I'm thinking Re-Curve laminated.

I was in an archery shop today looking at kid's bows. 

For $135 I can get a simple re-curve bow but I'd need two one child is left handed and I have no idea how long the interest will last so  $300 for  what may not be of interest next season seems a bit much.

So I considered making a couple and getting the little kids in the act.

Except I dunno whether I can use the woods I have at hand or not.

I have Siberian Elm and a lot of it. It's light strong and springy so it might be perfect. I have white Oak and I have maple and I have apple.

I can make the hand stock part from maple or oak for sure I could use elm because it's lighter too.

I can slice strips and glue them together in a form and mount them to the hand pieces

 Anyone done this?

Got any input?

I've read that different woods in the lamination place purposefully can provide different results but I'm unaware of how to think about that.

http://tradgang.com/

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

http://www.vintageprojects.com/archery/recurve-bow-plans.html

http://primitiveways.com/

http://poorfolkbows.com/woods.htm

http://tree-species.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-woods-for-bow-making.html

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

I have not done this Cliff, but it is definitely on my bucket list! I have researched it a little and I know that long bow kits for youth sizes are very reasonable to purchase, around 50 bucks, but that does not include the arrows. It is truly an art form and it's fun to watch these guys make the long bows. Woodcraft featured an episode with Scott Phillips awhile back that got me seriously interested in making long bows, not to mention one of my daughters is chomping at the bit to get out there and use the bow and arrow after watching The Hunger Games! There is a cool romance about the bow and arrow, and for us specifically the English Long Bow is very appealing. Low tech, true to the art, and from what I gather the purest archer's love the Long Bow. And since we are somewhat of a renaissance family, it's only natural that the daughter who has an interest would gravitate to the traditional long bow. Here is the episode with Scott Phillips, it's fun to watch.

By the way, the bow maker in this episode Tom Turgeon, of Boise Bows, has a wonderful youth bow kit for 49.99. A great way to get into it on a budget.YOUTH BOWYER KIT

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

I've been building bows for years and teaching hands-on workshops in bow making. We emphasize selfbows and usually hickory because it is good bow wood and is forgiving for first-time bowyers, plus it is readily available here in the Northeast. I've also had good success with white oak and ash. My current hunting bow is made from ipe, a Brazilian hardwood that is marketed in the U.S. for outdoor projects such as decks. It's great for full-poundage bows (over 50 pounds), but I wouldn't recommend it for kid bows nor for a first bow.

 

The best resource for making selfbows is the book series The Traditional Bowyer's Bible. The first book in the series of four is more than enough to get you started. I also recommend a video by Mark Keller that is titled "Making a Wood Bow" and is available from Three Rivers Archery (http://www.3riversarchery.com/Making+A+Wood+Bow+DVD_i7556-1_baseitem.html)

 

Making a laminated bow (rather than a selfbow) is more complicated, requires more jigs and fixtures, machinery, and time. Most of the successful laminated bows are finished with fiberglass. They shoot nicely and are durable, but that's overkill for kid bows, which typically are in the 20-to-30-pound range. Making simple bows for kids is lots of fun and easy. I made a bow out of PVC pipe for my son when he was only about 3 years old. We chronographed a (foam-tipped) arrow out of it at 96 feet per second, so it was a shooter!

 

One last comment: On the left-hand, right-hand business, there are two issues. First, you need to find out if the kids are right or left EYED, not handed. Find out which is their dominant eye and have them shoot that way regardless of which is their strongest hand. They will shoot lots better. (It takes only a minute to test and is easy; let me know if you don't know how.) Secondly, you can easily make a bow with an arrow shelf on both sides so that it shoots left or right handed. This was very common for youth bows made in the Golden Age of traditional archery (1950s and 1960s).

I will say first I have never made one, but a friend of mine did and he used Osage. Not sure if you have any of it or not.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Osage is pretty challenging stuff to work with. It makes great high-poundage bows, but the grain can be hared to decipher for new bowyers. For first-time kid bows I would stick with the so-called "white woods": hickory, ash, etc.
 
John Moody said:

I will say first I have never made one, but a friend of mine did and he used Osage. Not sure if you have any of it or not.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Will, excellent information, thanks for jumping in here and lending a hand.

Will Sampson said:

I've been building bows for years and teaching hands-on workshops in bow making. We emphasize selfbows and usually hickory because it is good bow wood and is forgiving for first-time bowyers, plus it is readily available here in the Northeast. I've also had good success with white oak and ash. My current hunting bow is made from ipe, a Brazilian hardwood that is marketed in the U.S. for outdoor projects such as decks. It's great for full-poundage bows (over 50 pounds), but I wouldn't recommend it for kid bows nor for a first bow.

 

The best resource for making selfbows is the book series The Traditional Bowyer's Bible. The first book in the series of four is more than enough to get you started. I also recommend a video by Mark Keller that is titled "Making a Wood Bow" and is available from Three Rivers Archery (http://www.3riversarchery.com/Making+A+Wood+Bow+DVD_i7556-1_baseite...)

 

Making a laminated bow (rather than a selfbow) is more complicated, requires more jigs and fixtures, machinery, and time. Most of the successful laminated bows are finished with fiberglass. They shoot nicely and are durable, but that's overkill for kid bows, which typically are in the 20-to-30-pound range. Making simple bows for kids is lots of fun and easy. I made a bow out of PVC pipe for my son when he was only about 3 years old. We chronographed a (foam-tipped) arrow out of it at 96 feet per second, so it was a shooter!

 

One last comment: On the left-hand, right-hand business, there are two issues. First, you need to find out if the kids are right or left EYED, not handed. Find out which is their dominant eye and have them shoot that way regardless of which is their strongest hand. They will shoot lots better. (It takes only a minute to test and is easy; let me know if you don't know how.) Secondly, you can easily make a bow with an arrow shelf on both sides so that it shoots left or right handed. This was very common for youth bows made in the Golden Age of traditional archery (1950s and 1960s).

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

I've made a few bows out of red oak purchased at my nearest orange themed box store. I choose flat sawn wood where the grain runs straight down the edge. These are mostly kids bows and have provided many years of shooting fun. I use a flat bow design where the tips of the limbs and the handle don't bend. The stress is born by the 2" wide limbs (about 3/8' thick). I make my own arrows out of fine grained doug fir so when the kids lose them, or break them, I'm not out a lot. My next bow I will buy the aforementioned flat sawn red oak, plane it down to 3/8" and then add thicker tip sections and handle. No tricky techniques or jigs needed but a tillering jig is helpful and the ability to make custom length bow strings helps.

thanks for the input lots to think about.

 I do want to do a laminate recurve  the idea of  cold molded layering  appeals to me.  But a stave bow might be more hands on for the kids.

I just finished supervising the construction of a red oak bow with a 10 yr, old. Of course I did the cutting, but it was her design and she has a lot of "sweat equity" invested. I prefer not to make jigs and such if it is a one off. But if you are going to mass produce them, Go for it.