A bow is a stick you learn to bend without breaking it. The whole craft fits in that sentence, and in the patience it takes.
UNDERSTAND
When you draw the string, the back of the bow (the side facing the target) stretches and the belly (the side facing you) compresses. A bow almost always breaks for one of two reasons: a cut fibre on the back that fails under tension, or a thin spot on the belly that crushes and wrinkles.
Hence the two rules that govern everything else:
Leave the back alone. It must follow a single growth ring from one end to the other. Remove the bark, nothing more.
All the work is done on the belly, in small passes, checking constantly that both limbs bend the same. This is called tillering.
A decent bow takes a few days of work and dry wood. If you have neither, start with the sling and the spear in Les armes qui se renouvellent.
ACT
1. Find the wood
The best: yew, elm, ash, maple, black locust, hazel, dogwood, white oak, hickory. What matters is not the species but straight grain.
A trunk or branch 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) across, straight over 1.80 m (6 ft), with no knots or twist. Split it in half or in quarters with wedges: the split follows the fibres and gives you an intact back.
In a town, a board from a hardware store makes a very good bow if the grain runs from end to end without running off the sides. Look at the edges: the lines must be parallel all the way. This is the "board bow", the quickest to make.
2. Dry it
Green wood bends but doesn't spring back. Debark it, seal the ends (glue, wax, paint) to stop cracks, and store it sheltered and dry, never near a fire.
To save time: rough the bow out to three quarters while it's green, then let that thin shape dry. Two to four weeks is then enough, instead of months for a whole quarter log.
3. Lay it out
For a straight flat bow, easy and forgiving:
- Length: 1.70 to 1.80 m (5 ft 7 in to 6 ft), roughly your height.
- Handle in the centre, 10 cm (4 in), left unworked.
- Width: 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2 in) where the limbs start, tapering in a straight line to 1.2 cm (1/2 in) at the tips.
- Thickness: around 2 cm near the handle, 1 cm at the tips, removing wood from the belly only.
Draw the outline in pencil on the back, cut with a hatchet or knife, finish with a rasp or drawknife. Stop short of the final dimensions: tillering will do the rest.
4. Tillering
This is the step that makes or breaks the bow.
- Cut two shallow nocks at each tip, on the sides, without touching the back.
- Fit a long string, longer than the bow, that barely bends it.
- Fix a tillering stick to the wall: a board with notches every 5 cm (2 in). Rest the handle on top, pull the string to the first notch.
- Step back and look. The two limbs must form two smooth, symmetrical curves. A spot that stays straight is too thick: scrape it, on the belly. A spot that bends more than the rest is too thin: don't touch it again, work around it.
- Go down one notch. Start again. Dozens of times.
Never pull further than the length you will actually draw, and never hold the bow drawn for long: every extra second tires it.
When the bow bends nicely at half draw, fit the real string: the distance between string and handle (the brace height) should be about 15 cm (6 in), a fist with the thumb raised. Keep tillering up to your full draw length.
5. The string
A good string must be stronger than the bow needs, and must not stretch.
- Salvaged synthetic: paracord inner strands, braided nylon thread, braided fishing line, in several strands.
- Natural: flax, hemp, nettle, sinew, in a two-ply Flemish twist. See Fibres et cordages.
A loop at one end, a bowyer's knot at the other, which lets you adjust the length.
6. The arrows
They matter more than the bow. A good bow with bad arrows hits nothing.
- Shaft: straight shoots of hazel, dogwood, viburnum, cane, or hardware-store dowel. Diameter 8 to 9 mm (5/16 to 11/32 in). Straighten them by warming gently over embers and bending by hand.
- Length: your draw length plus 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). Measure draw length with the arm stretched out, from the hollow of the throat to the fingertips.
- Nock at the back, sawn or carved, in line with the grain.
- Fletching: three half feathers from the same wing, glued and bound, at 120 degrees.
- Point: a flattened nail, sheet metal, bone, knapped stone, or simply fire-hardened wood for small game.
Make them all alike: same length, same weight, same stiffness. Weigh them, sort them.
7. Finish
Sand, round the edges of the back (a sharp edge concentrates stress), grease or wax the wood against damp. Unstring the bow after every session: left strung, it takes a permanent bend and loses power.
ADAPT
You only have a PVC pipe. A 2 cm (3/4 in) pipe heated and flattened at the ends makes a practice bow in an hour. It is weak and ages badly, but it teaches the movement.
Your bow breaks. Damaged back, wood not dry enough, or a spot that bent too much and went unnoticed during tillering. Start again with wider, thinner wood: a wide flat bow forgives almost everything.
Your bow is too stiff. Scrape the belly of both limbs evenly, then redo a full tillering. Too weak: shortening a few centimetres at both tips makes it stiffer.
You want to hunt. You need at least 18 to 20 kg (40 to 45 lb) of draw weight at your draw length, heavy arrows and a sharp point. Shoot at under 20 m (22 yd), at a still animal, and first learn to group on a target. See Archery and Pièges et pêche.
Is the bow legal? In France, bows are freely sold, but bowhunting requires a hunting licence and specific training. Rules differ by country. Shoot only where an arrow cannot leave the ground.