How to Make Your Own Bow & Arrow

While making a real bow from scratch requires skills and tools that only a serious woodworker would have, making a toy bow is within the grasp of anyone who is even moderately handy. Toy bows and arrows are a fun craft to teach kids, who can then spend hours making their new toy arsenal and go on to imagine themselves as Indians or Robin Hood. In this guide you will learn how to make bows and arrows from readily available materials.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Feathers, cardboard or both
• Foam or Styrofoam
• Knife
• Lengths of cloth or leather thong
• Suitable tree branches and sticks
• Strong, high-quality string or a thin bungee
• Sandpaper

1. Identify the wood for your bow. You need a section branch that is durable, but also has some flexibility in it. It will have to bend to be considered good for a backyard bow. Hickory, maple and bamboo are good examples. If you can't find or know nothing about trees, just take a section of branch, hold it upright and bend it before you a bit. If it has no give, it is too stiff; if it cracks, it is too weak. You want a little give and bend, but enough toughness to not crack.

2. Whittle the bow into shape. It should be about chest height of the person it is being made for. Carve the intended front and back so they are flatter, and shape the ends so that they bear a notch. The notches are where you will string your bow. Sand the bow so it isn't rough or prone to splinters.

3. Wrap and bind strips of cloth, rags or leather around the middle to serve as a grip.

4. Make your bow string by using your string or thin bungee, tying loops at both ends. This should be approximately two-thirds to three-quarters the length of the bow. String the bow by bending it so that you can attach both bowstring loops to the notches at the ends of your bow. The length will depend on the on the flexibility of both the bow and the string, so adjust the string by trial and error until you reach the desired tension.

5. Make your arrows by whittling down a stick of sufficient length to be shot from your bow. This will straighten the prospective arrow and will remove knots. Then cut 3 to 4 slots near the back end of the arrow and a notch in the butt. Glue either feathers or strips of cardboard into the slots as fins to stabilize the arrow in flight. Attach a small Styrofoam or foam block to the front to serve as a button for safety.

Tips & Warnings

• Even though this backyard bow and arrow will have a low pull, arrows from it can still injure people, especially in the eyes. Be absolutely certain that something like small blocks of foam are used to button the end of your arrows.
• Always be careful of your fingers when doing a lot of woodworking with knives.