How to make a bow from old skis with your own hands. Homemade bow from skis Diagram of a bow for shooting

Making a bow with your own hands is not difficult, the main thing is to have a general understanding of how to make it. There are quite a lot of methods, today we will look at three main ones. If you don’t have much time or don’t want to bother for a long time, then we have information for you. Also if you want to make it from skis or spend at least half a year making it. In a word, everyone will choose the right option for themselves.

I would like to tell novice archers that the bowstring should not stretch, but the shoulders should spring back. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is select the most suitable material for making a homemade bow, its wooden part. If you do everything correctly, the larger your rod, the stronger the tension force will be. The choice of material for the base should be taken seriously; not every bush or tree branch is suitable for this task.

• Birch
• Ash
• Hazel

The main advantage of these trees over others is that they are elastic, which is extremely necessary for us, because when the bowstring is pulled on the rod, a fairly serious load will be applied.

When choosing, it is very important to pay attention to the following nuances:

• The rod must be free of unevenness and cracks; knots will also only get in the way. Take your time with the choice, look for the highest quality rod possible, this will save you from further problems.
• Having found a suitable rod, cut it so that its size is 1.5 m
• Since you will be cutting from a living tree and not from dead wood, the workpiece should be dried before further use. A very important point is to dry it to a certain moisture content, and not to dry it until it is completely dry. Otherwise, it will lose its properties and become unsuitable for further use.

For example, you didn’t find an excellent, straight stick, and it’s crooked, don’t be upset right away. Take an iron container and place it on the fire (or use a boiling kettle at home). After the water boils, steam will begin to release abundantly. By holding your workpiece over steam, you can change its bend in crooked places.

Manufacturing method requires patience

If you want to do everything according to the rules, then this method will take a lot of time. Find or look for a suitable tree with the right branch (or better yet, even with several suitable branches, there will be a spare part). Next, you should wait until winter, when the air temperature is around 10-15 degrees. The thing is that at this time of year the juices of the tree will stand, and as a result the rod will turn out to be of the highest quality (analogy with winter forest for construction wooden houses). I will warn you if you are preparing the base in winter time, then cut the rod 20-30 cm longer than the expected length of the bow. During drying, the ends of the rod may crack, and if the length is too short, you will not be able to correct this flaw.

Let's move on to drying. After cutting off our workpiece, we perform the following procedures:

1. We do not remove the bark.
2. Lubricate the ends of the twig with oil (or some other) paint. This will create favorable conditions for uniform drying of the future onion (moisture will not escape through the ends too quickly).
3. We hang the not yet finished product in a vertical position.
4. Depending on the % humidity, we dry the part for 2-5 months.

After this time, we give the rod a more finished look: we remove (remove) part of the material to give it the shape shown below in the picture. The only thing to consider is that the handle should be several times thicker than the arms of the bow.

At this stage, maximum concentration, clarity and uniformity are required from you. Remove excess wood gradually, because both arms should be identical, the same length, diameter and thickness. If one of the arms is thinner, then there is a chance that it will simply break under load.

Next, add the desired bend. Since we will not use special solutions (after all, we have a home version, not a professional one), we proceed to steam treatment in order to give the desired bend. If our part was overdried, then at this moment the workpiece will absorb the missing moisture (not in large quantities).

See the photo below to see what kind of bend should be given.

We take a board and nail the bars to it in the order indicated below in the photo (the nailed bars are indicated in black). This device is called a slipway, we need it in order to place our part in it after steaming and it will begin to acquire the curves of a bow, freeing itself from moisture (drying). After placing it in the slipway, you should wait 7-10 days for the result to consolidate and take its final form.

After 7-10 days, we take out the curved part and impregnate it with wax so that moisture does not escape anymore. We make cuts for the bowstring and, if desired, wrap the handle so that the hand does not slip. The homemade bow is ready. It remains for a new bow and you can go to the shooting range.

Old skis make a great base for a bow

As you already understood, our shoulders will consist of 2 old skis, which we will attach to the handle. We recommend making the handle from a suitable wooden block, which you grind to your size and preferences. But if there is none, then part of the same ski can be used, which will act as a handle.

This method has several very significant advantages:

• Same shoulder size
• Same thickness
• Same dryness
• Same shape
• Same bend

The material of the skis in this case does not play a big or decisive role; both wooden and plastic ones are suitable. It should be borne in mind that in this option you should not make the arms too long, as you will lose tension and, as a result, the power of the bow will decrease. The optimal size is 1.4 m.

The bow is one of the first weapons that allowed man to hunt at a distance. Boys love to play with him from early childhood, imagining themselves as brave Indians or fair “Robinhoods.”

The process of making a bow with your own hands is quite labor-intensive. A good bow requires a lot of time and patience, but it brings enormous pleasure. A bow made with your own hands is not only a source of pride that you can show off to your peers, but also an original gift. best friend. A person who knows how to make a bow himself is not afraid to find himself in any extreme conditions, even on a desert island. And this is a compelling argument!

Making onions: the easiest and fastest way

If there is little time for production, you need to find a wooden rod approximately 1-1.5 m long. Birch, maple, hazel, ash, juniper, and oak are perfect. Its surface should be without damage and, preferably, without knots. The rod can be dried over a fire, but in no case should it be dried completely. If only thin rods are available, they can be tied together into one.

All that remains is to make notches for the bowstring and tighten it. The easiest way to make a bowstring is from fishing line, but you can also use thread or wire.

How to make a bow with your own hands?

To make your homemade bow strong and neat, it is better to make it together with your dad. He, like no one else, knows what a real Robin Hood's weapon should be. Here's a little hint and instruction.

1. Select a long branch. It should be smooth, without cracks or damage. Good choice- oak, white acacia. The optimal length is 1.8 m. Please note: the rod must be flexible, but you should not take a green one - it is not as strong compared to a dry one.

2. Find a natural curve. To do this, place the stick on the ground and press it with your hands on top and in the middle. The rod will turn towards you in a natural bend.

3. Eliminate unevenness. Use a knife to smooth out any rough edges and remove knots. If the top of the rod is thinner than the bottom, cut off the top of the onion: its thickness should be uniform along the entire length.

5. Make notches for attaching the bowstring. At a distance of about 5 cm from the ends of the bow, use a knife to make notches. They should be located on the outside of the bow.

6. Select and draw the string. Use fishing line, thin nylon cord, or regular twine as a bowstring. Please note: the string must be shorter than the bow. Gently draw the string back and check that the bow bends evenly.

7. Make arrows. Thin, dry branches are best. The length of the arrow should be equal to half the length of the bow. Clean the branch from any irregularities. Make a cut on one side of the branch and sharpen the other.

When using a bow, follow safety rules: keep the bow away from your face; shoot at stationary targets and only under adult supervision.

How to make a collapsible bow at home

To make a good collapsible bow at home, the material must be prepared in winter, when it is 10-15 degrees below zero outside. The workpiece is processed and dried for several months. But such a labor-intensive process is not the only way to make onions.

Collapsible models are easier to make, and they can be folded compactly for transportation.

Making a handle

If the tension force of the bow does not exceed 10 kg, you can use oak or birch for the handle, or glue several sheets of plywood (necessarily waterproof) with epoxy. When making a more powerful bow, you need to glue together several layers of different types of wood - maple, beech, etc. The dimensions of the bar should be 6x4x40 cm.

Markings must be applied to the block. A drawing will help at this stage (the grid in the figure is 1 by 1 cm).

The handle is cut using a jigsaw. A semicircular, sharp chisel will help give the shape. The workpiece needs to be processed with sandpaper; the processing is carried out in three stages: coarse, fine and finally zero.

To attach the arms to it, you need to make holes for M6 bolts. Usually, a leather pad is made at the attachment point between the handle and the shoulders.

The finished handle must be coated with ship's varnish or stain.

Making shoulders: using slats

It is best to use slats from a bed or sofa to make shoulders. These elastic elements have a length from 70 to 120 cm. When choosing a length, be guided by the fact that the total length of the bow should approximately correspond to the height of the shooter.

It is convenient to select the length of the bow, guided by the span of your arms, as in this picture.

The lamellas are often 12 cm thick and are perfect for bows. If the lamellas are 8 cm thick, then it is better to glue two pieces together using epoxy or Moment glue.

To make the shoulders, the slats need to be sawn at an angle. It is important to make them symmetrical, so you need to process them by squeezing them together with clamps.

We make a shelf for the bowstring from scraps of lamella. To do this, you need to attach a plank on each side: drill holes in them and secure dowels in them with glue. Draw the contours of the shelf.

It all depends on your imagination. We cut along the contour, it is best to do this with a jigsaw. Finally, give it a smooth finish using sandpaper.

To secure the bowstring, you need to make notches 7-8 mm deep and 3 mm thick.

Like the handle, the shoulders need to be opened with stain or ship varnish. Congratulations, now you know how to make onions at home!

Using wooden or plastic skis as bow material can save a lot of time. It is also important that the shoulders are guaranteed to be symmetrical. The size of the ski bow is best made within 120-140 cm.

The handle can be made from skis, glued together in several layers, or from a block of wood, cut according to the diagram (see previous instructions).

The basic scheme for making a bow from skis looks like this.

Skis can be different, ideal if you have narrow ones at your disposal. If they are wide, you will have to process the shoulders a little - grind them down, tapering them towards the ends. The main thing is to do it symmetrically.

Armed with our instructions, anyone can become the owner of a bow. But it is important not only to know how to make a bow for children, but also not to forget that it must be handled responsibly.

Comrade Hobbit began interesting topic, well, at least interesting to me. "Onion". Everyone decides for themselves the degree of necessity and possible use of these weapons, but in my opinion the topic is interesting and worthy of attention.

In search of information, I went to the Internet. Well, in general, people write a lot of things, some deserve attention, some don’t. I wanted to find an option that was cheap and cheerful. To spend a minimum of effort and time, and at the end get a more or less decent result. Found it. That's what I want to post.
Next comes the copy-paste.

There is enough information on the net about making bows, strings, arrows and quivers, but it’s all quite scattered, so I decided to collect a description of the entire manufacturing process in one place. I will try to explain this in detail with photographs.
So the task is to make a bow, having a minimum of tools at home, quickly enough and with acceptable performance characteristics. The best first model is the compound longbow model. This is what we will do. For a complete set we need to make: a handle, shoulders, a bowstring, arrows and, if you really want, a quiver. And do it inexpensively.
Required set tools - drill or a screwdriver, knife, plane, electric jigsaw or saw, lots and lots of sanding paper.

Part one: the handle.
To make it, we will need a block of decent wood 30*50 mm, about 40 cm long. We must choose it responsibly, pine will not work for it, we need at least birch, preferably beech. We look at the annual rings of the blank. They should go along the wide side.
We mark the handle 4 times by 10 cm, as can be seen in the photo, this is one of the design options, you can come up with something of your own. We cut out the handle with a jigsaw or saw, drill 6 mm holes for furniture bolts and 3 mm blind holes along the edges and insert pieces of nails so that they stick out about five millimeters.
There is no point in finishing the handle straight away; the bow will still need to be adjusted, so we’ll leave the sanding for later.

Part two: shoulders.
The most controversial part is in materials, technologies and sizes.
I have tried many technologies - skis, veneer, composite shoulders, but everything is not the same. Absolutely by accident, I found a Klondike of blanks for shoulders at a local furniture factory. This happiness is called an elastic element and is a plywood, where all the layers run lengthwise, dimensions: length 120 cm, width 50 mm, thickness 12 mm, lightly varnished and has a large radius of curvature. In short, it’s just the thing for the shoulders of the bow! I forgot to say - the price is amazing, about 10 rubles for a set of shoulders! Similar products can be found in offices that assemble furniture.
We mark the workpieces brought home like this - we mark 15 mm obliquely on each edge, draw the cut location using the second workpiece (very convenient, given the curvature of the workpiece) and use a jigsaw to make two from one piece of wood!
Now is the time to decide on the size of the future miracle! English longbow - the prototype of the product was quite long. There is no point in making it less than 120 cm, because... there will be a large angle of bending of the shoulders, which means they will quickly fail. Also, a longbow has a more even pull when drawing the string. Our bow will be collapsible, so there’s no need to worry about how to transport it. We came to the dacha/picnic/barbecue, assembled it, shot it, took it apart, brought it home, put it in the closet. For quick assembly/disassembly, only two hex keys are required.
I got distracted somehow. We have already decided that the length of the bow will be 160 cm (just kidding, decide for yourself).
Based on this, the length of the shoulders will be 70 cm, i.e. bow length minus 20 cm between the shoulders on the handle and divide in half. The last time I made bows (they are in the pictures) were 180 cm long. I didn’t measure the force, but it was convenient for both children and their parents to shoot.
We put the two resulting blanks together, we are surprised at the curvature of our hands, we select the part that will become the shoulders, we measure, and saw off the excess. We apply it to the handle, drill a hole for a furniture nut with the largest head (50 mm bolts and nuts for them are available in stores selling furniture fittings, for a ruble per bolt). Having removed the nail pieces from the handle, we collect the onion and rejoice!
It's best to mark the shoulders with upward arrows, like I did, because they are not interchangeable! Now we insert one piece of nail into the handle, assemble the bow, align the bow symmetrically and lightly press the handle, the nail will mark the place in the shoulder for the hole, drill a blind hole of about 5 mm. We do the same with the second shoulder.
Now the long-awaited time for skinning has come! Cut it out seats under the bowstring at a distance of 3 cm from the edge, cut out the handle, level the shoulders with a plane, cover all this beauty with varnish or paint. In short, creative freedom. One important point - the edge of the handle must be folded so that there is a gap of 1-1.5 mm between the handle and the shoulder, otherwise there is a chance of breaking the shoulder in this place!

Part three: bowstring.
Make a bowstring with the necessary characteristics and decent appearance easily! Forget about Kevlar, Dacron and others like them! These materials, not only do you find horseradish, have one advantage, but it is also the main disadvantage - they do not stretch! Those. If your children/slightly drunk comrades try to make fools with such a bowstring without an arrow, there is a real chance to change the bow limbs for new ones!
In short, we go to a fishing store and buy a spool of Chinese nylon thread for 25 rubles. Threads come in different thicknesses, I liked the thicker ones. We also need a board/block longer than the future bowstring and two large nails without heads. I used two bars sewn together with self-tapping screws. It is better to wind the future bowstring using a spool from the bobbin of your mother’s sewing machine. And if you cut out a U-shaped plate, drill a hole for the thread in the middle of the shelf and secure the spool in this device with a screw, winding the bowstring will be a pleasure!
It's time to decide on the length of the bowstring! Instead of a bowstring, we tie a rope, measure with a tape measure, that’s it! We remember that over time, the string will stretch under load.
We mark the measured distance on the previously prepared board/bar. Drill two holes, insert two nails without heads. We also mark the middle of the distance and 5 cm from the center in both directions. We tie a nylon thread to one of the nails and wind it with a slight even tension so that the total thickness of the bowstring is about 3 mm. We tie the ends of the bowstring and pull the knot so that it stands about 5 cm from the center, just be careful, the bowstring may fly off the nail.


We take a device for winding, leave a tail of about 20 cm, begin to wind both strands of the bowstring in turn, wrap about 10 cm each, wrap the tail together with the strand, and finish by tying the winding with a simple knot. This way we will get blanks for bowstring loops.



We move the loops back to the nails, wrap the loops, beautifully sealing the ends of the braid, wrap 10 cm in the middle under the bowstring, and seal the ends. That's it, the bowstring is ready!
Now how to dress it? We put it on one shoulder of the bow, but not in the cut, but further. Then we hook the string into the cut of the second shoulder, we press this shoulder into the floor so that it lies flat on the floor, resting against the bow handle, we squeeze the second shoulder up and insert the string into the cut. It is more convenient to do this together.

Part four: arrow.
An equally important detail of the shooting complex, so we do it carefully, although during post-shootings they get lost, break, etc. We go to a hardware store and buy a 10*10 mm bead. We buy a lot of it because... consumable material. We select carefully, straight layer, without knots. I charged 4 rubles per meter.
It's time to decide on the length of the future arrow. To do this, we stand up, pull our left hand with the index finger extended to the left, parallel to the ground, and look at this finger. The length of the arrow is the distance from the tip of the finger to the chin!
The arrow blank should be 5 cm longer than the future product.
We remove the edges of the bead with a plane and bring it to a round state using the following device.
At the base there are two suitable boards/pieces of plywood; pieces of glazing bead with knots are nailed along the edge of one. A very evil piece of sandpaper on a rag base is glued to both parts of the device. The length of the device is comparable to the length of the arrow, the width is about 10 cm. If desired, both parts can be sewn together with a piece of leather along one edge.


The principle of rounding is very simple, we clamp the workpiece into a screwdriver and perform back-and-forth movements at high speed for a couple of minutes. After this, use sandpaper 100, 200, 600 in your hands, only it is better to hold the paper through a rag so as not to get burned. As a result, we get an arrow shaft of amazing quality with a diameter of about 9 mm. I tried a 500 W drill, but it didn’t twist the workpiece into a spiral.
Cutting off<технологический хвостик>, make a cut perpendicular to the annual rings to a depth of 8-10 mm, expand the cut with a flat file, use it to round the edges of the cut, cut 1-1.5 mm from the top and bottom at a length of about 2 cm.
Part five: plumage.
I decided to move the production of plumage into a separate part.
The goal is a simple weather-resistant bright plumage with good flight characteristics. For production we will need colored tape, aluminum tape, A4 paper. We cut the paper along the short edge to a width of 4 cm (4*21). We cut the aluminum tape 1*21 cm and fold it lengthwise with the aluminum facing out.




We unwind the colored tape with the adhesive layer up on a flat surface, lay the paper so that 5 mm remains on both sides, glue strips of aluminum tape to these places and again a layer of colored tape on top. One such blank produces 4 feathers. So you need to do a lot of them.
Next, from any available material, we cut out a template for the future feather, the shape is for everyone, the optimal dimensions are length 8-10 cm, width 1.5-2 cm.
Let's circle ballpoint pen pattern, cut out the feather, not forgetting 1 cm of aluminum tape on both sides for further winding. Feathers even more consumables than arrows, after successful shooting, the frayed feathers on the found arrows can be cut off, the arrow can be cleaned with sandpaper and new feathers can be glued on!



So, take the arrow, peel off the protective strip from the feather and carefully glue the feather at a distance of 3 cm from the edge of the arrow, and so on three times! The strips should touch each other. Next, we take colored tape, place it on a flat surface, which is okay, with the sticky layer up, cut off a piece about 10 cm with a stationery knife, cut this piece into 5 ribbons 1 cm wide, glue three strips between the feathers, cut off the excess tape with the same knife, Use the remaining two pieces to wrap the feathers at the top and bottom. The plumage is ready!

Part six: tips. Theoretical.
Regarding the tips. I will not quote what the law says about this, I will only say that the tips ordered a long time ago from a turner rusted and disappeared somewhere. I didn’t put tips, an arrow without a tip (albeit from a compound bow) pierces a medium-sized head of cabbage right through.
For those who like to shoot at each other, I can recommend doing<гуманизаторные наконечники>, they are made simply, take a strip of thick leather 1 cm wide, fold the strip in half, tie it to an arrow, then tie another strip crosswise, and wrap a cross of the same leather on top. I have never done such a miracle myself.

Z.Y.
Well, I’ll add on my own behalf. I myself have not yet had time to try out this technology: I can’t turn around at home, and the workshop will only be available with the first warming. But the wait isn’t long and that’s good news. If you are interested, I can post a report on the work done later.

And of course (since this is a copy-paste) I give

The hunting bow is one of the oldest human weapons, used by our ancestors. These devices reached the apogee of their development in the Middle Ages - and the most powerful and accurate were not English ones (as was long presented in the literature), but oriental bows: Arabic, Korean and Japanese. The target range of their shot, taking into account the simplicity of the design in comparison with modern high-tech products, reached 200–220 meters, the maximum flight range of the arrow was 870–880 meters, and the tension force was up to 80 kg! Hunting bows are still used today, but some models are quite expensive. Therefore, we suggest you make such a tool with your own hands.

What is a hunting bow and its varieties

Initially, hunting bows were made exclusively from wood and had a simple arched shape. A little later on the shift simple models came composite ones, which first used ends made of bone, and then more complex designs from separately assembled parts: a central handle, a pair of shoulders and ends. Nowadays, block compound (or Olympic) options have been added to them. However, they are not used in hunting.

Collapsible bow design

In general, the current classification of hunting bows is the following division:

1. According to the material of manufacture:
   • traditional (made of wood);
   • composite (from several materials).
2. According to the structure of the main part:
   • classic (D-shaped in a bent form, that is, with one bend);
   • recursive (M-shaped, with several bends).
3. By number of components:
   • simple bows - made from a single piece of material;
   • collapsible models - from several components.

Photo gallery: Modern hunting with industrial bows

Mathews Bow Compound Bow VilingStore Compound Bow Mathews CREED

Operating principle

The operating principle of classical bows (both traditional simple and recurve) is based on the creation of a pushing force, which is imparted to the bowstring when the shoulders are straightened and provides the arrow with an initial speed that depends on the tension force. Moreover, the initial speed of the boom in a simple design also depends on these factors, while in block models, eccentrics located at the ends, synchronized with each other by a system of separate cables, are responsible for accuracy and speed.

Professional compound bow is made mainly from expensive and high-strength materials (carbon and fiberglass, magnesium and aluminum alloys etc.) and contains a separate optical aiming system. In this regard, it is extremely difficult to make such a device yourself, and most importantly, very expensive. Therefore, further we will consider the assembly of hunting bows only of the classical type - both simple and complex recurve ones.

Photo gallery: Various designs of simple models

Materials and tools for manufacturing

To make a bow you will need the following tools and materials:

• hacksaw;
• plane;
• strong rope (for the bowstring);
• insulating tape;
• plastic tube (for PVC bows) or wood (for traditional options).

As for wood, yew is considered the best - it was from this wood that the famous English bows were made in the old days. In the absence of this rare species, you can use larch, rowan, ash, hazel, willow, cedar, juniper or elm. In other words, the material must be homogeneous, flexible and beautiful.

Believe it or not, this is a homemade compound bow!

Manufacturing instructions

Simple model

To make a simple PVC hunting bow, you will need a piece of SCH 40 pipe about 2.5 cm thick and a length equal to the distance between the middle of your thigh and the fingertips of an outstretched arm. Measuring 1.5 cm on both sides, make cuts. Insert and fasten the string into them so that the maximum tension is approximately equal to the length of the bow.

The length of a simple bow is longer than a compound bow.

Attach to the string so that the maximum tension is approximately equal to the length of the bow

Unfortunately, simple plastic bow can hardly be called complete hunting weapons– this will require much more complex composite design, in which 2 short pieces of a thin tube (to strengthen the shoulders) about 10 cm long will be inserted into the main pipe. For the handle you will need 1 piece of a slightly larger diameter.

Homemade bow made from PVC pipe and wood. Bowstring - silk thread

When making a structure from wood, it will be necessary to cut (plane) the main part of the bow, about 5 cm wide in the central part and 1.5 cm in the sides.

Photo gallery: Making onions in the forest from improvised materials

Simple design homemade bow

Video: Homemade bow using PVC pipes

Composite

A real hunting bow should be composite, and in shape as close as possible to modern high-class sports products. As a base, it is better to use flexible and non-layered wood from the lower and dense layers of trees growing in dark areas of the forest. For example, bird cherry, growing in open, dry clearings far from water, is good for “horns.”

The length of all three parts that form the bow (the base plus both horns) should not exceed 1.5 m - otherwise the bow may have greater range, but much less accuracy.

Technology step-by-step production will be as follows:

1. The cleaned blanks are dried (not in the sun!), all 3 parts are planed and dried again. Then the base and horns are given their final appearance and dried in the bright sun.
2. The kibiti elements are glued together with special store-bought glue or homemade fish glue (from digested bones or swim bladders of large fish).
3. The finished kibit is dipped in melted animal fat (or cedar resin) for impregnation.
4. The joints are additionally tightened with tendons or a dense flexible cord and soaked again, after which the finished bow is processed until smooth with a knife and, if desired, polished.

It is also possible to cover the base with strips of birch bark, and the horns and ends with overlays made of natural horn (or metal). However, such strengthening and creation of multi-layering is only relevant for weapons with a very high (more than 20 kg) tension force, which is hardly meaningful when hunting birds and small animals with a bow - except perhaps in terms of decoration.

Photo gallery: DIY compound bows

Compound bows drying after sizing
Homemade compound bows

Video: How to make a compound bow at home

Accessories

Making all the components of a bow at home is even easier than the main structure.

Bowstring

It can be twisted from nylon cord, although real hunters prefer natural material. Which is usually blood-soaked and dried rawhide rolled into a tube, 3-4 mm wide. Although it is inferior to modern, even inexpensive synthetic materials in terms of performance characteristics. The skin can be replaced with tendons from the vertebral part of large animals - elk, cows, etc. Or a bunch of natural silk threads can be used.

The bowstring is simply put on - first with a loop on one horn, and then, bending the end of the bow resting on the ground, on the second. For a recurve bow, the distance between the string and the handle should be about 15 cm, and the string must be removed when storing the bow.

Video: How to make a bow string

Arrows

The length of the arrows should be proportional to the length of the bow and the maximum tension of the bowstring. In practice, this means that when the bow is drawn, the arrow tip should protrude at least a few centimeters beyond the bow.

The diameter is approximately 6 mm, and the entire axis of the arrow must be perfectly flat. For small game and poultry, light wood is used - spruce, pine, birch. For larger animals - heavy and dense species (ash, hornbeam, oak). Arrows, like a splinter, are split from logs, after which they are shaped into long and thin round cylinders.

The bow is the most ancient human weapon. Most peoples hunted and fought with him.

Although modern weapons are significantly superior to a simple bow, in conditions wildlife it will become an indispensable thing.

Children will enjoy playing with a real bow and arrow. You can buy it in a store or build it yourself.

What does it consist of?

A bow has only two components:

1. Shoulders;
2. Handle.

The bow's limbs are located above and below the handle. Sometimes a special shelf is made on the handle on which the arrow rests. A bowstring is stretched between the shoulders.

A hole is made in the bow to guide the arrow. The size of the bow and arrow depends on your height. They are easily identified by their arm span.

There are fixed sizes:

How to properly make a shallow strip foundation:

Varieties

Archery bows are classified according to several points:

1. 1. By appearance.
      • Simple. Consists of a flexible stick bent into an arc. Her shoulders are connected by a bowstring;
      • Difficult. It consists of a base that is reinforced with tendons and horny plates glued together. Sometimes its handle is covered with bone overlays.
   2. By shape.
      • Direct;
      • Curved.

Materials

The material your bow will be made of depends on what it is made for. You can make a bow from the following materials:

What can you make an onion from?

• Tree. The most common option is ash or white acacia. The tree should be free of knots, cracks, chips and other defects;
• PVC pipe. Made from polyvinyl chloride pipe;
• Paper. Suitable for making a mini bow or crossbow;
• Skis. The top parts of the skis are used as shoulders;
• Plywood. Used to make shoulders.

What materials are the bowstrings made from?

For the bowstring you can use:

• Polypropylene rope;
• Thin nylon thread or lace;
• Nylon, Kevlar;
• Fishing line;
• Leg-split;
• Kevlar climbing sling (sold in sports stores);
• Lavsan thread.

Most often, the bowstring is made from synthetic threads.

What to make an arrow from?

Arrows are made of wood - pine or birch. Birch is more difficult to process, but in the end the shaft turns out to be of better quality. This can be a branch, a board or wooden slats.

The arrowhead must be sharp so that it cuts through the air well and can stick. You can attach a nail and wrap it with copper wire. To use the bow for its intended purpose, it is better to cut the tip from thin steel (1.5-2 mm).

Preparing and processing wood for bows

Tools needed to make a wooden bow:

1. Drill;
2. Ax and knife;
3. Saw, jigsaw or electric jigsaw;
4. Metal scissors, metal saw (for making a sharp tip);
5. Sanding machine, sandpaper (for sanding parts);
6. File;
7. Needle file (file for working on wood, metal);
8. Slipway (to give a curved shape);
9. Planer (for processing boards).

Wood harvesting and processing

First you need to choose what the bow will be made from. The simplest and most affordable option is wood. Suitable for a powerful bow deciduous trees(oak, white acacia, lemon tree, ).

1. A tree is cut down on a cold, frosty day. You should pay attention to growths and branches on the tree - there should be few of them. We cut down a large branch, at least 180 cm long. This is a preparation for the future onion;
2. We don't touch the bark. We cover the ends of the sawn wood with paint or impregnation with an oil base;
3. To dry, lay the branch vertically for 2-3 months. The temperature should be no less than 20 degrees and no more than 28 degrees;
4. Using a sharpened knife and a sharp ax, we give the workpiece a rectangular shape;
5. Steam the onion shoulders using steam (just hold them over boiling water). Both shoulders need to be steamed at the same time;
6. Place the steamed workpiece in a slipway for 14-15 days. In this case, the bark should come off the workpiece on its own. If this does not happen, carefully help her with a sharp knife.
7. wax. After complete drying, we make notches for attaching the bowstring.

Instructions for creating an arrow

For good onion You must make at least 4 arrows. To make them, we take slats or boards with a thickness of 2 to 3 cm. The length of the arrow is about 85 cm, but it is better to determine it using the special table located above.

1. We make markings. Using a plane, change the thickness of the board to 1.5 centimeters;
2. We mark the board into squares (from the end) and saw it into arrows;
3. We turn the squares into hexagons using a file or knife;
4. Using a grinding machine or sandpaper, give the shaft a round shape with a diameter of up to 8 mm;

1. If necessary, attach feathers (3 pieces per arrow). It is better to take crow feathers, which we cut lengthwise. We even out the pile with scissors, leaving 0.5 cm. We wrap them with threads. Instead of feathers, you can make grooves for fingers;
2. The tip should be triangular in shape. You can make it yourself;
3. In the shaft we make a recess for the tail of the tip and fasten it with the same thread.

How to make a bow string?

The bowstring can be made by stretching the thread over the notches we made on the shoulders. Let's make the bowstring ourselves. To do this we need:

• The winding thread should be made of silk or nylon (No. 10);
• Rubber glue;
• PVA glue;
• Wax (moisture protection);
• Board;
• 2 thick nails.

1. 1. We take two round sticks (coated with varnish or tape, from 10 mm wide and 20 cm long) and a board (200x40x40). At a distance from the bowstring, we drill holes and attach sticks to the resulting holes;
   2. We take any spool and wind the thread for the bowstring on it;
   3. Wind the warp thread evenly around the sticks. 2-3 turns are enough. We tie the ends of the thread into strong knots, which we glue together with PVA;
   4. Apply glue (rubber) to the nylon thread immediately, then lubricate it with PVA when winding. For the rest, we coat it with PVA, and when winding, with rubber glue;
   5. The winding is made in dense turns. We wind 10 cm on each thread and move them half a turn. Wrap until loops form. It turns out about 20 cm on both sides;
   6. We make a loop for putting on the bowstring.

In order to put the bowstring on your shoulders, you need to bend/unbend it several times. This will allow him to get a little used to the movement and pressure.

After 10-15 steps, you need to put a loop of thread on one shoulder and turn the bow over without releasing the string. Then we bend our shoulders so that the distance of the string remains between the ends of the bow. We put on the second loop.

Attention! Never rest your shoulder on the floor or any other hard surface! This way you can easily break a homemade bow.

Waterproofing strip foundation with your own hands:

Bow assembly steps

We are looking at a simple bow that does not require further assembly.

To assemble the parts of a prefabricated bow for shooting (if the handle is made separately from the limbs), you can use regular wood glue or thick screws.

Bow care

• Store in an upright position;
• We put the bowstring on before shooting. If the bow will not be used for a long time, it is better to remove the string;
• Before shooting, you need to slowly pump the bow - make 5-10 swinging movements with the shoulders of the bow (let it get used to the load);
• Do not rest the bow's shoulders on a hard surface when putting on the bowstring;
• Store in a dry place, avoid direct sunlight;
• Do not let go of the bowstring without arrows;
• You can't over-drag the bow.

Advice! It is better to buy or make your own special case for your bow.

The video below shows detailed instructions on creating and assembling a real bow and arrows for it: