Archaeological Society, Special Publications No. 5, Columbia, Missouri

Laubin, Regtnald and Gladys

·1980 A.me1'1C(m Indian Archery, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma

Ma its, Thomas E.

1972 The Mystic WarrIors of the P1nins, Deubledav a nd Co 'j GardeJJll City. New Y ork

Mason" OUs. Tufton

1972 North American Bows, Arrows (InrI QU1ve'rs, Smithsonian Report of 1893, Carl Bugliese, Yonkers, New York

Pope, Sa xton

1974 .Hunting with the Bow snd Arrow, Popular Library Edition, New York

Prides UX, Tom

'1973 Cro-MogIlon Man. Time, New York

Rule, Margaret

1983 Tbe Search Jor the Mnry Rose. Nutiol1(If Geographk VoL Hl3 No. 5" May. Washingiton .. n,c.

Thorn, Richaed

Hmo OS(lge Orange, Mlssouri Conservotfnnfst VoL 41l,. No, g, SeIJL Iefferson City, Mis so l!.I.r i

Thompson, .r· ... Iaurice

1878 The \OVitc.nery of Archery, s,cmU.l,e, Washington

V\laldorf. D.C.

1984 Tn(J Art of' FJ1nt Knappi.rlg', Third. Edition, Mound Builder Books, Branson. Missouri