April  27th, 10 AM to  April 30th, 5 PM

The bow has captivated peoples’ hearts and minds from the misty depths of time to the present. The Self Bow Building class will bring the student from a seasoned stave to a finished, hunting weight long bow. Although mostly workshop, a series of several short lectures will be given to expand on subjects such as: wood selection and harvesting, bow design and performance, tillering, and instinctive shooting. The class will cover primitive bow building on a conceptual level as well as each step in the technical process from peeling back the bark to twisting your own strings. We will also discuss the bow in the context of survival skills. This class is a tremendous experience whether you are a hunter looking to hunt with your own handmade tackle or a lover of archery and its long history looking for a new bow to enjoy and shoot.

Can be taken back to back with the Arrow Making Class.

This course involves long days of using hand tools to create your bow.

Tools are provided however if you have and want to bring you own here are the tools we use:

A rasp-We highly recommend the Nicholson’s #49 Pattern Makers Rasp or similar high quality half round pattern makers rasp, please buy a handle as well.
A set of Cabinet Scrapers-A straight, a round, and a gooseneck.
A sturdy drawn knife- if possible with a slight curve, nothing larger than 8″ width, and maneuverable, not huge and bulky. Available at different wood working stores and online. Also at flea markets. This does NOT have to be sharp, and in fact, and old dull from use draw knife found at a flea market or old tool dealer is ideal for the task we will be using it for. DO NOT SHARPEN YOUR DRAW KNIFE!
A Pencil-or two, they are easy to loose-bring a good eraser too.
A tape measure.

Camping and Logistics

Rustic Camping and Outdoor Kitchen access is available the night before and night of the class on the school’s land. See here for more information on Camping, Logistics and Directions.