Advanced Bowmaking
4 Days
Join me in the shop for four days and learn to craft a powerful, smooth shooting Osage Selfbow with simple hand tools. This course is geared toward a more advanced layout that opens up a wide variety of options for bow length. You'll turn an osage stave into any bendy-handle bow design you desire; be it a short Plains horsebow, a midsized hunting bow, or an "archer tall" Eastern Woodlands warbow. You’ll leave the course with a historically-inspired selfbow suitable for both small and large game; built from start to finish by you.
Osage is the most sought-after wood in the craft. Its unmatched density, tension and compression qualities, and natural resistance to moisture makes for bows that serve tirelessly for many years; even in extreme conditions. Unlike whitewoods, osage requires you to "chase a ring" to establish the bow's back. Most osage staves also contain obstacles like knots, wiggles, or twist that must be managed during the build. Therefore, it's not the best choice of wood for first-timers.
It is recommended that those attending Advanced Bowmaking meet one or more of the following prerequisites:
You've completed our Bowmaking 101 Workshop.
You've attempted to build a selfbow on your own and are familiar with the fundamentals.
You have experience and confidence woodworking with hand tools.
We'll skip some of the detailed introductory knowledge shared in Bowmaking 101 and get right into it, so you'll need a basic understanding of the process and manual woodworking tools.
Curriculum:
-Nuances of Osage Orange
-Chasing a growth ring
-Advanced bow layout
-Roughing out a bow blank
-Heat corrections and alignment
-Tillering the bendy-handle bow
-Bow string making
-Long term bow care
-Comprehensive marksmanship
Each bow will be crafted to your personal draw length and desired draw weight. You’ll be challenged to navigate the character (imperfections) in the wood with guidance from a Master Bowyer. The small group size leaves plenty of time open for Q&A. Take years of trial and error off the learning curve with focused individual instruction.
The final afternoon will be spent shooting in your new bow! If you're an experienced archer that's comfortable in your ways, you'll be set free to shoot in your preferred style. If you'd like to adjust your technique, we'll work through the finer details of intuitive shooting.
This course isn't meant to be a step-by-step walkthrough. It's my goal to help you understand the nuances of Osage and teach you the skills needed to make your own bows for life. We're excited to bring Advanced Bowmaking to the course lineup, and look forward to having you out for a build!
$2,500.00
(all-inclusive, no tax)
Class is from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST over four days.
(Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)
Military, Veterans, LEO, and First Responders will receive a $100 discount.
I like a relaxed shop environment, but come prepared to work hard. It takes some physical exertion to turn a quartered log into a bow. You can expect to be standing on concrete for hours at a time and plenty of pulling/pushing with hand tools. Your bow wouldn't be as awesome if you didn't sweat for it, right?!
Must be age 19 or older to attend the class alone (sorry, Nebraska's rules).
Anyone under 19 must be accompanied by a parent. The parent does not need to buy an extra spot unless they also plan to build a bow, but will need to remain onsite while their son/daughter works. Not recommended for anyone under age 15 due to the labor-intensive nature of the course.
You'll want to bring a pair of closed toe shoes to wear in the shop, and some shirts/pants you don't mind getting dirty.
Amenities :
-Materials and tools provided.
-Big, delicious lunches provided.
(Breakfast/Dinner not provided)
-Coffee provided.
-High-speed WiFi.
-Shop has heat in winter.
-Shop has AC in summer.
-Free tent/car/overlander camping.
(No generators please)
-On-site power available.
-On-site shower is available.
-On-site fire pit.
-25 minutes from Omaha Eppley Airfield (OMA).
No pets - no exceptions. We love all kinds of animals, but no matter how well-behaved, pets cause distractions. Please respect the other patrons who've paid good money to attend and leave pets at home. Thanks for understanding!
Travel & Lodging :
Held in Plattsmouth, Nebraska.
You are responsible for travel expenses to and from the class. This includes any plane tickets, rental cars, fuel expenses, lodging (if not camping onsite), and food other than the provided lunches and snacks.
If you prefer to stay in a motel or hotel, the class location is only 10 minutes away from Bellevue, Nebraska and 20 minutes away from Omaha, Nebraska. There are many hotels, motels, restaurants and grocery stores inside a 20-minute drive. I can provide more information about local accommodations once you've booked a class.
2024 Workshop Dates:
Three spots available in each class. Remaining openings are listed next to each date.
Some sold out dates are awaiting payment and can open up if someone cancels. Submit a Contact Form for any date to get on the wait list.
Booking is closed. The 2025 dates will be announced in December via our newsletter.
April 18-21
October 17-20
Click here to book a spot. Once you receive an invoice, a $500 Good-Faith Deposit is required upfront to hold spot(s). Payment in full guarantees your reservation.
Cancellations & Rescheduling :
If you need to cancel or reschedule, please do so at least 45 days prior to the class.
I'll send out e-mail reminders as the deadline approaches. If your invoice is still open at the 45-day mark, your deposit(s) will be refunded - less any fees we paid - and the spot(s) reopened.
Cancellations made inside 30 days will incur a $500 admin charge, plus 3% of the full tuition to cover our transfer fees. This course's late cancellation fee is $575 ~ no exceptions.
It's a big trip that's challenging for most to make on short notice, and late cancellations create a huge logistical hurdle for everyone involved. If you back out last-minute, there's very little chance we'll be able to refill your spot.
There's no fee for rescheduling on time, and cancellations made on time will receive a refund.
Completed Class Bows:
Course Testimonials:
"I previously took Correy's Bowmaking 101 workshop, which provides the fundamentals of bow making using common hardwoods such as Hackberry. One of the highlights of these workshops is the hands-on approach. We each have the opportunity to create our own bow from scratch, with Correy providing personalized guidance and feedback throughout the process. The workshop makes complex techniques accessible even to those who might not have extensive woodworking experience.
The Advanced Bowmaking workshop focused on crafting a bow out of Osage wood. It builds on some of the concepts learned in Bowmaking 101, but introduced a substantial amount of new techniques and information. The new concepts and methods would not have been easily extrapolated from techniques learned in the 101 class, or from books or online videos. Once again, the hands-on experience was invaluable and allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of bow making."
-Steve Z.
"Two years ago, I took the Bowmaking 101 Workshop and since then I've worked with osage - chasing rings, twisting, bending, and doing all sorts of punishing things to the poor wood. You may wonder why I'd join an Advanced Workshop focused on things I've already been doing. The answer is simple - for the food of course! Anyone who's taken one of these workshops knows that's no joke; but in reality anyone who's made a bow knows full well there's always something to learn.
Even with my first experience with Correy being so rewarding, I still went into the workshop with a little apprehension. All that apprehension was gone within minutes of arriving. Whether it's your first time meeting or you're returning for the Advanced Workshop, the hospitality you receive is as warm as you'd expect from a decades old friend. All this makes getting to work effortless, although you might feel it later that night or the next morning!
As mentioned before, I've already done a fair amount of work with Osage wood, bendy handles, and pyramidal bows. The bow I made in the course incorporated all those things with the addition of a complicated cross-section. To achieve this, I learned a new approach to tillering, a much easier method of chasing rings (3x faster than my previous approach), and a better way to correct twist and bends.
Throughout the process of drafting, planning and reducing there was a lot more autonomy. Correy left me to focus on my work and jumped in with instruction when he knew I was having a snag. Good instructors are watching even when you don't think they are. Tillering was much more of a conversation about what we were seeing in the bow's movement, instead of instruction on what was happening. The whole process takes place as a conversation between friends and it makes the experience so much better and more educational.
I left the Advanced Workshop with the skills I need to be able to craft some truly extraordinary and advanced bow styles (I'm looking at you, paddle bows). The hardest parts of the course were getting up from the lunch table, picking your favorite food from the menu, and saying goodbye.
Good luck and shoot straight!"
-Michael W.