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[Benn.Of.Trades]

Hello everyone,
  Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I have been on this site since 2015. I have always marveled at the craftsmanship that comes from everyone here. Well I am now at a point in my life were I to am willing and able to learn this craft. What will I need to get started what tools, materials and so on should I focus on getting. What reference books or videos can I watch or read for added information as I learn.

Thank you Benn.

[Mafort]

I learned tillering on board bows. Mainly ones from hickory that you get in the DIY kits. Once I nailed tiller I moved to a stave from a tree and practice on those. You don’t need much either. Most of my bows get finished with a good ”bow making” hatchet (has an edge like a knife), a rough wood rasp, and some sand paper. A draw knife is a good tool to have and Ive made them from old machetes before I bought one that belonged to a family friend that taught me to work with wood. The bowyers bible series is a good start to learning and if you like watching videos. Billy Berger (?) with primitivepathways on YouTube has a very nice series on it and he’s what I think to be a master at makin bows. Hope you have a good run of it and always ask questions here the knowledge and tools and concepts are a great help.

[Bubbabowyer]

The bibles are worth more than their price when it comes to understanding the behaviour of wood. I started by cutting osage, tillering green wood and not using assistance tools like a tillering tree and gizmo. After about 75 I began to understand how osage behaves. And started producing ok bows. I urge you to get the bibles and DO NOT GO THE ROUTE I TOOK! you're gonna save miles on your wrists lol

[RyanY]

Boards are usually more accessible and less expensive than staves. Any hardwood that you can find with straight grain will work. The dimensions of the bow are probably the hardest part for a beginner. The Bowyers Bible’s provide a ton of great info and can be helpful for dimensions. Also looking at bows online to see what has been done. I use a draw knife, spokeshave, rasp, rat tail/chainsaw file, and scraper for the minimal toolkit.

[Deerhunter21]

Yeah what ryan said. The dimensions are the hardest. not because they're hard, but because its hard for us to believe that the wood controlls what we do and every piece of wood is different. buuuuuuttt heres the dimensions i used . just remember that the width will vary and these are what you will start at. youll need to tiller it to your weight and change the width. 

[Hawkdancer]

Add Paul Comstock's "The Bent Stick" to your reading list.  If you have access to a 14" band saw and an experienced bow maker close by, you will be miles ahead!  What wood you start with is up to you, as you may have noted, these folks are very helpful!  A huge dose of patience is recommended before each work session.  Ask questions - the only dumb question is the one you don't ask!  Don't be afraid to start over if you think something is not right, maybe you just need to hone your skills some.  You can get gnostic of the books through your local library if necessary. There are quite a few good ones around.  Also, welcome to the PA clan!  Never too old to learn something new!
Hawkdancer

[DLH]

If you get a new draw knife check out the blue handled mueller I like mine so far. They are high quality and made in Austria I got mine at wisemen trading and supply for $55ish shipped. I also like my rasp from lee valley. They sell it as a “hand cut” rasp it’s about $55 for the 10 inch or $45 for a 8in before shipping. It’s made in the Czech Republic I’m not sure by who maybe Narex or Ajax? Either way it doesn’t matter it cuts as good or better than the Nicholson 49/50 USA rasps I used several years.

[bradsmith2010]

Get started,..ask lots of questions