How to Make a Wood D-Bow

Use an axe to cut a 5-foot length of 2-inch white wood sapling. Note: A white wood is a North American hardwood with fine grain and white color − ash, hickory or elm. Cut the wood in the depth of winter to prevent the bow from cracking under heavy usage.

Peel the sapling with a pocket knife and select a handle location. Determine this from examining the ends of the piece to see if there are any defects in either end. If so, eliminate that section of the wood when cutting the final blank.

Use a dovetail saw to cut the wood piece down to a 48-inch length − the optimum length for an efficient hunting bow.

Measure and mark the center point of the length, which becomes the midpoint of the handle. Always hold the piece with the recessive hand while the dominant hand is carving. This results in the bow being balanced when drawn.

Measure and mark three 7-inch points, on both sides of the 4-inch handle, along the outside (thickness) edge of the bow. Use these as general lines of carving demarcation. As the carving progresses toward the tips of both ends of the bow, more of the wood should be carved away. The inside surface of the bow as it approaches the tip should be almost flat.

Use a single-handed scorp (hand carver) or hand plane to begin carving the D-Bow. Make all carving cuts and motions away from the holding hand and toward the tip. Take the first stave section (first 7-inch section) down by 20%; the next down by 30% and the third down by 40%. The nearly flat ends of the bow that reach the tip should be only 5/8-inch thick. Carve the inside edges over and round them. Flip the piece over and carve the entire back side of the bow to a 1-inch flat surface. The final width of the bow should not exceed 1 1/4 inches.

Bone all the wood surfaces to prevent cracking. Note: Boning refers to the process of compacting and solidifying the surface molecules of a wooden tool or implement, driving the surface layers together, to reduce splitting and breakage. Use a chromed or shiny steel rod. Lay the carved bow on a padded workbench or other soft but supporting surface. Slide the steel over all edges and flat surfaces repeatedly with maximum hand pressure.

Carve the tips into narrow 3/4-inch-wide points. Mark and make string cuts 1/4-inch deep, one inch down from both tips. Make these cuts with a heavy sharp knife, rather than a saw, pulling the knife edge down and toward the handle while curing them inward.

Wrap the handle in a single thickness of flat 1/2-inch rawhide or elk skin strips, wrapped with their lateral edges touching. When the wrap fits the handle, unwrap the strips and wet the handle with construction glue. Re-wrap the handle strips, being careful to slide the edges together with a fingernail or knife edge. Wrap a single piece of heavy leather or thick, but pliable plastic/vinyl around the entire handle and place three equidistant 2-inch band clamps around the handle and screw them tight. Leave the clamps on the handle for four days.

Remove the band clamps and string the bow. Use a commercial 16-strand Dacron bowstring for a 50-inch bow. Place the bottom tip on a soft but firm surface. Slide one loop over the top string notches. Hold the other end of the string and pull the bow shaft down until the bottom end of the string reaches past the tip. This move should require heavy tension on the bow but without over-stressing the bow. Pinch and hold the string end at the point where it reaches the nearest edge of the bottom notch and release the tension on the bow. Mark the bottom string-tip point with a marker. Remove the string from the top notch and tie the bottom string end to the bottom notch at the string mark, using a half-hitch loop knot. String the bow by pulling the bow down again and sliding the top string loop onto the top notch. Draw the bow.