kids bow question,w/pics

[bdawggy]

ive been trying to make a three peice takedown bow for my nephew,not doing too well.i have broken three sets of limbs so far.i am not using any glass on this bow i have another set gluing right now and may be my last attempt before christmas.i was wondering if anyone has made a kids longbow from a board and if so some demensions or a close start would be helpful.bow has to be about 40 inches long since i already have the string.only has to be about 20lbs at most.any ideas or comments would be helpful.thanks,   :confused:    greg

[bdawggy]

ttt

[R H Clark]

you can get a piece of oak at Home Depot or such.It should be about 1-1 1/2 wide, anything over 1/2 thick will work.Put 4 layers of fiberglass sheet rock tape on the back with Tightbond 2.The bow needs to be as long as the kid is tall and never be pulled further than his draw.

I don't know how tall your nephew is but you can easily make another endless string from B-50 if needed.All you need is the B-50 and some dental floss or any thick thread for serving.the string jig can be as simple as two nails in a board or on a wall.

there is a lot of info that will help on the How To-Resources section here at Tradgang.

If you need some string material shoot me a PM and I'll mail you enough to make a string.

Might not be enough time before Christmas but good luck.I am sure your nephew would love a bow even a few days late.

[bdawggy]

thanks rh clark.i have several boards including red oak cherry hickory purple heart and maple.i have made several board bows but nothing this short.was wondering if maybe i could start with a 1/2 in thick board or some help with limb width and how far to taper limbs etc.thanks for the reply,i might have to go with the old trial and error trick.

[R H Clark]

I don't know how far you are pulling a 40 inch bow.I would guess that the more you are asking the wood to stress the wider the bow limbs need to be.I think up to about 2 inches.After that,if you still have too much stress you probably need to change the design.

[jeanpaul3006]

elk ninja had a build along for child's board bow, maybe someone could dig it up.

[soopernate]

I PM'd him the elk ninja buildalong.  He liked it so hopefully we will see some pictures of the happy campers with their new sticks come Christmas time.

[laddy]

one single piece of tonkin nodes on will make a great kid bow.  You simply have to tiller and glue on a handle.  Careful though, I made my daughter a three footer when she was three and she killed a rabbit with it.  You can get them from Zero let off

[bdawggy]

thanks everyone for the responses.the link i was sent was a nice little build a long.bow is pretty cool for the little guys.luckily my three piece held together this time but am still gonna try the link i was sent for some other little relatives.is that you montana if so thanks again,greg.

[bdawggy]

here is the bow i made for my nephew.purple heart limbs with maple accents,maple riser with leftover turkey call scraps accents,lol.40in long about 15 to 20lbs @17 to 18in draw.laminated limbs kept breaking so i went with a couple pieces of purpleheart.just needs a clear and im calling it done,thank goodness.i know the wingnuts are sexy but what can you do.sorry about the fuzzy pics,greg      

[bdawggy]

two more kids bows.redoak with purpleheart tips.one is 25lbs and the other is 15lbs both at 20in.need sanding and a stain and will be done.