I need to downsize my longbow design to make bows for 10 & 8 yr old nieces.
I'm thinking 15-20# ish, but don't have a starting point for bow length.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Andy
The thing about kids is that they grow quickly , and outgrow their bows. So I wouldn't go shorter than 60". With a longer bow, as they increase their draw length, it increases the draw weight. .02 cents worth.
Thanks, Kirk. I was hoping you'd write with some help.
I just finished a 52" fhlb for granddaughters. It's 15@20" and 25@28" so I think it will be good awhile.
Actually shoots pretty good at 28" but need less spine arrows than I have.
Ordered some .1000 spine for it...
When they come up again , I can tell how they fit it, have parts for a sister bow ready but if not right weight I can up it or lower the weight... :thumbsup:
Quote from: Collett5149 on March 29, 2026, 11:25:37 AMThanks, Kirk. I was hoping you'd write with some help.
I've built my share of youth bows, and have built some pretty cool miniature recurve bows too that are only 36" in length. But... they were labor of love bows, and i never sold them, and never will. They require as much work as a full sized bow.[
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Quote from: Collett5149 on March 29, 2026, 09:07:49 AMI need to downsize my longbow design to make bows for 10 & 8 yr old nieces.
I'm thinking 15-20# ish, but don't have a starting point for bow length.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Andy
I did that for my granddaughters and took the approach of picking a length and reducing all components on a percentage basis and built on a percent reduced form. it worked fine BUT I should have reduced the forward taper rate also. However, they were good bows and like Kirk says, they outgrew them pretty fast.
Length wise I went 48" with a 1" form.