korean all bamboo horsebow
I?ve finshed the first of 2 reconstructions of these little korean all bamboo horsebows.I made the bows with the help of Thomas Duvernays report on these bows.It was and will still be one of my most exciting bowery experiences: these bows are short(95cm),highly reflexed and so fragile,I?ve never bent a bamboo backwards so far
But I?m in love with short bows.
The bows are made of a lamination of two bamboo-strips heat-bent into a reflex before glueing them together.Then siyahs are added and the bow is sinew-backed.
The bow is to be tillered and shaped after the bamboo-strips have been glued together!This is what Adam and Thomas have discussed somewhere in the net,but I have to add,that the bamboo strips should be made out of big diameter bamboos for to gain as much as possible from the outer layer of the so-called "power-fibres" and for to make the cross-section not to thick.
My first try of this bow is only 2cm in width,it draws 48lbs at 26".This is the bow at the bottom of the picture.The other bow will have much more drawweight due to its wider limbs,I?ll tiller it next week.
I?ve never had some experience with korean archery,maybe the reconstruction is in some points wrong,so I have no models for the decoration of such a bow,but I like them very much and would appreciate any hint of shooting these bows the korean way.
But I?m in love with short bows.
The bows are made of a lamination of two bamboo-strips heat-bent into a reflex before glueing them together.Then siyahs are added and the bow is sinew-backed.
The bow is to be tillered and shaped after the bamboo-strips have been glued together!This is what Adam and Thomas have discussed somewhere in the net,but I have to add,that the bamboo strips should be made out of big diameter bamboos for to gain as much as possible from the outer layer of the so-called "power-fibres" and for to make the cross-section not to thick.
My first try of this bow is only 2cm in width,it draws 48lbs at 26".This is the bow at the bottom of the picture.The other bow will have much more drawweight due to its wider limbs,I?ll tiller it next week.
I?ve never had some experience with korean archery,maybe the reconstruction is in some points wrong,so I have no models for the decoration of such a bow,but I like them very much and would appreciate any hint of shooting these bows the korean way.
Hi Redhawk, :oops: - Korean bow, I suppose something went wrong with the right attachment
-R-
-R-
I once built a child's longbow with bamboo on bamboo lamination, but I tillered both strips separately to achieve a regular bending (I tillered on the inside of the bamboo). I still had to do some re-tillering on the outside after gluing the strips together, because inaccuracies added up...
Could you give us some details, redhawk, and can somebody provide a link to the discussion you mentioned?
Two questions: What is your siyah material and how did you attach the siyahs?
A problem with that design is for me that it tends to bend too much in the handle. Did you stiffen up the handle somehow?
I'll try to put in a pic of the kid's bow I built. I still have got some good bamboo (diameter was 4"), so an advanced model is something I'd love to try my hand at.
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Could you give us some details, redhawk, and can somebody provide a link to the discussion you mentioned?
Two questions: What is your siyah material and how did you attach the siyahs?
A problem with that design is for me that it tends to bend too much in the handle. Did you stiffen up the handle somehow?
I'll try to put in a pic of the kid's bow I built. I still have got some good bamboo (diameter was 4"), so an advanced model is something I'd love to try my hand at.
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![[external image]](http://www.fletchers-corner.de/module/kitgal.cgi?action=viewperspic&view=romanfulldraw.jpg){kind=link}
hello,the picture is the right attachment.Reto didn?t know that this kind of korean bow exists,as he mailed me in a private message.
You can see almost the same bow in the Young Jip Museum:www.arrow.or.kr./bbs/board.php? bo table=bowkor&=eng.
The siyahs are made of walnut.I prefer walnut,if I cut the siyahs out of the wood,otherwise when I steam bend them,I prefer black locust.Walnut is a light,but very stable wood and is with its black colour contrary to the tanned colour of the bamboo.You can splice them into the bowlimbs,or you fix them on the limbs,backside of the bow.I?ve even seen one of this bows with the siyahs fixed on the belly side of the limbs.
I tiller both strips roughly,steambend them both and then I glue them.Don?t forget:these bows are sinew-backed,if the tiller of the lamination will not be o.k. enough you can make it allright with the sinew-backing.
I?ve seen these bows with a stiff handle,maybe a piece of wood is glued between the bamboo-strips,I?ve made a grip by fixing a very thick piece of rawhide with a leather-wrapping.I?m not sure,but the korean bowyers have done both kinds.
I prefer the "rawhide" handle.
I really can?t remember the site,where Adam and Thomas discussed this bow,maybe it is Thomas?site:www.hornbow.com
You can see almost the same bow in the Young Jip Museum:www.arrow.or.kr./bbs/board.php? bo table=bowkor&=eng.
The siyahs are made of walnut.I prefer walnut,if I cut the siyahs out of the wood,otherwise when I steam bend them,I prefer black locust.Walnut is a light,but very stable wood and is with its black colour contrary to the tanned colour of the bamboo.You can splice them into the bowlimbs,or you fix them on the limbs,backside of the bow.I?ve even seen one of this bows with the siyahs fixed on the belly side of the limbs.
I tiller both strips roughly,steambend them both and then I glue them.Don?t forget:these bows are sinew-backed,if the tiller of the lamination will not be o.k. enough you can make it allright with the sinew-backing.
I?ve seen these bows with a stiff handle,maybe a piece of wood is glued between the bamboo-strips,I?ve made a grip by fixing a very thick piece of rawhide with a leather-wrapping.I?m not sure,but the korean bowyers have done both kinds.
I prefer the "rawhide" handle.
I really can?t remember the site,where Adam and Thomas discussed this bow,maybe it is Thomas?site:www.hornbow.com
Congratiulations on your work.
I think these bows look good.
But you should change the title of this thread to sinew-backed bamboo horsebow.
The expression "ALL bamboo" had me fooled for a while - I was very surprised to see a full-draw bow of such short length in bamboo alone.
Of course the sinew-backing gives you another way to tiller the bow.
Were you able to see my picture? As far as I can see it doesn't appear in the thread.
So if I wanted to build a bow of bamboo alone, I'll have to stay at the length I've been working with. But I'll add tied-on siyahs following your example and a cable backing as well (reduce set).
You heat-bent the bamboo and did not just glue it in reflex?
Did you use the stronger laminate for the belly?
Did you temper the bamboo?
I think these bows look good.
But you should change the title of this thread to sinew-backed bamboo horsebow.
The expression "ALL bamboo" had me fooled for a while - I was very surprised to see a full-draw bow of such short length in bamboo alone.
Of course the sinew-backing gives you another way to tiller the bow.
Were you able to see my picture? As far as I can see it doesn't appear in the thread.
So if I wanted to build a bow of bamboo alone, I'll have to stay at the length I've been working with. But I'll add tied-on siyahs following your example and a cable backing as well (reduce set).
You heat-bent the bamboo and did not just glue it in reflex?
Did you use the stronger laminate for the belly?
Did you temper the bamboo?
sbartels:
You could also make the bow with far less reflex to start with. Maybe even some deflex so that the tips were even with the handle. Longer would be good too.
Dave
You could also make the bow with far less reflex to start with. Maybe even some deflex so that the tips were even with the handle. Longer would be good too.
Dave
hi sbartels,
I prefer to heat-bent the bamboo,one strip in reflex,the other one in deflex.This is a kind of tempering too.But take care:never heat bamboo from its outside,you will break the important outer layer.
I know how to make a glued reflex,but for this bow I would not recommend this way,cause the glueing-line is in great stress.
I made both laminations even.
I prefer to heat-bent the bamboo,one strip in reflex,the other one in deflex.This is a kind of tempering too.But take care:never heat bamboo from its outside,you will break the important outer layer.
I know how to make a glued reflex,but for this bow I would not recommend this way,cause the glueing-line is in great stress.
I made both laminations even.
Thanks, redhawk, that was a very useful hint about heating bamboo from the inside.
I'll do that next time.
A little reflex ought to be there - isn't there a lot of set in an all-bamboo bow?
Of course a sinew backing would reduce set quite a lot...
I'll do that next time.
A little reflex ought to be there - isn't there a lot of set in an all-bamboo bow?
Of course a sinew backing would reduce set quite a lot...
hi sbartels,
you say it,the sinew-backing makes any set impossible.If I unstring the bow,it goes completely back in its original shape.I?ve done some longer less reflexed all bamboo-bows without any backing and when you use them they loose more or less the reflex.
you say it,the sinew-backing makes any set impossible.If I unstring the bow,it goes completely back in its original shape.I?ve done some longer less reflexed all bamboo-bows without any backing and when you use them they loose more or less the reflex.