Compound Bow Stand - for a Club Indoor Range

Our club was using a cradle for the compound bows and we were finding that many of the newer bows would not fit on it safely or take up way too much space so I came up with this idea and we tried it tonight and everyone was pleased with it.

Step 1: Materials

4 x 2"x4" x8'
4 x 1"x2" x8'
1 x 4'x8' sheet of plywood ( I used door skin )
1 x 6' 1/2" hard wood doweling
32 x 1 1/2" wood screws
12 x 3" wood screws
some 1" nails
Wood glue

Step 2: Measure Twice, Cut Once

Cut one 2x4 in half, these will be your uprights.

Cut two of the 2x4 at 6'1.5" for the rack between the end pieces and save the short ends for the top cross piece.

Cut two 2' lengths from the last one for the bottom cross piece.

Cut the plywood the same length as the rack 6'1.5" then cut the small piece in half to make two squares.

Cut the doweling into ten 6" lengths.

Step 3: Notch What You Think

For this I used a skill saw with the blade set for half the thickness of the 2x4

With your two uprights, mark a line down the length of the board in the center. Cut the length on the line. I made two passes so the cut was wide enough to hold the plywood. ( table saw may give a straiter cut)
Mark one end as the top, cut a notch the width of a 2x4 on the top end on the same side as the groove, at the bottom cut a notch on the side without the groove and above that one another so the top of the notch is 1/4" above the height of the small plywood square.


With the four short cross pieces cut a notch the width of a 2x4 in the center of each board.

I also cut a small notch on the ends of the bottom cross piece to fit the 1x2 and the top cross piece is tapered leaving room to screw a 1x2 to the end later.

The two racks get five 1/2" holes drilled in it 15" apart ( You may want more if there are a lot of bows with longer stabilizers and you have the space) I drilled the holes closer to the top edge at a slight angle so the pegs would angle up a little. I centered the holes on the length of the board too.


Rough carve one end of the doweling pieces round, then put in the drill and spin on sand paper to smooth.

Step 4: All Together Now

Glue pegs into rack boards.

Glue and screw cross pieces to uprights.

Shape then glue and nail plywood squares to uprights.

With long screws attach one side of the rack to each upright so it is flush with the groove for the plywood.

Slide the plywood into the groove and screw the other rack side in place. Screw both rack sides together sandwiching the plywood between.

Cut 1x2 to length and screw in place ( pre drill or they will likely split)