DIY PVC Bow With 50 Pound Draw

(Image: Screenshot from video)

Here while back — yikes, it’s been more than five years ago now — I shared a video here about a DIY slingshot bow made of PVC pipe. Basically an arrow-shooting slingshot, it looked really cool. And today I’m sharing another DIY PVC archery video, but this time we are making a sure-nuff bow with a 50-pound draw weight using a simple length of 1″ schedule 40 PVC pipe.

The pipe the Backyard Bowyer starts with is 56 inches long, and he doesn’t waste any time describing how to determine draw weight and length, and he does a good job telling viewers about the flattening jig for forming the limbs of the bow.

For heat, he just uses a campfire.

There’s not a lot of editing so you may want to skip ahead during the long sequences when he heats the pipe, but he does talk during a lot of it, so make sure you don’t miss some important advice.

After heating each end of the pipe until it gets all flop-doodly (technical term), he uses his flattening jig to smoosh it into a nice taper. Then he forms the handle, after which he goes about forming the ends of the bow.

I like how he does the ends by doubling & pinching the PVC to form the part the string will go onto.

When he’s done with the bow, it looks pretty good — although one limb bends more than the other. As a bonus, he shows us how to make a good stout bow string using artificial sinew, rather than relying on the paracord he used earlier.

It’s a pretty cool process, and I do love making useful things. Enjoy!

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.