Alanesq has a semi-instructable here on how to make a longbow: http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-medieval-style-English-longbow/
In the description he refers to his 24 page document you can dl which describes in good detail how to make a longbow. It is even a very pleasant read! This is the link: http://www.alanesq.com/bsb.htm
I doubt you can find a better resource than his, short of buying a book or scouring forums and sourcing info online for a long time. I tip my hat at Alanesq for the work he has done.

Oh, ok. Thank you for the reference.

You asked some good honest questions here, I will have a tilt at answering them for you. "Is Aspen a bad wood for bows?" Yes, most definitely. "Did I just cut the rests too deeply?" Probably. Aspen is a soft, white wood. This would mean it would break extremely easy if not made properly or if the rests were cut to deep.
Really, any wood can be made into a serviceable bow, depending on what you want it to do. it just takes a lot of experience and breaking a lot of wood. Still, I think if my first bow had broken, I probably would have given up making them. You asked questions so.... If using aspen or any soft wood for that matter, the limbs need to be wider than normal and work best if backed with either sinew or cordage. generally, once the grain of the wood is established, a rough shape is made for the bow, cut handles and arrow rests at the last. Then the limbs need to be "tillered". wood removed from the limbs slowly until the bow is widest in the middle (where the handle will be) and narrowest at the tips ( where the string will attach or nocks). One needs to gently attempt to flex the bow by hand through out this process to see how it bends. DO NOT FORCE IT!! when you get to the point where it flexes easily by hand, start looking at the shape, remove wood carefully as needed until the bow flexes evenly. For fun bows don't need to be tillered on a tillering stick. For a child you want it to flex fairly easily. When you are satisfied with how it bends and if it flexes enough for an arrow draw, for this project, you are done. the handle needs to be shaved down to be comfortable for holding. you should now be able to string it and it will function....for a while. Don't leave it strung, it will last longer. Sooner or later it will follow the string--Not return to its flat shape or break. still good times with have been had. I saw in your bio that you live in Oregon, try and find some pacific yew and have another go at it. A couple of great boyers in you area are Steve Allely and John Strunk. I hope some of this helps. Stick with it.

phew, theres a lot of stuff there, but its great information, thank you.

pheasant looks pretty cool,

It doesn't even, strictly speaking, need to be feathers. I've seen fletches made from rubber, paper, leaves, or really anything that gets you the right size and shape to balance the arrow in flight. Feathers are about the easiest thing to use though. Any bird with large enough ones should work. You can always trim them down.

should not matter, durability and size may be an issue. . but ive seen people use turkey, bluejay, etc.


preference for me would go to color , length , and thickness appropriate to the end product.

larger longer feathers with a thick core like duck would probably be best.

try around a pond where ducks hang out. . or a pet store.. 1$ store craft section.

Well, You cal nook at watt you CANT. You cant use chicken for sure, anything with small "fluffy" feathers. Goose is the most commonly used, turkey may work. If you cant find any you could also go to a craft store and find either real synthetic feathers or even an archery store and get real or synthetic fletchings.

Maybe to say "thank you" for being loyal?