Bamboo Bows

[Femme Fatale]

Has anyone here ever made one? I'm thinking of going out tonight or tomorrow and attempting it, entirely from scratch.

So what is good for bow wire? definitely not fishing line or rope... maybe electrical wire?

[T.K. Baha]

Sinew is the traditional way but good luck finding bamboo in NC.

[Femme Fatale]

Sinew is the traditional way but good luck finding bamboo in NC.

Sinew?

And I know where this place grows some, no worries :)

[T.K. Baha]

I don't know the exact part of the animal it comes from, but it is muscles or ligaments and when dried its really flexible. I don't know if it would have to be a specific animal, good luck finding a buffalo lol but Im sure a deer would work.

[Femme Fatale]

I don't know the exact part of the animal it comes from, but it is muscles or ligaments and when dried its really flexible. I don't know if it would have to be a specific animal, good luck finding a buffalo lol but Im sure a deer would work.

Oh haha that kind of sinew, okay, well interesting, I'll have to look into that, sounds good, thanks for the tip! And I do think deer are more common hah, I just saw one today actually.

[Ebola]

Braided horsehair was the traditional way in Northern Europe.

[Femme Fatale]

Braided horsehair was the traditional way in Northern Europe.

Ah pretty clever... this guy down the road has some horses :cool:

[mrparks]

Bamboo is rather rigid. It is good for arrows, but only if it has the non-telescoping nodes.

You can use it in bows if the piece of bamboo in question is large of diameter enough that you can get a thick, flat section from it and laminate it to a hardwood. It behaves much like fiberglass in such an application.

I hear there is bamboo flooring out there in planks already. Haven't bothered to look.

[Femme Fatale]

Bamboo is rather rigid. It is good for arrows, but only if it has the non-telescoping nodes.

You can use it in bows if the piece of bamboo in question is large of diameter enough that you can get a thick, flat section from it and laminate it to a hardwood. It behaves much like fiberglass in such an application.

I hear there is bamboo flooring out there in planks already. Haven't bothered to look.

Ah yes while looking I noticed a tutorial to do that exact same thing, you actually have to cut it in half and put the half on the hardwood, to the best of my knowledge that's the process.

Those planks might be helpful... I am wary of price though hah.