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 Post subject: Easy / Cheap ~35 lb bow
 Post Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:15 am 
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Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:54 pm
Posts: 234
Hey I made a short bow recently, no pics b/c I gave it away to a dude I hadn't seen for a while with only an old sword and a dagger, but it was really cheap and easy to make and had very good power. I used a 3/8" fiberglass rod from www.tapplastics.com , although pretty much fiberglass rod will work (or any other rigid but not too rigid rod, like an old weapon core but not a super-rigid golf club...it should be a little whippy, and you can make the holes further apart to make it less rigid/powerful, or closer together for more power)...I should note that tapplastics.com also sells nice "epoxy tubes" which are actually fiberglass tubes that make very good sword cores, however golf clubs are a bit better for shorts in my opinion, although I do get nice clubs for $0.50 each...anyways you'll need a drill, either an electric drill, a hand drill, or a drill press, and some wire, I used 16 gauge steel wire that I initially bought on google shopping for chainmaile, and you simply drill two holes in the rod or stick and pull the wire through the holes, aim for holes that are about the same size as the wire. Put one end of the wire "string" through the first hole, wrap it around the rod a few times and/or tie it in a knot to hold it there good (I also used lock-tite, a caulk-like / clay/putty like glue from a hardware store, home depot) then put the other end of the wire through the other hole and bend the bow into a bow-shape and wrap/tie/glue the other end, making sure the wire ends are done safely with no sharp edges, either by adding thick tape, lock-tite, and/or sanding the end of the wire to ensure safety. Arrows can be made by taking a golf club or any other rigid rod and padding the end as per a sword, plus a quarter or coin taped to the tip. I use Stansport brand "Camp Pad" and duct tape to pad my swords/arrows, simply by making little tape caps on the ends and sometimes the length of the rod, then taping layers or strips of foam with more/thicker tape on the inside of the sword than towards the outside, then wrapping a bit of tape around the outside. I prefer a thin duct tape, so I can use it to tack things in place without adding too much weight, and can also layer it for strength and thickness near the core. For arrows I also put a little tape on the back of the arrow, which the wire will press into to form a nock, fletchings seem optional at 35 lbs with a big foam tip. If your bow is too weak make the holes closer together and re-do the wire.


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