Tempering bamboo and orientation in the bow
Can anyone give me a quick how to on tempering bamboo for a hornbow? Also, which direction should the bamboo face, outside towards the horn or towards the sinew?
Thanks,
Evan Painter
Thanks,
Evan Painter
Let me answer your second question.
For a normal shooting bow, the skin of the bamboo is on the belly. For a Chinese strength bow (which did not shoot arrows) it was on the back. Although I have never made a hornbow, I infer from the above that the orientation of the bamboo made a significant difference.
Someone else would be better qualified to talk about tempering.
For a normal shooting bow, the skin of the bamboo is on the belly. For a Chinese strength bow (which did not shoot arrows) it was on the back. Although I have never made a hornbow, I infer from the above that the orientation of the bamboo made a significant difference.
Someone else would be better qualified to talk about tempering.
I've never made a hornbow either, but I've had some experience working with bamboo and it pretty soon becomes obvious that the skin is usually the densest and hence most compression-resistant portion of a bamboo stave--so its natural place is in the belly. Maybe it gets reversed in the strength bow because the bamboo is even less important (compared to the sinew and horn) than in normal bows?Stephen Selby wrote:
For a normal shooting bow, the skin of the bamboo is on the belly. For a Chinese strength bow (which did not shoot arrows) it was on the back. Although I have never made a hornbow, I infer from the above that the orientation of the bamboo made a significant difference.
Orientation of the bamboo does seem important, But I am wondering if have a piece of bamboo and want to apply horn to it must I plain down the nodes and if so must I plain the bamboo until flat? Are there and illustrations, explaining this? Thanks
Yes. For application of the horn, the glossy skin of the bamboo must be removed and the nodes plained flat. If not removed, the skin will prevent proper penetration of the glue and the nodes will cause points of reduced contact between the horn and the bamboo. Light scoring of the surface can also enhance penetration of the glue. The bamboo should be dry (i.e. not too fresh or recently steamed), otherwise the glue may not penetrate well.amaguk wrote:
Orientation of the bamboo does seem important, But I am wondering if have a piece of bamboo and want to apply horn to it must I plain down the nodes and if so must I plain the bamboo until flat? Are there and illustrations, explaining this? Thanks
It is important that the number and spacing of nodes above and below the grip is equal.