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 […]

Playing with heat & final checklist

The final preparation step for the bamboo faces is to heat treat them, in order to caramelize the naturally occurring sugars in the bamboo, and to drain any remaining moisture out. Apparently this could also carbonize bamboo fibers, creating a layer of “carbon fibers”: http://www.asahi-archery.co.jp/kyudo_en_jp/pc_obj/take_care.pdf My main worry working with raw bamboo before is that […]