bowsmade

Notice

My bow building is an amateur hobby activity, carried out for my own learning and satisfaction. I am interested in the idea that old guys like me can keep shooting, even with physical problems, by simply realizing how much fun can be had with very light bows.

I do not build to sell or take orders for custom bows.

Dick Wightman

Basically, I’m playing with two styles of bow: AF or American Flatbow, a glass lam version of the old 1950's lemonwood longbows, or Hill Style, either being with or without shelf. Some of the American Flatbows are shelfless, like my first bow when i was a kid... ambidextrous, shoot off the fist on either side. I still find that a great deal of fun... it takes me back.

Here is a list of links to presentations of some of the bows I've made so far that stand out for me:

Slowpoke - Slowpoke was my first solo bow making effort. I documented the whole project as "Beginning Bowyer's Log", probably at far too great a length, but what can I say, I'm a victim of my own enthusiasms. This link is a condensed report, just the final outcome. Slowpoke is an oak and glass American Flatbow

Lemonade - Lemonade was my third effort. (The second rests in a corner as my first broken bow...) It started out as a flatbow, but due to problems ended up being a unique and eye opening Hill style that opened my eyes to the possiblity of building effective very light weight Hill styles.

Flapjack - With this bow I felt I started to come into my own. I used lessons learned with Lemonade and set out to build a light weight Hill style. It came out very successfully and is, at the time I'm setting this page up, my "go to" bow.

Road Trip - Counting all of my efforts, Road Trip is Bow 7, and is clearly the best work I've done. It's also the first bow I built for someone else.

Out of the Closet - A Hill style bow that copies the Hill Cheetah, using aromatic cedar instead of Juniper.

Arrowl Flynn - A 3 lam Hill style bow with classic grip, using yew and lamboo.

Look at Me! - Another 3 lam Hill/flatbow style with classic grip, using red elm with a cherry riser. It started out being pretty uncooperative, but ended up a very nice bow.

Cream in My Coffee - This bow is heavier than my norm. It was built for a bow swap among bowyers, and is only the second bow I've built specifically for someone else.

Stevens Pass - This one gave me a few problems, but came out just fine. My usual weight, at 27#, osage and walnut construction.

The Big Bad Wolves - I recently got the chance to schedule a hog hunting trip. As much as I like my light bows, I knew that they weren't a wise choice for this project, but if I got a hog, I wanted to do so with a bow I made myself. I went off to my shop to build a Big Bad Wolf to help me get a pig... and ended up building two.

Airwolf - This is my first attempt at a take down longbow. It has its own carrying case and will fit in my flying duffle.

Sweet Georgia Brown - Lemonade, (see above) was a real eye opening in showing me what could really be accomplished by a very light draw deep core bow. After awhile, I wanted to try that approach again, and came up with this 22# at 25" bow that shoots amazingly for me all the way out to 50 yards, making shots I don't even usually bother to try.

Osage Can You See - This bow was made for a shooting buddy who expressed an interest in trying a longbow at lighter weight. It was made right after Sweet Georgia Brown and I also leaned toward a narrower limb and deeper core, but not as much so since this bow is a good ten pounds heavier.

Cherry Pie - This was a really interesting project... an attempt to see just how simply a bow can be built. The answer turned out to be, "pretty simply".

Le Chasseur Noir - A black glass flatbow that's a bit heavier than my norm, and, in my opinion, particularly striking in looks. This one was made as a trade for a custom hand forged knife.

Foxy Lady - Le Chassuer Noir ended up coming in a bit lighter than I had aimed for, so I decided to try another effort at heavier. This truly 48# yew and bamboo bow with Argentine Mesquite riser was the result. It may be the prettiest bow I've built.

Forward Scout - This was a new challenge for me... a forward or reverse riser longbow. The build is the result of a special challenge issued in conjunction with the 2010 Pirates of Archery Bowyers' Bow Swap. The challenge was that if you participated you should try to stretch yourself and do something you hadn't done before. This page shows the bow I produced and includes some thoughts on the advantges/disadvantages of a forward riser, at least as I understand/perceive them.

Raven - One of the projects on my list has been to build a reflexed longbow as opposed to the straight ones. Iguess building Forward Scout got me in the mood to try some new things, so I finally got around to this and Raven is the result.

Little Feather - This is my first attempt at a kid's bow. It came out "OK", but not great. However, it was a fun build and with what I learned from it I'll be able to do much better on my next attempt.