How to Make a Bow Riser

A bow riser, perhaps more recognized as the handle section of a compound or recurve bow, is intended to hold the removable limbs in place when assembled. Making your own bow riser is a great way to customize your grip, arrow rest, weight and overall appearance of your bow. With a few basic materials and tools you can create your own riser in no time.

Things You'll Need

  • Finished wood planks (1/4 inch thick)
  • Band saw
  • Clamps
  • Wood glue
  • Thickness planer
  • Sandpaper (various grits)
  • Countersink nuts (2)
  • Drill
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Instructions

    • 1

      Draw the outline of your riser. It is advisable to trace an existing riser to ensure the limb mount angles are what you want them to be. Minor modifications can be done here, while you can redesign the grip, arrow rest, sight window and stabilizer mounts as much as you like.

    • 2

      Begin laminating together your finished wood planks. To do this, ensure all the flat sides of your planks (which should measure about 22 by 4 inches) are smooth and flat, then apply a layer of wood glue to them, sandwich them together and clamp. Alternating different colors of wood can give a very nice effect after shaping has been finished. Laminate together enough planks to obtain a depth of around 6 inches. Allow a day to dry before removing the clamps.

    • 3

      Remove the clamps and feed the block through a thickness planer to flatten it. Do this to both sides then draw on the template you have decided on.

    • 4

      Cut the laminated wood block out along the template drawn onto the block using a band saw. You should now have a side silhouette of your bow riser.

    • 5

      Draw the profile of your riser on the back side of the semi-shaped riser, the side that faces the archer. This should include contours for the arrow rest, the outline of the handle grip as well as any other profiling you wish. This type of shaping will take a fair amount of practice, so draw the outline larger rather than smaller to allow for adjustments to be made later.

    • 6

      Cut out the profile of the riser by feeding it into a band saw, taking time to check the amounts of wood you have removed and making adjustments as necessary.

    • 7

      Add a commercial or fabricated arrow rest, sight, stabilizer and grip as you prefer, then drill out pilot holes that correspond to the countersinking nuts you have acquired that match the nuts that will fasten the limbs to the riser. Secure these into the limb mounts with a small amount of epoxy resin and hardener mixture.

    • 8

      Sand the surfaces of your wooden riser smooth beginning with lower, rough grit paper then move up to higher, finer grits. Various stains, varnishes and paints can be added as you like, or it can be left natural. Connect the limbs by feeding the bolts through the limb and into the countersunk nut in either end of the riser. String your new bow and test.