Bowyers/ bow makers

[wayacoyote]

Anyone fashion bows for hobby? I want to get my 5 year old into shooting and learn to carve out simple bows. Youtube makes it look easy, so I'm planning on buying a book if anyone can recommend one.

[sebee]

I made one a few years back. It wasnt hard, but it was time consuming and very detail oriented. And I made mine along side a guy who knew what he was doing, in retrospect Im not sure I could have done it so well without his help. My advice would be to find someone who knows what they are doing and learn from them.

[Tom G. Laury]

Making Indian Bows and Arrows...The Old Way Douglas Wallentine
Eagles View Publishing, Ogden Utah

Fascinating and informative reading even if you don't make one. The author holds some incredible records in shooting a short bow.

[phil c]

I tried building a longbow many years ago, It was very time consuming but it was alot of fun to shoot when done. I dont think i'll do it again.
I have wanted to try flint knapping though

[Michael Bush]

>Douglas Wallentine

I also have that book and would recommend it. I've build a couple of simple self bows, nothing fancy. It's fun, but also can be frustrating. Especially if they break. :)

[Countryboy]

I want to get my 5 year old into shooting and learn to carve out simple bows.

When I was a little boy, a curved green stick made an excellent bow. Old dead nettle stems make good arrows. You need a string stronger than a kitestring though. ;) At that age, they can pull a string on a stick bow, but you don't have to worry about them doing much damage.

If you can get your hands on any old Popular Mechanics Do-It-Yourself encyclopedia books, they have a section on building bows. These were printed back in the 50's in 60's. They still pop up on eBay now and then.

[dragonfly]

"Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans" by Jim Hamm. Don't underestimate the difficulty of this task.:)

[dragonfly]

I have wanted to try flint knapping though

We have a friend who has a yearly Knap-In in Louisiana.:) It's a fun hobby, but protect your eyes and lungs. Another friend of ours is almost blind from the hobby, and I know an older fellow who has lung disease from breathing in fine particles of flint and other knapping materials over a long period of time.

[wayacoyote]

When I was a little boy, a curved green stick made an excellent bow. Old dead nettle stems make good arrows. You need a string stronger than a kitestring though. ;) At that age, they can pull a string on a stick bow, but you don't have to worry about them doing much damage.

We did that, too. A few months ago, I took a 1/2" PVC pipe about 2.5ft long and made a bow with it using some cane as the arrows. I was surprised at the strength it took to draw. He's a great student and learned how to nock the arrow and stance. Of course, PVC (not to mention a tube) is far from ideal for this, but it gave him something to start with, until the pipe snapped in a remarkably clean break. He's ready to move ahead, but we're not "run to the store and buy something"-types.

There's a lot of Youtube videos on this that would carify the difficulty. I watched on on osage orange... it's making me hesitant to get started on the osage orange log that I set aside last year.
Thanks

[Adrian Quiney WI]

"The Traditional Bowyers Bible" Volume 1. There are 4 volumes in all. I have just finished making a bow out of Buckthorn for my daughter who will be 7 in a couple of weeks. It pulls about 16 pounds at 18 inches of draw. I've only made three bows, but this book is a great read and makes it easy. Adrian.

[paul.h]

http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Bowyers-Bible-1/dp/1585740853

Very easy to find and gets great reviews.