How to Make a Bows & Arrows at Home

You'll hit the bullseye with homemade bows and arrows.

Handmade bows and arrows are each as distinctive as the individual trees used to make them. The best trees for bows are yew, osage orange, hickory, ash, black locust, apple and sassafras. Cherry, service berry, ash, dogwood and cedar are preferred for arrows. In this craft, the particular tree will determine the exact shape the finished products take.

Things You'll Need

• Tree or branch 2-1/4 to 3-1/4 inches in diameter and at least 5-1/2 feet long
• Saw
• Draw knife
• Wedge
• Sledgehammer
• Rat tail file
• Fine file
• Sandpaper
• Linseed oil
• Nylon cord
• 1/2-inch diameter shafts of woods 30 inches long
• Turkey tail feathers
• Knife
• Scissors
• Sinew
• Mallet

Instructions

Bow

1. Cut the tree or branch to 5-1/2 feet long and season it in a woodshed for one year.

2. Remove the bark with a draw knife; don't make any deep cuts into the inner portions of the tree.

3. Split the tree in half lengthwise with a sledge hammer and wedge. Examine the separate portions of the tree and see which side appears to be the most perfect and has the straightest grain.

4. Trim the selected portion down using a draw knife to a piece that is 2-1/2 at the handle and tapered to 1/2 inch at the ends. Keep the strokes smooth without any gouges into the inner fibers. Personal preference determines the final width and thickness of the bow; the handle especially needs to feel good in your hand.

5. Form notches 1/8 inch deep with a rat tail file, a thin round file; position these one inch from the tips of the bow.

6. Use a fine file and sandpaper to create a smooth finish.

7. Oil the wood with boiled linseed oil.

8. Cut a bowstring from nylon cord that is eight inches shorter than the bow length; attach it with slip knots into the notches, gently curving the wood as necessary.

Arrows

1. Cut straight portions of the 1-2/inch diameter suggested arrow woods into 3-foot sections. For a 5-foot bow, the arrows will be 30 inches long, or the distance from your armpit to your finger tips.

2. Tie the wood pieces into a bundle and season for a year.

3. Scrape the bark off the wood with a knife; do not carve it as you may slice into the inner wood and weaken the arrow stock.

4. Prepare turkey tail feathers by cutting along the middle portion of the feather and fletching. Fletching is when you cut and use opposite sides of the feathers on opposite sides of the thickest end of the arrow shaft.

5. Obtain sinew and, after drying, pound with a mallet to form threads.

6. Wrap the sinew threads around the front of the turkey feather pieces. Use spit to soften sinew as saliva and sinew threads form glue and will need no tying.

7. Form a notch in this end of the arrow with the file to hold the bowstring.

8. Whittle a sharp point on the slender end of the arrow, and char it over hot coals to make this point hard.

Tips & Warnings

• Select a tree or branch that's fairly straight, with no knots or blemishes, for the bow.

• Use deer brains and fat for oiling and finishing the bow.

• Use a natural fiber such as nettle cordage as the bowstring.

References

• Wildwood Survival: Winderness Survival Bow and Arrow
• Bow and Arrow
• The Archery Library: How to make a bow