This is a thank you to all who share on PA. You have helped me get started making bows. This is my story:
I am not a hunter or even a sharp shooter but enjoy archery. For many years when I was young, I was the archery instructor at our church's summer camp. Children could pick up a bow and with just a little practice and instruction, make some real progress. Our camp used lightweight composite recurve bows with laminated fiberglass limbs. The workhorse of the archery range has been a 25 pound draw weight York Cadet recurve (now in its 21st year of very heavy use).
Now older, I still serve at our church camp when I can and help keep all the bows and arrows running. I also serve as camp speaker one week each summer so I still am around kids as they enjoy shooting arrows. All this time I never was very seriously interested in making bows and certainly not anything that was not a modern recurve. Two poorly made longbows that I had experienced, one a solid fiberglass, the other a manufactured wooden self bow had soured me on any other longbow. But all of that would in time change.
A year ago while I was at camp a young boy came up to me at the archery range and asked, "Will you make me a bow?" I explained that I did not make bows but this didn't stop Isaac. Later he asked me again to make him a bow. My thoughts went back to my own childhood and how my father cut a green maple sapling and used twine for a bowstring to make me a bow. So later I made Isaac a little bow out of a green sapling. It was pretty ugly and weak but to a young boy it was his own bow.
After camp I began learning about making bows and came upon Primitive Archer. The pictures and stories inspired me and after an slow start, began this spring to see some results. My goal was to learn to make bows for children, perhaps something like similar to the camp's favorite York Cadet bow, only now it would be a longbow (flat bow), not a recurve.
I am fortunate to live about half an hour away from a lumber business that sells quality wood, including hickory boards. This has worked for me and my first bow ended up being about 7 pounds drawweight. Even so I was surprised when I first shot it in the backyard. There is a special feeling when you shoot a bow that you have made yourself. Wow!
My first bow went to Isaac who came back to summer camp again this year bringing with him, yes, that ugly sapling bow from last year. I have been able to make and give away an 11 pound draw bow and two 15 pound draw bows. I brought one of the bows floor tillered to camp and worked with another boy to help him tiller and finish it. My most recent bow has about 24 pounds draw and shoots very nice. I never knew that longbows (flat bows) could shoot so sweetly. The bows are made from hickory, have glued on handles, semi-floppy leather arrow rests and strings I learned to make. They measured 60 to 65 inches long and about 1 and 1/4 inch wide before tapering down to the nocks. The first bow was about 5/16 inch thick but I have been increasing the thickness to make stronger bows. My last bow is a little under 1/2 inch thick at the fades.
So thanks again everyone for getting me started. I would like to thank Denny Mears of Jer-Bow-Den, who I also see posting here once in a while. Denny took time to teach me to make bowstrings. Thanks Denny!
I'd like to attach some pictures but I think my photos exceed the allowable size. Perhaps someone can advise me on this.
-Daniel
