I've been making longbows since I was a kid (haven't we all?). This time I wanted to make a bow for my grandsons, who are 7 and 9 years old.

When my eldest son was about 10 I made him a longbow from laminated silver ash. I use silver ash because I know from experience that it works and because it is easy to get a piece of timber with long, straight grain. The limbs had seven laminations which tapered to 5 at the tips. I still have that bow. I'm told that Spotted Gum works well, but can never seem to get a piece with long, straight grain.

I had trouble getting the outer half of the limbs springy enough with a longbow, so this time I decided to make a flatbow. As it transpires, a flatbow is easier to make, provides plenty of "spring" right out to the tips of the limbs, is less likely to develop cracks in the laminates, and is a delight to use.

The limbs are made of three laminates. The outer laminates are 3 mm thick silver ash, about 40 mm wide at the handle and 15 mm wide at the tips. The centre laminate is Surian Cedar, 4 mm thick at the centre and 3/4 mm thick at the tips (made up a sled with a taper to sand the taper into these laminates). The Surian is really only a spacer, all the power comes from the Silver Ash. The handle is a couple of pieces of 12 mm ply glued to the laminated limbs. The trick to building a bow that develops its power through the entire limb seems to be the tapered centre laminate, which turned out to be easy to make with a sled. I used PU glue everywhere, and it seems to be plenty strong enough for a kid's bow. Draw weight is between 15 and 20 pounds, depending on the length of draw.

The first shot is a limb, showing the tapered inner laminate.
Limb.jpg

The second shot is the tip of a limb.
Tip.jpg

The third shot shows the ply handle.
Handle.jpg

I made up two arrow rests from thermo-formed PVC (a piece of pipe heated and flattened and then formed to the desired shape) and fastened them to the handle with builders chalk line. Then everything got three coats of lacquer. One grandson is a rightie and the other is a leftie, so two rests were needed, one on either side of the bow, as noted in next pic. Note how the PVC is angled out from the bow so the flight can pass through the gap provided without interrupting the movement of the arrow when it is fired.

Arrow Rest.jpg

Finally, arrows were made. Usually, I make them from cedar shafts bought from an archery store. This time I made them from 8 mm hardwood dowel ... which is heavier (bad) but tougher (good with young kids who can give them a hiding). Flights are duct tape. The tips are coated in polyester resin to make them a bit tougher. The target is a cardboard box filled with planer shavings. Note the high-tech fletching jig, made from a scrap of wood and two pegs.

Arrows and Fletching Jig.jpg

I am no expert bowyer, but this is easily the best bow I have ever made.