A friend asked me to make his 11 year old son a bow. I had a discarded 69" oak stave at floor tiller that I used for heat treat experiments and that came out way too noodly. I chopped off 10" and made what feels like a 20+ lbs. @24" flatbow. My friend already wants two more for his daughters so if this is too light for the son then I'll make him another.
I stained the back a different color but, oddly, the one coat of tru oil took some of the back stain off the next day....? Still looks ok. It actually shoots good with 500 grn arrows. The grip is a woman's purse material that feels like vinyl, on sued. Shelf is tied on the outside. As usual, my tiller is off but I opted for the imbalance over lightening the bow any further. Feels good during shooting............