ARROWMAKING (The cresting inspiration came from some Mallard hens nesting at Millbuies, near Elgin). Making your own archery stuff is an enjoyable and hugely rewarding aspect of traditional archery. Making arrows is the easiest way to start  - buy a dozen shafts, a dozen points, two dozen feathers of one colour and one dozen of another for the cock feather, a dozen nocks, some glue and you're good to go. 3 Rivers Archery do a great DVD detailing the whole process. Later you can get fancy with staining, cresting, tapering, footing and spine testing. Personally, I like Chris Boyton Scots Pine shafts available in matched sets from Goldflight Archery (see links).
Check out these guys for inspiration:    Whispering Wind Arrows      

FIX BROKEN ARROWS - You may have a growing collection of broken arrows, usually just behind the point, after hitting rocks, trees or the butt frame. All useless because they are all about an inch too short. Try these - REPARROW. Just taper the broken shaft  and glue it straight into the pre-turned hardwood footing. Leave overnight for glue to dry, cut to length, taper, glue on a point and go shoot. Cost is about $20 per dozen including postage to the UK.  I am also getting great results with a splicing jig bought from Flybow (see links). The jig clamps the broken shaft so you can cut a precise angle for the splice. Repeat with another bit of shaft, glue them together, hold with pegs or clips until the glue has dried and the repair is very strong.

BOWMAKING - Still working on this part of the site but here's one I made earlier. It's a 64" flatbow hacked from a yew limb using a hand axe and a rasp. Ended up 30#@27" and shoots OK for my second selfbow. Number 1 didn't even last long enough to get a photo!

There are some excellent books on the subject - The Traditional Bowyers Bible 1 & 2 are essential reading and really demystify the whole process of turning a tree into a bow.

Recommended Books & Videos

There are some good books and videos that are well worth looking at, especially if you don't have access to a coach. Read them all, try the various methods that have brought success to others, take what works for you and develop a comfortable and consistent shooting style of your own.

The Simple Art of Winning - Rick McKinney; Instinctive Archery Insights (revised edition) - Jay Kidwell; Become The Arrow - Byron Ferguson; Hunting The Hard Way - Howard Hill; Power Archery - Dave Keaggy (pretty old book occasionally pops up dead cheap on eBay); Timeless Bowhunting - Marlow; Traditional Bowhunters Handbook - Conrads. These are just the ones that I have read and often refer to. There are others such as Fundamentals of  Recurve Archery - Ruth Rowe. Videos include The Mental Game - Jay Barrs; Archery: The Basics & Refining Your Form - Ruth Rowe; Become The Arrow DVD - Ferguson; Dead On Traditional DVD - Scott Antczak; Instinctive Shooting DVD - Fred Asbell; Byron Ferguson's Incredible Shots DVD (just to see what can be accomplished with a stickbow); Masters of the Barebow DVD Vol 1 & 2 - this is what I'd get before anything else.