The Bowyer Chronicles

Tabo's Second Attempt

Added 12 July 1998

Through this web site, I have met someone who may be of great service to an aspiring bowyer. His name is Takayuki Shodai, a.k.a. Tabo, a.k.a. Raven. Tabo decided to try his hand at making his own longbow. He has reported back to me with the results and lessons learned from his first two efforts at creating a longbow. If you would like to add your own story to The Bowyer Chronicles, please feel free to contact me.


Results will vary depending on your choice of wood... for the first, I suggest Maple, since it's cheap, readily available, and easy to work with. With a hand saw, you can cut the wood to the proper length. With a sharp hand planer, you can have it tapered and roughly tillered in an hour. With a knife, you can have nocks cut out in 10 minutes. A bowstring, without serving, made in 3 minutes! Total time, 1-1/2 hours to have a shootable bow!

Don't worry about breaking the first bow (or the second, third, etc). I broke my first bow. Examine the broken pieces closely, and see where the wood broke. Check to see if there was a weakness in the wood, an unseen knot, a growth ring severed... and chalk it up to experience and try again!

Oh, also, if you're going to become a bowyer, buy a good notebook. Log the important information- bow length, width/thickness at center, mid limb, and nock points. Sting length, estimated break strength. Distance from belly to string when braced. Draw weight at 10", 15", 20", full draw. Fill the page with notes on the wood, the grain, the distance between the growth rings, the placement of knots. If the bow broke, write down the place the bow broke, how it broke (belly to back, crosswise), and when (at full draw, after release, during tillering). Although this information may not mean too much now, later on, once you'll look back on it and say, "oh, so that's what I did wrong". And you can compare notes with others!

Ok, now on to my next bow.
My second bow is Red Oak. I couldn't find any other good pieces of wood at Home Depot. The growth rings are pretty separated and very thick- but I think it will survive. It cost $0.96 a foot, the same price as the Maple (in the last letter, I said the Maple cost $2.00 a foot- that's the price of the Poplar). Another good piece, the grain running the length of the board. Had it tapered and roughly tillered in less than an hour.

My string was too thick. The packaging on the hemp (from A.C. Moore) said it was 20# test, but I tested it at 35#, so instead of 12 lengths, I used 8. That's 33% less weight, increasing arrow speed.

The stats- 72", 1-1/4" w x 3/4" thick at the center, tapered to 5/6" w x 1/2" thick. 45# at 33". I left it unfinished because it was already under the draw weight I wanted. I'm leaving it as is, since it's the first bow that actually works! The next bow, I'll test making the limbs narrower, thinner, etc.

I'm just shooting store bought aluminum arrows for now. Making arrows is another story- taking a long time to make. I'll just use the arrows I have.

I did pick up the three volumes of "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible". Good info in there, but most of it seems beyond the grasp of the beginner. I think the beginner would be better off not reading these books- they are pretty indepth reading. I suggest reading it after making several bows, so the bowyer will have some idea of what the book is talking about.

Oh, also, I didn't use a backing on this bow. The on my first, I used ProBond Polyurathane glue, which was about $6.00 a bottle. Worked fantastic.


[To Medieval Period Page] [To Wolveswood Exchange] [To 'The Beckoning']