I like to get out and do a little Target Archery now and again, it's something I really enjoy and I only wish I could do it more often. The bow I use most is an Internature Td-Hunter, 58" at 50LB (the bow in the photo I found on the net). I had recently been a spectator at an archery tournament and I had realized every archer had a stabilizer attached to their bow. I started to think I might be able to benefit from one and I started looking on line for target stabilizers, unfortunately they were all more than I wanted to pay for the amount of time I spend at the range ($45-$230). so I thought. How hard could it be to make one? It's easier than I thought.

Step 1: Supplies

After checking out some of the stabilizers on line and in shops I broke it down to the four parts below.
Shaft
Mounting hex bolt to connect to the bow
Weight
Method of mounting the weight to the shaft (unless the weight is permanently attached)

For the shaft I was going to use a .5 inch aluminum tube but then found this cool driver instead.
The thread for the stabilizer on my bow (and I think it's standard for all) is 5/16 x 24
For the weight I found an old handlebar weight of off a 2000 Honda super hawk.

Step 2: Shaft Setup

The shaft I'm using is from a golf club, Wilson Fast Shaft driver, $10 at Good Will. The plus side of using a graphite golf club is it's really light. The down side is you will need to get one really long because by the time it tapers down to the head some clubs are too thin to put any mounting nuts in the shaft so the over all length of the stabilizer will be shorter. I'm sure an old ski pool should be light enough work as well. If you don't have access to either try a copper or aluminum tube they will be just a bit heaver but they will get the job done.

Prep the shaft by removing the head and removing the grip.

Take the bolt and tighten down the four nuts then grind down the edges so it fits into the larger side of the tube and secure it with epoxy.

Step 3: Weight

The longer the shaft the less weight is needed at the end this why hunting stabilizers are much heavier because they are generally much shorter . I decided to cut my shaft to 26" and the weight is about 5.5 ounces. I have been told it's all about personal preference as to length and weight so test it out before you make your final cut.

The nuts for the weight end was pretty much the same as the mounting end but this time I did not want to keep the bolt in the shaft. I match two nuts to the weight bolt and with a bit of epoxy I used the bolt to set the two nuts in place. once the epoxy was firm but not completely cured I removed the bolt just to make sure it would not get stuck. Once all is dry I put it all together.

The cool thing with using a motorcycle handlebar weight is they come in many different shapes and sizes, and can be found cheap at any motorcycle dismantling facility. Also they are pretty much ready to be inserted into the end of the shaft just like actual stabilizer weights.

So there you have it a quick and easy target archery stabilizer for under $15. Now to take it to the range and work on my grouping.