Korean HB full circle

Have you made any progress on this bow yet? I just had to remake mine again (like the 7th+ time). WHen gluing the horn to the core, the splice came apart. It was a very close splice, but it split. Then the core broke while taking the horn off to repare the siyah splice.
Now I am going to try the bamboo again, with mulberry and I am going to keep it thick. That makes it easier to glue on the horn and handle it.
I'm bending some mulberry right now for the ears. I cant use the osage ones I had because they are too thin.

Hello Samurai

I also bend my Siyahs and Bamboocore again, to get a nice form.
I had troubles with my hornstrips.
Too much cracks, and so on.
It?s not easy to get some nice horns.
Now i have 2 strips cutted out from Horn, and they are ok.
I think i use them.
I must sand them again, then groove, and then fit them to the core.
My Siyahs are about 1/2 inch at the recurve (1,3mm), i hope thats enough.

I will post my pictures tomorrow, of the new form of my bow with siyahs glued on.

Here is a picture you can see unfinished bamboocores with siyahs glued on.

Hello Samurai

Here is my Bamboo core with Siyahs glued on it, and one Hornstrip.
I must bend the Hornstrips a little bit at the handle area, to fit it to the Core.
I hope i can fit the Hornstrips and glue them on it, in the next few weeks.

Hi,

I'm in my way to make a korean horn bow. I have a bamboo core and I've bended the siyahs today, but I don't know what kind of glue to use for attaching siyahs to core - airbladders glue or hide glue? or maybe other kind of glue?

thanks
best regards
maurice

If you have access to airbladder glue, that is what the Korean bowyers use. However, if not, you can use either hide glue or gelatin (highly refined hide glue).


T

Hi,

In my last post I was asking about gluing siyahs, but now I have problems with core. I don't know if yhe method for bending it wich I'm using is proper. I'm heating it over flame gradually and then bend in heand. Effect was quite good until I've found some craks. What method for bending bamboo core do you use? If there are any crack in the core should I throw it away?

photos showing the core and cracks on it:

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mauirce

Hello maurice,

I bent my bamboo core in hot water.
It works good,...i soaked it about 1 hour.
Then i bent every side seperate from the splice area to the handle.
Do not bend the hole core in one step.
Make 2 Steps, left and right in 2 steps.
I would not use the core, if it has cracks.
Too much work, and then the bow maybe does not work.
Make a new one.

Thanks Wolfhorn,

I've just cut out a piece of bamboo for new core, but I have one more question: How thick a core should be? I've read that it should be about 0,125" (3,2mm) with a thicker place in the area of end of the handle 0,18" (4,6mm). My core is much thicker, it's about 0,26" (6,5mm) thick.
I must say that I've started making my HB with only a little knowledge about this process. So I need to ask one more question about the core - while sizing it to the right thicknes (I do this by sanding) can I sand both sides - this with nodes too ( I can't see it on the photos)? I always thought, that the side with nodes should be untouched.

maurice

Hello again,

The core should be about 3mm when finished.
But should be thicker unfinished, because if you use the horngluing tool, when horn will be attached, the core will get cracks again.
About 6-7mm, i think thats enough.

Do not sand the nodes side from the core, only a little bit.
Because this side is the harder side from the bamboo and the side where horn will be attached.

I hope it helps.
Keep on working.

Sorry for interrupting,
Is there any significant difference in quality between tropical bamboo
and those grown in temperate zones,such as moso?If yes, what bamboo is best for building a hornbow(general),such as korean as well as mongolian and chinese bows?I have always asked myself this.....

In temperate climates, it is not necessary always to use bamboo. A flexible, sappy wood such as that of the Mulberry family, will do well.

As to bamboo, bowyers prefer to use a bamboo which grows with a large-diameter culm. Like that, you can split the culm vertically into eight, and the final section is not curved very much, so you do not need to use some extreme method to make it flat.

If the diameter of the culm is small, then you have to apply a lot of artificial heat/pressure to flatten it, so there is more risk of making weaknesses. Such weakness is usually found in the form of vertical splitting of the bamboo. Old Chinese bows often show such splitting.

The large-diameter bamboos usually have a longer distance between the sections. This makes it possible to build longer bows without a segment occuring along the working limb.

For your information: By visiting Master Ju Yuan Hao from Beijing he showed me the processing of bamboo (moso). Attached please find an example of moso, how I made my core of the bow I am working on. Diameter of the bamboo was about 15 cm.

About the number of joints (internodias) please read the interview with Wu Yonghua ( http://www.atarn.org/chinese/chengdu/changxing.htm ) by Stephen Selby.

Q: How did you select the bamboo? Did you choose the pieces with the smallest number of joints?

Answer WU: No, it is not the number of joints that counts. You must just ensure that there is not a joint at the centre of the grip, and that there is the same number of joints above and below the grip. Normally, you get two joints above and two below.

Reto

Would someone who can, please post a botanical description, with characteristics, of Moso Bamboo, including Latin name. Include book title of reference. Thankyou.

Jack, the latin name is: Phyllostachys sp. . In the web you will find enough information about this Bambo and its characteristics.

Reto

Q: How did you select the bamboo? Did you choose the pieces with the smallest number of joints?

Answer WU: No, it is not the number of joints that counts. You must just ensure that there is not a joint at the centre of the grip, and that there is the same number of joints above and below the grip. Normally, you get two joints above and two below.

I would be interested to see the comments of others. I am not sure that Ms Wu was correct in this.

What is the implication of having nodes in the bamboo occurring in the middle of the working section of a limb?

Hack,
When I saw your question, I went looking on the web and found some interesting pages on the University of Melbourne site.

For MOSO (one variety is PHYLLOSTACHYS heterocycla var. pubescens)go to http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/So ... achys.html which has exhaustive lists of all the species in the genus plus how to write the common names in various languages.

For YADAKE (Japanese arrow bamboo)
go to http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/So ... osasa.html which also covers the whole genus plus its common names.

Within each genus, there are many dissimilar species, but it interesting to see how many of them there are.

The fellow who put up the bamboo pages consulted with me, but he insisted on putting Sasa coreana (Korean arrow bamboo) in as Sasa kurilensis (Rupr.) Makino & Shibata; they are two different types of bamboo.

http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/So ... kurilensis


T

Hi,
I?ve never taken care much on the kind of bamboo I select for my bamboo-bows.I think the most important qualities of a bamboo-strip used for a bow is the amount of the so-called power-fibres within the outer layer of bamboo,as less nodes as possible and that it is grown in a fine condition.
I?ve even done korean bamboo horse bows with a horrible stress in the limbs and with nodes in their working section.
If you have a look at the powerful Bhutan bows(made of 2 pieces of bamboo used backwards and joint by wrapping them lengthwise at the center of the bow) you?ll see how much stress bamboo is able to stand.
I would also avoid a node at the center of the bow for to have the space to fix an additional piece of wood for to have a thicker handle?
I?m sure that in the art of crafting bamboo there is a lot of mystery and myths,maybe the placement of the nodes depends on it ?

redhawk:
you live in the same country as me, did you ever try those huge bamboo
poles they sell at our local"do it your self stores"* they all seem to be from the same source, but the employees don't know where it is from. They look very good, some are more than 15 cm in diameter.
I am afraid it is some sort of tropical "timber bamboo" that may be not
flexible enough for bow making purpose. But it could be Moso as well.
At least it looks like it, but some bamboo from Indonesia looks just like
Moso.As you are more expierienced: What do you think?
Or do you perhaps have any better source?










*Baumarktkauf,Obi,.....etc.

Alam,pick up your bamboo whereever you?ll find a bamboo with a big diameter,less nodes and above all a thick outer layer.Have a look at the poles cross-section and compare the thicknesses of the outer layers,they have a darker colour.Thickness of 1mm and more is great.
Maybe you will find moso,but the sellers will not know it.
I?m not clear about good quality bamboo for bows,but I guess the bamboo-bowyers take moso because it is so big.The bamboo-poles of the the do-it-yourself-markets have served me well.
I?ve used them as cores for mongolian hornbows,for all-bamboo korean horsebows,sinew backed-and selfbows.

Thank you redhawk. :D

A friend gave a half bamboo pipe to me. It was sorted out by a firm, which made gardenfurniture out of it. The nodes had a maximumdistance of 10" and it was a good bamboo for a reflex/ deflex Osage/ Bamboo combo. Sure no hornbow!