Basic question(s)

[Guessed]

1. How thick does an arrow need to be?

The cedar sapling I cut down a number of days ago is pretty dry. Right now they're all thick, I'm keeping them like that until I figure out how thick they're supposed to be.

2. I know bow "poundage" is a factor but... how thick-ish? 1/2 inch? 1/4 inch? I cut them into 31 inch pieces then rasped them down into a little over 1/2 inch thick. They're probably like 5/8th's or something.
 
3. Also, how do I tie a rawhide string? My string is nice and dry, it's looped on one end but the other end is just tied in a knot.

4. And finally the most basic question of all, how in the blazes do I shoot this thing? How do I grasp the arrow?

edit: I got into a fight years ago and dislocated my thumb and now I can't pinch things very hard. Pinching the arrow last night hurt my thumb.

[anasazi]

How thick? As thick as you want i don't worry about spine my self and i make mine about 3/8" if you want them matched pretty close get a grain scale and when they are close start weighing them and go from there

A raw hide bow string? I believe its called a timber hitch at least that's what i have been told to use it is pretty easy to do and you can find instructions on line.

How to shoot it?  Do you have a nock on the string if not tie a knot with a sinue or raw hide string at a point where if you put your arrow on the string right under or over that knot  and your arrow on your rest. Your arrow and string at rest should form a 90 degree angle then  me personally i shoot two fingers under ( my pointer finger on top of the arrow and my middle and ring fingers below the arrow pinching the arrow between index and middle finger just hard enough to keep it on the string) and all the pressure of the string lies on those three fingers. I recomend keeping your elbow on the arm holding the bow slightly bent if it is to straight or your elbow is locked the string will most likely hit your four arm and that kinda hurts

[aaron]

..

[anasazi]

Ya fingers like that

[JackCrafty]

If you got a good internet connection, watch youtube videos until you fall over from brain overload.

The thickness of the arrow should be less than 1/2".  More like 5/16" in most cases.  But it depends on the stiffness of the piece of wood you are using.  Every piece of wood (and every arrow) is slightly different.

[Guessed]

Yeah the connection here is good, nice and fast.

I've only "shot" (fired?) a bow once before but I was a kid then. Plus I haven't touched the handle of my "bow" at all yet, it's still as round as when I first got it. It seemed awkward when I put the shaft on it and gave it some pulls. In looking at other bows here I noticed most seem to have a notch cut out in the handle and/or thin handles.

Anyway, I was thinking of tying the string, I think I might soak it again then pull it apart a little at the knotted end and braid/loop it into itself. Maybe I'll add a 3rd piece into it at the end. It also needs some thinning down in a few parts. I'll look up the hitch thing though.

Eager to shoot it I bought some aluminum arrows at Canadian Tire , yeah, my wood shafts are way too thick.

Thanks for the help though.

[crooketarrow]

  I under stand you wanting to build and shoot everything you make. It's what drawed me into primitive archery 21 years ago. But if your just starting out there's a couple things you need to learn and primitive is not the way to start. You can get disapoint qiuckly. Get a glass bow (recurve or long bow) and shoot it for a while to get the basic's down.
 

[Guessed]

The rawhide bowstring was a bit much so I left that boat rope on it. That's why I went out and bought some aluminum arrows, because I was in over my head with the arrows. Also for shaft thickness comparison.

I got other people to pull it so I can judge where the bow does/does not bend and did some "fine tuning" on it. The more I tuned it and thinned it down in certain sections- namely the tips- the tighter the rope got after some adjusting and re-tying, I can now "play" my bow. Also, the more I tuned it everything seemed to fall into place in my mind.

After that I cut a triangular notch from center and up (like other bows here), then I put one of those arrows on it and made sure it lined up at the back and shot it. This thing is a blast to shoot, my poor wrist became too sore from the string hitting it though.

The first few adjustments the arrow shot "spiral-y," after more tuning and adjustments the arrow shot straight and much faster, it was awesome seeing it whiz through the air.

Anyway, I had a big grin on my face after that. I've yet to pull it to full draw though (28.5" [does the half even matter?]). I figure I got to 20" at best. I took a shot at a thin door and it went through both sides of the door.

Long post yeah but there's still more adjusting to do. This "bow" is about 5'6'' tall which I'm sure is still too tall. Reading other posts here others seem to have theirs about 50-something inches but they still draw 50-something pounds. Even though I thinned it down I still kept it somewhat beefy. I think as long as I measure from center evenly and cut some inches off the tips I'll still be ok.