Tim Baker: It's a beautiful and valuable volume. Apart from its instructional worth it's quite a work of photographic art. A stunning amount of labor went into it. As a pro photographer for 40 years I'm especially impressed with the technical and compositional quality of the photos.
Paul Comstock: With 438 color photos and a chapter taking a microscopic look at wood grain, Bowbuilding Longbows 1 by Matthias Wiltschko is a selfbow book for the 21st century. It also covers bow-making basics, speed, accuracy and durability, plus a highly detailed section on using hand tools and how urban dwellers who can't cut down large trees can work with smaller diameter saplings.
Steve Gardner: I haven't finished my copy yet but I am really impressed with it so far. Lots of great photos and illustrations as well as clear easy to understand language. This will make a great bow building book that you will constantly go back to as a reference.
You can read it on your Smartphone, Computer or Laptop.
Highest efficiency and durability are the corner stones of this book.
Bow wood quality assessment
Exact longbow build along
Bow wood examination
Character bows
Restoring force
Saplingbows
Elasticity
Tools . . . and much more.
Wood X-rays show where the power of our bows is hidden.
346 pages, 438 color photos
$9.95
Final price, free shipping to selected countries1
Free shipping to the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Netherlands Antilles, United Arab Emirates , Algeria, American Samoa, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos [Keeling] Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR China, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau SAR China, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe Show more Show less
A lot of the Eucalypts and Acacias make very good bows.
Soapwood's like Alphitonia Petrei and Alphitonia Excelsia are also great.
Eucalypts: Red and Grey Ironbark, Bloodwood, Redgum, Bluegum, Spotted Gum
Acacias: Mulga, Gidgee, Lancewood, Brigalow and Dead Finish aka Silver Gidgee