Build a Bamboo Survival Bow in 30 Minutes
Bamboo has been used for millennia to make fine bows. It is tough, straight grained, very flexible, and easy to work. Bamboo is used for backing on many traditional laminated bows. This bow is neither fine, nor traditional, nor laminated; but it is quick and easy to make, and it works.
To build this bow you will need a nice large cane of bamboo. The walls of the cane should be at least three-eights of an inch thick, and the cane need s to be about five or six feet long. Pictured below: Bamboo for bow making 
Use a hatchet, or heavy knife to split the cane in half. Pictured below: top, Splitting bamboo; bottom, two pieces of the split cane
Now take one of the pieces of bamboo and use your hatchet or knife to split off the sides and narrow the part that you will use to about two inches in width. Pictured below: top, Splitting off sides; bottom, two inch wide stave 
Use you hatchet and knife to shape the front profile of the bow. It should be about two inches wide in the middle and taper to about one inch on the tips. Pictured below: top, Shaping bow with the hatchet; middle, tapering the limbs; bottom, finished profile
Next you can use your knife to carve a couple of notches in each end for the bowstring. Pictured below: Carving notches 
Now it’s time to make the handle. Cut a stick that is about an inch to an inch-and-a-half in diameter and about a foot long. Taper the ends of the stick as shown below. Pictured below: tapering the handle stick 
Carve out any joints in the area where the handle will rest then test the fit of the handle. Pictured below: top, carving out a joint; bottom, handle resting in place in the cane 
If the handle fits you can take some cordage and wrap the handle to secure it in place. In the illustration below I am using some yucca cordage that I had made earlier, but you can use para-cord, a shoelace, or anything else that you have. Pictured below: Wrapping handle
All you need now is a bowstring. I used some more yucca cordage for my bowstring. Pictured below: Finished bow, strung and ready for use
This particular bow, which is only about a quarter inch thick, is not all that powerful, about twenty pounds; but thicker bamboo will make a more powerful bow. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this bow to try and take a rabbit, coon, possum, or other small game. Pictured below: Bamboo bow at full draw 
Hello! I just followed these directions (with some minor variations) and made a bamboo bow of about 25lbs draw weight. Very nice looking too! I have a question for you though… many bows which use Bamboo can be heat treated, blackening the bamboo and making it quite a bit more powerful. Would this method be at all compatible?
I have enough materials to make… say 8-10 more of this bow, but it takes me a good deal more than 30 minutes. Try 2 hours. (I lack a good machete or sharp hand ax to tiller with, had to use a small knife, and my seasoned bamboo is rather tough.) Would appreciate your opinion on this before I ruin one of these bows I’m making. Planning on giving some as Christmas gifts this year!
Vincent, I have to admit that I have never tried tempering bamboo by heating it. It sounds logical, as in using heat to fire harden an all-wood spear, but I’m just not sure. I have seen bamboo that has been lightly scorched when heating the limbs in order to recurve them but don’t know if this raised the draw weight any. If you try this I would definitely like to hear about the results. Hank
So, after doing more research on the effects of heat tempering bamboo, it seems that the tensile strength of the bamboo is compromised by heat tempering. While this is NOT a problem for bamboo facing towards the archer, the technique is not compatible with this bow design. I’m going to try to make a 2 layer version of this bow however. It shall be interesting. Also I’ve found that tapering 2″ -> 1″ is not necessarily the best idea for seasoned bamboo. I made a 1.25″ -> 1″ version of this bow as well, and it has significantly more casting speed. I’m unsure if a 2″ -> 1.5″ design is feasible, but as soon as I get some bigger bamboo I’ll be trying that out.
I also tried to make a version of this bow with higher poundage by shortening the limbs. Not sure if I was unlucky or if I need to sand the sides to a lower thickness, but it split down the middle of the bow. This would SEEM to indicate that I need to leave the bow width alone and adjust it by taking off the curved edges.
Just tried making this bow myself, but I have a radical difference in curvature in the limbs. Would tillering be effective in relieving this? not sure how it would work seems as though it would weaken it too much. well it is my first attempt and i do have plenty of bamboo to work with.
great site by the way been working my way thru it since i found it 2 day ago. lots of great info, keep it coming. thanks
You can tiller the limbs to some extent by making the stiffer limb narrower rather than thinner. Another possible problem might be that, even though the limbs are the same length, you have more joints on one of the limbs. This would tend to make that limb not bend as much. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Thanks for reading. Hank
Thanks for the reply, I have since discovered that limb with more curve has a section where the bamboo fibers folded into themselves, which only became more apparent after I had left it under tension for a little while. I will continue at it with new materials being a handtool woodworker I am not Prone to giving up so easily. I hope to use this as a stepping stone to move on to more complex construction methods. Thanks for the info.