How Do You Make A Youth Archery Bow Out Of Wood?
If you enjoy working with wood and have intermediate skills carving with hand-held blades, you can construct a simple but effective starter bow for a youth who has expressed an interest in archery. This type of bow can be crafted with minimal tools, requiring mainly patience, a keen eye and a steady hand. This method is based on techniques used by Native Americans and can be fashioned with only an ax and a whittling blade, although a band saw can be used to rough out the form more quickly. Step 1 Select a choice piece of dry, seasoned wood, preferably one of the following: osage orange, yew, mulberry, red cedar, white ash, black walnut, black locust or juniper. Generally, it is best to avoid pine woods and other conifers. Standing dead wood, that is, branches or trucks of trees that have been dead at least 1 year, but still have the bark on, are a good source for bow-making wood. Look for a length of wood about 4 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, as straight as possible that is free
