The way of learning

Hisashiburi. This post will be about the process of learning something new. Maybe what I’ll describe is specific to me but I wouldn’t be surprised if more people have the same experience. I’ll base it loosely on Kyudo, archery in general, and also golf – all those things I’ve learned from scratch; that’s when the […]

Yumi Making: Lessons Learned

It is time to summarize what I’ve learned during my first attempt at making a yumi bow. It has been a great experience, I’ve learned a lot, made many mistakes, but also solved many problems. Second attempt should be easier, as long as I learn from my mistakes and improve. Overview I have followed the […]

Yumi making: Phase 7: Bow drying + shaping

The bow went into the attic, enclosed in the fixture, to dry and set into correct shape. After 3 weeks I took it out and inspected it. Unfortunately, there are few problems with it: It is twisted (like the corkscrew / drill). The good thing is that it twists back, but the middle section is […]

Yumi making: Phase 6 (b): Bow shaping – second attempt

The bow was left to dry for two days. The shape is more or less OK; maybe the bend where the grip will be (near the rope coils on the picture above) is too sharp – the radius should be bigger / the bend more gentle. It should also be a bit closer to the […]

Yumi making: Phase 5.5(b): Gluing the full bow – second attempt

During the week I cleaned the parts from the glue; it took less time than I expected. I used a combination of water + heat; I sprinkled the glue with a lot of water, then heated over the hob. The glue then got soft and it was easy to remove it without impacting the wood […]

Yumi making: Phase 6: Bow shaping

After one day of drying in the corner the bow should be ready for shaping on the fixtures, before it is left to dry / set for 3-4 weeks. After unwrapping the cord it looks like this: Not bad – it is straight (as in, not twisted to the sides), and looks like there are […]

Yumi making: Phase 5.5: gluing the full bow

Following up from previous post, there were few things that I had to prepare before I could start gluing the bow, namely: Bow parts: outer face X (need planing) inner face X (need planing) sekiita x 2 X (need shaping) Equipment: wedges x 150 X (have 70-80 done, the rest need […]