Present for my little guy

[tanner]

I debated even posting this since I'm so new to bow making, but I decided to attempt a bow for my 4 1/2 year-old when he began asking for a bow for Christmas after seeing me practicing-up for hunting season. It also happened that one of the fruit-laden peach trees in my back yard dropped a couple of limbs in a storm later last summer that were just a little too short to make a very long bow from. Anyway - I'm having a blast making it for sure and hope it turns into a functional bow so I can actually give it to him. Right now it's about 32'' ttt, just over 1'' at the fades and I believe about 1/4'' at the tips. Since it's for a little-guy it's going to end up pretty light. I'm just hoping I can get it light enough for him to use and heavy enough for it to be functional and somewhat durable. My thought is to try to get 15'' of draw out of it which should be more than enough for him for now. I'm just now to the point I can start tillering it. I read a few other threads about using peach or other fruit trees for bow material and can concur that they are VERY prone to checking. This particular one got some pretty nasty checks in that I was fortunately able to work through. The other thing I'll say about peach so far is that at least the piece I'm using is turning out a very beautiful bow. It also smells really nice as I'm rasping it. Ok - enough chatter, here're the visuals. I only have the one pic to show the relative size of it. The video link shows a much better closeup though I'm not super happy with it because it was before I got the lines cleaned up and it looks a little... rough. Anyway - since this is a short-term project (needs to be done in a couple of days) I figured I'd be able to post and follow through relatively quickly with either a completed bow or some lessons learned.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMvgStvWwSc

[Adam]

Very cool!  I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of him with it when you get it finished.

[Roy]

That is so cool. You need to take a picture of his face lighting up when you give him the bow. ^ 5 Dad

[rps3]

I hope it works out for you, my 4 1/2 yr. old grandaughter is getting good with her selfbow so I know how much fun it can be.

[Hrothgar]

Nice going dad! Keep in mind, bows are like shoes, kids need a new size about every year. 

[Badly Bent]

Looking good Tanner and yes show more pics of the boy and his bow when your done. He's gonna be happy to see that under the tree 
Greg

[Youngboyer2(billyf)]

That's a great looking bow, how much reflex does it retain when it's strung ? & also, did you use dry heat, wet heat, or did it fall off the tree like that?

[tanner]

Well it didn't make it for Christmas - he had plenty of toys to keep him busy anyway. Now that it's warmed up a little bit I've been out in the garage trying to finish this one out. Here's my fully tillered pic:



The tiller is a little off, but as close as I've gotten with one yet so I'm going to leave it be for the moment. I know that the two sides aren't bending quite the same, but I'm having a problem holding it steady while I take pictures which leaves it a little off-center on the tree. There's also a knot in the fade that is making it hard for my eyes to make up their mind. I suspect it's a little (maybe a lot?) whip-tillered and is bending too much in the fade. All pointers are of course welcome. Here's a youtube vid of me working it on the tree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qOwP84JW1U

I haven't shot it in yet because I don't have any arrows made for it. I just cut two pieces of bamboo today, cut the nocks in and glued some artificial sinew above the nocks. I did try to fling one of the to-be arrow at a box with it and holy smokes does it shoot fast! Anyway, it's a little premature to call this one a success yet, but it's holding up nicely.

@Youngboyer2 - right now the side with reflex (from earlier pic) is almost flat when unstrung (reflex pulled out) and the side that is nearly flat (from earlier pic) is 1/2'' or so deflexed. I didn't do any bending to it - that's the way it fell off the tree. I have one more piece of the same limb that's a touch longer that I'll probably get to work on when the weather starts to get a little nicer.

[bubby]

yeah it's bendin' way to much at the fades, try and get the rest of the limbs working, Bub

[toomanyknots]

yeah it's bendin' way to much at the fades, try and get the rest of the limbs working, Bub

I agree, that is a very easy way to break a bow.

[Weylin]

I'll 3rd that for good measure. those inner limbs are doing all the work. Kids bows are tougher to tiller that adult bows. You can sneeze and the tiller changes. Go slow and good luck.

[Pappy]

I agree with the above but if he is 4 he won't pull it near that far,10 or 15 inches maybe if he ant a really big boy.  Let him sling a few arrows and see how it looks at his draw. At least that's what I would do. He will love it either way.
   Pappy

[tanner]

Thanks for the responses guys - yeah I guess I didn't realize how much it was over-bending in the fades. Someday I'll get the eye for it. Anyway - I'll see what I can do about making the ends bend some more.

Pappy - thanks for the advice as always. I wasn't sure how much he'd be able to draw but was shooting for between 10 and 15 inches just because of the bow dimensions. The pic above and video show it bending to about 12'' (the joint in the drywall). He's not a very big guy (like his dad) so we'll see how it works once I get the tiller tweaked some.

Thanks again fellas!