752 
FOREST AND STREAM 
June 14, 1913 
Forest and Stream is the official organ of the National Archery Association. 
Notes on Bow Making 
I N a former article the subject of making self 
bows from native material was treated in 
a general way. Such suggestions as were 
given, and those that will follow, are not ad¬ 
vanced as being original or perfect, but are sim¬ 
ply the observations of the crudest sort of an 
amateur, based upon actual experience. It is 
not proposed that every archer shall make his 
own bows. The writer does not, for he knows 
that Duff and Barnes can make an infinitely bet¬ 
ter bow than he can, and for that reason- he 
habitually carries in the field a bow fashioned 
by the hands of these master workmen. On a 
recent hunting trip for big game in British 
Columbia he carried with him a 65-pound yew 
of Barnes and a six-foot three-inch 6s-pound 
lance of Duff, both most excellent weapons. But 
the excellence of the product of the professional 
bowyer does not militate against the pleasure 
of using a bow of less merit when fashioned 
by one’s own hands. The making of a self, one- 
piece bow is comparatively easy, as has been 
heretofore shown. The chief obstacle is to get 
a clear piece of material of sufficient length. It 
is quite easy at times to get a piece of perfect 
bow wood three feet long and impossible to get 
one of six feet. This is especially true of yew, 
and it will be found that most all yew bows are 
made of two short pieces joined in the handle. 
This makes what is known as a pieced or grafted 
bow. I have never been so fortunate as to have 
a piece of yew to experiment with, and my ex¬ 
perience in grafted bows, that is, the making of 
them, has been confined to mulberry and osage 
orange with satisfactory results. There is no 
reason why all bow woods may not be grafted 
in the same way. There is another reason for 
the grafted bow, beside scarcity of material. 
F.xpert bowyers claim that there is a difference 
in the quality of the wood in either end of a 
six-foot stick, and for that reason endorse the 
grafted bow for that it enables them to have in 
either limb of the bow wood of identical quality 
by taking two pieces from the same stick and 
grafting them together. 
Those who are ambitious may make a 
grafted bow with but little more labor than a 
one-piece weapon. Secure two pieces of material 
at least three and one-half feet long. If you 
are able to make your selection in the woods, 
you may follow the directions heretofore given 
for making a one-piece bow. Reduce the sap 
as described and prepare the butt ends of both 
pieces which will enable you to square the joint 
ends to one and a quarter inches at least for 
a distance of four inches. This squared end 
be mechanically square and its lines must 
By JAMES M. CHALLISS 
be parallel with the axis of the stick. If your 
stick is crooked from back to belly, it is not 
vital, but if it is crooked from side to side, you 
had better select another piece. The lines of 
the squared ends must lie in planes parallel to 
the plane which cuts through the back and belly. 
The joint is what is known as a fish joint 
and when properly made is as strong or stronger 
than the original wood. It affords about sixteen 
square inches of glue joint of advantageous 
form and when properly reinforced by whipping 
is practically unbreakable. To mark out the 
pattern of the joint you should prepare dupli¬ 
cate copies of the lines to be followed on paper, 
having an original and a carbon. To make this 
pattern rule two parallel lines three and one-half 
inches long and as wide apart as the width of 
your squared ends. Connect the ends with 
straight lines. This gives you a parallelogram 
three and one-half inches long by, say, one and 
a quarter inches wide. Divide one end into two 
equal parts and the other in three. Draw lines 
from the corners of the equally divided end to 
the division points at the opposite end, as well 
as two lines from the center of the equally 
divided end to the same points. Your pattern 
will then look like this: 
Before disarranging your papers, mark the 
figure with the letters and figures as above. Now, 
if you have held the papers carefully in place while 
drawing the pattern, you have exact duplicate 
copies. Now, carefully cut out your pattern on the 
outside lines, excepting on one pattern leave the 
figure I at one end and on the other leave the 
figure 2. Take the pattern marked i and paste 
it on the back side of the squared end of one 
of the limbs, being careful that it is flush with 
the squared end and parallel with the sides, with 
the figure i toward the tip end of the limb. Do 
the same thing with the pattern marked 2 on the 
other limb. It is now apparent that if the wood 
under the triangles A, B and C on the limb 
marked i is removed, and the wood under the 
triangles D and E on the limb marked 2 is re¬ 
moved, the two pieces will exactly fit into each 
other. If care has been used in pasting the 
pattern on so they are straight with the axis 
of the stick, and in working out the wood the 
lines have been accurately followed, the joint 
will be perfect, and the joined stick will be 
straight throughout its course. 
After your patterns are dry take the limb 
numbered i and place it upright in the vise, and 
with a fine-toothed saw remove the wood in the 
triangle B, being careful that the saw is held at 
right angles to the back of the limb. This is 
of the utmost importance. The best saw for this 
purpose is a thin-bladed backed saw. The bottom 
of the notch you are cutting may be cleaned out 
with a knife-edged file. The wood in triangles 
A and C may be removed with the drawing- 
knife and plane. The limb numbered 2 is pre¬ 
pared by removing the wood in triangles D and 
E, which is done with the saw and thin file, the 
same care being exercised to see that the saw 
is held at right angles to the plane of the back. 
Now, fit the pieces together and see how nearly 
a fit you have secured. The main points to be 
watched are to see that you have the best pos¬ 
sible joint on both the back and the belly, and 
that when the pieces are pushed home, that the 
stick is straight. If it is not straight, you will 
have to cut and try, even at the expense of a 
perfect joint. Do not be discouraged if your 
joint is not perfect, so long as your stick is 
straight. I have examined professionally made 
fish joints in bows that would have put an ama¬ 
teur to shame, and yet they held. I have even 
seen open places filled with shims or wedges 
of wood, which with a filling of glue made a 
satisfactory joint. 
After you have prepared your joint to a 
satisfactory point, you will find that when for¬ 
cibly pushed together it holds with a remark¬ 
able tenacity, and it is easy to understand why 
such a point will hold with the aid of glue. The 
glue should be the best you can possibly pro¬ 
cure, perfectly fresh, soaked soft in cold water, 
heated in a water bath and applied boiling hot. 
Thoroughly coat the joint in every portion with 
the glue and fit it together, driving them smartly 
home with a mallet. If your vise .jaws are just 
the width of the joint, well and good; if not, 
cut two pieces of hard wood one and a quarter 
inch square, the length of the joint, and plac¬ 
ing one on either side of the joint, clamp the 
joint very firmly in the vise, exerting pressure 
sufficient to squeeze out all surplus glue, and 
yet not crush the wood. Let it dry for three 
days, when it should be removed from the vise 
and the surplus glue removed from the joint on 
the back and the same be made perfectly 
smooth. Now glue on the back of the joint a 
piece of wood the length and width of the joint 
and one-eighth inch thick. 
[concluded next week.] 
