Getting started

[mikeg]

Hello everyone, I am very new to this but I have been looking at some of the great bows that some of you have made. I was thinking about getting another longbow but after reading some of the posts and seeing some of the pics on this site I have really gotten the bug to learn how to make my own bow. To some of you who have been doing this for a while, what would you suggest as in reading before trying make something? I was thinking The Bowers Bible, are there any other books or info that I should check out? What should I start with, something very simple but what would that be? What wood and where do I get it? A sapling or purchase a stave?

[Justin Snyder]

If you get Traditional Bowyers Bible and read it front to back you will be well on your way to becoming a pro.  Justin

[knightd]

Traditional Bowyers Bible is a must read!! I got a stave and worked on it as I was reading the book.

[Rick in AK]

The TBB series is a great resource to have.  Another great book/pamphlet is the Bent Stick by Paul Comstock.   Other sites that are good are  George's and the Ferrets  listed below.    They have great to-do type instructions and I think they both have plans and instructions for laying out your first bow from a lumber stave which I would recommend you try first.  If you break it you are only out 5-10 bucks and you can get it in your town today and probably finish a bow within a week with some basic tools. 

http://groups.msn.com/FerretsArcheryWebPage/welcome.msnw

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

there are many here on this site that are much more experienced than me so just start looking and soaking in the info and go for it. 

Good Luck,

Rick

[Pat B]

Welcome.  I'll go with what everyone else says.   If you only get one TBB, get #1. It will have the most practical info for you as a beginner. Paul Comstock's book is excellent also as are George's and the Ferret's sites.   Pat

[DanaM]

Welcome to PA Mike, where do you live? There is a good chance there may be someone nearby willing to take ya under their wing

[Sparrow]

 Welcome Mike   You have found the right site.  Where do you live ?  I am down in the states right now,but when I get home,I will be in Hoonah.  Frank

[recurve shooter]

i agree. im pretty new to and the TBB helped out alot. a must read.

[JackCrafty]

Yep, by all means read the Bowyer's Bible....but it has a lot of terminology that you might not know.  If I were you, I would do a search for archery terminology, and ask questions here, before spending a lot of money on books.  Don't get me wrong, the books recommended earlier are excellent.  In fact, if you don't read the Bowyer's Bible, your bow-building experience will be a lot like trying to drive cross country without a map.

You should start with something very simple...a dry sapling....a hardwood like hickory, hophornbeam, or elm.....something that you can get for free......and don't try to make it too powerful.  You can make more powerful bows as you skill increases.

Some people recommend backing your first bow (for safety).  Personally, I start off newbies with the simplest bow possible: a self bow made from a sapling.

[Auggie]

You might want to checkout rudderbows site, they got a dvd on board bow building that is good and only 20 bucks. Ive made a few 72 inch long 50lbs at 28 and as short as 58 long 47 at 28,out of redoak and ash boards.  A fairly inexpensive way to get started.

[mikeg]

Thanks everyone for the quick response. As I was thinking I will check out the TBB and also the sites you listed as well, George's and Ferret's. Also I live in Rockford, MI just north of Grand Rapids. The idea of starting off simple sounds good like a red oak board or a sapling, from what I have been reading on the web you can make a bow out of a sapling and that would be a cheap way to get started and get a feel for things. Does the TBB go over some of this? Or is there any posts that you know of where I can at least know what kind of sapling to pick out and be letting it cure while I figure out what to do with it.

Thank you.

[DanaM]

Hey Mike did ya know yer a Troll I'm a Yooper up here in Manistique, if ya come north of da bridge give me a holler eh
There a couple guys on here also Trolls, michbowguy is in Port Huron I believe and YewArcher is down there somewhere.
As for saplings, hard maple, ironwood, hickory would all be good choices the straighter the better. Might hard to tell a hard maple from
a soft maple this time of year but ironwood is easy to id just by the bark.

[Jesse]

Tbb is a good idea from what Im told. I didnt know which one to get but after making a few not so good bows I decided to purchace a bowyers bible. I got #3 and read the whole thing. It had a lot of cool info but not much of a how to. Ive never seen any of the other ones but They must be good. I learned everything from the internet. This site can give you everything you need to know and when you have a question it gets answered by guys that know what they are talking about.
My advice is to just keep asking questions and when you get your stave post pictures and people here will guide you through it.   Welcome
                                                            Jesse
                                             

[son of massey]

  hey mike, i have lived in big rapids, grandville, and grand rapids.   i know a little north of you there is hop hornbeam and a little south there is hickory.   where you are at i would guess that you would have plenty of hop hornbeam (ironwood).   good luck, SOM   

[recurve shooter]

Yep, by all means read the Bowyer's Bible....but it has a lot of terminology that you might not know.  If I were you, I would do a search for archery terminology, and ask questions here, before spending a lot of money on books.  Don't get me wrong, the books recommended earlier are excellent.  In fact, if you don't read the Bowyer's Bible, your bow-building experience will be a lot like trying to drive cross country without a map.

You should start with something very simple...a dry sapling....a hardwood like hickory, hophornbeam, or elm.....something that you can get for free......and don't try to make it too powerful.  You can make more powerful bows as you skill increases.

Some people recommend backing your first bow (for safety).  Personally, I start off newbies with the simplest bow possible: a self bow made from a sapling.

jackcrafy, absolutly no disrespect meant here, please dont take it to do so, but i dissagree. i am a fairly good shooter, but not so much of a bowyer, and i have had more success wit board bows. hickory and redoak 1 by 2s are the simplist for me. they can be made with a drawknife and rasp or with bandsaws and belt sanders, and with a good designe to follow i find them to be fairly easy, though i do admit that they arnt compleatly primive. put simply, i find the board bows the simplest, and as i said, no dissrespect meant.