Added: 2 years ago
From: theartfulbodger
Views: 138,750
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  • That is one nice bow it must have taken forever

  • Thank you,it did take a while waiting for all the wood to season, especially the apple for the limbs. But I'm pleased with the end result.

    Colin

  • That bow is a work of art, and I do not know why anyone would dislike your videos. Keep up the great work.

    Joe,

  • Thank you, as Kennedy said "you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time. But you can't please all of the people all of the time!" Never was a truer word spoken!

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger work of art, amazing to still see and enjoy people mastering a skill worthy of the artisan, thank you ?

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • this is beautiful, ive never seen a compound bow that looked so good. i am strictly a traditional archer, mainly horsebows, yet this is actually appealing to me, good work!

  • Thank you, I am or at least was a traditional archer, but due to a dodgy shoulder it's compounds only now. I still shoot instinctive bare bow in the same way I shot longbows, I hope to maintain a "traditional style", look and feel (well as much as possible) with the compounds I will be making.

    Colin

  • Do you have the blueprints?

  • No it all starts in my head, and then the bows "evolve" as they come together. I have a few more compound designs rattling around in my head, once I've made them I'll look at writing a book on them.

    Colin

  • i know nothing about bows, but i do know that is unbelievably awesome!

    really nice work. how long did it take to complete?

  • Thank you. It was a slow going project since I had to prepare and season every piece of wood, also since it was fitted around numerous other projects I guess, best part of a year. The next one I'll be making should be pretty quick (well in comparison!) as I'll be using "ready to go"materials.

    Colin

  • That is so cool. I never even imagined a homemade compound bow. Nice work.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Very well done.

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • Wow.... if you were to sell one how much would it be in USD? I have always been a fan of bows, i have made a couple really nice ones from bamboo, but never hard wood....Would you even be willing to make and or sell one?

  • I get great pleasure from making bows, but only for myself I'm afraid. I've made the mistake in the past of ruining a hobby by making it a "have to do" rather than a "want to do". Still it's a good excuse for you to have a go yourself!

    Good luck Colin

  • That's a true work of art. Great job!

  • wow this is insane, good job

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • nice. how long did it take you in hours do you think?

  • That I can't say. I had to season every piece of wood, I made several sets of limbs from different woods each time all having to be seasoned without splitting them. Also I was doing it as and when working around making a living and numerous other projects so............ I'll be making some more soon and will be better organised (I hope!), so I'll have a better idea.

    Colin

  • That is just awesome! I love my high-tech, fancy bows, but I'd love to do something like that by hand someday. Huge thumbs up on the craftsmanship! Have you ever measure the speed by chance for fun?

  • Thank you. When I first made it at 58 lbs. draw it was 230 fps. However I changed from longbows to compounds due to a dodgy shoulder, this has raised it's ugly head again so I've had to reduce the draw to 45 lbs. We were testing some bows last week and this one shot through the chrony at 211 fps. The soft cams lessen the speed but are much kinder on my bad shoulder, I also prefer the feel of them. I've reduced the let off to about 48% which I find I prefer for bare bow shooting.

    Colin

  • how much did it cost to make

  • The wood all came free, the metal work cost me nothing as I cast and machined it all myself. So including the fast flight for the cables and string probably about £20-£30?

    Colin

  • draw is like 1 inch too long for those arrows, otherwise its fantastic!

    any instructions available?

  • Thank you, I've got used to having arrows "only just long enough" from shooting longbows. 32" shafts only just do the job. The arrows I now shoot from the compound are an inch longer, but I still get comments about their lack of length. The curse of having long arms I'm afraid!

    Colin

  • Amazing

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • make an instructables!!! woot

  • Not so easy with something like this, I have several others I plan on making some time soon. Once these are done I might try to put it all down in a book.

    Colin

  • Work of art.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • stunning

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • I'm currently making a long bow in my construction class and I must say if mine even cones out looking like 2% of what this one did I would so happy. I'd prob be happy if mine doesn't break

  • Thank you, I wish you well with your own bow project and hope it is the first of many! "Ain't" nothing beats shooting a bow you made yourself, don't care how much that shop one cost!!

    Colin

  • Just came across this video while randomly looking around. That is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship and design. Now I want to make one for my kids, but don't have your level of skills. I guess they'll have to make do with something cobbled together from kitchen string and wood trim :)

    Great vid

  • Thank you, look at my Cherry bow clip if you want to make something simpler but still interesting.

    Colin

  • Really beautiful and It seems freaking fast!

  • beautiful!

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Beautifuly done !!!. it looks to me , not being a bow person, that the arrows are a little short for your draw/pull. could be the arrows are shorter then ideal but work for the vid.. love the wood shows beautifuly ...

  • Thank you. I have quite a long draw at 32" which is the standard length wooden arrow shafts are sold in although I mainly make my own, I've kept to this length. Since I shoot this length arrow on every bow I've ever made / shot I'm comfortable that I won't shoot through my hand! Shooting a traditional bow the arrow head sits on top of my knuckle, not ideal but....... If I wanted to shoot broad heads I would need longer shafts, much longer for the compound .

    Colin

  • F**king awesome!!!!

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Thank you, but I also wish I was artsy in.......... well anything!

    Colin

  • omg, this is amazing, I wish I was artsy in woodcreations. wow, I am IMPRESSED!!!!

  • wow this bow looks like a mixture of a recurve bow and a compound bow nice job :D

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • there doesnt seem to be much tension on it although it seems to me like its still pretty dam powerful

  • i schould make that as a project in school wold be pretty decent... how long does it take ?

  • Hi, to make a bow like this one needs equipment to make the components. A laminate sander for the laminates, metal casting to cast the cam blanks, then a lathe to turn the blanks into cams. You might want to perhaps look at making a longbow for a school project?

    Colin

  • 2 words.... EPIC WINNN

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • Bloody beautiful, excellent work mate; I'd be a happier bloke if I had only a quarter of your skill. Well done you. Baz

  • Not skill mate, just good at recovering from my mistakes! Your primitive looks like it shoots well, I love making them.

    Colin

  • Bloody beautiful, mate. Well done you. I wish I had a quarter of your skills. Baz

  • I just wanted to say how much I appreciate this bow and you, I checked out ur website I was pleasantly surprised to see you are into metal working as well, I have been forging for probably about for years and then branched off into metal casting, only brass and aluminum, and I have also done some bow making infact I have only recently uploaded a video about it and I really like that sanding thicknesser you made might do the same one day, keep it up :D

  • Hi Kurt, just looked at your take down videos, nicely done! I'm more of a metal worker than a wood worker but I'll have a go at most things. For bow making I would now be lost without the thickness sander, it makes laminates accurate to 2 thou. over the whole area, perfect glue joints every time. Keep up the good work.

    Colin

  • @meanman1992 yeah I can imagine, I just old ski's for limbs because putting a nice slow taper on timber would be nearly impossible without one

  • awesome man

  • Thank you

     Colin

  • name of the song? Great job making the bow,looks very clean and profesional :)

  • Glen Miller, Boogie Woogie. You can't beat the old ones!

    Colin

  • Do you make these for commercial sale?

  • Sorry no, I don't want to ruin the pleasure I get from making bows by them becoming a comercial task. I'm in the middle of restoring a couple of bikes, when these are finished I'll be making more compounds and then writing the designs and building process in a book. I'll show videos of these bows as I make them and will give details of the book once it's done, whatch this space!

    Colin

  • how much did it cost to make?

  • That's difficult to answer! The wood was free (cut from logs), The cast metal work was free (self cast from scrap). The bearings in the cams, stainless cam axels about £5 off eBay. The wood glue was pennies, the epoxy for the glass laminates was a small amount so once again not much. The bowtuff laminates were given to me by a good friend in the US as I can't find it for sale over here. The fast flight for the string/cables was £30 but I'll get lots more from it. Perhaps in total £30-£40??

    Colin

  • Thats sweet. Is it pretty accurate? Any speed info?

  • Thank you, at 58 lbs. it shoots a 520 grn. arrow at 230 fps. I've always found bows to be perfectly accurate and consistant in shooting, unfortunately it's the archer that isn't! I know when I shoot when "htat's the shot" (I'm an instinctive bare bow archer) as everything "feels right" from lining up to the target to the release. I don't try to do anything, it just happens naturally. If only it happened all the time! So the bow always does it's job every time, it's me that lets it down!

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger Yeah I know what you mean. The bow always does what you tell it to. But what meant to tell it and what you told it are two different things. I hate it when that happens. Anyway that is an awesome build looks like it was and will be a ton of fun.

  • Thank you, yes it's a lot of fun to shoot. Hopefully I'll get the time to make some more soon.

    Colin

  • Beautiful.

    

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • cool and lolz

    cool:bow its self nice desings!

    LOLZ: the type of wood were used in pokemon Ash, Birch and mahogany

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • how long did it take to make??

  • This was a long term project as I mainly used trees for the wood, therefore I had to split / cut the logs and allow them to season. The Apple I used for the limbs took monthes to dry out! All told I guess it took around 9 months to complete, I'm expecting the next few compounds I make to take a week or two each (working in my spare time) as I'm up to scratch with the materials.

    Colin

  • wow!

    

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • That is really nice, i am thinking of making one myself too, but what is the best type of wood to begin with?

  • Basically any good bow wood, Bamboo works well and so do most fruit woods. For a compound laminate the riser and make sure there's some good strong laminates there, ash works well.

    Colin

  • you should sell these things

  • I love making bows (and many other things) as and when I feel like it. Making them for other people would mean I "have" to make them turning it into a chore and that would ruin the pleasure I get from it. However some time in the future I will probably write a book on several "home made" compounds should anybody be interested in having a go themselves.

    Colin

  • Well Done Sir! =) It looks Great!!

  • Thank you.

    Colin

  • Ahhhhh I don't shoot a lot of plywood, I find it a bit tough to digest. At 58lbs. the bow shoots a 520 grn.feather fletched arrow at 230 fps. which cleares 300 yds, must try it with a carbon arrow some time. But a dodgy shoulder has forced me to reduce the draw weight to 44 lbs. which gives me 207 fps.

    Colin

  • how the heck do you dislike this?

  • Thank youy

    Colin

  • @paperknots like this TROLOLOLOL

  • This is absolutely amazing, excellent constrution and a fine bow as well! 5/5

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • THAT SNIPERS A SPAH!!!

  • I'm lost on this one, must be getting too old!

    Colin

  • Wow. This is just AMAZING

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • QUE MAESTRO..ESPECTACULAR ...!!!!

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger VERY well done sir, sucks about the shoulder though.

  • Tell me about it!!

    Colin

  • What's the maximum feet per second this bow can achieve on full draw?

  • At 58 lbs. I was getting 230 fps. Due to a bad shoulder I've reduced the draw weight to 44 lbs. which gives me 207 fps. The bow is capable of far higher draw weights which would obviously increase the fps.

    Colin

  • As shown in the clip, the riser is made from Ash, Birch and Mahogany. The limbs are made from apple and bow tuff.

    Colin

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Awesome bow, it looks cool and seems pretty fast. Well done!

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger Can you make a how to make this video and can u make a less complicated one

  • It's a bit complicated for a "how to" video. However I will be making a few more compounds including a simpler one, once I've made them I'll write a "how to" book explaining everything. Watch this space!

    Colin

  • Reminds me of the early wood compounds from Browning and York.

    You should be proud - Damn well done..

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Really impressive; well done :) It looks really well constructed.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • The bow is great, but I'm totally digging the quiver, too. I've never seen one like that before. looks far more convenient than either a leg hanger or an over the shoulder draw.

  • Thank you. I wanted a quiver which was easy to use but also good for walking through the woods without snagging the arrows. The leather cost me £30 off eBay (inc. postage) which was enough for 2 quivers, an arm guard and a belt pouch (seen in the third compound bow clip). The single strap means it sits almost vertical for walking around or quickly swung down almost horizontal for selecting and replacing arrows. I'm very pleased with it and it was simple enough to make.

    Colin

  • Hey Very nice Bow I Like It.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Where do u get Ur pulleys ?

  • I make them.

    Colin

  • I bow down in awe to your awesome bow. How doe your quiver work? I saw you pull an arrow out of the bottom? sorry if it's a senseless question.

  • Very nice bow

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • beautiful!

  • Thanks

    

  • Hey man thats a sick bow. Ive been thinkin of making one..... can you tell me what your using as the cable and where you got it thannks

  • The string and cables are fast flight, you buy it from archery shops. If you tap "fast flight" into a search engine you will find stockists. You could also use dacron which is much cheaper but since it has more "give" will mean a slower arrow speed.

    Colin

  • Amazing bow! What song is playing?

  • Thank you. The music is Glen Miller's Boogie Woogie

    Colin

  • Looks awesome! Just out of curiosity what's the tension on it? Also did you test it for distance? Cause it looks very sick.

  • I've now reduced the draw weight due to a bad shoulder. At its original 58 lbs. draw weight it shot a 520 grn. arrow at 230 fps. which would clear over 300 yds. Now with a 44 lb. draw weight it makes 207 fps. I'd like to shoot a light carbon fibre arrow from it but don't know anyone with a long enough arrow, and am not curious enough to go and buy any!

    Colin

  • I would love to have one just like that. Would you sell one?? If so how much??

  • Sorry no, it would ruin my enjoyment of making bows if they were for someone else. Since so many people are interested in this bow, I'm looking at making a few more different styles of wooden compounds and probably writing a book on how to make them. But this will be some time off.

    Colin

  • holy crap! looks so good that i thought u bought it from a store! nice!

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • your one soo far is the best description of how to make one

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • The bow is 52" axel to axel unstrung, 48" strung. The riser is 23" and the limbs are 18"x2". I can't remember how long I made the cables and string, if you look at my video "shooting my home made compound bow" you will see my tillering strings. These have bobbins which have a short length of string going through the middle and the longer string is tied with a bowyers knot in a groove around the peremiter. These allow easy adjustment of the string length before making the propper ones.

    Colin

  • nice piece.... it's a master work...

  • Thank you, I'll be making a few more soon.

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger what are you going to do with it if i may ask

  • Hi, shoot it! Since my bad shoulder has got worse I'm no longer shooting longbows so this is my main shooting bow .Because of my shoulder I ended up made new cams for it to drop the draw weight down to 44lbs. but it still shoots very well. I hope to start making some more compounds in the next few weeks, if you're interested, keep an eye on my videos as I'll show clips of them as I make them.

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger yes ! thank you ! you could maybe show how you made it ? :) you would make one person soo happy :D

  • sweet piece of equpiement :) i admire your skill :)

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • good for you great bow

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Nice, but yours is made mainly of wood. Do you think it is possible to homemade one made of fiberglass?

  • Bows have been made from glass for years, no reason why not a compound. In fact a lot of the cheaper comppounds have limbs made from solid fibreglass.

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger to support that, my bow a bear ttan is essentially a shaped fibreglass stick with green paint

  • FREAKING AWSOME !!!

  • Thank you, I should get the time to make a few more soon. Will try to get some clips on you tube when they're done.

    Colin

  • incredible bow, and good reload time too. nice job.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Have you shot through a chronograph yet to see hown fast the bow shoot?

  • I've put some small wedges between the limbs and riser to drop the draw weight, I'm having a lot of problems with my shoulder. However I "upped" the brace height to increase the string tension at brace so didn't end up loosing much draw weight anyway! The end result gives me 230 fps. but shooting it for a while did my shoulder in again! I'm now going to make new cams for the bow and try dropping the draw weight right down maybe to 45lbs. so I'm going to loose a lot of arrow speed, but.....

    Colin

  • That bow looks great!

  • Thenk you

    Colin

  • Nice work

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • Very nice, reminds me of the 1970's.

    btw how long did it take to make it?

  • Thank you, I wanted to make something that looked more "bow like" than something from Star Wars. I had a few problems with the lims using various fibreglass mixes which failed, when I got the bowtuff I then had to wait for the apple to dry out as it had just been cut down. So all in all it was made over nine months or so as and when I had the time. I couldn't really say how many man hours went into it.

    Colin

  • @theartfulbodger

    Well the effort really shows, I also like the look of classic bows for 2 reasons: 1 most modern bows look EXACTLY the same and 2 Bows are ancient weapons so tweak em a little but they are old fashioned at heart.

  • Thank you, I agree. I'm really a "bent stick" archer but a shoulder injury is causing me problems so I'm looking for good cast with a lower draw weight, compounds work well for this. I've got a few more planed for the new year which should come out looking more "traditional", we'll see!

    Colin

  • nice 58% lett-off/takeoff. That is much

  • It's about as high as I'd want to go for finger shooting, but some bows will go up as much as 90 odd % let off

    Colin

  • Beautiful bow.

  • Thank you

    Colin

  • soo? u r trying by sairaj

  • it will be best bow if u try spring steel as limbs try it i have done is on my gifted compound bow

    by sairaj

  • Yes that would be another way to go.

    Colin

  • @airbase12345678 why the hell would he do that? look at the freaking masterful work of art!!! thats true craftsmanship!!!! 

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