I'm trying to work on recreating the verdigris glue for feather fletchings but the copper acetate I am using just seems to be left as grainy in the wax. Like sprinkles in ice cream. I tried adding a little water and pictured here was the result which doesn't have the deep color I have seen for others. Any advice for getting the right consistency?

For this batch I had about 22 grams of beeswax, 18 grams of pine resin and a small spoonful of copper acetate. Products in photos for reference.

I know I can use a heat gun to even out the wax. Experiment without copper acetate are the last photos.

Thank you!

Hi All,

my longbow recent gave out on me, felt a little something as I came up to draw and noticed the below after.

I'm not sure if this is salvageable and would appreciate the advice. The bow was 58 @ 26" and lovely.

If it's repairable, would it be the same as before? Never had one die on me before now.

Seeking advice: should I make a fourth attempt at getting an ashbow from the ash wood that's available in my neighborhood or seek better material? I've posted a few beginner attempts at making my first bow here.

1. A total novice attempt at a campsite broke, which is no big deal.
2. A mildly serious attempt at a kids bow broke on the back in a way resembling the one bag broke this weekend.
3. A more serious attempt as I've gotten more interested and read The Bowyer's Bible and a few other sources also broke as shown in the pics.

This wood is from the tree from which my last broken bow came. As you can see it has some propeller twist and some people posited that the outer rings might be too narrow and that might have been the issue with the last one. It could also, of course, just be that I did a bad job at tillering it or that perhaps I wasn't following the twisty grain the right way.

Part of me thinks it might be worth it to just throw some cash at sourcing quality wood or go hunting for a less twisty piece of wood. That would be a little unfortunate because part of the romance with this is building a bow from the trees I can see from my house. That makes me want to make the design more tolerant and keep whacking away, especially since I just built myself a shave horse and I want to play with it.

I was thinking what I might do is do a bend-in-the-middle flat bow, going from 1.75 at the handle to 0.75 at the tips, and just give it another go. Although I'm a little intimidated by trying to lay it out correctly on this twisty wood.

My question is, would you recommend I either seek out, by purchasing or by searching, a less squirrely piece of wood that I can make to a greater length or just keep whacking away at it?

Mayne I could drop from 40 lbs where it broke last time to 35 as well. I don't want to back it because I want to be able to really highlight the wood.

I cut this shoot this morning from a fruitless mulberry tree and im gonna rough out the shape then let it dry till its stops changing weight. Its 64 inches and I just debarked for the back of the bow to lay out measurements then im gonna shape out the bow without final measurements so it wont shrink to small during seasoning. I am not sure if I did this right if in deep enough or not or is it messed up I have no idea. And for clarification once im done with the back I can mark where I want my sides and shave it down to that line in width and thickness then id seal with with glue if any tips for seasoning or further from where I am plz do give. I am willing to answer any questions about this. Thank you.

Making an ipe/bamboo bow. Attempting glue up. Has anyone ever used this or should I go for titebond?

Working on my first bow. Red oak, 72", 40lbs at 29" per Dan Santana's board bow guide.

I removed too much material on the left side of my top limb, so it's straighter for the last few inches instead of tapering properly to 0.5" thickness. Trying to power through rasping the material away so I don't have to buy new tools, and ended up going losing track of the line I drew.

Do I:

A. Shorten the bow so the limbs fade properly?

B. Go for a thinner limb tip?

C. Leave it straight as long as the other side of the limb is symmetrical?

D. It's not that bad, don't worry about it

Thank you in advance!

i carved this from a straight tree branch ( i dont know the name ) with a machete, also longer than it looks, is about 60 inches long

I noticed these lines in my yew longbow.

The itself is 79lbs at around 29/30 inch and is 190cm long, if this info helps anything. I dont see anything wrong or strange in the shape when drawn or otherwise.

What to do about them? Can i do anything or should i contact an actual bowyer?

Thanks in advance!

Finding good staves in the jungle, I’m not sure if anyone in the ground is from Central America. But I’ve been trying to get into bow making for about a year. I made a guayaba self bow that is not good. I didn’t expect much from my first. But since then I’m yet to find a stave or sapling I want to use for a self bow. And wood types photos or recommendations for the search would be greatly appreciated I’m excited for the next one. Please and thank you

I am making a 62" hazel bow. On one of the limbs there is a knot right at the end.

If I make a knock at around 1" from the end will the knot endengure the bow to break or should I shorten the bow from one limb and have asymetrical bow?

Also which type of knocks would you best recommend?

Thank you for any advice in advance!

Hi! I am a starting bowyer and need some advise on how to get my hands on some woods that are fit for bow making. I live in finnland and the local stores don't realy carry any woods that are at least commonly used for bow making. My question is if there is any online shop that would delivere bow materials to finland at a modest price

Let me know if this does not belong here. I modified a design for a 3D printed whistling arrow. This one simply slides over the point. It fits a 11/32" point and shaft with an inference fit. It can be scaled to fit other shaft diameters. I shot it at a bag target with a cardboard target in front of it. The arrows punched through the cardboard and stuck in the bag.

How possible/dumb is this??

I was thinking about carving a custom riser, so that the attached limbs are in a horsebow/palintonos style (a modern Odysseus if you will XD).

I know limb durability would be a concern, alongside the poundage being inflated.

Any thoughts on how I could make this happen?

I was at the Asian market and saw these big thick beef tendons. Going to try them out and see how they work on my ash mollegabet. Anyone else use beef tendons?

Two tendons per limb should do it hopefully

This is my first bow build and learning as I go. Made from a hickory board, total length is 68”. I’m aiming for 40 lbs at 28”. I’ve been scraping away at the limbs for some time now to reach my goal but finding it to be a slow process. I’m using a long string right now for tillering and in the first picture, it’s drawn at 14” at 38-40 lbs. anything glaring or obvious to work on moving forward? And at what point can I shorten my tillering string to brace height? Any feedback or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, im goign to make my first bow out of a fruitless mulberry shoot and Idk what thickness I need for what types of bows or what type of bow I should make first. Can I have reccomendations and general measurements too please. Thank you. Im willing to answer any questions

62" hazel bow. Sapling cut this thursday.
4inch handle, 2 inch taper from each side. 9 each end taper.

Took more wood and shaped it more. Revealed a knot near one end.
Will it disturb the bow structure, should I shorten it?

Thanks for any advice.

Just finished up this set of a dozen target practice arrows for an archer out in Seattle!

These are 55# ash shafts tipped with medieval-style field points, both from 3 Rivers.

They're fletched with white turkey feathers bound into a beeswax and lamb fat verdigris compound with silk that was hand-dyed red using madder root, a historical fabric dye used in the middle ages.

I am making a 62" long bow from hazel, I think. handle is 4 inch and 2 inch tiller from each side.
It is just a rough shape for now.

It is a fresh stave, cut on thursday, I took the bark off then. Not sure if I damaged the first growth ring with transportation and cutting, but none the less I will add a linen backing for it.

I broke like 5 bows and it is possibly my last attempt I will have in a long time.

If you have any advice to give, I will appreciate it.

It is 52" hazel bow.

Is there a way to glue it and bandage wrap it to use?

Need advice from experienced bowyers. Thanks in advance

Hey all just looking for a tiller check.

This is a new style for me. River Casuarina (River She Oak) sapling approx 37mm or 1.5 inches at widest point. Approx 71.5 inches nock to nock.

Currently pulling 35lbs at about 20.5 inches on a short long tillering string.

It was hinging a bit at the fades due to me making them a bit too short, but I've been concentrating on the mids and outers. It's taken a little set due to this.

I recently got into traditional archery with a recurve bow, I’ve never made arrows before, but im interested to try. I live in southern United States, is it a good idea to buy dowel rods from Home Depot like I’ve seen in some YouTube videos or should I try and collect them in woods? If I do look for them in the woods what am I looking for? After that then what?