How to Make a Recurve Bow By Mark Chronister

April 6, 2015

Introduction:

The bow and arrow has been around for thousands of years, and it is one of the oldest weapons still used today. The equipment used today is largely the same as the original weapons used which makes archery a unique sport. Originally just a stick and other natural materials used for a string, the evolution of the modern recurve bow has been profound over the last 70 years. Bows made from multiple laminations and man-made materials came into existence in the early 1950s. Since then, there have been few advancements in the field and modern bows have been largely unchanged in that time span.

A few people make a living off of this trade every year, turning out custom bows made to the customers specifications. However, this process has been perfected to a point that any person containing even a little woodworking background that has access to a few common power tools can make a bow all on their own. In this guide, I will describe the process of building a recurve bow with enough specificity that anybody reading it will have a great chance of making a bow on their own.Note: This process is lengthy and requires the use of power tools. Take all safety precautions necessary.

Materials: Ply wood Wood glue

Wood screws

Bow form brackets

Air hose

Formica strip

Washers

Plastic wrap Fiberglass (2)

Veneers (4)

Core laminations (2)

Riser block

Smooth-on epoxy

Sand paper

Wood finish

Paste wax

Light bulb fixtures (5) Light bulbs

Foam insulation

Duct tape

Gloves

Safety glassesTools:

Router (w/ straight bit)

Jig saw

Band saw (optional)

Spindle sander (optional)

Disk sander

Drill

Clamps

Air compressor

Bow form and oven:

1. The first step is to make the bow form. Find 2-3 pieces of plywood that when glued together will be 1.75 wide. Use liberal amounts of glue and sandwich the pieces together, using the drill and wood screws to hold them together.2. Using another piece of plywood and a bow design found online, create a bow form pattern. Scribe this onto the bow form. If you have a half pattern (like in the picture) mark a center line on the bow form and flip the pattern to scribe both sides.

3. Once the pattern is scribed onto the form, use the jig saw to cut along the line. Cut slightly above the line as the form will be squared up later.

Caution: Jig saws are sharp, wear gloves and safety glasses and take your time when cutting out the form4. Screw your plywood pattern onto the form with the edge that you used to scribe the line lining up with the line that you scribed. There should be a sliver of wood showing on the form because we did not cut right to the line.

Figure 1

Figure 25. Next, take the handheld router and insert a straight router bit. Use a bit that has a bearing guide. This will ride on the pattern piece and create a perfectly square surface throughout the form.

6. Once that is done, glue the formica strips onto the squared surface to hide bumps or dents on the surface. The form is nearly complete. Using the drill, add washers to the bottom half of the form, the washers should protrude slightly above the edge. This prevents slippage when gluing up. The brackets will also need to be installed (you will see these later in the guide).

7. Using the foam insulation and duct tape, create a box that is big enough to hold the bow form. Wire up the light fixtures and place them in the bottom of the box near the edges (shown later in the guide). This step is simple and takes only 15 minutes.

8. The bow form and bow oven are now done. The rest of the guide will be focused on making the recurve bow.

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Making the bow:Caution: This process requires the use of a number of power tools. Power tools can be dangerous if not properly used. Be sure to wear safety glasses and gloves at all times as well as take your time through these steps.

1. The first step to building the bow is getting the riser block prepared. Some people may choose to use a solid piece of wood for their bow riser. In that case the riser just needs to be shaped. For this guide, I will show how to make a laminated riser. You start off with multiple pieces of wood. Using smooth-on epoxy, put the pieces in order and clamp them together. Then put it in the bow oven at 170F for 4-6 hours so the epoxy can cure.2. Once the riser is cured, pull it out of the oven and clean off excess glue. The next step is to shape the riser to fit to the bow form. This is done using the band saw and the spindle sander.

Caution: Keep as far away from the band saw blade as possible. Wear gloves and safety glasses. Remove gloves for sanding as they pose a safety hazard.

3. Next, using the spindle sander again, feather the fades of the riser until they are paper thin. This provides a flawless and smooth transition when gluing up.

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4. Next, we need to prepare the form for the glue-up. Take the top part off for now and sit the bottom half on your bench. Cover the bottom half in plastic wrap to prevent the glue from sticking to the form (You can see the washers and brackets in this picture. For this build we will not be using a dowel pin.).

5. Layout all of the pieces of the bow. The draw weight of the bow will determine how many laminations that you have. One piece of glass should be cut in half while the other is left whole. Put blue painters tape on one side of the glass. 6. Measure out the epoxy in paper cups in equal amounts. The 2-part epoxy is then mixed together until it is the correct consistency. Layering the bow on the form is the most crucial and laborious step. Spread epoxy over each piece as you put it down. The order should be: Glass, Laminations, Riser, Laminations, Glass. The air hose is inserted next and then the top half of the form. Once the brackets are tightened up, pressure is added to the air hose (roughly 80 psi). The pressure created by the air hose forces all the laminations tight together. The entire form is then put into the bow oven for 6 hours at 170F.

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7. Using an outline, mark the limbs to be cut. Cut the limbs using the band saw and then sand to the line with the disk sander (Figure 11)Caution: Wear safety glasses and gloves when running the band saw. Remove gloves when using the disk sander8. File in string nocks on the tips of the limbs and string the bow up for the first time to check the braced profile. At this point the bow is nearly done. All steps from this point forward are subject to creative license. 9. Add tip and riser overlays. Sand and shape the tip overlays until they are to your liking. The overlays can be made from extra pieces of wood that were lying around or from the scraps made from shaping the riser.10. Shape the riser to your liking. This step can be done using either files and rasps or power tools like saws and sanders. As you go along, keep checking the grip. This is a very individual thing as everyone likes different nuances in their grips. Tweak the riser until it fits your hand.

11. Finally, final sanding and finishing are all that remain. Sand down to at least 600 grain before applying any finish. Apply 3-4 coats of wood finish allowing it to dry in between coats. After the finish is applied, use 0000 steel wool and paste wax to smooth the finish and give the bow a nice shine.

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Figure 14Congratulations, you have just successfully made a Recurve Bow!!!