price/quality of buildin your own???

[Johnny Reb]

By the time a first timer (me) finishes a byob,what kind of money wiil it take for a decent bow?  
 I assume the quality of a first timers bow will be ok but not great due to the lack of experience and upper end equipment but will the bow shoot as good as a mass produced bow? (bear grizzly or comparable bow)
  I'm not expecting a black widow from my byob but hate to spend sevral hundred bucks and all the work on what amounts to stove wood, just for the record my wood workin ability on a scale of 1/10,,, probably about 7 or 8 on skill level.  
           
          Thanx for any input.

[Robertfishes]

heres a pic of the first lam bow I built, my skill level was near zero, I was an aluminum contractor back in the 1980's and early 1990's before this build I had no real wood working experiance other than building wood decks and  wood frame room additions 16 years ago.  I had never used a band saw,table saw,dremel tool or router before my first build. I used the router to cut out my form. Prices vary, depends on materials used. The 4 bows I built are nice but not as nice as the BlackWidows I sold to fund some of the new tools I bought..  

[TNstickn]

I would say your gonna spend 150-200 dollars building your first bow. If you follow a proven design like a binghams or one you get from someone that has built what your looking for weight wise, you will get a bow that performs right with or better than alot of the mass produced comercial bows.

Do a search and study the "build alongs". There is ALOT of good info in those.

Check out:   http://www.kennyscustomarchery.com/index.html
Thats Kennym on here, super guy with lots of bow building materials and know how.

[Robertfishes]

I have taken 2 hogs and 2 deer with my homemade bows this hunting season. I think you can build yourself a shooter bow, there is alot of information on this site on bow building. I read alot of threads here and took my time(40 hours) on the first one, the 3rd one I was down to 24 hours, I never get in a hurry and yes I made a few errors but nothing to bad. I bought my plans, fire hose kit and how to build DVD from Binghams. I buy my glass and lams from KennyM  

[Bradford]

Long as you have your own tools.. a belt sander.. a bandsaw.. you will spend about 200.00 for a lam bow.  I built my own heat box for about 30.00 and I built my own lam grinder.. probably 10.00..
but what I did, is build a all wood bow first.. only cost me 30.00 in wood.. even used wood glue.. It does shoot, but more than anything it was a great learning experience and preped me for the next level.. now it looks great on the wall.  Now that I have the things to build them, I only spend about 100.00 per bow depending ont he wood I choose.
But it is so worth it.. the feeling of shooting your own creation.. makes you feel like a real craftsman.. a real hunter.
So go for it!

[Johnny Reb]

Thanx for the info and insite ya'll, I've been debate'n  to build one for about 2 years now, just the thoughts of it turnin out to be junk has held me back.  
   I also wanted first hand info from someone who's built one, thats one reason I finaly broke down and registered on TRAD GANG, for the luxury of askin questions and gettin answers for experienced bowyers.
    The price is a whole lot less expencive than I figured, I had in mind about $300/350 any way.
    T.N stickn, what part of Tenn> you from if I can ask?           Thanx ya'll.

[TradBowyer]

JR,
if you are starting out with nothing, you are going to be at LEAST $300-350 depending on what you build. you have to buy wood for a form, build a hot box then the bow materials, epoxy, and all the extras..saw blade, sand paper, sanding belts, rasps, files, ect. You can save money along the way but you won't be coming in much under $350 I bet. I could be wrong but i think you'll be close to that.

another thought is to have someone who has all that stuff, glue up a blank for you and you can finish from there. That will save you money from building the form, epoxy, hotbox.

Quality is up to the builder, there are some new bowyers who have great looking bows.

[sw]

After heatbox and form your gonna be into it for around 150.00'ish. Kits can be had from bowyers and bingham for 80.00+ and then there is riser wood, glue, tools etc. If you have the tools your gonna save money. 300 to 350.00 is a real good estimate for a first bow.

Truely your gonna have to REALLY mess up bad to ruin a laminate bow - they are not hard to do and peformance for a bingham plan or the like is gonna get you a solid good bow. Its just upto you whether you want to do it from scratch OR get a stave already glued etc...

Its rewarding - and addicting  

[Jason Scott]

I started building this year. Below is what I have invested so far. Some tools and material you may already have. There will be left over consumables to use on the next bow. I bought some tools a one time builder may not want to get because I wanted to build many bows. I think the tools I got are the minimum you would want to get if you plan on building a bow reasonably fast and plan on doing more than one. I plan on getting a better saw and sander one day.
Form Total - $60
(I use the c-clamp method, rubber band probably be cheaper)
good 3/4" plywood $30
1/8" aluminum pressure strip $15
rubber strip $5
screws and glue $10

Hot box - Total $66
thin plywood $15
screws $5
light sockets $12
romex wire $14
5-100w bulbs $3
hinges and handles $10
foam insulating sheet $7

Tools - Total $450 (one time builder may not want the table sander and saw)
4 x 36 bench top sander $110
9" table band saw $110
1/2" drill $40
drill bitts $20
sandind drum for drill $10
orbital hand sander $30
C clamps $80 (rubber band method probably cheaper)
files $20
sand paper $15
Good band saw blade $15

Bow materials - $140 to $220
lam kit $90 (black glass action wood lams) to $160 (clear glass exotic wood lams)
riser material $15 to $30
AE 40 epoxy $30
Helmsman spray finish $8

If you only wanted to get everything to build only one bow, $325 + ttl maybe. I could have had any of the best and most reputable custom delux carbon wam bam thank you mams out there for what I have invested but the bow I am carrying with me in the woods this year was built with my own two hands and I will tell you that I am very proud of its performance and looks. Because I started grinding my own lams for the last two bows, I can build a decent bow for less than $100 in a weekend. I am still using Helsman spray finish.

[Jason Scott]

I think that the performance, fit and finish could be every bit as good or better than a Bear. You would be building a bow the same way they build theirs, only more custom. Same materials, glues and such. They just have super shops and spit em out. It is not hard to do it right.

[Jason Scott]

One more thing. Above I said that I could build a bow for less than $100. That is just materials amd consumables like sand paper and blades. I have thought about what it would be like to try to make a living at building and I can say that I have a lot of respect for the guys that do it. It takes me a minimum of 15 hours spread over a weekend to build my bows and they are not fancy laminated risers with a lot of carbon and phenolic materials. Breaking that down with the cost of the average bow out there I think it is making an honest living. I really think they do it because they love it. A custom bow is worth every penny a reputable bowyer asks for. I just want to kill a deer with a bow I made. And the guys in the archery club always want to see if I have built anything lately. I will keep my day job.

[Shore08]

JR,
     I don't know where abouts in TN you are, but if Clarksville is anywhere near you it is worth checking out the TN Classic if you want to build a bow. It was a 90 minute or so drive for me, but well worth it.

     I built a bow there last year, and not only was it the first bow I built, but it was the first bow I ever shot too! They had a ton of help, and all the tools and materials on site. I think I wound up with $100-$125 or so in it, but that includes buying a string and a tillering string, entry fee, and a few other odds and ends.

     It won't be a laminate, but it is a great starting point. Good luck with whatever you choose, and be sure to post up pics!

[TNstickn]

Im in Bartlett, Just north of Memphis by a couple of blocks. Anything I can do to help, just ask.

[TNstickn]

There is a guy that goes by the handle "Hera" on here. You should search out his builds. He does just about everything by hand. If your just starting out and dont want to fork out a bunch of money on tools then his methods are of interest for sure. Hes a very talented guy! If your willing to us a little elbow grease and alot of patients, you wont have any trouble.

[Johnny Reb]

This keeps gettin better, this is the reason I sighned up, learnin is a blast.   I was wunderin about use'n the "old fashioned" way instead of buy'n a bunch of power tools just use hand tools.
  Insead of a sander a rasp and sand paper would give me a chance to slow down so I can watch what I'm do'n, try'n to keep from remove'n too much wood and screwin it up,   just a thought.
  Thers a flea market close by and thers a guy that has tables of old hand tools, you can also pick up desent power tools.
   Probably gonna be a while before I start on it anyway,it'll give me time to gather up tools and decide the which bow to build, plus time to pick thru threads and build alongs.( I never dreamed of a build a long, great idea.)
   And for the record I live about 60 miles west of Chattanooga, near Mt. eagle.

[jess stuart]

Is it worth it?  Well I guess that depends on how you look at it.  

Years ago I wanted a recurve, I called Dale Dye at the time he did not make a t/d, a one piece was $275.00 if my memory is correct.  I thought that was way to much, a Dale Dye for oh well never mind. Decided to build my own to save money.  I probably built a hundred or so since.  Would have saved a bunch of money if I would have oredered the Dye.

I would have missed out on all the fun of building all those bows.  Was it the right choice?  You bet,

[Johnny Reb]

interesting way to look at it.    Moriarty is a sweet spot, I used to travel thru ther on a regular basis.

[kennym]

Hi Johnny,

You got good advice here as usual.

I'd say the feeling of taking game with a bow I made is about as good as it gets!

Good luck with your project!  

[4est trekker]

Johnny,

I don't build pretty bows or expensive bows (last one cost me $12).  Mostly because I don't have the money, time, or patience.  However, I always laugh when I think about the time I saw a fella with a cocked eye as I was leaving the woods empty handed carrying my osage character bow.  Being skeptical that my 45# stick and string could do little more than serve as a makeshift tent pole, he inquired if I'd had any luck.  I grunted and jokingly replied, "Nope.  Guess they thought my bow was too ugly."  He shot back with, "Why don't you shoot a compound like everyone else?  They're way more accurate."  As the hair stood up on the back of my neck, my first instinct was to reply, "Yep, we'd all have gotten real hungry the last 10,000 years without the good old wheelie bow."  But, I refrained and answered, "Yeah, you're right.  That last turkey I shot probably would have preferred a compound to this ugly old thing."          

Making, shooting, and succeeding with your own archery tackle is priceless.

[bmgarto]

Johnny, I was like you on this. Here is a good option. Buy a blank. I bought one from Old Master Crafters. It was around $200. It comes all glued up and it was a perfect job. Then I cut out the limbs, shelf, shaped the handle, glued on all the overlays and tips and filed the tips. You are pretty much making a bow except for the glue up. The glue up is what takes all the money to get started. This will eliminate the form clamps and hot box and you will still be doing 75% of the work. Their are others that offer these, like Dryad bows and others. The bow came out fantastic. All my bow friends couldn't believe it. It shoots as good as any custom bow I have ever had which is many. Mike