Booshway
| 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.
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| Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011 |
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Factor
| 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
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| Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004 |
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Factor
| 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
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| Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013 |
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Factor
| 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
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| Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013 |
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Booshway
| 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.
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| Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011 |
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Booshway
| 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.
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| Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011 |
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Factor
| That's fascinating....Human ingenuity is amazing.
Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
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| Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013 |
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Factor
| Oy veh....
Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
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| Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013 |
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