790 
FOREST AND STREAM 
June 21, 1913 
Notes on Bow Making 
By JAMES M. CHALLISS 
{Concluded from last week.) 
A S soon as this dries it should be dressed 
oil the sides and edges so as to make it 
nicely rounding, and the belly at this 
point should be rounded into shape for the 
handle. As stated in the former article your 
finished bow will vary between an inch and an 
inch and a quarter, at the largest part of the 
•limb, depending upon the wood being used. The 
handle must be larger than the largest part of 
the limbs, so there will be no bending there. 
When you have shaped the handle, you must 
.put on a whipping of very stout cord or cotton 
tape, starting well outside the ends of the joint, 
winding close, smooth and as tight as your 
whipping will allow. The whipping should be 
laid on in glue, and if it will not make the 
■handle too bulky, there should be at least three 
layers of it. There is a severe strain on this 
joint, and you cannot make it with too much 
care or too strong. The more whipping you 
put on and tighter you draw it, the stronger 
will be your joint. Let the glue in this whip¬ 
ping dry at least a week before you attempt 
to brace the bow, which of course you have not 
■attempted heretofore. The bow will be finished 
the same as a one-piece bow, excepting the 
handle will receive two coats of varnish to 
make it waterproof. 
The backed bow is a most excellent weapon, 
and one in which hickory demonstrates its pe¬ 
culiar merit, as most all backed bows are made 
with such backs. Yew of course is preferable, 
but is not to be had excepting by the elect. The 
backed bow is made of two different varieties of 
wood, the belly of one kind, the back of an- 
■other. The belly may be all one stick or it 
may be grafted as described above, excepting 
there will be no thin piece glued on the back 
of the joint to make the handle; glue it on the 
back opposite the handle. To make such a bow, 
■secure a piece of well-seasoned, straight-grained, 
second growth white hickory of the width and 
length you want your bow. This is to be planed 
perfectly flat and smooth and reduced to three- 
sixteenth inch in thickness. Excellent backs may 
be secured by procuring from a carriage maker 
•or hardwood dealer a buggy coupling or reach. 
These are six feet long and one and a quarter 
inches square. By looking over a large stock 
you can most likely find one in which the grain 
is straight and even and does not run out, which 
when taken to a planing mill and ripped on a 
sharp circular saw will afford material for three 
or four backs. Be sure the saw is sharp; if not, 
the heat from it will warp the strips. Carefully 
•dress the back you select with a fore-plane, see¬ 
ing that it is the same thickness throughout. 
The belly will be made along the lines indicated 
for making a self bow, excepting it will be all 
of heart wood, and will not be as thick as a 
self bow. It should be as wide as the back for 
fourteen inches on either side of the handle. 
It is not advisable to taper it at all until the 
back is glued on. The back of the belly should 
be planed smooth, true and straight, and upon 
this true surface the back is to be glued. The 
back of the belly and the under side of the 
back should be scored by combing them with 
the teeth of a fine saw. There are planes made 
for this purpose, but a saw will answer very 
well. This is done for the purpose of making 
the glue hold better. The glue must be of the 
best, in perfect solution, and applied boiling hot. 
As soon as it is applied to all portions of the 
surfaces to be glued, immense pressure must be 
applied to the two pieces to force out all excess 
glue. This pressure may be applied by clamps 
or wedges. If clamps are used, lay the bow 
back down on a two-inch board and apply as 
many cabinet makers’ clamps as you can borrow, 
beg or steal. One every six inches is not too 
many. If your belly is thin and flexible, the 
clamps must be closer together than if it is 
more rigid. If you wish to use wedges, nail two 
two-inch boards on your bench parallel to each 
other and about three inches apart. Provide a 
series of short double wedges for the entire 
length of the bow, and so arranged that the 
small square end of one is snug against the 
large end of the next one and so on. By driv¬ 
ing the end wedge, all are thus moved, and a 
uniform pressure is exerted throughout the en¬ 
tire length of the bow. The back of course is 
against one of the boards, and the wedges are 
applied to the belly. Another method, used by 
the professionals, is to provide a series of strap 
iron loops on the edge of a board the same 
thickness as the bow and drive wedges under 
these loops, or rather between the loops and the 
belly of the bow. Immense pressure is the secret 
of any good glue joint, and if you keep this 
constantly in mind and apply pressure at every 
available point, and by every means at hand, the 
result will justify the pains. The bow should 
not be taken out of the clamps for at least a 
week in order to give the glue a chance to thor¬ 
oughly dry, and after taking it from the clamps, 
it should dry for a few days before you attempt 
to brace it. Dress down and finish as for a self 
bow, excepting you will do no work whatever 
on the back, save rounding the corners and 
sandpapering it. The belly must be shaped so 
that when the bow is braced, the back is flat 
and smooth and without any twist. A backed 
bow should always be provided with horn tips 
and protected from dampness by three coats of 
good varnish, well rubbed. 
The Wrists. 
BY ROBERT P. ELMER. 
It is probable that all skillful archers hold 
the wrist of the left, or bow hand, perfectly 
rigid. In fact, I do not see how they could do 
otherwise, because it forms an integral part of 
the line of support from the bow to the shoulder 
which should act as a strut during the act of 
aiming and loosing. 
With the right wrist it is different. Here 
the aim is not a straight rod braced to receive 
a shocking stress, but is rather a combination 
of two levers and a hook. The levers are the 
upper arm and forearm acted on by the scapu¬ 
lar muscles and biceps, and the hook is the hand. 
It is my opinion that except when opening the 
fingers for the loose, the hand should act simply 
as an inert hook following obediently and with¬ 
out modification the pull of the forearm at the 
wrist joint. This can be accomplished only if 
the wrist be allowed to remain soft and pliable. 
It is the mode of the violinist who retains per¬ 
fect control of the violin bow with a wrist which 
is all suppleness, and who loses that control if 
it be allowed to stiffen. 
A deflection of the arrow is often caused 
by a lateral tug given to the string at the moment 
of loosing. This will seldom happen unless the 
wrist be stiff, as anyone can prove to himself 
by trying. With a limp wrist, the hand will 
naturally pull directly backward in the line of 
the shaft. 
It is not easy to acquire sufficient muscular 
control to allow a relaxation of this joint in the 
arm when all the others are in a state of great 
strain. Nevertheless the trick can be learned, 
and if consistently applied, will nearly always 
add to one’s powers. 
English Archery Meets. 
The following English scores are taken from 
The Field, for May 24. We hope that our archers 
will not fail to notice that archers abroad do not 
hesitate to report their scores because they are 
not always high. We should be as good sports¬ 
men as they: 
CHELTENHAM ARCHERS. 
Target meeting. May 15. 
Miss 
GOyds. 
50yds. 
Total. 
Legh . 
.38 
178 
24 
150 
G2 
328 
Miss 
0 . Newall . 
.37 
177 
22 
110 
59 
287 
Miss 
Browett . 
. 37 
1G9 
21 
117 
58 
286 
Miss 
Newall . 
.3G 
148 
19 
95 
55 
243 
Miss 
May Williams . 
. 29 
135 
14 
G 8 
43 
203 
Mrs. 
Bagnall-Oakeley _ 
. 31 
119 
17 
71 
48 
190 
BERKELEY VALE ARCHERY SOCIETY. 
Target Day, May 19.—Weather fine, very 
cold, with a high wind. 
GOyds. 
50yds. 
Total. 
Mrs. C. Chester-Master . 
. 39 171 
20 108 
59 
279 
Miss Vaughan . 
. 12 
56 
11 
51 
23 
107 
Mrs. Jolly . 
. 12 
40 
10 
42 
22 
82 
Mrs. Lloyd . 
. 12 
26 
11 
29 
23 
55 
Mrs. Harle . 
. 7 
33 
1 
1 
8 
34 
Miss Butler . 
. 2 
10 
4 
10 
6 
20 
ROYAL TOXOPHILITE SOCIETY. 
Extra Target, May 22.—Fine. 
100 yds. 
80yds. 
60yds. 
Total. 
C. Pownall . 
.. 34 
146 
28 
112 
20 
110 
82 
368 
R. K. Tidswell .. 
.. 24 
90 
26 
114 
14 
58 
64 
262 
F. Hemming . 
.. 22 
80 
21 
83 
19 
71 
62 
234 
C. M. Walrond ... 
.. 25 
85 
21 
93 
9 
41 
55 
219 
T. L. Bates. 
.. 14 
50 
14 
60 
14 
62 
42 
172 
Sir G.Cornewall . 
.. 8 
32 
11 
29 
10 
46 
29 
107 
Best gold sweepstakes, C. Pownall. 
VALE OF WHITE HORSE ARCHERS. 
May 20. 
GOyds. 
50yds. 
Total. 
Mrs. Bowly . 
. 46 
244 
21 
121 
67 
365 
Miss Haines . 
.25 
109 
15 
65 
40 
174 
Miss Hayes . 
.24 
94 
11 
51 
35 
145 
Mrs. Wykeham-Musgrave. 
. 23 
75 
16 
60 
39 
135 
Mrs. Cartme’l . 
.17 
69 
14 
62 
31 
131 
Miss K. Cartmell . 
.11 
25 
7 
23 
18 
48 
SOvds. 
60yds. 
Total. 
l^idal . 
.27 
111 
14 
72 
41 
183 
Metcalfe . 
47 
16 
82 
31 
129 
Butt . 
. 9 
37 
9 
41 
18 
78 
Bowly . 
. 10 
32 
12 
44 
22 
76 
Topham . 
. 4 
16 
10 
32 
14 
48 
Badge for best gold. 
Miss H 
ayes; 
second gold, 
Mr. 
Vidal. 
SOUTH WILTS ARCHERS. 
Second Tar 
Bemerton. 
get 
Day, May 
GOyds. 
19.—Shot at 
50yds. Total. 
Mrs. Hartford . 
38 162 
21 
121 
59 
283 
Miss Pinckney . 
31 133 
21 
89 
52 
222 
Miss C. Estcourt ... 
27 123 
15 
65 
42 
188 
Miss MacDonald .. 
26 126 
14 
60 
40 
186 
]\Tiss E. Estcourt ... 
24 82 
17 
83 
41 
165 
INIrs. Fisher . 
18 62 
15 
57 
33 
119 
IMiss Awdry . 
20 72 
11 
43 
31 
115 
lOOvds. 
80yds. 
GOyds. 
Total. 
H. M. Dodington... 
. 5 
23 
5 17 
5 
21 
15 
tji 
Major A. Fisher.... 
. 36 
1-30 
29 139 
20 
100 
S5 
369 
W'indley . 
7 23 
4 
14 
11 
37 
Edward B. Weston. 
