How To Break A Bow: A Beginners Guide

[@paulsangiorgio3093]

This video has SUCH good lessons. Its not a simple “tutorial” but instead a mental guide for upcoming bowyers. I learned that I absolutely will break a bow one day or a lot of days. I am not limited to the tools i have. If i have fun making it and i learn a little every time* thats all that really matters!

[@DanSantanaBows]

I didn’t think of it as a mental guide, but you’re definitely right. I was just trying to steer everyone away from some of the traps I got stuck in. You don’t have to break bows at all if you’re careful about design. But if you wanna push yourself and your bows it’s just gonna happen.

[@grs6262]

I like your thought process..simplicity has it's own beauty..too many have their eye on the ferrari, when the chevy is more attainable and is just as serviceable, if not more so..

[@DanSantanaBows]

Exactly. A lot of the time added features and benefits are just extra failure points. Nothing wrong with a simple and reliable bow

[@adamellis4578]

Don't like, don't subscribe, go make a bow..... Best KZbin line ever. I've got a couple in the works that I've been babying for a very long time on is a character Osage that has lots of and lots of character but I'm in no real hurry on it. After breaking more than making for a stretch I'm ready to start lobbing arrows again and need another decent bow after over drawing my shorty it didn't quite break but I heard a crack and have been nervous ever since

[@DanSantanaBows]

If you’re lucky maybe it was just the string grooves clicking. You can also take a cotton ball and run it down the back and if there are any splinters they’ll snag

[@mrflytyerpinewood3708]

I liked anyway!

[@mrflytyerpinewood3708]

Mate, that film was so calming and motovational. It almost put me in the meditative state. I like the message you get accross there too. How can you NOT like and subscribe this one...and still go make a bow, of course?

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thank you! If you haven’t seen it, check out the sequel. Im thinking it might be a recurring yearly series

[@renesantana55]

That’s really interesting!! A mix of art and proffessionalism!! Looking forward for more informations!

[@seandmello3793]

Great video! I like how easy it is to binge even though I'm not a bowyer, just fun! The style is great, and I really liked the style in your first video. Nice!

[@DanSantanaBows]

Sean DMello thanks man, I’m really trying to keep these first videos accessible. Hope I showed how fun simple bows can be. Everyone wants to build fancy bows when they start, but those are so much harder to make and rarely more fun

[@rupertbezuidenhout7455]

The best comment yet, after 3years in this passion arena of bow building:.... who cares about the light bow.... I'm having fun!! Think I'm gonna make that a slogan in my shop. Thank a mill Dan it is priselesss!

[@DanSantanaBows]

haha, glad to hear it! Light bows can be so much more fun and if well made and tuned can still shoot really fast. Getting macho about draw weight is one of the easiest ways to turn something fun into a struggle

[@Jbreuhan2]

Very awesome. Love the shots you picked. Keep it up.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Jonas. My goal was to show not tell with this one. I still want to be able to to do better close up POV shots. That’ll improve with gear and practice.

[@dylankeel2823]

You're welcome for the subscription, and I'm watching it right now. This is very helpful

[@OoMucusoO]

Hi there from r/bowyer, can't make a bow right now so I thought I might as well like the vid. Keep up the good work !

[@antonioeldonmartinez1767]

After a year of watching your videos repeatedly. Im gonna make a bow.

[@kirtknierim3687]

I just learned a few things today about making bows. An oldster turned me on to it. Came home, watched this, I'm heading out tomorrow to find my first few pieces to get started on. Ironwood is very common here, and I love it. I'll make my first one this week. Thanks for the encouragement.

[@Gauchooriental]

Very nice! Looking forward the 3 rd of the series!!!

[@JoelWiggins-p9x]

I am the bow breaker lol I’ve lost count or should I say decided to stop counting but I’m about 25 and 5 but losing no interest in chasing the best bow ever … 😂 love the craft I’m in balls deep and no end in sight yeah I can make 40 pound bows all day seems like they go from not bending to a 40 pound bow but I’m learning to slow down. Thanks for your videos.

[@michelgrojean4009]

Very cool Daniel, congratulations! Michel Santana

[@cameronpain1422]

Nice, I made a green bow out of red alder, but it was only 4 feet I split a branch that was 3 5/8 in diameter. to my knowledge alder is not a very popular bow wood. I’m thinking about sinew backing the other stave. Great vid👍

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Cameron. In my other video I used short branches and wrapped them to a separate handle piece. So you definitely don’t need to find full length wood if you can get two pieces. You don’t even need the separate handle piece you can just overlap the limbs and wrap them.

[@cameronpain1422]

@@DanSantanaBows Yeah I’ll have to try splicing. Also I’m curious What is your favorite material for making arrows? do you size the shafts using an arrow sizing tool? So far the arrows I’ve made are just naturally tapered shoots. Should I consider sizing my arrows?

[@DanSantanaBows]

You don’t have to do a complicated splice. For these simple bows just lapping and wrapping is good enough. Glue helps keep things from wiggling. If i wasn’t trying to make that bow in an hour i’d have used PVA wood glue, epoxy, or hide glue. So far the arrows in the videos have been commercial mass market wood arrows. The thin light shafts I shoot with low weight bows are fiberglass. I don’t love wearing down nice arrows for trick shooting and training, especially if I’m shooting a group like in the videos. Doesn’t take long to hit another arrow and ruin it, so I like them cheap for this purpose. That’s my excuse anyway because my arrows are only so so. Thats something we’ll improve on here. We’ll definitely get into strings and arrows eventually. If I wanted to cover everything, a book wouldn’t be enough. I’m trying to keep things into manageable bite sized chunks right now, but as the channel moves on I’ll do more advanced and detailed builds too. Bowmakers, string makers, and fletchers were all different jobs back in the day. We have the advantage of the internet now, but now bowyers have to do it all.

[@eddieberry8450]

Another excellent video.

[@turnstyles7485]

Waylon at Swiftwood Bows has a video in which he makes a bow using only a knife. It goes to show you should not let a lack of tools stop you from making a bow.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Weylin is an excellent bowyer and teacher. I learned many of the abc’s from his videos

[@Rowanbows]

stickbows from greenwood are almost like a seperate bowing section. you just cant get the back that natural by removing the bark from drywood.

[@DanSantanaBows]

You still can! Give the dry stave a quick steam or put it in a hot shower and the bark comes right off even easier than if it were summer bark, and you get that same perfect unmarred back. Some bowyers I know like using a power washer to take off the bark I don’t don’t mind using the drawknife and like the pattern of cambium strips anyway, so that’s how I do it most of the time.

[@Rowanbows]

@@DanSantanaBows very cool

[@AronRubinosAlberola]

Soy un gran apasionado de tu trabajo,me gustan mucho tus arcos y agradezco enormemente que compartas tanto por lo que supone a nivel conocimientos como por lo hermoso de los arcos que creas,como fabricante de arcos comparto contigo el camino de autoconocimiento y superación de la frustración cuando se nos rompe un arco,para mi siempre es un aprendizaje y por supuesto inmediatamente se inicia el siguiente proyecto,un abrazo y buenas flechas maestro 🤗💪🏹🙏

[@daigans]

i like it ! you right, i have an ash waiting for me so ...

[@DanSantanaBows]

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions when you get started. If you post tiller checks on reddit on r/bowyer I can give you input as you work

[@daigans]

@@DanSantanaBows oh that would be nice thank you i have to split it first but as soon as i'll start to tillering it then i will film it and send you the footage.

[@dariosilva3560]

I made this small bow of a meter approx. It shot very well, 27 pounds very comfortable of cypress, but despite the wood being a year old, the bow began to deform, to bend, so I straightened it by tying a leather strap on the back, stretching it as far as possible by the ends by means of knots, It break at the eighth arrow, it can't stand so much compression by giving it too much tension, which surely was very little, I had already break two bows in the same way 3 years ago, which I made from weeping willow, they would be 30 pounds Those, took longer time to deform but they did, so I put leather strips on their back ... I did not learn the lesson 3 years ago he, he... so, what to do to avoid this deformation? Heat the wood to make it harder ??? Greetings, You are a true teacher, congratulations and thank you very much !!! Realy good incredible job and videos!!!

[@DanSantanaBows]

The deformation is called set. It happens because the wood is overwhelmed in compression and the wood fibers begin to crush at a microscopic scale. You can’t just bend the bow and expect the set to go away, it will come right back. You can use heat to fix a little bit of string follow, but the crushed belly fibers can’t be fixed and the set is still there. The best way to avoid set is with good design, tiller, and moisture management. Using a better bow wood than willow will also help

[@dariosilva3560]

@@DanSantanaBows Really thanks so much master, for your concenr to my person, apreciate a lot your advise... greetings!

[@paulsangiorgio3093]

Ayy a new video

[@SmallGameHunter]

Nice vid. The scenery is awesome. Where are you from? Is your shop insulated? How do you keep your tools from rust? Thank you

[@DanSantanaBows]

I’m in western massachusetts. The shop is in the basement of the farmhouse so there’s no worry about rust

[@SmallGameHunter]

@@DanSantanaBows Thank you for answering my questions. Your workbench got the stoutest legs i've ever seen! Love hearing you explaining about different types of woods, their characteristics and how they apply to bow making. Thank you

[@AceHardy]

✍️

[@ThirdLawPair]

What is the name of the tool shown at 8:15?

[@DanSantanaBows]

I’m seeing a morakniv bushcraft knife but I assume you’re asking about the spokeshave right before

[@dylankeel2823]

Also, I think you took away too much wood where it broke and just left of the break it looked stiff so there was too much material there, not allowing the bow to bend right

[@DanSantanaBows]

Yes! Good eye. The whole bottom limb on the left was too stiff. Where it broke is an example of a hinge, it happens when you rush the tillering and cut too much from one area. Dry wood isn’t so forgiving, but green wood can take more abuse. This bow was made for 30” of draw, but when it broke it was beyond 40”

[@dylankeel2823]

@@DanSantanaBows 😁I've watched a lot of Kramer Ammons' videos

[@OCALION1]

Ayyy Dios !!!! Me dolió todo el cuerpoo !!! Con el trabajo que da !!!!!

[@mtnsloper55]

I couldnt tell while tillering the sapling bow, were you only removing wood from the belly or thinning from the back also? Seems like from both sides you could get a flatter limb profile, but i understand you are violating the rings on the back. Is there any wood that could toletare that?

[@DanSantanaBows]

Nope, I’m just carving on the belly as usual. Tension strong woods can take a high crown very well, there’s not usually a need for a flat back, since the belly is the weak link in these woods. Many advocate decrowning these high crown staves but personally I favor having a pristine back, even if it’s round

[@mtnsloper55]

Thank you dan for your prompt reply. I really appreciate you responding on this older video

[@357Maxim]

Nice !

[@Silentbet1of]

I agree with it all great information and great video only one thing I don’t agree with is draw weight no more the 30 pounds I’d say make 3 a hunting bow a daily shooting and war bow just me personally

[@bigguyman2771]

I've made three bows and they all broke. I have no clue on what type of wood I should use but I live up here in Minnesota.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Are you on reddit? Post some pictures to r/bowyer and I can take a look at what’s going on. Next time pick a good set of instructions and try to follow them in detail. I recommend Swiftwoods bows series on making your first self bow. You’ll have plenty of good wood in minessota like hickory, maple, and oak. Don’t worry about the breaks, it’s happened to everyone

[@jacobwhite8204]

What wood is that at 0:27

[@DanSantanaBows]

It’s the same hickory bow I made in the video, that I torture tested at the end

[@jacobwhite8204]

Wow it looks incredibly fibrous

[@davidpeterson8424]

I just broke my first bow attempt

[@DanSantanaBows]

Happens! What do you think caused the break?

[@saintofchelseathomascarlyl5713]

i snapped a crossbow prod today..

[@DanSantanaBows]

If you ain’t breakin ya ain’t makin!

[@howdy627]

I broke my first bow it toke a year to build, it broke because I didn't have patience,

[@DanSantanaBows]

I know the feeling, it’s rough! That’s why I think the simple high margin designs are so important. Spending big time on a bow is always a gamble

[@burakmobile9210]

Your bow is slim and two long that is mistaken

[@DanSantanaBows]

kkawan Why do you say that? Many bows are long and slim. this is a quickie greenwood bow so it’s not designed for peak performance but rather to be made quickly. Sapling bows will often be long and thin...because saplings are long and thin. Wider bows come from wider trees, which was not the topic of this video.

[@burakmobile9210]

Oh brother you big I'm smaller 🥰

[@burakmobile9210]

On this Sunday two I started my KZbin channel and I'm desited with my frnd try two first hand bow little young 🌲 tree

[@DanSantanaBows]

kkawan that’s great! It’s good to see others wanting to make bows on youtube. Good luck with your channel my friend

[@burakmobile9210]

I try mangols and turkey bow butt I failed now I try 2nd time

[@connorhart7597]

Wait who's jawge

[@LORDHoekalledGAuhEY69TH]

God damn you got 8-bit Aesop Rock to do the soundtrack for what?? Seriously dude sounds like Ace aggregating on a 80 s synthetic soundtrack from a floppy disk dimensionally warped in from the Pleiades star system it was just a Trek not a war would you open the gate even though I'm standing out the door trespassing like con War Vader or Raw pick whatever versus you want a brawl

[@sethwarner2540]

why you cut your stumps so high? I think its a wasteful ugly...

[@DanSantanaBows]

I’m coppicing the stump so the trees come back.

[@Pmedic605]

That music is friggin annoying.

[@DanSantanaBows]

@@Pmedic605 I agree. This was before I started using my cousins classical guitar