How to make a bow from a tree at home?

Each person has his own hobbies. Archery today is considered a rather original and interesting pastime. For some people, this has become a gambling entertainment or game, while others are engaged in archery at a professional level. You can buy all the necessary equipment in the store, but it is worth remembering that the price of the finished kit is quite high, but the quality does not always please him. Why not make it yourself? This article will help you figure out how to make a bow from a tree at home, because the manufacturing technology is very simple.

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How to make a wooden bow on your own?

You will need wooden workpieces, blueprints, feathers, a string for a bowstring, a hacksaw, a tip, a knife, an ax, a slipway and boiling water.

Important! There are many varieties of bows today, they are classified according to parameters such as shape, design, method of application and location of the shooting. The choice of basic material depends on where you plan to use this weapon.

Materials for work

You can make a real bow at home from:

• Tree.
• Ski.
• PVC pipes.
• Papers.
• Plywood.

As a bowstring, you can use:

• twine;
• fishing line;
• lavsan or nylon thread;
• nylon;
• polypropylene.

Arrows are cut from pine or birch.

Further we will learn how to make a bow of a straight-shaped house with a handle, shoulders and a guide groove.

We make blanks

You can find a blank for a future product right on the street:

• You can use any deciduous tree - elm, birch, hazel, yew, oak, bamboo, lemon, white acacia or ash are suitable.
• Choose a flexible, strong, straight branch, taking into account the length of the bow itself, plus 30-40 cm for stock.
• Check that there is no damage or knots on the wood.

Important! It is recommended to cut a stick on a frosty day so that the air temperature does not exceed minus 10-15 degrees.

• You already have the main workpiece, do not remove the bark.
• Cover the ends with oil paint, then lay it vertically so that it dries well.

Important! Lay the stick so that it dries evenly, it is advisable to leave it for several months.

Give the product a shape

Your workpiece has dried out, it is time to process it to make onions from wood at home:

• You need to get a rectangular board from the log - an ax or a saw will help in this.
• The thickness of the board should correspond to the width of the handle - approximately 3 cm. In case of defects, you can slightly increase the thickness.

Important! Use drawings when working.

• Then make markings on the side profile, remove all unnecessary with an ax, finish the finishing work with a planer or a sharp knife.
• You can go to the front profile. It is important to be especially careful and attentive so that the shoulders come out elastic and strong.

Important! At this stage of onion manufacturing it is forbidden to bend the workpiece, otherwise - you just ruin it.

• The width of the handle should be slightly larger than the width of the shoulder. It is better to make the section lenticular or rectangular - it all depends on the initial thickness of the workpiece.

Steaming

Now the time has come to form a bend. At enterprises, they use the method of soaking in special solutions for this, but since we do everything at home, we turn to the proven grandfather method.

Important! Both shoulders should be steamed at the same time, so that drying also occurs evenly.

This is how steaming is necessary in order to give the shoulders plasticity and the necessary bend:

• Just hold the onion over boiling water until it bends easily.
• Then place it in a ready-made slipway for several weeks to dry.

Important! The number, location and shape of the clamps directly depend on what shape of the bow you want to receive.

• After waiting for the set time, remove the product, at the ends cut the recesses for attaching the bowstring.

Bark treatment

As you recall, the bark at all stages of the work remained untouched, but in the process of steaming and drying in the slipway, it can partially exfoliate:

1. If this happens, use a wooden knife to separate it, doing everything as carefully as possible so as not to damage the fibers of the back of the product.
2. If in some places it was not possible to remove the bark, then just sand it to perfect smoothness.

Production of a bowstring:

• Make a rectangular shape from the bars, then hammer in the nails along the edges.
• Tie a dacron thread to one of the nails and wind it in a circle.

Important! Do this as tightly as possible so that no sagging occurs.

• Then tie the ends of the thread and divide the string into two strands.
• Wrap the middle parts of the strands with kapron thread.
• Without removing the bars, also wrap the ends to form loops for fastening.
• Now you need to make a special guide for installing the boom. Use a piece of foam or wood. It is mounted in the middle to get a right angle between the axis of the arrow and the bowstring.

Final stage

It often happens that the wood dries up, or, conversely, gains moisture, of course, this negatively affects the properties and durability of the finished weapon. That is why you should soak the onion from the tree with molten wax or fat.

Important! If they were not found, you can use varnish, mastic or paint. The main thing here is not to overdo it, otherwise - the product will lose elasticity.

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How to make arrows for a bow yourself?

How to make a powerful bow at home - you already know, but for its full functioning you will need more arrows. Production takes place according to the following scheme.

Material selection:

• Take carefully dried spruce, pine or birch boards.

Important! Their thickness should not exceed 3 cm. In length, they should not exceed the length of the bend of the product.

• Check that there are no knots on the wood, that all fibers run parallel to the length of our workpiece.
• Use direct dry branches, peeled to smoothness and straightened over hot coals.

Marking:

1. Saw off the board of the required length, then reduce its thickness to 1.5 cm.
2. Mark the butt in squares, then cut along the marks along.
3. Give the workpieces the shape of a hexagon with a file and a knife.
4. Then make them round with sandpaper.
5. As a result, you will receive a workpiece with a diameter of not more than 7-8 mm.

Plumage

This is not necessary at all, but it is worth noting that the plumage contributes to accuracy and stable flight.

Important! It is better to use strong feathers with a width of 3 cm and a length of 10 cm, for example, tail or fly feathers of a capercaillie, goose or turkey.

Operating procedure:

1. Cut each feather in half right in the center of the shaft.
2. Shorten the core so that about 1 cm remains before the start of the pile; on the other hand, trim the feather in the place where the thickening decreases to 1 mm.
3. Three arrows should be present on one arrow. Make sure that they are the same in length.
4. Attach the feathers to the pole, 1 cm from the edge, on both sides, wind them with a thread to each other at an angle of 120 degrees.
5. Sew each of them near the base, trying to maintain the integrity of the villi.
6. Gently glue the entire structure and give the desired shape to the pole.
7. The plumage can be inserted into a split groove or immediately glued.

Tip

To make it, you will need a metal triangular plate, the thickness corresponding to the thickness of the shaft. Then, in it, make a notch for the tail of the triangle and insert the plate directly there, securing it with a thread.

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Weapon storage rules:

• For transportation and storage of the device, you can also stitch a special case.
• Arrows are best kept in a quiver.
• Store the onion upright at room temperature so that it does not lose its properties.

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Stock footage

Knowing how to make a bow from a tree at home, you can begin to engage in this sport without any special material costs and enjoy it.