Bow making is an enjoyable hobby for many archers.
Any archer will eventually want to dabble in bow making. Not only will it save you the money of buying bow limbs but it is also an enjoyable hobby for many novice archers and woodworkers. You can successfully make your own bow as long as you are well prepared. If this is your first attempt at making bow limbs, take your time and spend as long as possible on the design to ensure you get it right the first time around.
Instructions
1. Cut a piece of wood to length. Yew is best wood to use for bow limbs. A 5-foot bow is the ideal length, as the limbs will pack quite a punch when pulled back fully.
2. File the limbs to shape using a wood rasp. The limbs need to be thicker and wider where the handle is, and thinner and leaner near the tip. File the limbs to 1 inch in width and eight-tenths of an inch in thickness near the handle. File them to six-tenths of an inch wide and three-tenths of an inch thick at the tip. This will allow the limbs to accomplish quite an acute bend, thus harnessing a lot of power. Make sure when doing this step that both limbs are the exact same dimensions.
3. Soak limbs in boiling water for up to 30 minutes once they have been filed to shape. You can soak one limb at a time if you do not have a large enough container to fit the whole bow in at once.
4. Cut a curve into a 5-foot-by-5-inch wooden board. This board will act as a mold for the bow's limbs. Use heavy clamps to mold the limbs onto the board. Remove the limbs once they have dried; by this time, they should have taken the shape of the curve of the board. You can do one limb at a time.
5. Cut notches at the tip of each limb where the string will later be attached.
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