I want to make my daughter a bow. This will be her first. She is almost 3 and i measured her "wingspan" fingertip to fingertip to be 34 inches.
I guess I really have 2 main questions.
First how do you figure a draw length? I think I should tiller it beyond the initial intended length.
Second what kind of draw weight should i shoot for? I was thinking like maybe 8lbs or am i way off.
I know kids vary drastically in strength and build but mainly just looking for opinions. could always build another if needed.
Make it as tall as she is and 1" wide, bendy handle. Tiller it to pull 15-20# at 20". That way she can grow with it. The bigger she gets, the farther she pulls and the more weight.
+1 on what John said.
I am finishing up my first bow that I have ever built and it is for my kids (just to give you an idea of my inexperience). I tillered it to be able to max out with the kids size arrows (28 pounds at around 22 inches). My 8 year old daughter is using just about all of the draw length and my 4 year old uses what he needs, probably about 15# or so. But he is getting one of own soon that will be a little shorter.
thanks guys. sounds pretty straightforward. I'm off to the store this morning to search for a suitable board.
Found a nice maple 1x2. Wound up making it 41" ntn. Little long for her but she can grow into it. Made it 1" wide and tapered the last 8 inches down to 3/8. Gonna make it bend through the handle. Started with 1/2 at the center and tapered to 3/8 about 3 inches back from the tips.
What kind of brace height would be appropriate for a small bow like this? I'm thinking since I would brace a 68" straight limb at about 6 1/2 and its ~4/7 of that maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2. What do you guys think?
I'm not to brace height yet but just wanted an idea. Sometimes things don't follow a straight line relationship when you scale them.