Glenn
09-06-07, 08:12 PM
In Australia we have a huge diversity of trees to choose from for our selfbow supplies. In the eucalyptus family we have around 370 species that are found in all regions of Australia and in the Wattle family there are over 700 species. Not all trees will make a selfbow but a lot of good self bows have been made from many species of these trees. There are plenty of other scrubwood and rainforest trees that have been used to make self bows as well.
With the correct limb design and tillering methods, good hunting bows with minimal string follow if any can be made.
Some of the standout hardwood timbers I have used so far are grey ironbark and red ironbark. Of the scrubwoods I have used red ash has been one of the best, red ash is one of the commonly known soapwoods, another soapwood pink ash will also make a serviceable selfbow but it does not have the same properties as the red ash. The pink ash is common whereas the red ash is a little harder to find, or at least it is around here in South East Queensland.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/BoarGreyIronBark.jpg
A gnarly young boar taken from the desert country of far Western Queensland. Bow is a 50# red ironbark selfbow.
Even though building selfbows from all of these different timbers is fairly new in
Australia I have found references to self bows being made from Australian timbers going back to the early part of the 20th Century. One of the timbers I have found reference to in an American magazine back in the 1940’s is Ivory Wood, it is a rainforest tree which grows around Northern New South Wales to as far north as Bundaberg.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/whitegoat-1.jpg
Goat shot in the Jump-Up country of Central Queensland with a 60” long Soapwood selfbow. Stave was cut on the Great Dividing Range of South Eastern Queensland.
Australian timbers can be a lot denser and heavier than North American timbers and designing a selfbow limb so that the heavy timber does not impart hand shock is the hard part with Aussie timbers, especially when using dense timbers like ironbark and jitta.
There has been a lot written about building selfbows but most of the information focuses on North American timbers. I have found that when using Australian native timbers that most of the techniques especially about tillering is relevant but as for preparing the back of a selfbow from our native timbers it is not necessary to work down to one growth ring as a lot of or hardwood timbers do not have the pulpy layer separating the early wood from the latewood. With timbers like the ironbarks and spottedgum you can usually just plane the back down flat and go from there.
There are many timbers in Australia that are suitable for making selfbows such as spotted gum, red and grey ironbark, mountain oak, lancewood, soapwood and many more will make good serviceable selfbows. Depending on what timbers you use sometimes you have to change the layout of the bow to get the most performance out of a particular species of timber. You need to experiment with different bow layouts to get the best performance out of a species of timber and sometimes you may have to take risks and be prepared for some failures as one design does not suit all bows. Many of our timbers are denser and harder than many of the American bow woods with osage orange being an exception. Bow design and proper tillering techniques are essential to extract the most performance out of any stave. With some of the hardwoods like spotted gum you can simply buy shotedge decking boards and check that the grain is not running off at any sharp angles through the board and you can make a good board bow that will be capable of taking game. It’s a good way to start and you won’t have any trouble sourcing bow timbers at very reasonable prices, mostly under $10.00 per bow to get you started and it’s a good way to learn about tillering techniques before you start working on good staves from trees that you have invested a lot of time and energy into collecting.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/currawangpig.jpg
A pig taken with a selfbow of Currawang (species of wattle) with water buffalo horn tips.
Some of the best selfbows I have made from Australian timbers have had very thin bow tips as in the photos of the currawang bow and the red ironbark bow, the tips on these bows have no string grooves on the side of the limb but only a string groove on the back of the bow across the tip overlays to hold the string in place…Glenn…
With the correct limb design and tillering methods, good hunting bows with minimal string follow if any can be made.
Some of the standout hardwood timbers I have used so far are grey ironbark and red ironbark. Of the scrubwoods I have used red ash has been one of the best, red ash is one of the commonly known soapwoods, another soapwood pink ash will also make a serviceable selfbow but it does not have the same properties as the red ash. The pink ash is common whereas the red ash is a little harder to find, or at least it is around here in South East Queensland.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/BoarGreyIronBark.jpg
A gnarly young boar taken from the desert country of far Western Queensland. Bow is a 50# red ironbark selfbow.
Even though building selfbows from all of these different timbers is fairly new in
Australia I have found references to self bows being made from Australian timbers going back to the early part of the 20th Century. One of the timbers I have found reference to in an American magazine back in the 1940’s is Ivory Wood, it is a rainforest tree which grows around Northern New South Wales to as far north as Bundaberg.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/whitegoat-1.jpg
Goat shot in the Jump-Up country of Central Queensland with a 60” long Soapwood selfbow. Stave was cut on the Great Dividing Range of South Eastern Queensland.
Australian timbers can be a lot denser and heavier than North American timbers and designing a selfbow limb so that the heavy timber does not impart hand shock is the hard part with Aussie timbers, especially when using dense timbers like ironbark and jitta.
There has been a lot written about building selfbows but most of the information focuses on North American timbers. I have found that when using Australian native timbers that most of the techniques especially about tillering is relevant but as for preparing the back of a selfbow from our native timbers it is not necessary to work down to one growth ring as a lot of or hardwood timbers do not have the pulpy layer separating the early wood from the latewood. With timbers like the ironbarks and spottedgum you can usually just plane the back down flat and go from there.
There are many timbers in Australia that are suitable for making selfbows such as spotted gum, red and grey ironbark, mountain oak, lancewood, soapwood and many more will make good serviceable selfbows. Depending on what timbers you use sometimes you have to change the layout of the bow to get the most performance out of a particular species of timber. You need to experiment with different bow layouts to get the best performance out of a species of timber and sometimes you may have to take risks and be prepared for some failures as one design does not suit all bows. Many of our timbers are denser and harder than many of the American bow woods with osage orange being an exception. Bow design and proper tillering techniques are essential to extract the most performance out of any stave. With some of the hardwoods like spotted gum you can simply buy shotedge decking boards and check that the grain is not running off at any sharp angles through the board and you can make a good board bow that will be capable of taking game. It’s a good way to start and you won’t have any trouble sourcing bow timbers at very reasonable prices, mostly under $10.00 per bow to get you started and it’s a good way to learn about tillering techniques before you start working on good staves from trees that you have invested a lot of time and energy into collecting.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/Glenn51/currawangpig.jpg
A pig taken with a selfbow of Currawang (species of wattle) with water buffalo horn tips.
Some of the best selfbows I have made from Australian timbers have had very thin bow tips as in the photos of the currawang bow and the red ironbark bow, the tips on these bows have no string grooves on the side of the limb but only a string groove on the back of the bow across the tip overlays to hold the string in place…Glenn…