child's bow

[wapiti1997]

I plan to make a selfbow this spring and try to take some deer with it this fall.

I've never made a bow, have done some woodworking.

I have draw knives, rasps, files, no bandsaw or stationary sander.

I'd like to make a child' bow first. My 2 1/2 year old loves to shoot with me and with my help draws and plinks arrows with my bow.  I'd like to make a short plinker that she can handle and tag a long with.

Would black walnut make a lightweight toy bow? I have access to lots of good woods.  I've split and sealed some black locust staves, and plan to cut some osage soon.

I also have plenty of hickory and maple.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, any suggestions for a very short "toy" bow?

[fujimo]

i have made proper kids bows- with lots of time and effort- but the little tykes always seem to end up overdrawing them- or beatin' the cat with it or something. hickory seems the toughest.
however i am now going to build them like this- then i am not hovering over them like a frantic dad- and they can just get on and enjoy the bow

 http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=pvc+pipe+kids+bow+and+arrow&oq=pvc+pipe+kids+bow&gs_l=hp.1.0.33i29l4.2103.7604.0.10655.17.14.0.3.3.0.432.2120.0j13j4-1.14.0.les%3 B..0.0...1c.1.DfNzAF6rBC4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=7a61e4c941a805e2&bpcl=38897761&biw=1280&bih=585

[CardboardDuck]

I made this one for my daughter it's a bit on the heavy side for her draw but she'll grow into it. 1 1/8 wide at the fades tapering to 7/16 wide at the tips, 5/16 thick. Maple backed maple with a cherry handle and tips. 36" tip to tip. It's about #15 @15", I'm thinking about taking it down to an inch wide to reduce the weight.

 

 

 

[wapiti1997]

Nice looking bow!

[fujimo]

awesome looking bow, i love those wrapped handles.
wayne

[Dimondback]

I make these for gifts out of 1/4" X 1.5" X 48" red oak boards from Home Improvement stores...I use scrap from other projects to dress them up a bit. If the grain is right they don't even need backing or tillering. Cost about $5 bucks to make.

 

 

 

[monterey]

D-back, I make exactly the same thing.. cept mine are not as pretty as yours    

Fujimo brings up a good point regarding the treatment these bows can get at the hands of youngsters!!

Having seven grand kids and several friends kids, I've had to make about a dozen of these over the past few years and need to make a few more to boot just to keep up.

[wapiti1997]

Dimondback, that is exactly what I need!  So is that oak flooring material?  I'm assuming the grain needs to be horizontal or do you mean straight?  What kind of draw weight are they giving?

Thanks for sharing!

[twospots]

I just made one very similar to Diamondback's however I only had one 1/4 inch red oak clued on as riser. Used fiberglass drywall tape and glue backing (a first for me). But I think the next one will have a much nicer riser after seeing these pics. Still going with a backing for sure just cause kids will be kids...

[macbow]

Those 1/4'inch red oak board bows,will yield around 10 to 15 pounds at 16 inches easily.
For your little one might go with 1 inch wide at handle tapered to 1/2'inch at the tips.
If you find a slat with straight grain no backing needed.
These are 48 inch slats.

[twospots]

Macbow, Your not kidding, The one I just finished is about 23 lb at 24 inches. The posative side to that is that they can grow with it. And the child I made it for is 10 so it should be fine, but for younger kids, making it thinner is a great idea. I was able to draw it so 26 1/2 inces no prob (my DL) and it was close to if not at 30 lbs. But my slats were longer, I think mine ended up around 52 -53 inches. And I have another 72 inch 1/4 by 1.5 with nice strait grain to play with.

[Dimondback]

Originally posted by wapiti1997:
Dimondback, that is exactly what I need!  So is that oak flooring material?  I'm assuming the grain needs to be horizontal or do you mean straight?  What kind of draw weight are they giving?

Thanks for sharing!

What the guys above this post said to a tee...simple strait-grained 1/4" thick red oak board (no significant grain run-offs on the wide dimensions and few as possible on the narrow dimensions). I have only had two fail and they were poorly grained woods that I tried to push past what they could do.I always test-bend the bow after gluing the handle on to see how it will hold up before wasting time shaping and finshing a substandard board. Draw weights and all are similar to those stated in the previous few posts. Kids love them. and they shoot the 1/4" Shafted arrows like an adult bow with enough umph to stick 4" into a "slightly worn" 3D target. Good luck!

[wapiti1997]

I can't find any home improvement places around here that carry 1/4" oak or any other solid woods that thin..

[macbow]

If you have access to a bandsaw, then buy the 3/4 inch boards and resaw to whatever's needed.

[twospots]

Wapiti, Look in the trim sections like for basebaords etc. Lows and HD have had them 1/4 inch by 1.5 inch at fairly long lengths.

[Tom Leemans]

For about $23 per stick, you can get 1-5/8 to 1-3/4" dia. Manau rattan from Bamboo and Rattan Works. They know what you need if you tell them it's for kids bows. They'll cut a 9' pole in half and ship it to you. Assuming you get clean pieces with no bruises, that'll yield 4 qty 51" kids bows. You can whip them out with hand tools too. You can make them as fancy as you like and you just can't seem to break them. See Dean's article.    http://bowyersedge.com/kidsbows.html    I have helped make hundreds of these. We let the kids decorate their own with markers. Check out Shaun's post on rattan bows too!