Marc's Bows and Arrows
Marc's Bows and Arrows
My dad was an avid archer/hunter and introduced my brothers and I into the world of archery at a young age. He taught archery at the military base where he worked and even made some bows of his own. As a young boy, brought up in the country in northern Ontario, Canada and being a hunter at heart, I was quite often in the Summer months out with homemade stick bows and arrows hunting birds and small game. As a young adult just out from school in the early 70's I started making my own bows and arrows. These bows were, by today's standards, crude and inefficient. There was no internet and books on the Bowyers art were non-existent in my location back then. Still they were functional and they could and did harvest game. Archery and hunting took a back-seat for a few years. In the late 80's and early 90's I once again became interested in hunting/archery and the bowyers art. This is where it has brought me.
First of all I don't work with glass and I don't use carbon. The bows I make are all made using natural materials just like they were hundreds of years ago. I am not a manufacturer of bows but an artisan and my craft is the bowyers art. I have been making selfbows or wood bows for many years and according to many I am quite good at it. I have and still write articles about making bows, how to articles, and have shared my knowledge with many through both internet message boards and magazine articles. I have also taught many in groups or one on one on how to make bows. Several years ago I experimented with and perfected a method of tempering wood with dry heat that revolutionized wood bows. This has become so popular that it is now commonplace to see bows that have been heat-treated to increase their performance. I wrote a chapter in the world famous Traditional Bowyers Bible series volume 4 on this process. On to my bows.
Below you can see some examples of bows I have made. Some of these are profile views of certain bows at full draw to show how a properly tillered bow of different styles should look like and others are pictures of braced bows or bows at rest. To the left you will find navigation buttons that take you to other areas of my website that deal with specific types of bows and their construction. You will find a brief description of what these pages deal with at the top and buttons that will take you to more photos on the left. Many of the bows in these pictures have been sold or were custom made for people but I do still have a few in stock. You can also contact me if you have questions or are interested in buying or ordering a custom made bow. There are also links to the Primitive Archer message board and Paleoplanet.
Below you can see some examples of bows I have made. Some of these are profile views of certain bows at full draw to show how a properly tillered bow of different styles should look like and others are pictures of braced bows or bows at rest. To the left you will find navigation buttons that take you to other areas of my website that deal with specific types of bows and their construction. You will find a brief description of what these pages deal with at the top and buttons that will take you to more photos on the left. Many of the bows in these pictures have been sold or were custom made for people but I do still have a few in stock. You can also contact me if you have questions or are interested in buying or ordering a custom made bow. There are also links to the Primitive Archer message board and Paleoplanet.
Above is a full draw image of a Bamboo backed Satinwood R/D bow. Below is the same bow showing closeups of the bow's top limb.
The picture above is of the top and bottom limbs of a Bamboo backed Brazilian Rosewood R/D bow. It shows the attractive grain of the Rosewood
The above picture is a full draw image of a Bamboo backed Osage. This picture shows the proper bend that these type bow should have for best performance and longevity
The picture above shows the back and belly of a White Ash backed Yew R/D bow. The back of this bow's limbs have a decorative backing of Paper Birch bark.
The above bow is a simple flatbow made of Ironwood (HHB). It has a slightly improved profile of reflexed tips. This reflexing of the tips improves performance.
The above bow is a reproduction of a native Penobscot double bow. Both the main bow and the piggyback bow are made of Ironwood. The piggyback bow is added to improve performance through leverage
The above bow is a selfbow made of Osage and has a Rattlesnake skin backing for decoration.
The above picture shows the back of the 2 limbs of a Hickory backed Osage R/D bow. The limbs are covered by a decorative backing of Pin Cherry bark.
The bow pictured above is based on the Wilcox duoflex. It is made of Ironwood backed with White Ash
This last bow is a heat-treated self static recurve made of Elm
