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[oldghost]

It would be years before it would be large enough to make a bow out of and you destroy the tree , you need sap wood and heart wood .  To many new product on the market that you do not need to murder a tree . What takes a life time to make can be destroyed in seconds.

[Draconis Rex]

Thats why I'm finding it so hard to come by, If I can find one thats already died then I might be able to get a piece. Been in touch with tree surgeons on the off-chance that they know of some somewhere. I certainly wouldn't want to take out a tree just to make a bow.

[oldghost]

How often do you practice Drac. I use a Ben Pearson recurve , much easier to handle in the woods .
 
Don't you have lumber stores where you could by legally harvested woods ?.

[Draconis Rex]

Haven't been out for quite a while now, since my bow was ruined I kind of lost the urge. I'd really like to get out again though.

Nearly had a job with Border Archery a little while back, making laminated recurves. I keep in touch with them in case the opportunity comes up again.

Whats the weight of your bow?

[oldghost]

65 at 31 , long arms . hunt with Beeman Carbon fiber shafts with  Magnus " Snuffer " broadheads 5/16 " shaft diameter.

[Draconis Rex]

Actually, I must thank you for bringing this up, You've reminded me I'm due to call Border Archery again. Still looking for work, and I would like to get in there.

I like port orford cedar shafts, I try to fletch my own, with standard piles and self nocked.


:: Edit to add, I'm a bit of a traditionalist.

[oldghost]

Cedar shafts are nice but hunting in this climate has a warp factor of about 6.7 . Within a half hour temps can change by 25 degrees and humidity over 40% then back down , I like fletching of 4.5 inches the new 2 inch one are for those discusing compound pieces of whimpy .

[Draconis Rex]

I concur 4 to 4.5 inch is my preference. We don't hunt here so cedar is ok, and the standard pile makes for easier extraction from the butt.

I've never shot through a compound bow, They've never really appealed to me. I've always been fond of the longbow though. One of these days I'm going to have a bash at making a flatbow, probably from ash.

[oldghost]

From your photo , I'm thinking your around 6'2" ? Me 5'10"  a g lowbow would be good for you to bad your not Welsh  . Wanted to try a longtime ago to make a horn composet bow never happened . Have shot one but at only 40 inches it felt real funny .  When you fletch do you use gray goose fletching ?. Or are they not legal anymore ?.
 
When your at the butts , do you uses target or field points . Not sure what equipment you have or can get over there or what they will let you use .

[Draconis Rex]

Thanx for the compliment OG, I'm the same height as you    5'10" give or take a half inch. We still use goose or turkey feathers traditionally, although plastic vanes seem to be quite popular when buying ready made arrows. I've tried other feathers experimentally (at the museum where I worked, our taxidermist used to give me feathers from various birds that came in) none satisfactory though.

I thought field and target points were the same? whats the difference? I prefer piles that are similar in shape to a bullet I don't like the concave shape.

I'm going to hit the sack now though, we must touch on this again...

[oldghost]

Bullet shape is a target point , a field point is a tapered full steel point that will not be damaged if you hit a rock .
 
Drac , maybe someday will get together and see who is the better Bowmen . Yes I know you have youth on your side but I've been at it a lot longer . Then there is being a lot prettier then you , which goes without saying , oh but I said it , bad me  .
 
Did you say museum and feathers , perchance do you fly fish.?

[Draconis Rex]

Bullet shape is a target point , a field point is a tapered full steel point that will not be damaged if you hit a rock .

Of course I should have clicked there. 
 

Drac , maybe someday will get together and see who is the better Bowmen . Yes I know you have youth on your side but I've been at it a lot longer . Then there is being a lot prettier then you , which goes without saying , oh but I said it , bad me  .

I'd like that, although I know you'd be the better bowman; as you say, you have antiquity on your side sorry, been at it longer. 

Did you say museum and feathers , perchance do you fly fish.?

I did used to work at the museum, but no, I'm no fly fisher. I've tried it so I can flick a line but I never took to it. When I was young I used to be a deep sea angler, I thouroughly enjoyed that but it's been many years since.

BTW. I think we're slipping away from the OP here so I'm going to open a new thread.

[oldghost]

Got ya..

[Firesong]

Thanks for the input. I don't think I'll be making a wand soon. I want to do more research first. I want to make it as personal as possible. Trying to decide on the type of wood, what organic dyes and colors, what stones, metals, carvings, general shape and size, etc.... Any opinion on what wood would be best associated with Aries? Has anyone combined two or more woods in one wand? I thought about combining oak and cedar by starting  with two pieces of similar dimensions and splitting them lengthwise, and then binding half of each together somehow. And had considered a drop of blood between the two halves before putting them together. Just an idea.

If I were making the tools, I'd do the same, or something similar.  Personally, I believe that blood is incredibly powerful as a correspondence symbolically and metaphysically; it's composition is similar enough to sea water that it's been used for transfusions, to maintain a volume of blood.  What(on Earth) is more vast than the sea?  What contains more kinetic energy?  The seas are the blood of the planet.

What is more personal than blood, not only the type, but the ancestral DNA, all the way back to the very first living thing.  It marks you, and identifies you, and also should provide a strong focus for you, which for tools is a very good thing.  I think it provides a very personal connection, which should add to the measure of the thought form created.

The only real drawback, is that if your tools were taken, they could be used against you, like a GPS.  There are always some sick people out there...

But hey, that's just me...

[Edorion]

Thanks Firesong. I'm anxious to get started. I was told that holly and chestnut were good woods to correspond with the Aries zodiac. It may take awhile to find those. I'm thinking oak and cedar would make a nice combo.