I fell into a bow making journey that I had not planned on but here goes. I have about 20 bows to make for friends and family  - Mostly friends from church. We have a section of our church property that works perfectly for setting up some hay bails and shooting. So I did and when others came by and saw a couple of the bows I made they wanted to shoot which was followed by..."Hey, can you make me one?" So here goes... I have made a few bows but will be getting some more practice in over the next few months.

Troy helped me out  by sending me some awesome riser setups that he put together and I have some lams coming from him as well...




I plan to add those risers to some beautiful lams and make some of these...



I also purchased a couple new from and riser templates from Kenny. I have been using the Bingham form plan but wanted to add a little variety...

I have learned so much from reading and watching everyone here on TG - This is a good group of people -

Someday I want to attempt to make real bows like...Roy!

Yup that's how it happens... I just want to build one at this weight to go with my other bow. You are going to gain a lot of experiance. You'll like the plans from Kenny- that's a sweet shooter. Have fun!

I applaud your enthusiasm but take it from someone who has burned himself out on more than one occasion.  Learn how to say "no".  Making bows for others is stressful and best done one at a time.

I hear ya John...and that is good advice. I do intend to go slow - most of these folks are not in a big hurry. I am using this opportunity to really work on developing some depth to my bow making and really fine tune my skills.

The last thing I want is for this process to become a chore or a task. Right now building bows is my way of taking a mental break from my work which can be all consuming and stressful.

I will take your caution to heart and be careful.

That is a lot of bows. It will be a lot more fun if you mix it up and prototype a few new designs. John is right. Be careful. Its no longer fun when it becomes a job.
Bonner

Those are some great lookin' bows, easy to see why everybody wants one!

Will you make me a bow?

John  - I am learning to say...no  - Ha. Besides I think your bow making skill far outweighs mine.

Having said that I do want to enter in the fun of the bow swap next year...I am sorry that I did not enter this year...I would love to swap one of mine laminated longbows for a selfbow.

QuoteOriginally posted by cunruhshoot:
John  - I am learning to say...no  - Ha.  

I was hoping you'd say that  

Roy...make real bows?      

Hey can I get one too    

Least my bows don't look like walking sticks like yours do Chicken Hawk..  

Actually  - I would like to accomplish both a bamboo backed and a self bow at some point. I bought Dean Torges DVD on Hunting the Bamboo Backed bow and have watched it now a bunch of times and I am getting my nerve up to build the form and purchase the materials. There is something about the look of the bamboo backing that I really like.

That is a lot of bows. It will be a lot more fun if you mix it up and prototype a few new designs. John is right. Be careful. Its no longer fun when it becomes a job.
Bonner