Author Topic: Budding young bowyer  (Read 2714 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline davkt

  • Member
  • Posts: 22
Budding young bowyer
« on: January 02, 2012, 12:49:54 pm »
Hi All,
My 7 year old daughter has just decided she would like to make herself a bow.
My slight difficulty is all I've built so far are ELbs at around 60lb-75lb draw weight so can anyone suggest a design that will turn out around 15lb draw weight and give her the best chance of it surviving the tillering?
Thanks and happy new year.
David

Offline Eric Garza

  • Member
  • Posts: 589
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2012, 02:32:28 pm »
Why not just make a shorter, narrower, thinner ELB? It seems to me that you could find a board at your local hardware store with good enough grain to hold up to that design once backed with rawhide or a thin layer of fabric.

Offline dmikeyj

  • Member
  • Posts: 63
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2012, 03:46:24 pm »
How about a 1/8th hickory backing strip with add-on handle, pyramid shape.  Would be cheap and easy to do.  What kind of weight do you think that'd pull?

Offline Bevan R.

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2012, 03:58:01 pm »
You might check the replacement hickory handles (hoe, rake, push broom, that kind of thing) at your lumber yard.
Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline davkt

  • Member
  • Posts: 22
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2012, 05:11:18 pm »
Should have said we are the opposite side of the Atlantic to most of you, hickory is quite hard to come by but stuff like ash and lemonwood very easy to find. Some good ideas thanks, think I've got an offcut of lemonwood that with a suitable backing strip could make a mini longbow.

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,609
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2012, 05:23:17 pm »
Ash would make a good little bow for your daughter. Probably make it as tall as she is. You could do an ELB style bow. Make it 10# to 12#@15" and she can grow into it.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline crooketarrow

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,790
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2012, 06:40:29 pm »
  I've built lots of kids bows not to many by design. I just down size them down. Just like full size bows. Match the design to the wood. You can get away with a lot more because of the low poundage.
DEAD IS DEAD NO MATTER HOW FAST YOUR ARROW GETS THERE
20 YEARS OF DOING 20 YEARS OF LEARNING 20 YEARS OF TEACHING

Offline John D

  • Member
  • Posts: 107
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2012, 05:27:12 pm »
I built a maple board bow for my daughter (then age 5).  I found a layout online and scaled it down using her height compared to mine.  I tillered until I was sure she could draw it and resulted about 8 lbs @ 18" (she is tall and scrawny).  I made some mistakes (hinge in the upper limb) but at 8 lbs, its performed well and she is happy.

She shot the heck out of her first bow and I built another maple board bow for Christmas this year (she's 6 now) to give her more poundage, a shorter bow, and make it a little "prettier."  Girls...

Also, I fletched some 1/4" dowels from the hardware store (plenty good for a kids bow).  Also needed to use less strands of B50 in her bow string.

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2012, 12:08:30 pm »
If you want to keep it as simple as possible, you might try a similar style to the kid's bow I made at this link. http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/48223/Quick-Kid-s-board-bow-build-a-long


I used a 1/4" thick 4' long red oak board from Lowe's. I used the 3" wide (2.5" actual), which made me have to tiller the thickness since I was making this for a 5 yr old. I should have used the 2" wide (1.5" actual) to start with, and then tillered the sides, rather than the belly. The final bow turned out good, though, I thought.


I made 18" arrows from 5/16" dowels, but agree with John D that 1/4" would fly better. I didn't have any nocks or tips to fit 1/4" shafts, though.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline John D

  • Member
  • Posts: 107
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2012, 12:54:27 pm »
When I built arrows, I filed self nocks and left the tips blunt for a while (for the sake of the dog's safety ;) ).  When she learned to keep her arrows in the target, I put them in a pencil sharpener. 

Offline bubby

  • Member
  • Posts: 11,054
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2012, 04:12:26 pm »
i've built a few like lesken, inch and a half quarter inch thick 4 footerglued on a riser, straight taper to 1/2" tip's, with tip overlays, she can build it fast enough to not lose interest, draws 15# at a kids draw and shoots pretty good, first bow i built for my grandson and he shot the crap out of it :laugh:, Bub
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline davkt

  • Member
  • Posts: 22
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2012, 12:58:29 pm »
i've built a few like lesken, inch and a half quarter inch thick 4 footerglued on a riser, straight taper to 1/2" tip's, with tip overlays, she can build it fast enough to not lose interest, draws 15# at a kids draw and shoots pretty good, first bow i built for my grandson and he shot the crap out of it :laugh:, Bub

Thanks, yes that is pretty much what I've got in mind now

Offline davkt

  • Member
  • Posts: 22
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2012, 04:42:53 pm »
Well the project has started following the design described by Egstonvonbrick in this thread http://www.archery-interchange.net/f137/budding-young-bowyer-111153 with some things picked up on here helping, a sort of flatbow longbow!



Thanks for all the help, I'll try and keep this thread updated as a sort of build along as she progresses

Offline davkt

  • Member
  • Posts: 22
Re: Budding young bowyer
« Reply #13 on: January 07, 2012, 05:09:46 pm »
Well the marking out of the back was finished last night but a today was a rainy day here at 53N 1W so no work done as the workshop is a portable workbench in the back yard. But C has spent the day studying the first wooden bow annex in TBB Vol 4 as her project is basically a scaled down version of that so time hasn't been wasted!