My first was made from a red oak board from Lowes. Dang I remember (less than a year ago) the absolute THRILL of pulling (the nylon mason line) string back and shooting a 1/4" dowel arrow with duct tape fletching.......I got that bow out of the corner over the weekend and strung it up. It pulls about 15#......wow!! But the bug bit and bit hard. I'm still not making really HEAVY bows, but the ones i make do pull nice, and look decent and they fling arrows .
When I was a kid, my Dad got me the book , "The Boy Mechanic"......i always wanted to make a bow like the men in that book did, but it said you needed lemonwood, and had to have a lathe to make the take-down sleeves, and learn to chase rings (??). Well, the end result is that I got that book in 1963 and made my first bow in 2008, WHEN THE GUYS HERE AND A COUPLE OF FRIENDS GOT ME GOING.
The fellow who did the most for me, a traditional competition shooter here in Louisiana just said, rather plainly, "go buy a board and just make a bow, don't wait, do it now!!" Thank you Joey!!
So, I give you the same good advice, GO BUY A BOARD AND GET TO WORK.
piper