Build A Bow With Wood From Home Depot! Step By Step Instructions | Skill Tree 

Hey man, saw your post on the Bowyer Subreddit. Finally got a chance to check it out. I've been building bows for years (anything from English longbows to Turkish horn bows). I've also physically taught a good few people how to build bows just like you're building here. I've got to say, I think you've really nailed this video! You've managed to achieve something tough here - and that's accurately describing the subtlety that's required to be a bowyer. The vast majority of people fail at their first bows. The main reason for this is a lack of patience and knowing when to go really slowly. As I'm sure you know - the difference between a 50lb bow and a 30lb bow is an almost invisibly small amount of wood. It's this subtlety that makes the difference between an explosion of splinters towards your face and a lethal hunting weapon. A bow isn't a stick that you quickly chop here and there in a few minutes. You need to *know* your stave. I think you've got that across nicely. Good job! Take a like and a sub! Matt from South Africa

It's so weird to watch his older videos. Not because they're bad. But because there's a lot less energy. And this video goes into that how it's made type of video. But a bit of a uncanny valley how it's made video😂 Love this man.

If you Google a tillering gizmo you will find it is an invaluable tool for easily getting the proper bend on your limbs, it is especially good for beginners who haven't developed an eye for tillering yet. I invented it so am a little biased about its use. They are simple and very easy to make. The bottom line is an adjustable pencil will mark every stiff spot on your limbs with one quick swipe.

for draw weight you can use your shelf and buy like a $20 hanging scale if you're willing to drop the extra money for a one time thing. if you decide to make more bows then its a great investment to get consistent draw weights

tiller tree i used, had notches and no pulley You flex the bow a little and hook the string on a notch that feels right adjust the limbs then try again. each time pull the bow down to another notch keep going until you reach your draw length. Great,informative video

I'm an amateur bushman. I'm in the process of learning to make Indian arrowheads out of rock and glass. This is the next step! 😎

I just had to thank for this as i have contemplated making simple light pull bows en masse for our LARP recently and THIS was the answer i needed for it! Seriously good stuff and very succinct tutelage for the project.

Gonna have to put this on my project list. I have been "drawn" to archery in the past and have been wanting to revisit. I also watch a channel called Primitive Technology and that guy made bow and arrows with only things you can find in a forest. Not very instructional but brought me back to the days when I use to make them for fishing. Cut a branch, whittle it down and string it with fishing line. Cut some smaller branches, whittle them down and sharpen them. Go stand in the stream and shoot the fish as they swim by. A lot more fun then sitting around with a rod. Level up the range weaponry and go for the crossbow.

This was awesome! Most bow making videos give a lot of vague instructions and questionable advice but this was blueprint precise. Now I can start making the piece of poplar that I have ( it’s got a really good grain) into an ambidextrous bow. I shoot left and right handed with various hold techniques. Thank you.

I come from a family of loggers, and wood workers. I'm trying to get more into it, and thought hey a vow would b awesome. Not only r u informative. U r the right kind of funny. I will definitely watch more of ur videos

This is the best how to build a bow I've seen so far. I so want to do this. Thank you!

Very cool bow, you broke down the steps very simply so they're easy to follow, great build🤘

Thanks for sharing this video brother! I truly learned a lot! God bless you!

I am so glad that my search was so specific that your video, even though your channel was small, was right at the top. I am so happy you explain this so well, and your style is so fun I will probably be watching a lot of your videos. my search was "make a bow from store bought wood" btw :b

Ok brother.... took me a bit of doing but I finally made a viable bow. Took me four tries but this bow is THE best bow I’ve ever had. The raw hide is a real mind settler as I’m not stressed about this bow folding up on me. It’s more accurate than my professional made recurve bow. Thank you for your invaluable video. I love my bow... the bow that I made 😁 It’s not a heavy bow (draw weight) but it is fast and hits hard. Thanks 👍

Loved this and finally I can get some Hawkeye action in for the Summer. Another Skill request I'd like is to learn how to make a wallet, because hey it never hurts to be able to learn to make one for the fact that its both real practical and that way you won't have to shell out cash to buy a new one when your old one gets worn down.

This was really cool!! I really like your delivery on the instructions. Great video!!

Great video i just started building a bow today first one. You answered a couple questions i had. I found a hickory 8ft 1x2 with near perfect grain at menards for like 9 bucks. Thanks again

Very well done video , I made a long bow out of red oak wood it took me a while being my first one ever done but so far so good thanks .

Great video, Boss.

How do you add an arrow rest and guide for those of us who don't like having the arrow slide along our hand's skin? Great video :-)

Could you make leather archery arm protectors to complete the archery set?

I like the way you explain , good job,!!!!

Thanks this is the best tutorial for making a bow I wanted to make one for a school project:)

thanks , that was very easy to understand

awesome love this tutorial.... oneday I might make one

Nice job!

Nice job😀

Years late to this video, but I love bow building. A fun similar project could be to built a pin and lever style crossbow. A wheel based medieval crossbow is a whole mess of a project, but a crossbow with a wooden prod in a lower draw weight (I usually aim for 60-80 lbs on about a 12' draw) with a wooden pin pushing up from the bottom to force the string out of a groove, is a reasonably easy project, and can cook really cool.

Very well done!!

You could also use an archery glove or an arm guard arm protection to stop the bow string slapping / bruiseing your arm and finger tabs

Awesomeness

Very well done, sir! I've subscribed and I'm looking forward to more videos!

Glad to see you made this! :D it's amazing!

The best bow tutorial ever

Excellent skill! The Skill Gremlin approves. U can make arrow heads with a foundry and cast them. TKOR has some great foundry builds for info.

Yup! Good, entertaining video! Very nice result. One can hear this is a zippy bow. Your final tiller looks excellent. Better than any bows I have built, (around 15 or so; board bows and self bows).

Awesome video man I'm about to start on mine I got some red oak from Lowe's today

Very good!!!

I'm actually thinking of trying to create my first homemade bow. This seems to be one of the most informative videos I found so far I'm curious though what if it was wrapped with fiberglass instead of Rawhide

Nice job! And, you are right about picking your board carefully, my first one exploded almost at the end of the tillering process. My second bow was much better, I used red oak and chose a piece called flat sawn. I was able to "chase" the growth rings for a very safe bow. Also backed with raw hide I got from dog chew bones from the dollar store. A fun little project I did with all the raw hide scraps was to make my own hide glue. Hint hint.

This is awesome, I want to make a bow one day!

I just reached this video and must say: still a awesome video but man your videos improved A LOT! Keep levelling up! Me and my Ferrets await you at the next Conquest.

Awesome video. I added a bow to my project list months ago, and now this build will help me complete it!! What did you use for your bow string?

Working on my second self now right now, first one broke in the last sta he’s of tillering, definitely pushed it to far to fast, was rushing the tillering. That was maple, apparently more difficult to work with, this next one is red oak. But thinking of buying a stave from a guy online, I have heard natura staves produce a better bow and are much easier to work with the grain, the only issue is it’s more difficult when you encounter impurities

hey man, you inspired me to try this, i however tried it with a peice of wood and two peices of metal cut down to size. it was aluminum which didn't work haha. and it had a draw weight of like 150 pounds X-X but its got me inspired now to actually make one out of wood. aluminum is hard to cut. and i wouldnt be sure what steel to use to do it so theres that but an ywayst anks and good video

Nice

Bow making is really easy with modern bows, with some research everyone can do it. I started with bow making from a couple of years and I always started from the tree, that's a way more complicated and you need to have a better knowledge. A week ago I have completed a 50 lbs black locust bow, it took me 1 day to cut down the tree, 8 months to make the stave dry out and 3 days with simple hand tools to cut it in shape. I'm pretty happy with the result and its really funny to shoot

loved this, have made a few (Bows) by watching video,all good, but this was so easy to follow as it is not an easy craft to master, thanks so much, by the way, I want to make one from English Yew but they are only found (The trees i mean) in Churchyards, Can you suggest a way of getting hold of a yew branch other than asking the Vicar an embarassing Question, ? Loved it man! m ike fom Uk

Great video, only one question. How do you figure out all of the detentions of the wood you need? You said how what the length and the width should be, but what about the height?

Woah Yo, how did you know I wanted to build a bow with parts from the home depot

hmm bow helmet arrow ... sounds like you need a hand made leather quiver for the standard assault load of arrows ... yes 60 arrows to the quiver

Yo, I challenge you to make a recurve bow. If I were to make a custom bow, I want it to be a recurve. I enjoyed the video.

Nice. One thing, ideally you would chase a growth ring for the back of the bow, rather than looking for the 'nicest' side.

Can I ask what you used for the string? I just found your channel and Im loving it. For another skill can you brew some mead?

Great video! Question, where can I get the rawhide?

Ok... getting into the building and figured something out. To get the grip and limbs correct you might try , after some shaping, to draw one side on a board or paper ( preferably something that doesn’t change shape) and check the symmetry from side to side and top to bottom. The grain can fool the eye but a line on plywood doesn’t lie

Can you do a smaller recurve bow?

Been a while since this video. Would be cool to make a wood recurve bow or revisit and add decorations to this one (if it still exists)

what material exactly did you use for backing? thanks

Would it be possible to wood burn the front facing side of the bow without compromising its integrity?

love the video I would of add leather to mack the handel

Hey since you've made a bow and some arrows, how about making a forearm guard out of leather (or whatever material you see fit)?

I'm here for that sweet thumbnail ;D xD

To the list: 1) spear 2) kote gloves 3) leather boots (the most dificult part I think) next to armguards and spaulders.

So simplified. I've seen other how to's that showed the same info but with a lot of complication fluff.

Can I ask sir .. when u tillering that bow how to decide top and bottom ? .. or You use center to tillering? .. sorry my English so bad

Would I be able to apply stain without damaging the rawhide?

Once finished. Having built the exact bow in this video. Can you seal it with polyurethane or is this something you should not do?

Level up. Legend? 1 mil. Wow

Bro You should do the transfer of pictures into wood with polycrylic, mod podge and acetone.

is there a way to make the bow shorter? say for a wooden crossbow bream?

Hi again. Just made a bow out of walnut. It looks nice and sturdy but I see some small microfractures on the bottom leg of the bow on the face with the handle. Is this a sign that it will break?

👍👍👍

I will share all your videos

Good job 👌 please make one for me🙏

how do you tiller an asymmetrical bow?

Do you have a pdf for the bow design

👍👍👍👍

I haven’t read all the comments, but my dad wants a crossbow, well what better crossbow than one I make for him. I can’t find a video worth watching for the build so maybe you can make one.

This was an amazing build. If youre interested in getting more into bow making, sorry to plug another channel, but kramer ammons has a great channel about that.

Now do a Leather Back Quiver for holding Arrows 🏹

You also go on LARPs?

You didn't show how you made the arrow rest or if you lined it with hair or leather ?

what is the tool you use for taking off that wood on the sides in 4:08 mins

Where did you get cheap rawhide? I can only find it for $14 on etsy.

How was the string made

we have Spotted gum here in Australia. NONE of the timbers you mentioned.

Amazing skills, I can't wait to see what else thou can make If there is one skill request I have, I would love to see you make a pair of pants

I definitely like the way give directions and the amount of detail just out of curiosity how how accurate is the bow

By any chance do have dimensions for a 100 lb flat bow?

I found your channel today. I gotta say, I'm kind of pissed at how good you are at doing things on the first go-around. I've made two dozen bows and over a hundred arrows, but your first attempts were MILES ahead of my first attempts. The tillering tree setup you made is great -- it's way better than a stick with notches in it and I recommend your setup highly. And your explanations about the grain and the tillering process are succinct but good enough for purposes. Your arrow is awesome for a first arrow (the fletching job particularly) and you do a good job of mentioning how choosing a dowel with bad grain could be dangerous. Your blowing horn video made me regret buying a blowing horn like two years ago when I could have just made one. There are a few nuanced things missing in this bowmaking video (and others), and some more in-depth explanations could be useful in places, but it's only the kind of stuff you would learn after you make a bunch of bows and arrows, or have spent time tying knots on a sailing ship or something. And that kind of in-depth mastery of these subjects would be more time-consuming and require more experience, and that isn't what your channel is about. Your channel is about documenting your first attempts at things, and encouraging others to attempt said things for the first time. Basically, all this to say that you are totally acing the jack-of-all-trades approach. You are doing balanced research on stuff that is new to you (but not wasting too much time in research -- avoiding the paralysis of analysis) and getting started into things with a good foundation. If you wanted to master a particular skill it is clear that you could do so. I'm jealous of your breadth of skills. I've been much more focused on a limited skillset. I guess each approach is rewarding in its own way. Keep up the good work.

I’d love to see you make a sword, either through stock removal or forging.

Need more on the string

whats the initial width of the wood??

Why did you pick 68 in. for your bow?

Nice. Now i know what i will do once i finish my wooden sword.

Strange question are you a fan of the tv show arrow??? 🏹

Can I stain it?

Arrow making next?