Bowyer - Making A Bow

Making A Bow

The most important part of crafting a bow is ensuring that the materials used are not strained beyond their breaking point. Due to the large amount of energy stored in a drawn bow, failures are often spectacular — often described as explosions because of the loud crack and flying debris. If a bow is being made from wood or a combination of natural materials (often called a primitive or traditional bow) careful attention must be paid to the selected materials. There are often natural twists, knots, bends or other variations that must be taken into account and worked with to ensure that the bow will not fracture at any point along its length. Serious injury can result from bow failure or if the bow string breaks. Due to this, traditional bows must be made individually.

Wood bow staves are often made from trees such as Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera), English Yew (Taxus baccata) and Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila).