Make a bow for under 20 Bucks

Make a hardwood bow with no special tools, setups or working space for under 20 bucks. Everything was purchased at Lowes. There are more details at http://www.dejapong.com

Step 1 Glue together Wood

I went to Lowes and got these thing.

48"X1/2" Oak trim piece
24"X1/2" Poplar trim piece
bottle of gorrila glue
Stanley hand planer
bundle of jute rope (In the future, hemp would probably be better)

The hand planer from lowes turned out to be just the ticket for shaving down the bow arms to what I needed. Its only 6 bucks and its about 3"X1" big. Any bigger would probably turn out to be too unweildy. Any sort of wood glue would work really.. as a matter of fact, gorrila glue is probably not the best one to use. The wood was just some project wood or you could use trim wood too, I guess.

This is pretty self-explanatory, just make sure you get the glue more evenly spread than it is in this picture. Use sticks and rope as a clamp and the piece until its cured enough to release. This should actually take a few hours but since I'm really impatient, I waited for half an hour and then started carving. Dont do that, it just messes things up in further steps. Whatever you do, don't try bending the bow until the glue is dry either. This just makes them pop apart.

Comments

[cullenc1993]

As a carpenter I would recommend hickory, or oak. Really, I think Osage Orange would be the best but unless you have an exotic lumber yard close that may not be an option. Maple would be good for a first time bow maker because the grain is more strait than oak or hickory and would be a little easier to carve. I would also recommend some clamps but I'm sure that set up would be alright as long as you give the glue 12 or 24 hours to dry.

[pingo6]

is this safe? i dont want my homemade bow blowing up in my face

[bruins_fan27]

ya is it safe? one of mine blew up in my face wen fireing it :D

[cool2000]

would pine work?

[tjlavelle]

defenently not

[digrat]

I would think that pine would be too soft of a wood to work well for a bow. Especially considering that you want as close to a knot-free piece of wood in your bow as possible (for strength) and most pine is littered with knots.

[Brounds14]

now its time to learn how to make DIY arrows!

[Du7raz]

anyone else gonna use this for a hunger games cosplay?

[HungerGamesLover101]

Haha thats exactly why im looking at this tutorial. But it seems kind of hard! Any other websites that you found that could help me out?

[TANZMEISTER]

http://backyardbowyer.com/my-books/

[ckardos]

that is exactly what lead me to this.

[lucek]

I've never payed even $20 for a bow. A good strait sapling that grows on the back of my property has always served me nicely. OK the draw weight isn't commercial but I only use them for target practice and decoration. That's not to say any of them aren't serviceable with the exception of my really old attempts that I was learning while making. To the point I just finished one. I've yet to test it or varnish it but everything was done with a knife and my sore thumb.

[wunmanband]

make a bow for free in the wilderness. there isnt much use to make a survival bow and carry it around, unless you are really in a survival situation, in which case you could just make one for free.

[cod black ops]

i made one to

[hrodriguez7]

I dont Know if its just me, but I coudn't find the more detailed descripton of waht the boww looks like
could you give me a direct link?

[hrodriguez7]

by the way, I found a wierd glich on the speed finger game.....
if you just press on the A key, the mph will go on forever!!!!

[hrodriguez7]

if you buy the stuff at home depot, will it sill be @ 20 bucks?

[hamzah123]

what kind of bamboo u use??not any kind of bamboos are flexible

[ComplacentBard]

which piece is on the outside?

[Thatguywithpoles]

Use B50, it's a type of string made for making bowstrings, get that and google how to make bowstrings.

[dustindodd]

whats the lbs pullback?

[9mvp9]

This is awesome, i don't work with wood, but I'm making this! The bow-work is epic in these pictures.

[dra9on112233]

Is there a way to make sharp arrows,anyone?

[lhall1]

sharpen the arrow to a point then slitly char it useing a lighter or a candle ONLY any thing more powerful is not good ,the reson you char it is that the heat hardens the wood by taking away moisture and making the wood denser

[DANISMAN]

Yeah, you can make wood arrow heads the glue on to the arrow, or do the same thing with stone, flint would be the best.

[hedge98hog]

What type of string do you suggest using? 

[DANISMAN]

I used 5-50 military cord. This stuff will never break.

[That Inventor Dude]

Nylon, with Dental Floss to thicken a section in the middle so the arrows stay put

[sconner1]

Get a big roll of floss and make the string yourself.
A jig is easy to set up with 2 nails and a plank of wood.
Set the nails partway in a plank of wood about as far apart as the string should be long.
Wrap 7-8 times around the nails with floss. Tie ends together so you have a big loop.
Now wrap floss tightly in a spiral over 4inch sections in the middle of both sides of the loop.
Slide the wrapped sections so they are around the nails.
Now wrap floss tightly both sides together about a 4 inch section in the middle for the arrow notch.
Pinch together the wrapped sections at each end to form a hole for the bow ends and wrap tightly with floss. Now you can take your finished string off the nail jig.

[TheInventor1997]

horsehair, or linen, maybe try using actual bowstrings!

[Mr. Thirty6]

Is the bow in this 'ible good for hunting? I want to hunt deer, and only want to make a bow that will down a deer. Also, can sights be mounted onto it? The sight's thing isn't that important, I can improvise that somehow, but the deer thing would definitely be good to know. Thanks!!!

[shmyt]

Shoot it at a target (piece of wood or maybe large roast if you don't mind wasting dinner or buying two) and if it goes through it can kill deer if you hit it right, if not try a different arrow or type of arrow, if that doesn't help use a heavier wood. (note I am in no way an expert in hunting, bows or archery in general; take proper precautions and its not my fault if you mess up or something bad happens when trying my ideas) now let's fire some hopefully deadly projectiles!

[ptsani]

how about compound-DIY_able??

[timmycutts]

why on earth would you make a bow out of bamboo? it'd be smarter to make it out of a sappy wood, rather than a grassy one... maybe maple or yew... anyway... this instructable isn't very acurate... there's nothing about tillering the bow, which is really important coz if you don't, the bow will either be too thick and snap or be too thin and snap, plus it's good to know the draw weight of the bow before using it...

[redhawk44]

Bamboo is actually an ideal material for a bow, as many hundreds of thousands of people have discovered. It has be very dry though. When making a bow you adjust the draw weight as a part of the tillering process. As for not mentioning the tillering process what do you think planing down the wood in step 2 was supposed to be? although personally I use a scraper rather than a plane. The use of technical or craft specific terminology in an instructable intended for those who are not initiates of the craft would be pointless and slightly rude.

[rabid_engineer]

Judging from how elaborate Japanese bamboo bows are, there is quite a bit of work (and experience) involved in making one with any useful kind of draw. But it is definitely possible to make one yourself.
You need 3 layers, however, and the middle layer is traditionally not made of one single piece, but multiple small ones, which serve, together with a fairly elastic glue, as a means of lending more flexibility, coupled with a higher strength, to the bow. Or at least that is what I gleaned from looking at them, and using them.

[TheInventor1997]

what's tillering

[timmycutts]

tillering is the removing of wood to achieve the correct bend, draw length and draw wieght in the bowstaff. if you don't tiller it and the bow, it'll be to thick and you won't be able to pull the string back far enough. and if you don't check the draw length and weight, the bowstaff could be too thin and when you shoot with it the arrow will just fall on the ground.

[redhawk44]

Using wood from the hardware store is a waste of time and money and may well be dangerous. A bowstave for a self bow is split on the quarter or if you have to quarter sawn. The back of a self-bow stave should include the sapwood the belly the inner wood. Which generally means a source branch or trunk of at least 6" in diameter which would just produce suficient for 3 maybe 4 bows if it splits well. Branches are less suitable than the main trunk. The Main trunk should be suficiently mature that the first branches are at least 7 feet from the base ensuring few if any knots. The split staves should be air dried for at least 2 years before attempting to make the bow.

[hedge98hog]

Do you have to use oak?