How to Build a Board Bow Part 1: Choosing a Board

Using only a $15 board you can make a powerful and effective bow with a few simple hand tools. In this video I discuss choosing the right type of wood and just as importantly learning how to read a board to determine if it's suitable for making a bow with. Grain is key in board bows. The grain needs to run straight through from one end to the other with out running off the edges both on the faces and on the edges. I discuss the different cuts of lumber and how to read the grain in them as well as illustrating the functional differences and similarities between staves and boards. This is the first part of a series showing the step by step process of making a bow from a board. In this series I'll be using a hickory board to make a straight-forward flat bow design.