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3$ bamboo longbow
by lennyb on May 27, 2007 Table of Contents 3$ bamboo longbow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: 3$ bamboo longbow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Materials list and overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Arrange the materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Tie off the ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Next step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Beefing it up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Nocking and stringing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Uh-oh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Ammo and improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Author:lennyb
i am a photolab technician and an incurable packrat. i have made swords ,chainmail, crossbows.cameras,bike trailers,kayaks,guitars{slide and electric},knives,various film winders and vacum easels for the photolab i work at,generators for 12volt ,and small science fair size one for the kids, and most all of it is made out of discards or yard sale junk. whew im worried my other half may make me clean up the garage.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Image Notes 1. small ends 2. big ends 3. alternating ends 4. dollar store jute twine
Image Notes 1. dollar store bamboo. you can probably get better ones from a garden center
Image Notes 1. smallest ends...sorry for the blurry picture it was too bright to see the lcd and realize i wasnt in macro. and too late to change when i did figure it out.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Image Notes 1. second bindings distance not critical just keep it even
Image Notes 1. 600 feet of dollar store twine. i once checked a 500 foot roll out and found it contained 350 so dont take it too hard if you get cheated here
Image Notes 1. second bindings distance not critical just keep it even
Image Notes 1. push the bundles together like this and try to space the sticks around evenly
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Image Notes 1. you can completely cover joins like this with cord once you finish. heck if you want to you can completly wrap the entire bow
Step 5: Beefing it up
now take the bundle left over{the ones with the alternating ends} and lay them on the bundle evenly {the ends should line up between the first set of bindings an the tips}. tie them off very tightly and wrap the whole bundle in several places with the twine. wrap the middle section to form a handle. and {i cant stress this enough} make all bindings as tight as you can . the energy stored in the bending wood should not be allowed to dissipate by sticks flexing away from each other.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Image Notes 1. mmmmmm hockey tape. very abundant here in canada look better if you just glue or varnish the rope
Step 7: Uh-oh
when i strung the bow i heard a sickening crunch and got to do my homer simpson impression yet again. so what happened? i didnt grade the piles before i selected the bundles and all the skinnier ones ended up together. so i had to cut off the busted end and pull that bundle out untill the end was in proportion to the rest then retied it . as you can see the string is now too long for this bow but it worked well enough to try it out it draws 20 lbs or so {maybe a bit less its hard to tell}.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Related Instructables
How to make a quick, easy and fun bamboo chopstick crossbow. by heheheq
crossbow/bow by gameboy7oa
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 81 comments
handyman22 says:
Oct 5, 2009. 6:04 AM REPLY hey i was just wondering if you could give an opinion, I have tried to make a bow and am going to attempt to make a type like yours also, but i was just wondering what kind of rope/string i should use for the launcher rope, people say nylon string is the best suited for a bow, but do you have any other recommendations? i would like to have a string that can increase the range and accuracy. thanks
lennyb says:
i just used twine for this one. for a more powerfull bow dacron string or any good strong string that doesnt stretch much.
nutsandbolts_64 says:
you can make a lot of atl-atls with all those bamboo sticks. how much bamboo do you get out of one pack anyway?
lennyb says:
usually 10 sticks or so. the bamboo the dollar store has this year is shorter though and thinner. not worth trying just now. if it were straighter it would make decent darts but its kind of twisty. i bought some 4 foot x3/8 dowels to make some atl atl darts. i fletched them with duct tape {later crow feathers} and made points from 308 fmj bullets soldered into cut off cartridges . looks smooth and sticks into archery targets nicely{when i can hit em}
nutsandbolts_64 says:
lol, ok thanks.
octo137 says:
Mar 13, 2010. 4:29 AM REPLY you could get a long thick one piece of bamboo and just string it i made one and some arrows in about 5 minutes, and it draws around 50 lbs.
spenfisher12 says:
I would tie a loop in each and put it in the middle and reverse it over all the bamboo
lennyb says:
that would work well
sharlston says:
what is the range of this?
lennyb says:
May 16, 2009. 5:23 AM REPLY i would say with practice that you should be able to hit a rabbit sized target at 20 metres. of course the closer you are the easier it would get.
sharlston says:
what about if you shot it in the air at about a 130 degree angle how far would it go?
lennyb says:
never tried it but id guess 80 metres or so
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
popomaster says:
Oct 1, 2008. 3:32 PM REPLY so just to clarify, when you said to tie off the thinnest ends of all the sticks, do you mean the thinnest sticks? or the thinnest ends. I just don't want it to break. also, should the ends of the bow be all thin ends of the sticks? or should i make the ends, thin, fat, thin, fat, etc. please reply soon. thank you
lennyb says:
Oct 1, 2008. 4:16 PM REPLY generally i have the thinnest ends towards the ends of the bow and the butts in the middle(for the sticks that extend to the ends) the ones in the middle that dont go to the ends i alternate the tips. i broke bows like this several times before i got one to stay together and that broke eventually . it may be that i was using an inferior grade of bamboo but dont expect it to last as long as a properly made wooden one{even they break too i broke my favorite red oak longbow just yesterday}. the good thing about this type bow is how little money you have to spend to get a shootable bow. enjoy and please feel free to write a version of your build as an instructable.
superdave5481 says:
Oct 26, 2008. 5:20 AM REPLY I had a thought while reading your instructible. Why not use some fishing poles. The ones made of fiberglass might be better. People throw awqay fishing poles all the time. I have a hard time getting rid of them as I am a packrat. I might even try it after my try at making a laminated bamboo one.
sharlston says:
May 15, 2009. 10:25 AM REPLY if u cant find some go to the piund shop or if your in the america the dollar store and get the 3 metre ones and open them up and put the thickest togetther
sharlston says:
i mean pound not piund sorry
lennyb says:
Oct 26, 2008. 3:12 PM REPLY sure fishing poles should work. so will fibreglass rods like those driveway markers. even old arrow shafts could be lashed together to make a bundle bow . i think several tearling hardwood saplings might work too but i havent tried it ... yet. if you make one from fishing poles take some pictures and post it
wonton says:
May 18, 2010. 5:38 AM REPLY driveway markers!!! did i just hear that from another instructables member about making a bow and arrow. this instructable reminds me of my past so much. i once made a bow out of a single driveway marker and some string and as an arrow i used a bamboo tomato stake like you did but with 2 big nails duct taped to the tip. my brother killed a bunny and a tiny bird with it. haha. my mom almost kicked our asses. but it was worth it. that was our first experience in archery
lennyb says:
May 18, 2010. 2:27 PM REPLY i have seen references too driveway markers on other websites and instructables. its not an original idea of mine. i wanted to try it out this year but all the driveway markers i could find were steel or iron rod. and the bamboo in the garden centres this year is even worse than when i made the bow in this instructable so no go there. guess im gonna hafta go scootin in the woods for a nice maple sapling or 2
Thundertydus says:
Apr 15, 2009. 9:19 PM REPLY I Have the same type of bamboo as you do at my 5 minute away rona, i have a hunting license and have been hunting with a rifle, but i want to try killing small animals with a bow (You never know when theirs an unexpected zombie apocolypse and then whos prepared when you have no ammo?) and im wondering how many rods i should use? Or if i should use something else entirely
superdave5481 says:
Apr 16, 2009. 6:02 AM REPLY Depending of the diameter of the material you would use more or less. My experience tells me that the bamboo reeds will fail after a period of tine by breaking near the area that is receiving the most bending stress. It might be best to have 3 to 4 going to each limb of the bow. If you want a really strong bow go to this website: bowstick archery. they have answers and material. by the way, a bow that breaks while being drawn back is fairly dangerous to you. Be carefull. It is better to make a laminated bow from hickory backed with bamboo. You would be happier with the results, trust me. Some of the reeds that are avaliable are going to be brittle and more prone to failure. Good luck!!!
lennyb says:
Apr 16, 2009. 9:40 AM REPLY agreed but the skill level and time required to make a properly made bow are way beyond most peoples skill / willingness level. a bow like this takes 10 minutes and is not suggested as serious archery tackle. also i wouldnt try tp get more than a few months out of one of these bows. as for safety a breaking bow can mess you up bad if you dont have it backed or wrapped to keep it from exploding. the bamboo bows tend to break much more gracefully unless you over draw them by a huge amount. usually a failure will just crunch and not rebound but if you panic and release the arrow you may get yourself in the hand if you have overdrawn. also watch out for the splinters as bamboo can be sharp when my oak board bow snapped off the rawhide backing kept it from fragmenting it just cracked off clean at a hinge that had formed a day or two earlier.
superdave5481 says:
Apr 17, 2009. 4:34 AM REPLY You are right! It does take considerable skill to make a laminated bow. And if all you are after is a little use you will be sucessful with the reed bow. And just a couple weeks ago I had split some large sized bamboo and was sliced on the finger as if cut by a razor. Eye protection, perhaps even sunglasses, would be advisable. You can even make your own bowstring with dacron fishing string and wax. There are some great tutorials to be found on youtube. good luck with your endeavors and be careful of the dangers.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
popomaster says:
ok, thankyou. im thinking about making a short bow with this.
marsrover says:
Feb 3, 2009. 10:39 AM REPLY ok step one should be go to a bamboo clump (mines acrosst the street at a older ladys house she lets me get all i want) then take the saw blade of your knife and make a ring arround the bamboo then snap it over your knee i will be posting how to do the rest very soon (within the feburary month) again use very thick bamboo and you won't have to do all the tapeing and using tiny sticks
lennyb says:
must be nice to have wild boo nearby i live in the north and we dont have any here. its dollar store , walmart or nothing
Nov 21, 2008. 5:35 PM REPLY i found a cool web sight on homemade bows (including laminated bamboo backed bows ) http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/index.html
lennyb says:
i have seen that site before lots of good info. thanks for reminding me.
sowrdsman94 says:
okay uuuummm i didnt get a word of it can't u just make a video i got really confused about all of this.
ctoonsfan2 says:
where do i get the bambo at
spylock says:
They are actually pretty good bows.
Wolfsire says:
Oct 1, 2007. 10:39 AM REPLY FWIW, I made two bundle bows this weekend. I bought 3 packs each of 25 3?? bamboo garden stakes from a garden center. At $1.99 each, not a bad deal. I sorted them largest to smallest. All but about 5 had the wide ends about twice as large as the small. Very few were straight. I took the 10 straightest from the large side to save for arrows. (Still working on those and only 5 have survived.) While sorting, I set aside those that were cracked and I flex tested them. About a quarter broke along the way. Some of the lager ones had pin holes, so I figured they had been previously heat treated so I did not do that. While sorting them my hands turned green. Yuck, so I cleaned all but the smallest with wipes. That turned out to take forever. The die just kept coming off. Then I picked 13 of the best based on size and straightness. I used a clothes iron to heat and straighten them. Four broke in the process, but I had plenty for replacements. 13 was a determined number. 7 in a bundle give a tight hex: one in the middle surrounded by six. 13 gives you six rods of two pieces joined together with varying lengths, plus one at 3??. I duck taped the longest with 6?? overlap and increased the overlap from there by about 1-2?? for each of the others. Before I finished that, I figured I??d try the version in this instructable. 18 pre-sorted. 6 thin ends for tips, woven wide ends and an overlay of 6. Bound and covered in duck tape. It was pretty weak and cracked on one side. Turned out 2 of 6 broke. Still shot, though. Back to the other one. I was not sure how it would affect the bow, but for each rod, I taped the small ends together, so the thick ends would go to the tips of the bow. I did not want the handle to be too wide. Recall I was using the largest of 3 bags. I taped the wide end of the rods, each about 1-2?? closer in from the last working in from the bow tips. It ended up 5??6?? Then I wrapped the tape in hemp twine and put a leather handle and cordage backing on it. The cordage slipped off one side, requiring a fix to hold it in place, but over all it turned into a very nice bow. I do not know the poundage. I??d guess 40-50 lbs based on my experience with my crossbow. I took apart the other one and re-assembled it almost the same way: doubled up overlapping rods, thick ends toward tips. I used more than 13, probably closer to twenty. I even used two that broke from the first version for the shorted rods. I didn??t bother straightening any. I did not stick with the hex, but just kept putting on shorter ones in places that looked right. My increments were 0.5-1??. I had more overlap on the longest rod. The bow is 5??. Again covered the whole think in duck tape (brown tape with black bands, so it looks fair). It also turned out very well. It feels the same weight as the other one, but the poundage is much higher. I can pull it to full draw, but I cannot hold it there. 60 lbs? Not bad for some crooked sticks and duct tape. Now I just need to finish some arrows.
Apr 6, 2008. 11:24 AM REPLY dont cover in ductape as ductape dampans the force that the bow can fire arrows at. i know that sounds like it was translated from a different language but it is not and i am simply having difficulty making my typing not sound really strange
Wolfsire says:
Thanks. I though that might be the case.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
lennyb says:
Oct 2, 2007. 4:03 PM REPLY hey if you took pictures of the build i wont be put out if you post it on instructables. hey i may try it your way too. be nice to get more power for the dollar. ya that green preservative is very messy i hope its not too toxic.
Wolfsire says:
Oct 9, 2007. 11:04 PM REPLY large crossbow is a fiberglass bundle bow with a barrel. Bows are bundle bows, although it is hard to tell with all of them as they are covered.
lennyb says:
nice looking stuff you ought to do another crossbow and post it. id love to see it
Wolfsire says:
Nov 8, 2007. 12:21 PM REPLY Thanks. BTW, I actually weighed the draw of the two bows. The long-strung one was 40# at 29" and the short fully 70# at 20"!
Wolfsire says:
Oct 2, 2007. 4:48 PM REPLY Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this. I tested the design with with bamboo skewers first. I got a 16 inch little bundle bow and a bunch of 12 inch skewer arrows with duck tape fletching. Fun little thing to shoot at cardboard. Oct 2, 2007. 4:36 PM REPLY One of these days, I get savy enough to put pictures on the computer. I'll see what I can do. BTW, my hands are still killing me from wrapping all that twine as tight as possible. Isn't that green dye what makes for green tomatoes? ;-)
Wolfsire says:
elliot81 says:
that looks awesome, you'd have a hard time snapping it compared the usual '1 stick' bows
Meeethril_MailleNerd says:
Sep 21, 2007. 10:08 PM REPLY I tried it @ home, and it work fairly well (i had to make a few adjustments though) Thx for the idea i've been waiting forever to find a bow that i could make for cheap. :)
gunmanx says:
gah! i hav the same type of bamboo as yours and it doesent bend~
lennyb says:
might be a differnt species
gunmanx says:
Sep 21, 2007. 3:48 PM REPLY no man i even went to the 99c store and bought the same kind and it doesent work and i even tried different kinds and they all dont freakin bend!
Legend says:
Aug 16, 2007. 1:36 AM REPLY Cool instructable, nicely made arrow too. Thanks for the tips - I had given up the bamboo bow as a lost cause. The first bamboo bow I made had exactly your problem - the ends bent far too much and the middle section hardly bent at all. That's cos I had one thick piece of bamboo and two thin ones at the end! I had started to make a bow like yours, but I couldn't get the wrappings tight enough, what knot did you use? I suppose if I wrapped it around and around like you did it wouldn't really matter. I just gave up bamboo bows and make proper ones instead - 'far easier!!' I've seen in a book an expert bowyer's bamboo cane bow. He used sections of three canes I think. To solve your 'hinge' problem, you should use smaller bunches of canes and layer them more frequently, so the transverse from loads to little is smooth. Also, you don't want too few on the tips because then you'll get too much bending then and the rest of the bow isn't doing any work. You also dont want too many on the tips because that's extra weight where you want it least. Its all very confusing and doesn't act as a solid piece of wood, which it's so hard to configure. I'll be making a wood-bow instructable shortly Again, great instructable, thanks for sharing it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/
lennyb says:
Aug 24, 2007. 4:08 AM REPLY i made another one from better canes and it worked better {no hinges}. its true that a stick or board bow is more predictable but certainly not as quick. as for knots i found it hard to tie the bundles tight enough also and for the real critical ones i used good ole hockey tape{insert gasp from the purists here} thanks for reading and thanks for your advice.
http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/