Easy, Cheap, POWERFUL Bow (NO Power Tools or Heat Needed)

In this video I show you step-by-step how to make a super powerful bow without the use of power tools or heat. Huge shout-out to the Backyard Bowyer for inspiring the big brother version.

[Passerby]

I should study for finals. Why I'm learning how to make a bow...

[erkhesb]

As a Mongolian I can say that the composite bow has a very similar design as your bow. The bow is so powerful because you're forcing it to bend against it's natural curve. Otherwords, you are able to store up more energy or greater strain than normal long bows.
Btw, Loving the vids man

[hbbewbq]

I’m 77 y/o and I learned a lot from your vlogs. Thanks for posting and sharing with us. I truly like your bows, gives me an excuse to not just throw away my pvc scraps. I’ve subscribed and gave you a high five.

[VentusNexus]

Hey, Recurve Bows are more powerful because the extra bend on either end allows for more spring. You are no longer getting a bend from just the middle of the shaft; each end of the bow also bends. So basicallly, it's like having miniature bows on each end of your bow, but at lower draw weights. Because of that, the "bows" on the end reach their max draw weights (×2) before the actual main bend in the entire bow as a whole. This means the bow bends much farther, even though the actual distance the arrow travels remains the same.

Recap-

More spring from a bow on a bow = more potential energy with the same amount of space= more force.

I know that might be hard to follow since I am not using any technical terms, but hopefully that will explain why recurve bows are so nice.

[MrDancewithme]

Thank you! Now I'm going to be a vigilante and save my city.

[heidiichigo-san]

This guy is teaching proper useful knowledge for free, mad respect to you wise one.

[danaosthemelis]

Shoutout to this guy who makes cool stuff AND actually gives the name/artist of the tracks even tho nobody can hear them. keep it up!

[grenmoyo]

a little knowledge for you man.
the recurve in the bow increase the force of the bow, it can do more work for less pull basically. So you may ask why didnt every country have recurve bows. well some just didnt know how to. also its a complex thing to do with glue and layers of things like bone and specific wood. another is the glues were susceptible to weather. thats why when you see the mongols on horseback sometimes you see a long box attached to their horse. the box is used to keep the bow from being destroyed by the weather.

[chrisrosenkreuz]

because of it's shape, the ends of the recurve bow essentially act like a lever; this is where the extra power comes from

[HotFuzzGoonayorum]

I think I need this after corona pandemic

[pozeidon]

10 years later : make a tank without power tools and heating stuff

[potato]

I always lost in race when its P.E.

Now I made a bow.
Well see who will be last now.

[MissRebekah]

Yep, that's exactly right! The recurve has a faster launch without needing the higher poundage. Recurve is great for tighter spaces that still need the strength of the shot. When the hunter is in amongst the trees and the hunted is in the open.
Aunt B

[lynnglidewell]

Very informative. You are a very articulate young man. I'm 70 but never to old to learn. You'd make a good teacher. I'll being trying to make the bow you built in this video!

[oldkare]

I was 14 when this video came out. My freshman year started 20 days after it was uploaded. I feel so old.

[flyingsodwai]

Use the writing on the pvc to perfectly align your notches

[falkenvir]

Next how to make the arrows without heat and power tools please

PS: Thank you for the Video

[jakecolberg]

This bow is amazing! I recently went to Lowe's and picked up the materials which added up to about $6.50-7.00 and this bow is surprising! In 20 minutes I made it, and the hardest part of the build was getting the string the right size. Now I can hit a rabbit size target consistently from about 70 feet through many large tree branches here in Alaska! Very accurate, just wear gloves when shooting or the arrows fletchlings will slice your hand as I found out the hard way😅. Be careful and Happy

[AKM]

Absolutely love the transparency and honesty. That is what makes this video so awesome. You are willing to admit you do not know something and research it instead of making up lies and garbage. Great for you and I look forward to more videos.

[a.w.]

I've read a lot of comments that try to explain why the recurve is shooting more efficiently, yet none thus far has mentioned the most important aspect: mass.


When you loose an arrow, you're not only accelerating the arrow, you're also accelerating the bow itself. Heavier limbs and tips mean less energy is going towards the arrow, thus a slower shooting bow.


the "subscriber" bow is made out of 3/4 inch PVC and it DOES NOT contain fiberglass rods, it's simply heated and tapered, which means it's thicker at the handle and gets flatter towards the tips. This results in less overall mass. The recurve design essentially has the effect of having a longer limbed bow, making it more efficient. It also reduces an effect called "stack" (meaning that the draw will feel more even rather than get harder to pull towards the end as the angle between the tip and the string reach 90 degrees, as is the case in longbows).


The reason why the "monster bow" didn't perform as well is mainly because you weren't pulling it all the way back, longbows have a tendency to stack towards the end of the draw, meaning that you're losing a lot of energy by not drawing it all the way, even if it's 2 inches or so less than full-draw. Another reason is that it has significantly more mass including that of the larger 1-inch pipe and the fiberglass rods.

One might think, "wait, aren't the fiberglass rods and larger diameter pipe supposed to have more power?" the answer is yes, they do, however, it's an issue of balancing that extra power with the extra mass.


Put simply, light and well designed bow of decent or even light draw weight is a better performer than bulky, more massive longbow of very heavy draw weight.