Handmade Tales: my interview on The Pulse

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The Pulse

You're listening to The Pulse. You can find our show wherever you get your podcasts. Making something by hand means you really have to understand the material you're working with and what it takes to get it to behave a certain way.

Doug

My name's Doug. I'm a master bowyer from Washington state. I own a bow making business called Archey Bowman.

The Pulse

Doug makes six foot English longbows for a living, coaxing wood to bend into a perfect arc.

Doug

I'm trying to take raw lumber, which is rough cut, and see a story. It's all a new story each time. And it's not like a long drawn out job where you are building cabinets and millwork for a house. And it's super intense.

Doug

That's more like writing a book or novel. Making a bow is more like writing a short story. The gratification comes pretty quick. Every wood has a unique smell. When I'm cutting or sanding, I'm just immersed in all these great natural smells from nature and the wood is very special because not all wood makes a good bow because a bow is a very dynamic thing and it shoots.

Doug

Normal wood sits there and is pretty, and is a cabinet door or it's known more for its beauty. Now, I'm looking for wood that's known more for its strength. I've tested all kinds of woods and I've had all kinds of failures and I pretty much know what to look for, but I'm always learning.

Doug

I'm looking for grain that would make a good bow. And trees grow all different ways and they're all under all kinds of stress. And I have to search far and wide for the right kind of wood to use in my bows.

Doug

I use bamboo, I use all natural woods, hickory mostly, and some exotic woods. I use deer skin for the handle wraps and I use water buffalo horn for the tips. The next step is tillering, which is where I string up the bow and draw it back little by little to start flexing the wood.

Doug

To make it a perfect arc. And it's an intuitive kind of look. If I stretch out the bow and it's off a little bit and I look too hard at it, I can't see it. So I have to walk away from the bow and turn and look at it.

Doug

And in that instant, I can feel where it's off. And I have that unique ability in my life is to see balance. I'm always looking at balance. I can see where it's off and it all kind of starts to come together where it reveals itself as you work the bow because I'm using a hand scraper and a sander and mostly a hand scraper which is really intensely physical and I get all pumped up and I'm just like a weight lifter after I scrape out a bow and then I come to the point where I walk away and turn and it'll just be beautiful.

Doug

It's perfect and that's when it's a bow. When you have a really nice instrument like a guitar or a bow or something that performs and you shoot it you really get excited. It's just got a feeling and it gets you going and it makes you want to do it again and get into it and inspires you to shoot and get into the discipline of archery and I love making bows.

Doug

I love the whole process, the smells and it makes me a good living. I mean what more could I ask for?

The Pulse

Doug's business is called Archey Bowman. His story was produced by Diana Opong.