Join us for this four-day bow building workshop and make your own high-performance and hunt-worthy “self bow” from a premium stave of Osage. You’ll learn the entire process from chasing a ring on a raw stave to shooting a finished bow. We will also cover topics such as selecting, harvesting and seasoning bow wood, various bow designs, matching arrows to your bow, etc.

In contrast to a composite bow that is made of multiple organic or synthetic materials, the term “self-bow” typically describes a bow crafted from a single piece of wood. The bows we make in this course are a hybrid of historical and modern designs, drawing on traditions from around the world, including bows which have been made in the eastern woodlands and midwestern regions of North America for thousands of years.

Your instructor and guide for the course will be professional bowyer Weylin Olive, who makes bows full-time and teaches regularly through his company, Swiftwood Bows, in Lexington, NC.

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LOCATION:

With the exception of our expedition programs, most of our courses are hosted within a 30 mile radius of Charlottesville, VA. The diverse nature of our programs is best served by a constellation of sites that includes both public and private land. To protect the safety and privacy of our host site partners as well as the safety of our participants, we do not disclose the addresses or coordinates of our sites online. Upon registering for a course — or no later than 2 weeks prior to its start date — all participants will receive details and directions to the public, pre-course meetup location, from which we will caravan to the host site.