New Member, First Bow Advice?

[NewArcher]

Greetings, all!

I've always wanted to make a bow, as I enjoyed the solitude and concentration in shooting, even though I haven't hardly gotten the chance in the past 10 years.  The thing is, things being what they are at the moment, I don't have a lot of resources available to me.  "Long story short", what is the bare-minimum required to make a bow over a week or weekend, preferably on a budget, for someone lacking a garage full of tools.

Details:

I would buy a bow, but I'd like to make my own, eventually making one for my two children and possibly my wife, assuming I didn't kill or dismember myself in the attempt on my bow    But with natural bows being in t he $150 range, that's a pretty penny. 

I live in Southern Arizona (Huachuca Mountains area, an hour south of Tuscon), and all we have out here are scraggly, short, twisted Mesquite trees.  In fact, the only straight trees I've seen are the pine-like (not sure on it's actual name) tree in my neighbor's yard that is longer than an 18-wheeler when standing upright, and a nice "white and smooth" (again, not sure on the name) tree in front of the building I work in...and I'm sure neither location would appreciate me chopping them down (even if I could spare the buildings from being squished!).

To top that all off, I have an electric screwdriver/drill (Black and Decker, $40 from Home Depot as a gift from my children), hammer and nails, a Norman sword, and a dremel.  That's it.  No work benches, no clamps, vices, saws, files, drawing knives, heat guns, etc.  My garage has camping gear and leftovers of random projects that I've done with my children over the years, like fish tanks, Styrofoam, and random odds and ends that we've recycled from garage sales (turning projector TVs into solar ovens, etc).  A far cry from the "manly man"'s garage...I'm a byproduct of my generation, music and video games, or so it seems.

With all that being said, is it possible to get tools "on a budget" from Home Depot, Lowes, or Sutherland's and make a decent first bow?  I don't mind putting in extra sweat in place of tools that I don't have, but I didn't want to go shopping only to find that I absolutely cannot make a bow without XYZ or ABC piece of equipment.  Because from the looks of things, a drawing knife is going to run about $60, a rasp about $20, etc.  Even the articles I've read on arrows require tools that I've never seen before (like a 'spoke shave').  I've read many of the Build-A-Longs on the site, but start getting a little disheartened with all of the tools lying around that I'm sure took a while to accumulate. 

That, and I've yet to find out how to find what the draw strength on a bow is...although someone mentioned using a bathroom scale at one point, just never expanded on that comment.

Cheers, and well met.  Here's hoping the garage gets some wood dust in it soon...

[WarBird]

My first bow was done with a $9 red oak board an old hand saw I had, a rasp I picked up at Lowes for $12 and a rat tail rasp from the local mom and pop hardware store for $6 and a sanding block which you can make with a scrap piece of wood and duct tape, push pins or small nails to keep the sandpaper on. That's it. And check out this thread http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,28697.0.html that shows how to do arrows with bamboo garden stakes, I used found feathers and packs from the local craft store for fletchings on mine. There are definitely was to get things done on a budget just takes some ingenuity and extra work.

[Joec123able]

Wow I'm not gonna try an answer everything I will try an give some basics you will need. You said you want to make a bow over a weekend or week ?? If your planning on cutting your own wood that's not gonna happen first off one bow usually for me I make over a span of about a month or two if I worried really hard it could be done that is if my wood was dry and everything like that. Now I your planning on making a board bow you could make it over a weekend but that's if you were experienced and had all the tools. If your making a board bow you won't need a draw knife the only thing I really use a drawknife for is establishing growth rings on the back of stave bows board bows you don't worry about chasing rings only finding the straightest grain you can. On my bows the main tool for almost the whole bow is my rasp I use that more than any tool while making a bow in fact you could make a whole bow with just a rasp and sand paper to make it look nice I know I haven't answered everything but hopefully helped somewhat

[Newindian]

For a bow all you really need is a hatchet, knife, and sand paper, but if you going to be making more than a few draw knifed are amazing ( with a knife and hatchet it takes me a day to chase down a ring, draw knife it takes about an hour) a rasp is a good idea. I find that you don't really need a clamp for things like tip overlays. At some point you will want/need to shape a bow with heat/steam you can do a lot of this with no tools, but clamps and a form are nice (I use a space heater for dry heat) a saw would also be handy.
When I make bamboo arrows all I use for tools is a dermal with a saw attachment

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Get a hatchet. And a cheap rasp. Total- about $25.
Get a board of oak, hickory, etc.
Then ask someone else for help.
I have made bows, but none big and none great(well, some good 30 pounders of BL).

[bushboy]

So you have a sword,that's a good star if ya don't mind banging. It around a bit.you can use it to shape and tiller the bow as long as it's sharp!on a low budget 1st bow ,I would not concern my self with esthtics ,but rather on function! I believe basalt is native to az,but not sure as I'm not a rock guy YET. If ya can swing getting a descent hard wood board,a tape and a 5 buck alumium yard stick,and a ball of twine ,sandpaper and a ball of twine your away!good luck and have fun

[Joec123able]

Forgot To mention the biggest tool you will need is PATIENCE without it you can forget a successful bow !

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Get the Traditional Bowyer's Bible if you do not already have it, I have Vol. 1.
It is available on Amazon.com for around $20.
It is absolutely Invaluable! You can learn how to make a flatbow...
Vol 2 has stuff on board bows...
Back them with nylon or something, then grain does not matter as much.
-Squirrel

[bushboy]

This is jim hamms method

[osage outlaw]

Check out your local craigslist.com site for some deals on used tools.  You might be suprised at what you can find on there and what kind of deals you can get.

[WarBird]

Definitely what joe said. Don't be too surprised or disheartened if the first one either is a dud or breaks on you. I was lucky to have a decent first bow but my next two (also my most recent two) went kaboom during tiller. It's a learning process for sure and that's a lot of the beauty of it.

[bushboy]

@ss,nylon?

[BowSlayer]

If you want to invest in a heat gun you can crank out a few PVC bows. BD

[Thesquirrelslinger]

@ss,nylon?

I have successfully backed bows with Nylon fabric, like the kind they use to make backpacks.
Its cheap too- around a few $$ per bow.
Also, I have used nylon cord, glued it on. Cable backs are fun, they work GREAT on Eastern Red Ceder(actually a species of juniper).
-Squirrel

[turtle]

The first bow i made i had a hatchet, bowie knife, and a small four way rasp i bought at the hardware store for about 6 bucks, and a chain saw file i used for putting in the string nocks. I would at least invest in a small 4 way rasp and some sand paper. You could probably do most of your roughing out with your sword or a large knife. Maybe use your dremel for the string nocks if you have the right attachment. Your best bet for wood starting out would be a board. Use your imagination and ingenuity,  remember the natives did it with nothing but rocks and bone. Post lots of pictures and ask lots of questions. Its not a race so take your time. Have fun.