A longbow is an efficient and deadly weapon for a SHTF situation. Here’s how to easily make your own…

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What You Need To Make A Longbow

• Wood and materials
  • Tree Trunk/Pole * – This can be ordered at a lumber or hardware store, collected in the woods, or bought online. There are some places where one can acquire this essential piece. Choosing the right type of wood to use can be difficult, but we’ll get to that later.
  • A 2X4 – The wooden block should measure about 40” in length (no shorter than 30” ).
  • 2 to 4, 40 Watt Light Bulbs
  • Several Pieces of Plywood
  • Parachute Chord – Eventually, you’ll string your bow with this, but not for archery purposes.
  • Bowstring * – B-50 bowstring material (or your preference).
  • Shellac *
  • Guerilla Glue (or another type of wood glue).
  • Finish – Choose the color yourself.
  • Satin, and clear polyurethane.
• Tools (one can build a bow with nothing more than a hatchet, but it is significantly easier to use specific tools):
  • Hatchet *
  • Drawknife * – This is probably the most important tool you will use while building your bow, so don’t skimp on this. You can buy a decent one for $45, and the middle-shelf draw knives will be even cheaper.
  • Rasps * (hoof/farriers, Nichelson #49 & 5#50)
  • Cabinet Scraper * – You may not HAVE to use this, but it could come in useful.
  • Pocketknife – hopefully you already own one of these tools. If you don’t: get out there and buy one! Pocket knives are unbelievably versatile tools.
  • Sandpaper * – 80-, 150-, and 220-grit.
  • File * – Chainsaw files will work best because of their small, detailed function.
  • Vice – Most woodworking projects require that you use a vice at some point or another. These are available at several retailers; you should have no problem finding one of these.
  • Sledgehammer *
  • Wedges *

Picking the Right Type of Wood

• Yew – Very popular for centuries throughout Europe, this lightweight wood is good for simple, short-lived bows with a light draw weight. Yew is the only non-hardwood that is suitable for creating bows, and it is one of the best! Yew is good for beginners because it usually has fewer knots.
• Elm – Creates short, stout bows with thick limbs. Similar to Yew, the bows Elm yields are short-lived and have a lighter draw weight than other woods.
• White Ash – Yields shorter, stouter bows that are less climate-sensitive and last a little longer. Has a moderate draw-weight, but is prone to compression cracks on the belly of the bow.
• Hickory
• Oak (White Oak/Red Oak)
• Maple
• Elm (American Elm/ Red Elm)

Picking the Right Tree

This step is just as important as selecting the right wood. If you choose a short, stumpy, knotted section of some timberline defect, the results will be disastrous. Here are some criteria to follow when selecting the right tree:

• 6-8 feet of straight trunk section.
• The tree’s bark runs vertically without “spiraling”.
• As few knots, limbs, bumps or swales as possible (ideally none).

As soon as you cut the tree and remove your desired section, it is best to coat the wood with shellac or wax to prevent any cracking and to avoid rot when brought inside.

Splitting off Staves

Apparently, you cannot just stain and string an 8-inch diameter log and call it a longbow. The wood must be divided into staves first, and an 8” diameter will roughly produce six bow staves (so don’t worry if you mess up on the first one… or two).

If you have a circular saw and something similar you can kerf the log to ensure it splits along exactly the right lines. With the wedges and hammer split the log lengthwise until you have some staves that are larger than the intended, finished length – roughly 2-3” in diameter. Once again, as soon as you have these staves split, shellac them to prevent cracking.

Shaving The Staves

The first part of shaving your staves is to note the growth rings: summer growth rings are fatter and more distinct, and winter growth rings are small denser laminations. You will want to select a summer growth ring for the belly of the bow.

Secure your stave in the vice and begin to draw off layers. Shave away wood until you have reached the winter growth ring just above the summer ring you have selected for the belly.

Pare away this final growth ring with the cabinet scraper, following the growth ring from one end of the stave to the other. The more precise you are with this step, the better off you will be down the line, so take care to shave, draw, and pare as carefully as possible.

Once finished, shellac the stave to prepare it and protect it from cracking during the next step.

Drying And Shaping The Stave

Pare the stave with a hatchet and drawknife so that it is only slightly larger than the intended product. Shellac the back.

Now comes the tough part: testing your patience. The stave should dry for 3-4 weeks at the minimum, and some bow makers even suggest you let the wood dry for an entire year. Regardless of how long you let the bow sit, when you pull it out, it should be around 15% moisture content (8% is ideal). Moisture measuring devices can be purchased at almost any hardware store.

When the time has finally come to move on with the project, extract your stave from wherever it was drying and very carefully draw the outline of your finished bow onto the stave with a marker. On Native American bows, the center 8” is narrower than both the limbs for the handle, and the belly tapers off at the end of the limbs. Mark the shape you want to cut out.

Using the drawknife, reduce the stave to your drawn outline and refine the form with a pocketknife to get the final details. Lightly sand the edges and tips and smooth out the front and back surfaces. Finally, using a chainsaw file, create two deep 45-degree notches on either end of the bow for the string.

The Art Of Tillering

When you look at an unstrung longbow, it is not straight like your staves. It is curved slightly. Tillering is the method by which you achieve that curve.

Start by removing wood from the belly with a file and cabinet scraper until the libs are thin enough to start bending.

Floor Tillering – Holding one tip in hand, and resting the other on the floor securely against your foot. At first bend, the bow gently to test the flexibility.

Begin to shave off small amounts of wood between each bending session, creating more and more arc. But be VERY CAREFUL not to crack the stave – otherwise, start starting over. As you do this, keep a weary eye open for any flat spots or points of resistance and shave them away.

The amount of wood you shave off should get increasingly smaller as you get closer to a finished product. Inspect regularly along the process for any cracks or imperfections – if anything but small cracks on the back develop you will have to start from scratch.

Once the bow is bent enough to string, bust out that hemp or parachute chord and tie off. There should be about seven inches between the bow’s belly and the string on a properly strung bow.

Finishing Your New Longbow

Sand the entire bow with 80-, 150-, and 220-grit sandpaper and shellac one more time for good measure. At this point, you can decide if you want to finish your bow or not. It is a personal choice, but remember, the darker the color of your weapon, the harder it will be to spot in the brush or woods. Seal with three coats of clear gloss polyurethane and one final coat of satin polyurethane.

Wrap your handle in nylon cord, hemp cord, or leather chord using the “whipping” technique. Apply a light coat of clear glue (like Tightbond III) and let it dry.

Now, you know how to make your very own longbow! Enjoy!

To see more great survival tutorials, check out Skilled Survival.

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