kyboy,im not a bowyer by no means but i aspire to be. right no im currently working on my first hickory self bow to replace my current hickory self bow of 13 yrsi would suggest getting copys of the traditional bowyers bible volumes 1- 4. you can order them on lineor through 3 rivers archery, which is one of the trad gang sponsers.i would also look at the bowyers bench section of this site and ask to talk with patb. who has ben building selfbows for 25 yrs. mr pat makes some beautiful bows. since you are in kentucky you are fairly close,in the month of may during memorial weekend there is a traditional shoot in hickory,nc that weekend you would be able to talk to mr pat there in person. its my understanding that he will be giving a bow building class/deminstration. i hope to be there that weekend myself. also i would go to your local bookstore and look for a copy of traditional bowhunter magazine. it contains lots of ads for building bows and how toos also. the best of luck in your endevour ruddy