Bows Made From PVC Pipe
After shopping for a recurve bow that had an appropriate draw weight for his wife, Caleb Howerton of Springfield, Mo. decided that the best option was to design his own custom bow. That’s exactly what he did – although not with the materials you might think. Caleb’s homemade recurve bows are made with pvc pipe, but you have to look closely to tell.
He started with a 5-ft. length of 1-in. dia. thick-walled pvc pipe, and marked the pipe at 1-ft. intervals and then marked the center at 2 1/2 -ft. Three inches on either side of the center line becomes the handle of the bow. Next, half of the length of pvc was heated until soft and pliable – Caleb used a stove top, but a heat gun can also be used. Once one end of the pvc pipe was heated, he used a 2 1/2 -ft. long jig with two 1-in. screws coming off one end of the board, set at 2 in. apart, to flatten the heated half of the pvc at a taper. This process was repeated on the other half of the pvc.
Once both ends had been heated and tapered, Caleb marked 8 in. from each end. Both 8-in. sections were then reheated until the plastic puffed up. Once heated, the ends were flattened again in the opposite direction. He then traced the shape of the bow’s siyhas (the tips of the bow where the string is mounted) on the flattened ends of the pvc pipe and used a hacksaw to cut along the line, sanding the cuts to make the edges smooth. Once the siyhas were cut and sanded, the cut edges were lightly reheated to draw and seal them together (since the initial cut left a small gap) and then bent forward. Caleb then heated and shaped the handle in the middle of the bow, and followed that step by lightly reheating and bending a curve into each of the bow’s limbs. All of the shaping was done by hand. Using a 3/16-in. drill bit, he cut string holes in the end of each siyhas. Once the bow was shaped, Caleb evaluated it for straightness – any imperfections were lightly reheated and worked out of the bow.
After the heating and shaping, the bow was sanded to remove the glossy pvc finish and any factory and working markings. He then took a stiff wire brush and scoured the pvc pipe to give a wood grain look after staining. Post sanding and scouring, Caleb applied two coats of deep brown wood stain followed by two coats of polyurethane. The result was a beautiful, smooth textured bow with a wood-like pattern brought out by the stain. The finishing touches were a bow string, a hand-sewn leather grip on the handle, and a string silencer made of rabbit fur. The finished product has a 35-pound draw weight, and is perfect for recreational archery and hunting small game.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Klaire & Caleb Howerton, 1008 E. Farm Rd. 54, Springfield, Mo. 65803.
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Bows Made From PVC Pipe AG WORLD After shopping for a recurve bow that had an appropriate draw weight for his wife Caleb Howerton of Springfield Mo decided that the best option was to design his own custom bow That’s exactly what he did – although not with the materials you might think Caleb’s homemade recurve bows are made with pvc pipe but you have to look closely to tell He started with a 5-ft length of 1-in dia thick-walled pvc pipe and marked the pipe at 1-ft intervals and then marked the center at 2 1/2 -ft Three inches on either side of the center line becomes the handle of the bow Next half of the length of pvc was heated until soft and pliable – Caleb used a stove top but a heat gun can also be used Once one end of the pvc pipe was heated he used a 2 1/2 -ft long jig with two 1-in screws coming off one end of the board set at 2 in apart to flatten the heated half of the pvc at a taper This process was repeated on the other half of the pvc Once both ends had been heated and tapered Caleb marked 8 in from each end Both 8-in sections were then reheated until the plastic puffed up Once heated the ends were flattened again in the opposite direction He then traced the shape of the bow’s siyhas the tips of the bow where the string is mounted on the flattened ends of the pvc pipe and used a hacksaw to cut along the line sanding the cuts to make the edges smooth Once the siyhas were cut and sanded the cut edges were lightly reheated to draw and seal them together since the initial cut left a small gap and then bent forward Caleb then heated and shaped the handle in the middle of the bow and followed that step by lightly reheating and bending a curve into each of the bow’s limbs All of the shaping was done by hand Using a 3/16-in drill bit he cut string holes in the end of each siyhas Once the bow was shaped Caleb evaluated it for straightness – any imperfections were lightly reheated and worked out of the bow After the heating and shaping the bow was sanded to remove the glossy pvc finish and any factory and working markings He then took a stiff wire brush and scoured the pvc pipe to give a wood grain look after staining Post sanding and scouring Caleb applied two coats of deep brown wood stain followed by two coats of polyurethane The result was a beautiful smooth textured bow with a wood-like pattern brought out by the stain The finishing touches were a bow string a hand-sewn leather grip on the handle and a string silencer made of rabbit fur The finished product has a 35-pound draw weight and is perfect for recreational archery and hunting small game Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Klaire & Caleb Howerton 1008 E Farm Rd 54 Springfield Mo 65803
