In this picture you see the draw knife in the wood, peeling the wood off. You also see the wood being held in a vice so that the wood will stay still while I use the draw knife.

This is a draw knife. This is the tool that I used to shape my bow. To use it you hold the two handles and press the blade against the wood and pull it towards you. When you do this the blade will shave off wood. Without this tool it would have taken a very long time to shape my bow.

The Wood

This is the wood that I used to make my bow. It is a wild cherry tree that was behind my pappys house. I picked this wood because it is fairly straight and is a good bow wood. Any tree that produces fruit or nuts is a good bow wood. Another great wood is hickory wood which makes hickory nuts. When we cut this tree down to my surprise it smelled just like cherries.

I have talked to my pappy about my bowmaking project. He knows what type of wood to use and how to make it. He used to make them when he was a kid, and is willing to help me build one for my project.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKABQbNuKeE Click on this link to watch a bow making tutorial by raptor archery on youtube. I enjoy doing bowmaking because it is one of a kind and no one else is doing it.