Making a Primitive Bow, Part 3

[classiclmaohumor]

What kind of string do I use?

[MateWiggy]

Awesome man, you put your heart into it.

[eggrawr1531804]

how thick should the bow be? (the part that isn't the handle)

[scalamundus1]

I have cut the tree and made the bow all in the same day does that mean it's Going to snap coz I havnt let it dry properly?

[TheBoob11]

can you send me a stave or two iv been working on bows sence i was little but all my local wood is vine maple and would like to open up to new bow types

[erdfreeman412]

instead of a wood rack, can I use a draw knife gently?

[MrGatekeeper48427]

what kind of string is best



[erdfreeman412]

@MrGatekeeper48427 - Most types of thin, but yet durable string work. Cheap string at the hardware store. The ancients used woven grass.

[0311cowboy]

Bare Grills ain't got JACK on this guy

[jaknife99]

Can you tell us the length of bowstring we need?

[teemschmikk]

So many more people like your videos when you have a shirt on.

[GitSomeBtch]

ive just fletched 500 oak bows in runescape in the time it took you to carve the wood. pussy.

[milotist]

you have some muscles :D

[MrBagginsEsq]

Man this IS primitive. He don't even use a tiller!

[merakhagen]

10:04, wow, that is gorgeous. It is more like an art work.

[MrJayjayrocker]

Awesome video's!!  I Just Subscribed.

[croar98]

How do you put on string and what string do you use

[chongoonchua]

thanks for showing for free this turn into DVD $20 a piece easy

[browneye77]

Great video Billy! Definitely helped me figure out how to take the propeller twist I have in my hickory bow before I fiber glass back it (don't have enough sinew). Keep up the great work!

[silentangel179]

would pine be good enough, i think it wont work as good but i'll at least gain experince.

[shanesuss]

how do u put the string on??? please help!

[TheScout8541]

would the heat treatment work with making a recurve? just a bent that you put in not take out right?

[joec123able]

Is there any way to fix a twisted stave?

[GJaaGular]

wait at 10"00 he said this is not hard to do...if i started now ...I could do it you all better start now...or better buy scopes for your dead rifles ...we injuns cumin

jeffg

[MrPeppershakers]

what kind of string do you use? :\

[tlartis]

@MrPeppershakers Most bowyers use Dacron B50 string making twine. But if you want to go really primitive, you can try making a gut string. There are some great videos here about how to do both.

[whdruen123]

is the twist(?) to the point where a string can straighten the limb as it is being drawn, if you were to put a side nock only on the necessary side of the tip without affecting performance. i have heard that that actually has worked before

[surviva1000]

great video.your arms muscles are very nice :D

[loolfactorie]

in one of the videos you made so the stronger wood ring on the back of the bow right? How come you sand it down in this video if you want the back to remain strong. Sorry about my comment, I've got alot to learn

[TheDirkiepie]

im twelve years old do you think i can make a bow like this

[ugkcdrock]

when do you dry and season the wood? right after cutting and removing the bark? or after shaping?

[tlartis]

@ugkcdrock some people season the wood after to shaping it so quicken the drying process (think about it, if you shape it first, then you have a thinner piece of wood to dry). It depends on your climate how long it will take for your wood to try. In general it takes about a month in a half to two months. You will want to remove the bark while the stave is still green (wet). Like he says, if you cut your tree in the summer the bark will come right off.

[Obesehobbo]

HEY is it ok to use nylon string. and how do you tie on the string

[tlartis]

@Obesehobbo Nylon string is typically too stretchy for bow string material. The standard string material is Dacron B50. Inexpensive and it lasts a long time. If you look up Bow Making with Ed Scott, you will learn plenty.

[Obesehobbo]

@tlartis thanks this help a lot.

[MonsterMacadamProd]

What string to use paracord ? And by the way your video are great ...

[krakrath]

what can i use for my bow string?

[dkoriss1]

Did you keep the lower limb little stiffer than the upper?

[dkoriss1]

Hi Billy, great job.

Thanks for sharing.

Is it my idea, or you have add recurves to this bow?

[sean77267]

holy god how much do u bench?

[nonameismynameno]

I live in south florida where there are no forests or those types of trees. Can i use a plank of wood from a local hardware store?

[tlartis]

@nonameismynameno Yes you can. But you want to look for the straightest grain board you can find and even then you will need to back the board with something like sinew, a linen cloth, or rawhide. Also be careful with boards that are too dry, you may need to rehydrate them a little but before you can work with it.

[fiercdeity3]

4:35 BUFF xD and this videos are really cool man im probably gonna try to making a primitive bow

[useemeroll]

How do you make the limbs so even in the width, do you mark how deep you're going to cut/rasp?

[HexagramMan]

THIS is what redeems youtube. sharing real information! so far im blown away thanks so much for doing this for us!

[expara1]

The best series Ive seen so far bro. awesome work!

[FutureUSMC12]

You know what sucks? I was trying to make a bow once at our nearby conservation center for 3 days. On the 3rd day, we were tillering it. It was finally good and then it broke...so I left with no bow, but somewhat of the knowledge of how to make another.

[cobeyfield]

wat rope do u use

[PhoenixB97]

@primitivepathways Thank you so much! Thanks to your vids I made my first bow.

[ryour429]

Why did you start a fire in the woods covered with dry leaves? I'm sure you know what you're doing but shouldn't you clean out your fire area first? Also, how much would you sell one for, and like others are asking, what did you use for the string? Great videos btw, really learned a lot.

[revsalinas]

hey would you sell one?

[MrCaleb308]

how many pound draw weight r your bows usually?

[cekinxxx]

i had no idea bow making was this complicated, a lot of work goes into it

[tjmp12345]

how did you make the string?

[minxel16]

lovely bow-the heat treating tutoral really helped me in my last survival course

[lizardlover1973]

could you use the heat bending to make recurve limbs

[cuzgandalfgothigh99]

what do you use to make the string ?

[camrion]

@cuzgandalfgothigh99 On a great website, 3riversarchery, they have bowstrings premade, however, if you want to make your own, search on Google for Dacron string.

[robinfreeman777777]

Thanks a lot Sir, its a really great series.

[sheep1ewe]

(...) The fish glue (used becas it was stronger and more sturdy than common animalic glue, note that if one wich to try the animalic glue made of gelatine substanses is sensitive to heat and will loose it´s strenght if owerheated so one need to watch it when making and using it (70C ) needed protecton from water so originally one had to wrap stripes of birch bark arond the finished bow to protect the glue from snow and rain. Those bows where incredibble strong if made the way You describe here.

[sheep1ewe]

Sorry fpr my English again..

Here in the Northern countries where i live it is too cold for hickory and the other named trees to live so the solution was making a laminated bow from birchtree and wery well choosen pinewood from slow growing trees found for example in the edge of forest bogs, rocks, etc those trees contained much winterwood and become extremly strong compared to normal pinewood, a thin stripe of this was attached to the birhwood by glue made of fish skin.

[sheep1ewe]

Sorry for my english

Wery good tutorial, showing some often forgotten but important things about working with and not against the structure of the wooden piece and scrapeing rather than cutting the right shape. Small things, but the ones actually make the difference between a good bow that stands and hawe what it takes and a bad one wich will crack or bent sooner or later.

[Sarcastronic]

Do you sell bows?

[wilcaswell]

how long do you dry your wood?

[13Baconbits31]

get serious get a hoit

[Androandroandrica]

oh you said it afterwards...sry

[Androandroandrica]

one thing..., when taking off wood with a rasp to make the limbs bend evenly you have to wait for 5-10 minutes for the wood to weaken and adjust and then you can see if they bend properly. experienced this myself. if you take off lets say 20 strokes with a rasp and it bends nicely, in 15 minutes that limb will bend too much:P

[smileycanada13]

hey, where are you from and where did you learn all that information

[jtrace24]

Nice brah...btw you're ripped

[nitroflesh]

Hey man, thanks vor the video, it helped me alot

[AcYDone]

yea i seen u on that show Curiosity !!!! lol show how was it living like a cave man! and good job on killing that Elk? was it?

[lynx777]

How do i buy one of your bows????

[magicjoey69]

you really are a grewat teacher, im hoping my little brother is getting me a draw knife for xmas, really want to start making my own bows :D truly great vids, love to see you take on a harder piece of wood to fgive me something to shoot towards. :D

[jdbeekeeper]

hi there , i love what your doing and i have been doing a bow of my own with you as you go along and i was wouldering if when you have finished the bow will you be doing anything else like a quiver and armgard arrows and will you be doing any other wepons thanks ireland

[Outlander1621]

A friend and I are attempting to get into Bowyering, (in fact, we might try our hand at it for the first time today) and I must say, your videos have really helped me understand some of the finer points of crafting your own bow. I cannot thank you enough.

I'm with Axisrecreation, the production quality of these videos is greatly appreciated. You are quite simply, awesome!

[1024590]

Hey i have a question, what string do you use for your bows, what do you recommend? Thanks.

[beeyas805]

you are a the Einstein of bow making..when is part 4 coming out?



[BrianLiles]

Hi Billy.. I am really learning a lot from this series. Thank you for posting it up. I was wondering if part 4 has been posted? If not, any idea when you will get around to it? Finally, should the bow actually be made while the wood is green or should we let the stave dry before any carving occurs? Thanks again for your time and for the awesome series!

[rastaTHEking]

I live in sweden, what tree is the best here

[21creed]

tnx

[joec123able]

@21creed dont use pine its really soft use birch its a harder wood nd will work

[21creed]

@joec123able il trust primitivepathways...he said that pine could work pretty good... but thanks for the sugdestion il try both :-)

PS: sorry my english

[joec123able]

@21creed primitiepathways did not tell you that,,,, some random person did check who said it again

[21creed]

@joec123able he told me that on a privat message but birtch WILL crack,i spoke to a guy i new here in norway as well he said that birch is a bad bow wood...it could last a yaer or two but t will crack in the end...pine would work better than birtch is what he said

[joec123able]

@21creed if you look up a bow wood list you will see that birch is better look it up

[TheSladexxx]

I dun mind hunting with you man dude you are the best!!!!

[primitivepathways]

@TowStunta My bows are all handmade so they're pretty expensive.  They start at $450.

[gobbyraves]

I live in Arkansas and very interested in making a bow for next deer season. What kind of wood should I use that i can easily find here? Also how long do i need to dry the wood? And do you just buy a string or make one?

[primitivepathways]

@gobbyraves Osage orange, oak, hickory, maple, elm, black locust, white ash, and black walnut all make good bows. Should be able to find much of that in your area...

[higorfelipe97]

whoa at 4:47 i thought it cracked

[DobbinPitch]

Argh! Where's part 4?!

[primitivepathways]

@DobbinPitch Gonna get it uploaded as soon as I can get it done!!

[xilix]

Damn this guy knows his shit. I want to go on a nature course and learn all this stuff. I'm gonna try and hand forge a knife soon, but I'd love to do this too.

[21creed]

can i use pine or birch?

[jakerz96able]

@21creed well i can answer the birch question, it's really not that great. haha

any time i've tried to make one out of birch (cause we have a lot here) it always cracks.

coulda just been my methods though.

[21creed]

@jakerz96able how about pine? haha

[jakerz96able]

@21creed never tried pine. so i couldn't tell you for sure, but image it work pretty well.

[joec123able]

@jakerz96able no pine is terrible its a soft wood don't use that birch i better its a hard wood

[SurvivorBoy369]

do you make your own string or buy them?

[primitivepathways]

@SurvivorBoy369 I make my strings out of either sinew or B-50 Dacron.

[humansVSgorillas069]

hey billy just wondering why dont u back your bows?

[primitivepathways]

@humansVSgorillas069 Cause I don't need to... they work perfectly without any backing...

[crazyshorty23q]

ye cant wait to see part four please post up asap awsome vid

[primitivepathways]

@crazyshorty23q I will, thanks for the kind words!

[evmister94]

what a informative and professional quality video. you just earned a subscriber!

[primitivepathways]

@evmister94  Thanks!!

[mzjazzy9778]

WAS THAT U ON THAT SHOW I CAVE MAN ?

[primitivepathways]

@mzjazzy9778 Yup, that was me...

[DownHilll]

Great teacher

[mixumup1]

man i cant wait to see u shoot that bow, i seen u smoke that deer in the other vid. thats was the best hunting vid. i've ever seen dude..... whens part two?

[danni12591]

what type of string do you use for your bows?

[Axisrecreation]

This series is EXCELLENT. Thanks for creating these videos. As a video professional I can appreciate the time it must have taken to get all the close ups and alternate angles. Big time work here! Thumbs up!!

[primitivepathways]

@Axisrecreation Thanks so much!!!

[joec123able]

i have a question lets say we have two bows one tht pulls 50 pounds at 28 inchs nd another one that pulls 50 pounds at 20 inchs would the bow with the longer draw shoot an arrrow at a faster speed ?

[primitivepathways]

@joec123able Yes it will because it has a longer power stroke. That's the same principle of why a rifle shoots a bullet faster than a pistol...

[jonah214]

hyrdate the bow then tiller it inflates the wood and allows more wood to be removed

[nedeljkomostar]

Man I was watching all 3 instructional videos without breathing!

You are the true master "Guru" :)

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

zoran

[primitivepathways]

@nedeljkomostar Thanks Zoran!

[jwpaleo]

Great job. What kind of a string are you using? I've heard that Dacron B-50 doesn't stress the wood too heavily. What draw length and poundage did you finish with? Thanks for the vid!

[primitivepathways]

@jwpaleo  I make my strings out of B-50 Dacron for the most part. The bow pulls about 52 lbs. at 30 inches

[drpinto28]

The tips look slightly reflexed, are they?

[Robbie12GS]

@primitivepathways when do you think you'll have part 4 out?

[erichoward15]

Holy shit dude, that thing is badass. Great job!

[jonah214]

i thpught you should know this if you wanna make a recurve boil the tips of the bow in hot water for 20 25 mins per limb then quickly getto something with an ark like a chair and hold until cooled just thought you would want to knw

[kCline87]

Awesome tutorial! I work at a living history museum interpreting Virginia Indian culture and lifeways, and your information is definitely going to come in handy this fall. I've got some hickory drying now. Hopefully it will be a bow by January. Thanks again for the great video!

[Anonymous11113]

if you look at his arm "DANG I DONT WANNA BE PUCHED WITH THAT!!!!!!" is what you and i will be saying if we every fight him (not saying i would fight you though cause im only lick 13 lol)

[weinderdog1184]

also, great vids!

[weinderdog1184]

quick question if you aren't including in part 4:

do you make the strings too? and if so what material do you make it out of and how do you braid it? 

[rapiercutsdeep]

What a fantastic set of vids. Thanks man. Very informative, well edited and intuitive. I really appreciate your efforts. Actually I feel like I owe you a few bucks (keep checking my credit card statements to make sure I didnt sign up for monthly membership 'renewals' he he)... Again, great job and thanks for being so real i.e. no wank factor here... Five stars Mr. Billy Berger

[tylerdurden1971]

@primitivepathways Wow This Is A Great Series Brother THanks So Much, BTW You HAve A Bow To Go With Those HUGE Guns You HAve HAHAHA

I'm Gonna Sub For Sure!!

[Dr762x39]

Great Stuff, I hope you keep em coming. Peace!

[camerl2009]

how about draw weight i need to reach about 55lb at 27" to be able to hunt big game in ontario this is the reason ive been putting off making one

[243deadly]

I've been watching bow making videos fully for 2weeks now and looked at every site there is, but this bow making trilogy is by far the best. Good going Bill....

[natalinowerty]

i cant find a osage orange in portugal :(

[GKidz08]

How can I tell the type of tree that I have

I have a good stave but I don't know what kind it is

[musicoutsidethebox]

what music is that?

[joec123able]

How do i know wen the wood is dry???

[RandomSmileyStudios]

Hey Billy when i first go to cut the tree down how long does it need to be?

[jonah214]

where u in the marines or army you kinda got that look to you if so thanks for serving if not well you really are a man of ur craft

[lostsymphonies64]

These are really cool informative videos, thanks for the effort. It should be a great guide when I get one going. I'm wondering if you know how good of a wood Red Maple would be? I have them growing on my property and thought it would be a nice sentiment to make my first one from the forest I grew up in. I'm in South Ontario by the way. Thanks a lot eh, much appreciated.

[MrFUNNYshiiT]

hey man i'm not really good at spotting one tree from another... and i cant seem too find hickory wood do you know where i might find some? i live in canada ontairo is it here?

[maxamillion55555]

what kind of string did u use and what knot do u use on the string

[suvivaldude]

billy i have question... i have a red elm stave that i am thinking about working on for a bow... would i have to follow the growth like on osage or just start shaving of wood?

[primitivepathways]

@suvivaldude I would, yes. I would try to stay in the same growth ring as much as I possibly could.

[kjackson525]

@primitivepathways HOW LONG DID IT TAKE U ON TO FINISH UR OSAGE BOW IT TOOK ME 2 WEEKS AND IT SHOOT AT 60 POUNDS

[TheVillainsO]

@primitivepathways Will i have to follow the growth on an hickory, cause i didnt understand the growth. 

[kallepink]

Great vids one of the best i have about bow making thank you so much looking forward to part 4

[kyletango]

I like my bows cooked with olive oil, less fattening. LOL Seriously, I find this very informative. I have osage orange staves drying now. I have never made a bow before.

Been reading some books on the subject. But your vids are hands on. Thanks for posting.

[primitivepathways]

@kyletango HAHA...less fattening?? I LOVE it!! Thanks Kyle for the kind words. Gonna be working to get part 4 uploaded as soon as I can.

[kjackson525]

@primitivepathways when are you going to finish the videos

[drpinto28]

@primitivepathways Have you read the Traditional Bowyer's Bible? Thats what got me into bows. Its very imformative because it teaches you how to making backings, strings, bows, quivers and arrows.

[drpinto28]

Also, with the fire bending, can you reflex tips by doing that?

[primitivepathways]

@drpinto28 yes you can..

[sticknstonesbrkbones]

Great videos man, I'm really looking forward to part 4 and seeing some target shooting with it. Thanks for sharing and teaching the skills.

[trav02852]

Great workmanship - great hobby too.

[hejpadig11]

I just love your vids man! simple and easy..

keep up the good work!

/oskar, sweden

[1024590]

what  type of bow string did u use?

[TeamKreepin]

how did you put the string on, and how do you know what length of the string to use with the bow

[sceneginger013]

very well done video. Quite enjoyed. i plan to make a bow like this one over my summer. thank you, and part four soon please!

-Jake

[gh4pwner]

Hey, I noticed earlier that you mentioned that you need to dry out your wood before working on it or something like that? You recently cut that piece of log out and started immediately working on it? I'm a little confused

[primitivepathways]

@gh4pwner Yes, the wood MUST be dry to make a fast, efficient wooden bow. But in the interest of time, I only partially dried the stave in this video before I started working on it. When I wasn't working on the bow I kept it in my cool garage so it would dry slowly and not crack. The more wood you remove, the faster the wood will dry, but hard woods like osage orange or black locust or yew are better off drying slower....then they won't crack.

[wiskietango88]

Your simple and easy description of how to make a bow has really inspired me. Keep up the great work and the great videos. You should go pro with you video work and bow work.

[primitivepathways]

@wiskietango88 Thanks Wiskie!

[TrumpetBulldog29]

This was an awesome video and I found it very helpful. I have been tinking about careers and I really like the idea of making bows and being a taxidermist. This video made me want to make bows even more!!!

[PCBoredom]

Great series! Part 4 please!

[primitivepathways]

@PCBoredom I'll get it uploaded as soon as I can. I've had numerous things hit that have put my video work on the back burner, but I promise I'll get it done and uploaded just as soon as I can!!

[MILOSLAVJMP]

Skvělé udělané a velmi poučné video ze kterého mnohému rozumím i když neumím anglicky. Přijmi můj obdiv ke tvé práci z Czech republic

[mooseutoo]

You are truly a man of your craft. It is refreshing to see someone who doesn't cut corners and makes his craft into an art. Well done sir.

[primitivepathways]

@mooseutoo Thanks Moose.  Glad you liked it.....

[Oblivish34]

how many hours did you put into this bow?



[primitivepathways]

@Oblivish34 Not really sure... I didn't time myself when making this bow. Maybe 6-8 hours so far.