[pnpgm] Bowyer

[John Hooten]

Raban grins, "Why yes, I am somewhat skilled in making Bows and Arrows, 
though I still have not managed to make one strong enough for me to use 
comfortably. My bow is almost as tall as I am so there is no way it can 
be used on a horse. You would need one made very stiff and strong for 
use with shorter arrows and that looses some in accuracy. I never took 
the time to make any of those since I had no intent to ride. I make 
Longbows for hunting and other uses that need better accuracy and 
penetration. For any decent strength in a short bow like you desire, you 
need quality woods, some horn and other parts from Deer or Goat and 
glues most often made from animals as well. Metal can be used in place 
of some of the Horn but I am not skilled in making them that way. With 
the supplies handy, the right tools and staying in one place with a 
workshop, it could be made in a few days. You need to glue layers of 
wood and horn or sinew and bind them to shape. They need to bake in an 
oven or at least in bright sunlight until they are done and that takes 
most the time. Without proper tools you would have to carefully trim the 
wood layers and that would take quite a while to do as well. A weak 
ShortBow can be made of unlayered wood quickly but it would be quite 
pitiful in general. Possibly a metal shortbow could be made that would 
not work too badly, but that would require even more tools and work space."

On 2/25/2010 5:59 PM, John Stowman wrote:
> Raban do I recall correctly that you are a bowyer I may need to make a 
> horse bow to practice with any way unless some one has one they could 
> loan me.