The morning times., 1896-10-25
Indian
Bow
BY EDWARD WARD

shooting with the long bow is a thor
oushly american sport, and one that NOS
seSSeS d strong fascination for every healthy
American boy. Il is distinctiveIy a snort
"i tie woods and fields and the free. onan
air. ana is the more attractive in that liz
can he INDUCED in all the year round
the best American wood for the long
bow is hickory, and it should come from
as near the heart OF the tre, as possible.
So that it Will be straight. elastic and free
from knots
Now let US suppose you have obtained
suitable piece Of hickory his heavy.
rough and covered with log spIipters
which you can bend or twist with your
fingers. but cannot break You will also
nodce that it is curved or lent in one
direction, and your future cutting must be
directed toward making tie inside Of
this curve the belly of the tow-the belly
being tie under side along which the bow
string is placed
As 'he flrst step toward shaping the bow
'Ahe sharp hatchet and trim away as
much superiluOus wood Us possible, cutting
Small pieces, and taking good care not to
go Too deep Next the draw knife must
De used, and IL Is with this tool that the
bulk of the shaping is done. Form the
back first; it is perfectly flat along its
entire length. and must b. placed smooth
and level. In the completed DOW the back
shOgld be one Inch broad IN Tie middle and
narrowed very gradually toward the ends.
where it is One-half inch broad These di-
mensions Will indicate how To cut the wood
ava at the sides. which is to be done after
the back is formed
Lastly comes the shaping of the belly.
which is most important Of AL and must
he done very carefully. The belly is formed
like flattened half circle, as shown in
Fig. /, which represents a cross section.
Do not make the mistake OF having the
bow too thick. as, i'll that case, 1t will
overtax your strength to draw it. and any
thing like correct shooting will be impus-
sible. About five -eightns uf an inch is a
good thickness in the middle, tapering off
very slightly toward the ends. II, after
The shaping with the draw knife is COM
p!eicd there should happen to be any thick
places or protuberances, smooth them off
with the coarse side Of a wood rasp.
We will now suppose yoIr bow to be
practically in shape, something like Fig.
>. Now take the finer side OF the wood rdsp
and go all over 1t, removing every little in
equality left by the draw knife and plane
Next take a piece of glass and scrape it
smooth from end To c nd. and finally sand
paper it thoroughly.
The shape of tie ends with the nutches
To which the string is to lie attached, is
shown in Fig. 3. These are best fashi med
with sharp jackknife. the ends being
smoothly rounded and sandpapered.
About four inches OF the middle is to be
the kind commonly sold in the stores as
shoe thread Wrap it compactly and
smoothly. This not only strengthens the
bow. but also serves as a guide in shoot
ing, the arrows attaining their greatest
force when shot from the exact middle.
Before it is used the thread must be rubbed
Thoroughly with beeswax. and it is a good
point To remember that every hit Of cord or
thread used upon both bow and arrows
should be waxcd well beforehand.
For the bow string almost any kind of
tough, heavy cord is suitable Catgut is
also used Stringing the bow is an accom-
plshment that requires little practice.
One end Of the string is tied firmly and
permanently to a bow end. and is not to be
unfastencd excepting i'll case II 4 break
age The other end should fall about two
Inc hes short of reaching the bow end, and
should be strongly lOoped. Now, resting
the tied end ON the ground. bend the bow
with your knee and slip the moose over
the end into the nOtchcs. This looped end
is the working end of the string, and the
bow should invariably he unstrung after
You are through using it.