RE: My experiance with self bows
Guss,
You are in good company. If you approach a bow project for the first time with out instruction it will most likely be frustrating. If you do decide later on that building a selfbow is what you want to do, don't be discouraged if it does not work out the first time.
You will have to make a lot of dust, take it from someone who makes a ton of dust on a daily basis.
One thing to note is that there is a shoot called the Tennessee Classic. The shoot is very cool in that if you go on the first of the week, you can spend that week building your own selfbow with instruction from very qualified folks. With the completion of your selfbow at the end of that week you will be able to shoot your bow in competition. All the tools will be supplied and you will have a blast. If you or anyone else is intrested I can supply with contact information.
Good luck and good shooting.
Milton Callaway
21st Century Longbows