As a youngster we found the best and easiest bows to make were Survival class bows...
We used good ole Populus or as known green Poplar/Aspen ...
The live poplar tree was easy to work with...stores plenty of enegy until dried...
We would adjust tiller by shaving top or bottom limb ...used binder twine for strings...strong and could be twisted for poundage...
Arrow were Choke cherry, wild rose shoots or any straight willows and my favorite red Osier Dogwood ...also known as moose candy....the red bark was shaved off ...which can be used like asprin or tobbaco known as kinnickkinnick...
Cut 20 and have a half dozen good ones...many will warp split etc...
can be hand straightened or we would drill an hole in a piece of splui wood the same general size of the arrow so the arrow can be inserted in the hole and we would straighten them that way...
Heads were made from empty rifle shell casings like the 30-30 for small game...flattened nails for broadheads...nails taped to railway track and run over by train made perfect broadheads [not advised ]
feathers were any feather one could find...
I have taken a bull moose down with such a survival bow...
Problem was/is after a week or so the poplar would dry making the bow less effective...
For a perfect bow the correct wood dried for year carved for hours takes a lot of time and many break on first draw...not for the short tempered or those with no patience....lol
The survival bow quick and very effective...some we made would shoot out well over 100 yards...
They were the demise of many a rabbit...
Neil