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Factor
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Perhaps after generations they developed the skill to make moderately strong bows from the trees they have here. Maybe they had a bow or two in reserve for when the current one broke. A goodly part of my problem is not enough knowledge, too little patience when working the limbs with sharp instrumentes. By now I recognize what I am doing wrong but can't make myself stop it. And, since you have been following this since I began, I had some moderately strong bows that shot for 2 or 3 months before breaking. I think I also am using arrows too long for the bow. Usually the breakage happens when I am going for full draw on a given bow. But if they could hunt for 3 months before needing a new bow and having it built already with an unlimited supply of trees.. I shoot for the pleasure of it. They got good and then went hunting, not shooting.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Did the Aztecs or Maya use bows? I don't recall ever having heard that they did.
Maybe they just used spears, maybe with an atlatl, or blowpipes, or slings?

Our North American woodland Indians seem to have made long bows out of various woods. The plains Indians seem to have had shorter bows, even before the use of the horse. They were mostly wood, also, but some of those short bows were made of cut and laminated strips of elk antler or mountain sheep horn, glued up with hide or hoof glue and often reinforced with hide or even rattlesnake skin.
They also apparently had men, specialists, who made the bows, other men made arrows, others chipped the flint, etc.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Yes, I can see the need for diversity in production of vital tools. Thanks for the info.
Today, I worked very slowly with coarse file on the one that is now for the farmer. I taped a ring around 3 arrows at 24 inches. I can now pull the bow within 4 or five inches of the tape ring. Perhaps another day with the file to get there. I think I will cut off 3 three arrows at 25 inches and retip them to go along with the bow, hoping it will not break for a while. I garantee that he will not shoot as much as I do.
Then I began the salvaging operation on the bow I broke the other day, which was to be his bow. I cut the other end off and cut a nock on it. Then I used pappy's old long plane to reduce the thickness of the handle to make it a working handle, that is that it bends along with the limbs, effectively giving you a longer bow. I have an afternoon of work to get it flinging arrows. I will shoot shorter arrows with it as well to give it a longer life.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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MMM,yes,I know the plains Indians used laminated bows,similar to the steppe "Horse Barbarians" of Asia.However,most Forest Indians used self bows that were,admittedly,weaker than the Plains versions....But they worked to take deer,and other game.It may be that you are asking too much from the materials you have available.As you said,it may require a shorter draw to stay within the limitations.Shorter arrows could be a start...Thank you for sharing this exploration with us,I've been learning a bunch.Please don't stop.


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It just occurred to me,I don't know what form of projectile throwing devices the South American Indians used,or DO use....Could this problem be related?Rancocas,I know the Central American Indians used Atlatls,and Everybody used slings,but I've never heard what the South American tribes used,specifically.


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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BT, they used blow guns and poisened darts extensivley. They also used bows and specialised arrows for some tasks. I have seen ratchet tooth tips with a penetration stop. These are heavy arrows intended to penetrate a monkey's torso while sitting in a tree,the teeth kept the heavy arrow from falling or being pulled out, while the stop did not allow over penetration. as the monkey's life drained away, the heavy arrow allowed gravity to pull him out of the tree.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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The medieval English long bow was traditionally made of yew. But, I think the English yew must be different than what we know as yew on this side of the Atlantic. It was reported to be quite a powerful bow, capable of shooting an arrow hundreds of yards.

How about making a crossbow, using a filed down steel car spring for the bow? I have seen something along those lines. Powerful.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Fun pic. I missed the target box and tried to kill my Royal Palm. Hee, hee.


pistuo deo lalo


 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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anyway, I think I have the two last bows as far as I can take them. I have a quarter inch by one inch rip out in the grain on the back of thefarmer's bow. But it is contained, that is not on the edge. So I am going to fill it and surround it with epoxy. The farmer is not a purist, so we'll hope it will last a while. There is also a fresh rip out on the edge of the back on my bow. I have to think about how I might repair that. I am now going to cut off and re-tip 3 arrows for the farmer to limit his draw length and hope it helps his bow to last longer. Then I need to present them to him when they get back from the USA.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Rancocus, should I use steel wire for the string? I can see using the longest ply from the leaf spring of a small pickup truck. one could make a castle storming bow gun from that, huh? I seem to remembered one pic of an medieval bow gun with crank on the but like a bycycle crank.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The arrows are prepared. I also successfully removed two plastic arrow nocks from the tails of two broken arrows and glued one on an arrow with its nock broken. No mean feat because they were glued on with a type of superglue. I the epoxied the back of the farmer's bow. Then I pulled a 3 inch rip out of my bow, glued it back in with wood glue. Tomorrow I will cover it over with epoxy as well. Later today I may have to blow some darts at the side of my shooting box from ten meters.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I am desperate. Both bows made noises yesterday when I shot them that are precursers to breakage. So today I am putting epoxy belly, back, and edges. I WANT them NOT to break.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Yes, on the steel spring crossbow that I saw, the "string" was a multi-strand cable of between 1/16 and 1/8 inch thickness. It could not be cocked by hand. Some sort of leverage devise was used.

Some 40 years ago in Mexico I watched a teenage boy use a homemade speargun to gather small fish. His "spear" was a length of river cane with a split tip. The tip was held apart with a short stick, and the insides of the two halves of the split were carved with teeth. His speargun was a thin tube of stiff PVC pipe to which he had attached a section of rubber inner tube. The spear was loaded down the muzzle until he could grab the rear end of it and pull it back against the tension of the rubber.
The boy worn goggles to see better underwater. He drifted with the river current along an undercut bank. Whenever a fish was spotted he could get close enough to hit it with the spear. He had a string of small pan fish tied to his belt.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That's fascinating....Human ingenuity is amazing.


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Here is how the salvadge job went on the bow I wanted to give to my farmer. This was pulling the arrow to about 24 inches on the sixth pull since the epoxy job.


pistuo deo lalo


 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Oy veh....


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I'm going to use the limbs to reinforce an ugly bow I made weak with my new spokeshave back in late January.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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It's going to be fascinating to read about your journey to a useable bow. Wink


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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I assume everyone has seen "The Patriot" movie, and Mel Gibsons character trying to master building a rocking chair, with a pile of broken chairs in his shop. Sorry but I can't stop picturing the same with Vollie's bows, lol.
Sorry my brother, and not meaning anything by it, just get a chuckle is all.
You will master it sir.
Walk
 
Posts: 342 | Location: Alberta, Canada | Registered: 15 January 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Walkin' I would have quite a pile if I had not enjoyed the flames they produce at night along with the shavings of tbe next one. Hee , hee. No offense taken. The most effective comedy is self depreciation.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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