Skill: Bowmaking Teaser

I am in the process of making a new bow. When I say this, I mean crafting a bow from a piece of wood to shoot arrows. I'd like to present a series of posts about the process of making a bow. I'll try to be heavy on the pictures and light on the science to make it more interesting. Before I get into that, I'd like to show you the first bow I completed just this Thanksgiving.

My bow is seen here next to a common slide whistle to give you perspective on its size. Also, note the arrow I assembled. It is one of twelve. The bow is 66" long and pulls approximately 47 lbs. at 29" for all you bowyers out there. I will likely add a leather grip with an arrow rest to truly finish the bow.

Making this bow has been a long journey. I think it has taken more than a year and a half from start to finish. This is because I often got into situations where I didn't know what to do and was afraid I would make a mistake. This was especially the case near the end when an extra scrape or two of wood could take the bow from hunting class down to a kids toy. I often put the bow away and didn't get back to it for a month.

Now that I made it through my first bowmaking experience, I plan to crank this next one out a lot faster. So now that you've seen the finished product, stay tuned to see the process from start to finish.