Traditional Bowyer's Handbook: How to build wooden bows and arrows: longbows, selfbows, & recurves.

For any and all archery enthusiasts that wanna gain knowledge and skills in making your own bow and arrows, Mr. Hayes is one of the people to gain that know how to learn from.

I love Clay's videos on You Tube, but, honestly, if you've watched them, the book doesn't really add much.The photo quality was very poor.Innumerable typographical errors gave the book a careless feel.At the end of the day, you probably could use the book as a manual for building a traditional bow, so it isn't useless. But it was a disappointment.

Just my opinion, but I think this book is a great place to start if you are interested in making your own wood bow.I recently got into archery, with a slight preference towards traditional archery, recurves and longbows. I then thought it could be fun to make a bow myself, but I should learn a little first. I did some research, put together a decent list of bowyer books and, to start, I bought Clays book and began reading.By the time I finished the book (casually reading between work, household duties, kids, etc…), I bought a book to help identify trees on the property, and now have 5 split bow staves drying in the shop. One of which has a rough drawn bow plan on it, and I’m hoping to get a roughed out bow going in the next week or two, as well as possibly build a tillering stand in the near future too.

Great book with lots of great informationHighly recommend

Haven’t finished it yet but it’s amazing so far. Certainly exceeded my expectations! I am so stoked to build some bows for my children! Clay is such a genuine teacher and I will use the knowledge I learned from him for a lifetime!

Highly recommend this book. It’s an awesome resource.

Wish I would have had this book when I was 4 years old making bows. One low star review said it didn't teach a person how to make a bow. I disagree. It is all in there... especially if you substitute or utilize his YouTube videos. Somethings are better explained in a book, somethings in video. Clay covers the bases. Pictures could be better. Perhaps a chapter that quickly does take someone through making a bow. It may be in there, I might have missed it. I wonder why he doesn't use a back drop for things such as the tillering rack to provide contrast.

Building my first bow and this book is invaluable!Everything you need to know is covered.Details you wouldn’t get from other sourcesGreat resource! Thanks Clay!

Die Vorstellung, einen Bogen aus einem Stück Holz herauszuarbeiten war für mich immer ein Mysterium. Clay Hayes hat mir jedoch die Offenbarung gebracht und ein wirklich cooles Buch über das Bogenbauen geschrieben. Es liest sich gut, alles ist top erklärt und mit Illustrationen unterstützt. Dies ist der erste eigene Bogen, den ich nach Clays Anleitung gebaut habe. Er ist aus Haselnuss gefertigt, schießt super angenehm und akkurat, wenn er auch mit ca. 15 Pfund Zugkraft etwas schwächer geworden ist, als erhofft. Er hat einen Rindsleder Griff, Woll-Puffs, ein Rohleder Backing vomHirsch und ein zweites Camouflage Backing aus Textil, das das Leder vor Feuchtigkeit schützt. Ich bin absolut zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis, arbeite jedoch bereits an Nummer 2.Kauft Euch das Buch und legt los. Clay hat mir den Zugang zu einer komplett neuen und spannenden Welt ermöglicht.

Good book, but without Clayes phenomenal videos on youtube i could not have managed to make a bow!

*El libro está en inglés. Tenlo en cuenta si vas a comprarlo.Hace poco empecé a interesarme por la arquería tradicional. Descubrí los videos de Clay Hayes, autor de este libro, y decidí invertir en él. Es sorprendente cómo todo lo que se muestra en Youtube se vuelve mucho más claro al leer este manual. Los conceptos se explican con mucha profundidad, pero de forma sencilla de entender. Las imágenes también ayudan mucho. Además, se describen muchos aspectos diferentes para que puedas experimentar con diferentes ideas conforme progresas. Si quieres hacer un arco y no sabes cómo empezar, este libro vale muchísimo la pena.

Fantastic book. Comprehensive, instructive and written with wit and verve by someone who is clearly on top of their game. Ignore the comment below about the black and white illustrations, they are more than adequate.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book gives clear and helpful instructions on bow building aimed at the beginner. One can tell immediately that the author has lots of experience as a bowyer.After reading the book I feel well prepared to have a go at making my own bows in the future. We'll worth the money!