It's not necessarily that if you are making a bow and arrow you are a hunter. Sometimes such things can be done for pure pleasure or you may also want to try some archery competition with your friends perhaps. Whatever your need is here's a short and simple tutorial to make your own bow and arrow. Who knows you may be the next Robin Hood. Since here we are dealing with two things Bow and Arrow we will divide our great piece of artwork into two pieces. First, let us consider how to make a good bow and then we will move on to make the 'perfect' arrow.

Things needed for a bow

1. Sharp knife

2. Wood of your choice

3. Axe

4. Not-too-loose-string

Making The Bow

You don't need to get into all the technicalities but keep in mind certain things while crafting your own bow, as it's not easy to make a good bow. And without a good bow, no matter how perfect your arrow is, it can't work!

Carve the wood first to make it look like a boomerang and then wax it to protect it. While carving, make sure that the center is thick so that it could serve as a purpose of handle and give you a good base for your arrow. Then, make some notches to hold the arrow about an inch or two thick. Now comes the part of making and attaching the string. This is really important as it's the string that gives the bow the 'real' energy! You can choose from a wide variety of string types like raw hide, hemp cord, thin nylon rope, cotton silk strands from caterpillars, vine sinews and so on. Tie the string with the help of notches and make sure it's not too loose or too tight.

Making The Arrow

Now, comes the part of making an arrow. For arrows, you can use the same wood as that of bow or can also go with black locust, oak, or elm. Arrow should be about two feet in length and half an inch in diameter. Make them smooth with your knife and at the end of each one, make a 'V' or 'U' so that it can be attached with the bow while firing.

As a thumb rule, the bow and arrow should balance each other. The bow string should be smaller than the bow (if length) and arrows should be very straight.

Remember

Go ahead and go hunting or verse your friends in that archery compotation for first place.Remember that a bow and arrow can hurt someone so take care when using and remember have fun

How to Build a Bow and Arrow Video