"While over from Scotland completing an internship, I was fortunate to be able to spend a few days with Tim at Jack Mountain Bushcraft & Guide Service, learning the fine art of bowmaking. The excellent facilities, and the practical and extremely knowledgable teaching I recieved from Tim, helped me to turn out my first primitive bow, which I couldn't have been happier about!! If you get the chance.......get over there!"

Steven Hanton, Edinburgh, Scotland

        We've been making bows for several years in the Earth Skills Semester Program using simple hand tools, with great results. Based on this experience we offer a stand alone bowmaking course for those interested in making their own self bow with hand tools. Sometimes we schedule these workshops, but usually we run them as private courses. This means that we work with the person or group who wants to take the class and we arrive at dates that work for both parties. We take a maximum of four people at a time, but often they're run one on one. The tuition is on a sliding scale depending on how many people are participating.

        With an axe and saw, we set off into the forest to select and cut a tree for staves. Using the axe and wooden wedges made on site, we split the tree in half and, size permitting, split it again into quarters. After sealing the ends, we return to the workshop and set the new staves to dry. Although participants won't make a bow from these staves because they need to dry, we include this so that participants experience the entire process and will be able to replicate it after the course is over.

         Using various tools on a traditional shave horse, the back of the bow is exposed and the sides and belly taken down to a manageable thickness. The outline of the bow is penciled onto the stave, then the excess wood is removed. Tillering is where a piece of wood becomes a bow, and students complete the tillering process under the watchful eye of the instructor, checking draw weights as they go.

         Upon finishing the tillering process, each participant will make a bow string and we'll discuss various methods of sealing and finishing the new bows.

        The focus of the workshop is on the process, not the product. Participants take home their finished bow, but more importantly they bring with them the knowledge of how to find and harvest good bow staves, how to choose,use, and sharpen hand tools, several methods of securing their stave while they work on it, how to make a simple and inexpensive tillering system and how to make bows out of a variety of materials. Using the knowledge and experience gained in this course, participants will be able to make many more bows of various styles.

The course usually takes three days, but sometimes it takes more or less time. Tuition is on a sliding scale depending on how many people in the group.

• $350 per person for 4 people
• $425 per person for 3 people
• $500 per person for 2 people
• $550 for a one on one workshop

Included in Tuition - Instruction, camping, use of hand tools
Not Included in Tuition - Cured bow staves, meals. We can arrange to have bow staves for students, or they can be acquired separately. There are numerous restaurants, two grocery stores and a health food store in town, 3 miles away. We can also arrange for meals for an additional fee of $10/day.

[ back to top ]

	Jack Mountain Bushcraft School • Masardis, Maine • USA Contact • Site Map • Home
	Copyright © Jack Mountain Bushcraft, LLC - All rights reserved.