Making an Archer's Thumb Ring
from Cow Horn, Antler or Bone
I get a lot of e-mails asking where to get an archer's thumb ring. The best thing is to make your own. It needs to be fitted to each person's thumb, since every thumb is different. So, making your own archer's thumb ring is the best advice I can give.
You can use hand tools, but for speed, I use a 5" angle grinder with a 36 grit flap disc for most of the roughing out and shaping. I also utilize a cordless drill and 1/2" paddle bit to drill out the thumb hole. A 1/2" rat tail file is used for fitting the hole to your thumb and assorted sandpapers are used for finishing the thumb ring. I grind in a string stop and keep the tab longer than the end of your thumb and wider than the thumb pad.
This series of images are fairly self-explanatory to make an archer's thumb ring.
Cutting the horn.
Roughing out and shaping the horn.
Making the hole.
Finishing the archer's thumb ring.
Making a Archer's Thumb Ring from a Silver Spoon
Email your comments to "Mike Richardson" at fiddler49@hotmail.com
Mike Richardson resides in Anchorage, Alaska.
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