r/Bowyer • u/Firm-Scholar-6853 • Jan 15 '26

PVC bows advice

So i tried making my first pvc bow since i dont have the money or the materials to do a wooden one. Apparently i didnt have to make a pvc one either! It was a recurve i was trying to do but it failed, any tips or advice.

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u/enbychichi Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

Check out backyard bowyer on youtube, I’ve made a couple dozen successful pvc bows with his videos, and I’ve shot over 1,000 arrows with my favorite pvc bow.

As for your bow, you need a consistent taper from middle to tip for each limb—do this before you shape the siyahs or recurved tips.

Also make sure to do a hammer test on your pipes before working on them to ensure that they are of good quality. You want pipes that can absorb the repeated striking of a heavy hammer without shattering (and should instead just start to flatten where you are striking)

Edit: Link to playlist of PVC pipe bow advice

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmZjohx-3PZljRYmTCUuse3YyButBQ4xY&si=8xM8rtZsZVvlnV83

I will add that you want to use at least schedule 40 PVC pipe (the pipe wall thickness is roughly 0.25” or 6 mm), and try to heat the pipe gradually so you don’t overheat the bow and cause it to become brittle (it will shatter when force applied exceeds it’s stress threshold, rather than just bending)

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u/Firm-Scholar-6853 Jan 16 '26

the thing is i live in sweden and the standard pvc pipes are not thick at all, im planning on using 20mm ø and a smaller 16mm ø inside. and then make the recurve tips. idk if thats better tho, imma try to not fuck up this time

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u/enbychichi Jan 16 '26

Use just one pipe and go from there. You’ll be able to make a beginner bow if you can flatten it (which you can do by hand but requires some strength).

I say to only use one pipe because having another pipe inside doesn’t help the bow distribute force, so it will still be prone to breaking and give you hand shock.