Woodworking ideas - How to build a wood long bow from a Maple Board part 1

Looking for woodworking ideas? Learn how to make a wood bow from a maple board you can pick up at the local hardware store. In part one of our DIY board bow building series, we'll start by discussing what to look for in a board. Then we'll move into bow design and lay out the bow's profile. Once that is done, we'll go ahead and rough out the bow, narrowing the handle and limb tips.
Maple and red oak are commonly availabe hardwood species. Both will make good bows. In this series, we'll be making a 70 inch longbow from a maple board that I got from Home Depot.
In part 2, we'll floor tiller the board bow and place it on a jig to introduce some back set before backing it with rawhide.
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[@charlesdavis9937]

A few years ago I bought a red oak board and asked about it on a Facebook group page. I was a beginner, still a beginner. Because they all on the page laughed, told me it would never work, wasted my time and money, name calling, etc. after that I took that oak board and turned it into firewood. Haven’t tried to make a bow since and it’s been about two or three years. I’ve been reading books, web pages and watching videos on how to make bows for over 10 years. They discouraged me, but I might give it a try again. Good video.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Don't ever let anyone discourage you from trying something like this. You can't control what they do, only how you respond to it. And as soon as you say something can't be done, someone's going to do it. Red oak will make a fine bow, not quite as fast as good maple, but fine nonetheless. ch

[@bryanotero123]

Give it a try man, then make a video of it,

[@brucepreston3794]

Charles Davis dont let these people convince you that you cant. Just because they cant, doesnt mean it cant happen. Just tell yourself you can

[@djinn201]

Don't let the haters stop you, do it for own satisfaction mate

[@gaijillahimself908]

Have you made your bow yet? I'm rooting for ya!

[@byronmitchell3587]

In quarantine and alway wanted to build a bow. Seems like the perfect time to do it

[@Ducky27645]

Congrats Clay! Long before I got into selfbows, I waited with anticipation over the next episode of Alone. Naturally, my love for the outdoors and hunting has brought me to making selfbows and you have been a tremendous help! You’ve answered my questions with quick responses and thorough answers. Seeing you appear in Season 8 was a total surprise and I’ve been cheering for you! You’ve had some amazing completion! Again congrats! I hope to meet you some time in Milton if the occasion ever arises.

[@spencerchandler8313]

I really appreciate this video. I was thinking if it was possible so I typed in bows made from precut oak and BAM this video comes up front and center. LOVE IT!

[@snakeriverscotto]

Wow, this brings back some fond memories! I still have so much fun making board bows for people. Maple is a great wood for all skill levels too, I love Maple. This is such a great way to spend a day. I hope everyone gives this a shot! Be warned: highly addictive.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Highly Addictive!

[@jnim1000]

Honest person and thanks for being one and making this video for those who want to start making bows. People try to make much and rip people off. Start off with board if you don’t got access to staves. Don’t buy staves unless u want to spend allot money and it breaks on first.

[@dougdunlap6638]

love this stuff. been looking for ever for just this type of instruction

[@cecilsowers8242]

I have learn more watching your videos then reading all the books that I have on how to build a bow this is the most simplest I have ever seen for a good usable bow and getting started.

[@Mylokx215]

Fantastic video. Looking forward to the next one. In the meantime, I am headed to Lowe's.

[@thecakeredux]

That introduction completely described my situation. Great that you recognized there is an audience for this, good for you that it's well received and good for us that you provide this great content.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks Felix

[@springbloom5940]

Clay Hayes Thank you. Im currently working on a 48" red oak board bow, as a practice run for a hickory stave an eBay seller is kindly cutting me a deal on, because its my first go. I could use some tips on style or design. Im looking to make a ~50" 35lb - 40lb shortbow. I need it to be as simple as possible, preferably no backing(though I understand the wood may decide that for me). Is that a reasonable expectation? Is there a particular style I should go with? My tools are a carpenter's hatchet, a mora companion knife and a Shinto rasp(awesome tool!)

[@Ntwadumela]

Clear and concise. Thank you! Subscribed!

[@gonzoiguess7301]

I started making my first bow months ago and got so busy I couldn't continue. Just my luck that when I decided to commit to it again last night you posted this video! Absolutely love your channel!

[@clayhayeshunter]

thanks Ryan

[@Sam-zf2wg]

Thank you so much for posting this video ,

[@daleyadventures3896]

Been wanting to do this for months, been checking home depot every time I'm there for a suitable board. Finally got one today, stoked to start!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Good deal!

[@TievelaneyWest]

Cool! Can't wait for the next one.

[@edmatthews572]

Thanks Clay, as always you are at the top of your game. Super job as always thanks for sharing with us.

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Ed Matthews you’re welcome

[@theconnellyproject]

Great Video! Can't wait to check out part 2

[@niknimrod]

Awesome video Clay! Thank you so much for the great idea!! Looking forward for part 2!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks Nik

[@nicktaylor935]

I made a 50 pound 70 inch maple long board following your instructions. Ty i had major succes

[@clayhayeshunter]

Awesome! congrats.

[@didgeribox196]

Thank you for sharing! I’ve got you book and I will be starting my first bow build in the next month.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Excellent! Have fun with it.

[@jacobice2011]

That was exactly what I needed today. Thank you!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Jacob Ice your welcome

[@nontimebomala2267]

I like your videos. Your presentations are a nice blend of informality and professionalism. I have watched several and have not heard anything that did not sound pretty much spot on. I have been building bows since Jim Hamm released "The Traditional Bowyers Bible". Actually I gave the autographed copy to my son. So there are two complete copies of the set in my family. Board bows are just fine. Once upon a time a man who owned a lumber yard asked me if I could make a bow out of Virginia White Pine. I told him I could and he gave me a pile of sawed lumber to look through. When I finished his bow, it was 55# at 29" and it was 66" long tip to tip. I think the young bowyer should start with board bows because they are more technical and less organic but it is really just personal preference.

[@arrongilmore3164]

This is the video I been looking for before I move to making bows from wood thank you sir.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Glad to help

[@frankieg9585]

Thank you Clay for all the educational and inspirational videos. I enjoy your content!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Thanks Frank

[@frankieg9585]

@@clayhayeshunter you betcha...I've been shooting compound since 2011 and now I have an interest in traditional with the hopes of simplifying at least the gear and relearning how to shoot to be proficient in trad! Thanks again and keep up the great work.

[@HobbitHomes263]

I made my first bow out of hickory. I had some trouble gaining finesse with a drawknife to not take too much wood so I picked up a small spokeshave which allowed me to control the depth of the cut. It took probably more strokes but at least I wasn't buggering up the board.

[@frankie1956]

Looking forward to the next one great information Clay 👍👍👍

[@clayhayeshunter]

+frankie1956 next week!

[@TightwadTodd]

Good start...Looking forward to the next installments..Ive Built many a Board bow,but i always enjoy watching others technique as you might just pick up that one little tip,that makes a difference in your own building...

[@clayhayeshunter]

Yep, there's always something to learn. ch

[@jeff5985]

Thanks Clay! Going today to home depot. I'll do a build along.

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Jeff excellent

[@miikesternberg6947]

Looking forward to the next video.

[@darrellallen7931]

Great instructions and well laid out video..... subbed

[@CrossFit181P]

Watching your videos inspired me to build my 9 year old daughter her first bow. Worked great and she was really happy. Great work here Clay.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Heck yeah!

[@TheBeeman410]

I just picked up your book and can't wait to get into it ! 🍻

[@Photobby]

I was hoping you would do something like this! I want to make a couple of bows for my kids, as practice to make a nicer one for me. Thank you Clay!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

It's a great way to start and get some practice!

[@ACHPKP]

Excellent work!!! Depending upon the length of the end cut, and the depth of a Scroll Saw's throat, .....a Scroll saw (or band saw), can take off the wood---if one doesn't have a Draw Knife. Thanks for this video!!

[@stevenclark3261]

I'm glad you showed me oi was about to spend a lot of money on a good piece of wood this way I can practice making them to hone my skill thanks again brother you helped a lot

[@clayhayeshunter]

Have fun with it!

[@tomnoraas2902]

Waiting for part two ,part one was interesting.

[@davidmerriott7356]

As usual this video is awesome. Thanks for making a beginner bow series. I was hesitant because of finding an osage stave and not wanting to mess it up. This is much less intimidating.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Yep, that's exactly why I'm making these vids. I hope they help. ch

[@onegoodearthcycles]

Can't wait to part 2

[@bushwhackedsurvivor9713]

Awesome. Thank you.

[@playanamedgus2415]

I made my own bow a couple months ago. It was pine, cuz thats the only thing i could find, and it was not very fast, but very accurate, and it got pretty good penetration.

[@bigh6530]

Great sound advice.

[@chrismyers7568]

Great vid thanks heaps Clay

[@matthewwilliam4057]

Just made my first bow thanks to your series, turned out super well. Thank you so much!

[@clayhayeshunter]

The first of many I’m sure!

[@magikbullitz7387]

I never thought of gettin bow wood from home depot. Genius

[@clayhayeshunter]

Haha!

[@troystone5901]

Thanks for posting. Your videos are inspiring and very educational. I would love to see you work a hickory bow from stave to finish.

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Troy Stone I think I could do that.

[@guyinknapp]

Ill second that we have alot of hickory here in Wisconsin. Thats was going to be my first attempt.

[@whoblowsthere002]

I wanna see a shag bark done, I have them all over my hill but the stuff is so stringy and tough I cant even split it for fire wood unless its under 15" much less split staves from a round

[@rogermajsterski4728]

Grate thanks 👍😊😊😊 very valuable knowledge.happy new year

[@roberthicks4794]

Great teaching Sir!!

[@ianprice2441]

Great stuff👍👍

[@angelus_solus]

There's a Windsor Plywood nearby that I could either get maple from or even hickory. I'll have to watch this series of yours now and get educated.

[@juniopitbull5371]

Pra mim você é o cara 👏👏👏

[@INTELkizenough]

I do it works fine ! tanks

[@justpassinthrough7]

Starting this tonight!

[@kirkusmaximus6753]

Nice, I will pick up some tips from ya. Thanks

[@clayhayeshunter]

No problem 👍

[@INTELkizenough]

Tank you, i build my first bow from it !

[@kellyclish713]

Hi, I just picked up a red oak board 1/2 x 2x4, I'm attempting to make a short horse bow. Native American style sinue backed. Also, have oak dowels to make some arrows.

[@walterpelletier6041]

the book he is talking about is very very good i recommend it

[@joebowers1821]

Awesome.

[@611Cowboy]

You are the devil incarnate! I'm skipping the wheels and going straight to the stick and I already want to build a self bow and down even have my first bow

[@clayhayeshunter]

Get after it!

[@611Cowboy]

Next season ill be hunting with it is the goal

[@PKD-ze4hr]

Been watching tour videos and had to order the book. Wish I had known there were signed ones.

[@PointofimpactTV]

Always like your videos, I don't even build bows anymore. Firearms dominate my hobby time.

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Pointofimpact TV bang sticks are cool too.

[@RiverbendlongbowsOutdoors]

You're a good instructor 👊 Great video

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Riverbendlongbows.com gracious

[@RiverbendlongbowsOutdoors]

Clay Hayes de nada

[@ryans3194]

I know how I am gonna spend some of my birthday money this week . I Shoot nasp ( national archery in the schools program) and only use a Genesis original compound for that ( I go to Competitions/tournaments ) so it would definitely be nice to hunt with a long bow just to switch things up

[@rugger8787]

i shot naps one year really fun

[@felipemartinez7756]

Just ordered it 😎

[@scottjohnson2841]

Looks good

[@clayhayeshunter]

thanks

[@DrewEdwardBacklas]

Did a board bow out of red oak a few years ago. I didn’t do the best job selecting the wood and had a bit of grain runoff. I tried to back it with fiberglass drywall tape and thought I had it handled. Tillered out to about 52lbs at 29”. Shot about 400 arrows before it cracked. Lot of hours of work down the drain. Bought a maple board to try again and it’s sat in my shop for the last 2 years waiting for me to gather the motivation to try again.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Broken bows aren’t wasted time if you learned something from the experience!

[@jeffreyarnold2626]

my first bows were board bows. i still make pyramid bows occasionally. maple, and red elm are personal favorites. i made a red oak first. if i lived in cali still i'd opt for hickory. it's just too wet here in wa to make one from hickory.

[@clayhayeshunter]

Yea, hickory can sure soak up the moisture.

[@robertbrunston5406]

Thank you.

[@clayhayeshunter]

you're welcome

[@magicdaveable]

Cool video.

[@johnkennedy3594]

Hi Clay, great video. I have a lot of post oak and white oak. would either of these make a good bow?

[@karenmurray3098]

hi Clay, i just got your book . i'm looking forward to picking up some tips and attempting to make my first bow

[@clayhayeshunter]

Have fun

[@varminthunter7781]

Cedar limbs make great longbows to

[@gamefactory6227]

Nice

[@mpccenturion]

Thank you. I guess we are programmed to hunt out things and make them. Wood is what I like. Have the tools and time. Looks like I will follow your path and see where we end up. I broke a bow, when I was a kid. I guess the grain was across it, due to the way it broke. Cheers!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Don’t get discouraged. Just stick with it, learn, and have fun along the way.

[@peaceseeker123]

Rock on man

[@AlS-zg4di]

Great video. Thanks for posting Clay! I love your post vice too. Is that a Peter Wright vice from England? Lucky!

[@clayhayeshunter]

I'm not sure of the maker. I found this in an old barn.

[@matteoveneruz9096]

I watched this whole series and I went out and bought a couple decent boards of western red cedar which I’ve heard is also a good type of wood to make a bow. The board that I think would be better is and inch in thickness. I’m wondering if that would be okay to make a bow. The grains run length wise and there’s is only one knot on the side that I’m planning to make the belly. But I should be able to take the knot out because it only runs a little ways through the wood.

[@cyberpigeon8192]

I used to make bows as a kid but with branches

[@markgauthier3089]

Looking forward to the next video. How do you adjust dimensions for kids?

[@clayhayeshunter]

I'd just make it as tall as they are, then narrow the handle to fit their small hands. you'll have plenty of material in a 1x2 to narrow the handle to 1 inch or less for a kid.

[@mattphipps1368]

This is going to sound kind of weird, but I actually found your book before I found your videos. One thing I can say about this video in particular is that I like that you specifically mention red oak as a possibility for a bow because that's all I could find at my home center. The maple and hickory boards were all trash.

[@samanyajohnson8296]

So do you think using a 1/4" paper sander with 60+100 grit will work? As well as backing it with camo pants and wood glue water resist?

[@ericbaumgartner5742]

Have you ever tried using D shape oak hand rails for a starter board ? The smaller ones used in hallways.

[@clayhayeshunter]

I haven't, but if the grain is good, I bet it'd work well.

[@jameshuffman1875]

Can Russian olive and black locust be used wonderful teacher thank you

[@abelgongora3420]

At what stage of tillering should you put on your regular bow string I'm making my first board self bow and going really good so far

[@ryanb1874]

I like your thoughts on it not being encouraging to build with osage right away. It's like, being new to knifemaking and trying to duplicate Loveless.

[@GrymmTymm1313]

what kind and where did you get that clamp? it looks awesome

[@elund408]

if your talking about the vise, it's a blacksmith vise and you might find one second hand if you look lots.

[@alva8421]

Great channel Clay I am new to bow building your channel has been a really big help. So far I have some real nice Maple,Locust and Hickory. DO you have any videos on Take down bows? Thanks for all your great videos and your time. Al, Pennsylvania

[@clayhayeshunter]

I’ve got a 3 part series on take down bows at patreon.com/clayhayes

[@colinrueth4695]

An update i got to the tillering process and began to draw and tiller the bow as i was getting close to finish it snapped right in the center of the handle

[@911life5]

You can cut those boards at Home Depot to your desired length and only buy what you need.

[@Timberwolf4979]

What type of draw knife would you recommend?

[@colinrueth4695]

I still have two rather nice arms do you think if i were to properly make a takedown bow handle slightly modified to account for the arms having no recurve I could possibly put the arms on and have a bow that way?

[@matthewhardman6139]

That would be cool

[@calebaustin8912]

Hey Clay, I'm a huge fan! You do some pretty amazing work! I have a question for ya. Is there a way to make a board bow with a shelf? Like could I make it and have it not be a bend through the handle? If so do I just not taper the handle section?

[@clayhayeshunter]

Yes, you’d need to glue an additional piece to the riser section to stiffen it up, then you could cut a shelf in.

[@calebaustin8912]

Awesome thank you Clay! super excited to try this out! You rock man!

[@arkirron7172]

Great video, is it possible and plausible to build a selfbow out of a board such as maple?

[@passionateoutdoors7217]

That's awesome can't wait for part 2! One question though is it possible to glue another type of wood to the handle section to beef it up and not have a bend through handle bow? And do the reflex limb tips like ur bow u had built on here

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Thomas Escue yes, you could add another piece to the riser section for a stiff handle. I’ve never tried heat bending a maple board. I’ll do some research on that.

[@CjSerbousek]

you do not want to heat or steam bend maple you can steam and heat bend red oak tho

[@alrdyreg]

On a bow made this way what can the expected life be? Is there after care that must be done to extend the life other than unstringing when not in use and keeping it stored inside? Great videos! Watching and rewatching because this is my next project.

[@clayhayeshunter]

A well made bow will last a lifetime.

[@Jazzman-bj9fq]

Cool vid! Very interesting to see 'how it's made.' Btw, did you know that if you wiki 'Archery' that your picture is in there? You made it in there but Howard Hill and Byron Ferguson didn't... Pretty impressive!!!

[@clayhayeshunter]

Hmm, I’ll have to check that out.

[@addictivearchery1123]

Hmm. Gives me a reason to go to Home Depot. 😁

[@clayhayeshunter]

I thought that's where you got your shafting...

[@thalassa2889]

Could you replace the drawknife with a spokeshave for the roughing out process? I have read that drawknives can be tricky to master.

[@clayhayeshunter]

For board bows, yes. A spokeshave would work well.

[@jakesarnicola3508]

Hey great video, very clear, I have a bunch of seasoned locust boards could I use those to build a bow ?

[@clayhayeshunter]

you could.

[@vincentearl7684]

If you live in Canada we have a store called Windsor plywood they sell all kinds of rough cut lumber at 4/4 I purchased a peace of hickory for 16 dollars ripped it with a dazuki (pull saw) and have enough for 2 bows 3.99 a board ft.

[@trevorward3920]

Awesome video. Very informative and am looking forward to reading your book. Just one question for you and not sure if you can answer it as it may be a jurisdictional question. If there is a minimum draw weight for hunting, can you use a self bow?

[@clayhayeshunter]

+Trevor Ward I think that depends on where you are. For instance, in Idaho it has to be a minimum of 40 lb draw weight and 300 gr arrow weight which is, in my opinion, way under weight for a hunting arrow.