Making My Own Archery Bow

In the last post, I discussed the various types of archery bows. In this summarization, I explained that I would probably either be buying a longbow or a junior bow. Well...
I didn't do either.

I'm not going to buy a longbow.
I'm not going to buy a junior bow.

What I am going to do is build my own archery bow. Yup, true story. Building my own bow offers two great advantages. First, my bow will be a one-of-a-kind work of art. And second, I will be saving hundreds of dollars.

My only experience with archery  was my one month interest during my 6th grade year. My only experience with woodworking is...never. This should be interesting. In order to create an archery bow, I will have to shape a long piece of wood, string a bow string, and notch the bow correctly to launch arrows accurately, consistently, and reliably. Easy...right?

First I have to buy a wood stave. Which is a precut, straight wood plank perfect for making an archery bow with. Search on Ebay...place bid...watch nervously...buy wood stave. With this process complete, I will be receiving two 35" osage orange wood staves.

Next, I must purchase all of the other required elements for a bow and arrow set. This includes a wood planer, hemp cord, Gorilla Glue, and a single arrow. Why such a weird assortment of products? Allow me to explain. The wood planer is crucial to shape my plank of osage orange wood. The hemp cord? Will act as my bow string. Hemp cord is an excellent choice for a bow string because it has a very high breaking point (48lbs.) and is comparatively cheap. The Gorilla Glue? Essential for keeping the bow string on the bow, especially when fully drawn. But, what's with the single arrow? Well, as it turns out, arrows are so expensive!

Let me reiterate that, just in case you skipped over the last sentence. Arrows are so expensive! I thought the bow would blow my budget, but as it turns out, arrows are equally capable of breaking the bank. Crazy. So bear that in mind if you are looking to start getting into archery. Bows are expensive. Arrows are expensive. Archery, in general, is expensive. Simple as that.

*What other hobbies do you enjoy that are expensive? What is the most costly part of your hobby? How much money do you think you have spent on your passions so far?