Bamboo
I've thought about using bamboo for the bow I'm going to build, as I've used it before and found it easy to work with. But how do you turn a log into a suitable piece which is broad enough for the limbs of a Persian bow?
(also if anyone knows where I can get some, or any other suitable wood, in the UK?)
(also if anyone knows where I can get some, or any other suitable wood, in the UK?)
Hi Daryush.
Could try this link:
http://www.bs-bamboo.co.uk/acatalog/Bamboo_Slats.html
I hav'nt tried them yet as I've still got some slats I cut from whole log. If you're working from a whole log it'll need to be at least 5 inches diameter.
Could try this link:
http://www.bs-bamboo.co.uk/acatalog/Bamboo_Slats.html
I hav'nt tried them yet as I've still got some slats I cut from whole log. If you're working from a whole log it'll need to be at least 5 inches diameter.
Thanks. I tried them earlier for slats actually, but they had nothing broad enough for my Persian bow. Do you know of a way I can take a curved section from a log and flatten it? There doesn't seem to be much on various bamboo forums about this ...
Are you by any chance the same dylan as on the Spitfire horsebows forum?
Are you by any chance the same dylan as on the Spitfire horsebows forum?
Hi, I'm not sure about flattening bamboo. Usual paractice is to cut a slat from log and plane down the inside. A five inch diameter log should give you a slat of about 1.5 inches wide.
Whole poles up to 6 inch diameter can be purchased from:
http://www.ukbamboosupplies.com/
Unsuprisingly. the postage costs are on the high side.
Yes I am the same Dylan.
Whole poles up to 6 inch diameter can be purchased from:
http://www.ukbamboosupplies.com/
Unsuprisingly. the postage costs are on the high side.
Yes I am the same Dylan.
I know a bowyer who heated the thinner culmed bamboo slats and flattened them under pressure. I have not seen it done, but I have seen the resulting bows and they performed perfectly.
Thanks Bede
I've got a piece which came from a very large log, so it's almost flat enough. The curvature is just enough to roughly to get the eye-shaped cross section without a great deal of work.
I've just got a few more questions about bamboo: firstly, do you shave off the skin and lining (which may flatten the nodes a little) before you build the bow? and does it matter which side is back and belly? Also how do you build the kasan area? It seems too thin to do a ridged kasan so I was thinking overlapping and gluing an additional piece of stiffer wood to get the ridged shape and stiffness / thickness. The angle in the kasan eye area on my bow is quite sharp and the kasan remains curvy, so I thought I could use the kasan-siyah piece as a mould for bending the bamboo while I was doing it.
Sorry for all the questions!
I've got a piece which came from a very large log, so it's almost flat enough. The curvature is just enough to roughly to get the eye-shaped cross section without a great deal of work.
I've just got a few more questions about bamboo: firstly, do you shave off the skin and lining (which may flatten the nodes a little) before you build the bow? and does it matter which side is back and belly? Also how do you build the kasan area? It seems too thin to do a ridged kasan so I was thinking overlapping and gluing an additional piece of stiffer wood to get the ridged shape and stiffness / thickness. The angle in the kasan eye area on my bow is quite sharp and the kasan remains curvy, so I thought I could use the kasan-siyah piece as a mould for bending the bamboo while I was doing it.
Sorry for all the questions!
Daryush ? I don't know much about Japanese bow building, but I've read that the bamboo is heated over fire so the oil comes out. In that way you should also be able to get rid of the outer skin ? by simply wiping it off. Try to flatten the knots only afterwards.
Japanes bowyers use stiffer bamboo for the belly, softer one for the back. These are arranged in a way that has the knots of the belly side in between those of the back side, usually 7 knots on back, 6 on belly.
But please not that this is what I've READ, I have absolutely NO experience in building bamboo bows!
Goood luck and keep us posted.
Jan
Japanes bowyers use stiffer bamboo for the belly, softer one for the back. These are arranged in a way that has the knots of the belly side in between those of the back side, usually 7 knots on back, 6 on belly.
But please not that this is what I've READ, I have absolutely NO experience in building bamboo bows!
Goood luck and keep us posted.
Jan
In a Persian bow, the kasan and bash or gosha in Farsi, are spliced into the bending parts of the limbs.
In Chinese bows with a bamboo core, the inside of the bamboo is on the belly side. The shining part of the outer skin is scraped off if the bow is to have a horn belly. The nodes are ground flat.
In Chinese bows with a bamboo core, the inside of the bamboo is on the belly side. The shining part of the outer skin is scraped off if the bow is to have a horn belly. The nodes are ground flat.