Do It Yourself, Woodworking, Bow Making, Hunting, Outdoors.: May 2025

HopHornbeam 66in Flat bow 50lbs@28″

I Made this hophornbeam selfbow from a tree or sapling about 3″ at the base. American Hophornbeam, sometimes called American Ironwood or HardHack has a Specific Gravity of .63 and Janka Hardness of 1,860 making it one of the native northeast hardest woods.

The String is braided 15 (3 – 5 strands each – red/black/orange) strands BCY B55 Polyester Bowstring with .030 BCY Halo Serving.

This has been sitting in my shop for a few days waiting on my wrist to heal. It’s been killing me not to be able to shoot it. Today it felt good enough to get a couple shots in.

It’s 66 1/2″ tip to tip with limbs 1 3/4″ at the widest just outside the fades

It tapers starting about halfway on the limb to 1/2″ at the tips.

I may add some kind of arrow rest, but I’m still undecided. Recommendations certainly welcome.

70″ Elm Reflex Deflex Bow

34#@28″
70″ tip to tip
1 1/2″ wide limbs at the widest (tapers at mid limb)
Tapers to 1/2″ wide at nocks
Thickness is 3/4″ off fades, mid limb is about 5/8″ and tip are 7/16″
Handle is 4 1/4″ long, 1 3/8″ wide

Handle is wrapped with jute twine (this)

This is from an elm tree from my back yard. It was slowly dying so it was taken down. When I sawed it for lumber, I saved a couple of the slabs but was a little leery since it was a dying tree, and the bark almost just fell off it. My fears were semi justified. The first 2 bows I tried blew apart on me during tillering.

A fourth just went to firewood, i wasn’t going to risk any more time. But this one has held together, although it’s light. It’s just over 30# @ 28″. I gave it a slight reflex deflex when I heat treated it, which probably helps.

I’ve probably got 300 arrows through it at this point, so maybe it’ll hold together. I don’t have any light arrows but it’s still shooting the 550 grain arrows about 120fps. I’m not sure if the bow is accurate or with the light weight, I’m more accurate, but I hold a tighter group than anything else I have.

Chronograph reading:

Name: 397 Gr Arrow Elm Reflex Deflex
Shots: 5
Average: 131 ft/s
SD: 2 ft/s
Min: 129 ft/s
Max: 134 ft/s
Spread: 5 ft/s
Barometric Pressure: 29 in Hg
Temperature: 80 F

50# Hickory Flat Bow

62″ nock to nock
limbs are 1 9/16″ at the widest out to mid limb. The tapered to 11/16″ at the tip
1/2″ thick at mid limb tapered off the fades. Then to 11/32″ at the tips.
Arrow shelf is layered leather glued with super glue
52#@28″

This one started as a sapling about 2 1/2″ in diameter

To dry it I put it in the upstairs of the shop, then after a few weeks moved it to a hot box. The hot box is really just a section of 8″ chimney fastened to the rafter directly under the roof (metal over plywood). It has a small fan blowing through the pipe.

I weight the stave when I put it in then every couple day (or when I think of it) and when it stops loosing weight it’s ready (this brings it to about 8%-9% MC)

Hickory Stiff Tipped Flat Bow

This Hickory stave had two knots. One was easily put right in the middle of the handle, so no problem. The second one was about 7″ from one end. This could be a problem. I didn’t want to make it that short, so I decided to make the tips stiff.

The stave was clamped to a form green, and dried over a few months. It’s got a nice slight reflex, deflex.

Backed with rawhide and stained with Fiebing’s Leather Dye

About 55#@28″