Long Bow Building Instructions

The English Long Bow is one of the most formidable inventions of its time. In fact it played a significant role in bringing the English victory in the battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years War. Many Long Bows of that period had a draw weight of 100 pounds or more, taking archers of considerable strength to wield them effectively. Modern attempts to replicate the Long Bow are complicated by the fact that the yew wood used to make bows in centuries past is scarce, and modern day craftsman and recreationalists lack the decade of training needed to draw a 100 pound bow. That said, there are a variety of instruction manuals available today to help you build a functional Long Bow with a moderate draw weight.

Things You'll Need

  • Workbench
  • Sandpaper
  • Plane
  • Rasp
  • Draw knife
  • Band saw
  • Wood
  • Bow string
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Instructions

    • 1

      Select your wood. As noted by Hans Schuurman, Secretary of the Roger Ascham Traditional Archery Club, which is associated with the British Long Bow Society, "the elasticity of the backing and the compressibility of the belly (of the bow stave) should be considerable". Today relatively easy woods to obtain that make good Long Bows are Maple, Hickory, Bamboo, Satinwood and Rosewood. In the northeastern U.S., White Ash, Red Oak and American Elm should all work well, according to Hans Schuurman.

    • 2

      Cut a piece of wood of 1,820 millimeters long, 30 millimeters deep and 36 millimeters wide; add or subtract 50 millimeters on or off the length of the bow for every inch you pull more or less than 28 inches. Decrease the thickness of the belly ½ millimeter for every inch less than 28 inches that you can draw.

    • 3

      Cut your wood. When cutting your beam of wood from the tree try to encapsulate a continuous growth ring of the tree within the beam; this will ensure that the back of the bow (side facing away from archer), which is under significant tension when the bow is drawn, is strong.

    • 4

      Shape your bow stave. The most arduous task associated with fashioning a Long Bow, and the step that requires the most skill, is the process of "tillering" the bow stave. With a rasp and plane, drawknife and/or band saw, slowly reduce the belly of the bow stave to the desired thickness and shape. You can use a "tillering stick" to hold the bow in place while you do this. The goal of the process of tillering is to shape the stave in a balanced way so that the limbs of the stave will bend equally when drawn.

    • 5

      Mark and make your nocks on either end of the bow. You can use pieces of cow horn or antlers to do this by whittling the nocks into the materials and attaching them to the stave with construction glue. Alternatively you can whittle the nocks directly into the wood

    • 6

      String your bow with string bought at a local craft shop or hunting store, or else make it yourself from dacron.