how long does it take to make a bow?

[H Rhodes]

I would have to say, it depends on what kind of bow I am building....  I have worked on some for a an hour or two a day for a week using nothing but hand tools and enjoyed every second of the process.  Using band saw and belt sander the other day,  I built a hickory board bow in less than two hours that shoots pretty smooth - pyramid style with pin nocks.  Not finished or polished up or anything, but a good shooting bow.  I did that just goofing around to see just how fast I could make one.   With a good board and good power tools, it just doesn't take that long.  I am sure that I prefer stave bows and savoring the whole process more.   I wouldn't want to build bows on a real production basis - it would take the fun out of it for me.     

[Del the cat]

When a Hopi friend of mine is asked by a collector "how long did that pot take to make?"
he'll say..."thirty years"  it took him thirty years to perfect his skills and to be able to accomplish what he does today.

Exactly .
That's the point, it takes all the experience to know where to lay the bow out in the stave.
I bet a newbie can make a bow quicker than any of us... it'll break, but, yeah it won't take long
Del

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'll have to check that out, PD. I thought you skipped the easy stuff and went straight to the narley and crooked.

Baby steps buddy!

[lesken2011]

I hear you. It looks like I am going to take off the training wheels and try out one of these crepe myrtle staves I have had drying since last spring for my trade bow. Keep your fingers crossed!!

[Hrothgar]

Good point Jawge, I had forgotten to factor in the geriatrics, and the time it takes to make a pot of coffee.

[SLIMBOB]

Been thinking about this question for a few days.  I tend to agree with Del.  I enjoy the process, like fishing.  Ya I want to catch a fish, but I love picking the right lure, and finding the right water to throw it into, and reading the structure, and makin that perfect cast up against that stick-up that you just know a big fish is layin up next to.  Love the catching, but not without the fishing.  Same with bow making.  I want to fling the first arrow, but I enjoy all that goes before that.  Cut a tree in 1995 or 96, chased and floor tillered it in 1998 or so, tinkered with it off and on for years, and finished it in 2009.  Built others during that time, just didn't finish this one.  So 10-15 years on some.  It's not a timed event for me.  It's pure enjoyment from start to finish.

[George Tsoukalas]

All kidding aside...My best time was with a hop hornbeam stave. It took me 5 hours to full draw. There was no ring chasing and no heating. Board bows are easier than whitewood stave bows unless you want to count the extra time needed to choose a proper board. Osage and BL involve ring chasing and heating so that's more time. I use mostly hand tools except I use a belt sander for some initial shaping and handle shaping. Anyways, I enjoy the process so I put my timer away. Making all wooden bows is supposed to make time march backwards. Jawge

[Pat B]

When I first started out many years ago it took me between 20 to 40 hours to build a bow from scratch to finish. Over the years I quit keeping time and I now finish when I'm finished. Who cares how long it takes. Too many other things in life have deadlines so why should I burdon myself with yet another one. 

[Pappy]

About like Pat it use to take 20/30 hours but now I hardly every build one from start to finish,I am always jumping around from one project to another,Not sure on time but probably not as long as it use to. A few years ago at the Classic I gave a guy a Hickory stave that was roughted out but no where near floor tiller,I showed him what to do and told him when it was floor tillered I would put it on the form and reflex and straighten some humps. About 10/12 hours of work he had it bending enough to do that,I put it on the form and while trying to get out a hump in the handle area I broke it,he was so sad,I told him to pick out another stave,he did and then look at me and said you know how long it took for me to get that ready for the form.I said let me see it and went to work wanting to get him back to where he was when I broke the other one,I got it floor tillered and headed for the form,him and his Buddy had a funny look on their face,when I ask them WHAT, he said you know how long that took you,I said no,wasn't timing it. He promply told me 26 minutes. Long but funny story.The more you do the more you learn what ant a bow and can get it off as fast as you need or want to. 
   Pappy

[blackhawk]

     good one pappy 

[Pat B]

In 2000 I took a bow build class from Vinson Minor to learn how to build Boo backed bows. I was amazed at how quickly Vinson could remove wood from the right place and in the right amounts. Watching him gave me the confidence to "get 'er done" and since then I don't hesitate when reducing a stave. Time and experience(and watching someone that knows what they are doing) is what it takes to develop that confidence.
  If you worry about how long it is taking you are not enjoying the exdperience and your bow will show it.

[coaster500]

About like Pat it use to take 20/30 hours but now I hardly every build one from start to finish,I am always jumping around from one project to another,Not sure on time but probably not as long as it use to. A few years ago at the Classic I gave a guy a Hickory stave that was roughted out but no where near floor tiller,I showed him what to do and told him when it was floor tillered I would put it on the form and reflex and straighten some humps. About 10/12 hours of work he had it bending enough to do that,I put it on the form and while trying to get out a hump in the handle area I broke it,he was so sad,I told him to pick out another stave,he did and then look at me and said you know how long it took for me to get that ready for the form.I said let me see it and went to work wanting to get him back to where he was when I broke the other one,I got it floor tillered and headed for the form,him and his Buddy had a funny look on their face,when I ask them WHAT, he said you know how long that took you,I said no,wasn't timing it. He promply told me 26 minutes. Long but funny story.The more you do the more you learn what ant a bow and can get it off as fast as you need or want to. 
   Pappy

 

[Eric Krewson]

With a heat corrected, one ring chased stave I can get a bow shooting in a day. Being older and more stoved up,  I don't enjoy working wood all day anymore so 3 or 4 days to accomplish the above is normal for me now.

For me getting a bow shooing is only the first step, I still have a couple weeks of tweaking the tiller, shooting the bow in and removing all the tool marks before I am ready to apply the finish, snake skins (if used)and handle leather.

Making a bow is about a three week process for me start to finish.

[JW_Halverson]

It doesn't help my productivity when I have more and more of those days where the process is just so relaxing that I take smaller and smaller bites with the tool so that I can enjoy it all. 

Someone said it wasn't a timed event and that says a lot to me.  For me it is about working with the wood and the process, not shooting arrows.  That certainly doesn't boost productivity!

[Roy]

30 hours for a BBO or tri lam for me, that's taking a beer break every half hour though:)