Author Topic: Kids bows  (Read 1761 times)

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Offline ryder

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Kids bows
« on: June 11, 2016, 11:54:02 pm »
Hi guys,

My daughter is 7, and she loves coming shooting with me. I made her a bow a while back out of Durian (which by the way I have found to be a terrible bow wood) but its a little too heavy for her and has also taken a lot of set. I want to make her a better one that will last her a few years reliably, maybe something I can shorten the NTN length of in a few years to up the draw weight as she needs it. But I don't want to make it too long, I'm worried about it being hard for her to manage and giving hand shock and poor cast, particularly with such a low draw weight.

Just after opinions and ideas about what NTN length and style to make from you gentlemen who have made kids bows before. She has a 20 inch draw atm, and the max she can draw is about 10 lb. If you were making a bow for her, how would you do it?

Offline kid bow

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Re: Kids bows
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2016, 01:19:40 am »
short thin and made from hickory wood
i need nothing but my old bow and arrows.

Offline tattoo dave

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  • Rockford, MI
Re: Kids bows
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2016, 07:08:45 am »
I love building kids bows. Kids usually seem to get more excited about them then the grown ups do. I've never heard of durian wood. Is there another name for it? I'd make a bow with some room to grow. So, make a bow that will draw to maybe 25". Make sure it's no more than 10# @ 20", as she grows and draws back further, she'll be drawing more weight as well. That would make a bow in 20-25# @ 25" range.

Tattoo Dave
Rockford, MI

Offline bubby

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Re: Kids bows
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2016, 10:22:59 am »
A piece of maple or hickory 1-1/2" wide and 5 ft long with a 3-1/2" grip and 1-1/2" inch long fades, straight taper to 1/2" tips to start. Your limbs will only end up around 1/4-3/8 thick
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline Knoll

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  • Mikey
Re: Kids bows
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2016, 11:19:58 am »
A piece of maple or hickory 1-1/2" wide and 5 ft long with a 3-1/2" grip and 1-1/2" inch long fades, straight taper to 1/2" tips to start. Your limbs will only end up around 1/4-3/8 thick
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Sounds like a plan.
... alone in distant woods or fields, in unpretending sproutlands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day .... .  I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing & prayer.  Hank Thoreau, 1857

Offline k-hat

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Re: Kids bows
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2016, 04:53:53 pm »
Having been through the same, I would now opt to make one that fits her well and works optimally for her size now, and in a year or two make another as she grows.  I mean, do you really need an excuse to make another bow??? >:D

Offline ryder

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Re: Kids bows
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2016, 10:52:42 pm »
Thanks for the help :)

Durian is the wood from those terrible smelling spiky fruit about the size of a football that you see in Asian shops sometimes. If you do a google image search you'll see. Tastes like custard, sort of, and smells like rotting onions. I used it because it was available in planks from the hardware store, and the only wood they had there was that or pine planks.

Quote
Having been through the same, I would now opt to make one that fits her well and works optimally for her size now, and in a year or two make another as she grows.  I mean, do you really need an excuse to make another bow??? >:D

That's actually a fair point haha