How to Carve & Sand a Wood Bow Riser

A bow riser is sometimes considered the handle of a bow and is most commonly seen in recurve and composite bows. By making your own riser, you can customize the grip, weight and appearance of your bow. You can carve your own bow riser out of pieces of wood that have been glued together.

Things You'll Need

  • Bow riser
  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Several 1/4-inch thick wood planks, 22-inches by 4-inches
  • Wood glue
  • Clamps
  • Thickness planer
  • Band saw
  • File
  • Sandpaper
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Trace the outline of the bow riser onto the paper. If there are any changes you wish to make to the design of the riser, make them now. In particular, you may wish to alter the arrow rest to suit your needs.

    • 2

      Place a wooden plank on a firm surface. Apply a liberal amount of wood glue to the surface of the plank and top with another plank. Continue this process until you have a plank "sandwich" about 6 inches high. Clamp the planks together and allow the glue to dry according to the manufacturer's directions.

    • 3

      Remove the wood from the clamps. Run the block of wood you have created through a thickness planer on both sides to flatten the wood. Trace your bow riser design onto one side of your block of wood.

    • 4

      Cut out the riser with the band saw. On the back side of the riser, the side that will face you as you fire your bow, draw the profile of your riser using the existing riser as a guide. You will have to include the arrow rest and grip in your design. As long as you include these two features, you can alter the design as you wish.

    • 5

      Use the file to shape the riser, always using the existing riser as a guide. Shape the riser slowly, taking off only small amounts of wood to avoid removing wood that you'll later need. If you do remove too much wood but still want to salvage your bow riser, you can always add a pre-fabricated arrow rest, sight stabilizer or grip area. However, if you're careful, you should be able to shape the entire bow riser out of your block of wood.

    • 6

      Sand the riser smooth to prevent slivers. Your bow riser is now ready to be secured to your bow.