Heres how to make a simple bow from a single piece of wood, what is called a selfbow. I didnt document the whole process with pictures but will add some when doing my next bow.
-First you'll want to start by finding a clean looking, straight tree of about 4" diameter, free of knots and twists. Most hardwood will make a great bow- oak, hickory, elm, ash, walnut, locust, dogwood,etc. If you have no local wood available you can buy a red oak board at home depot for $10. Choose one with the straightest grain.
-Harvest your chosen tree and cut it roughly to length leaveing a few extra inches to play with, 64-68" final length is good for a longbow, but you can easily go 72" or more.
-With a wedge or axehead, split the tree in half,or quarters if the diameter is large enough. When the head is in far enough you can insert a log and use that to finish splitting. The bark side will be the back of the bow (side facing away from you when shooting), the inside is called the belly.
-Remove only the bark and little wood from the back just until its flat, the belly is where you'll be removing the majority of wood- aiming for a width of about 2", shave the sides flat
-Now remove wood from the belly until its parellel to the back. Once the front and back are even, narrow the sides to a final width of about 1-1/2", and taper the last 8" of the limbs.
Always go slow, being in a hurry ruins bows. Stop often to feel out the bow by running your fingers back and forth in all areas to get a good feel for what the bow is doing.
-Hold the bow with your arms out and mark it at the center of your chest. Mark about a finger length on either side to allow for the grip area.
Tillering your bow-With an axe or knife, begin shaving off wood from the belly taking note of the thickness and curve of the bow. Always follow the grain and natural twists, it will be stronger.
-Periodically check the tiller by flexing one end of the bow into the ground, you want it to bend evenly in a semi circle across its entire length, it will store the most energy and stress the least this way- once you have about the right tiller, leave some extra wood on the bow and put it up to dry in a warm area for at least 3-4 weeks, until it no longer feels cold to the touch on your face, then you can finish tillering and then sand and finish your bow.
Keep in mind the more you bend wet wood the more 'set' it will develop, meaning the limbs will naturally start to bend back, which will decrease their range of motion thus hinder performance. so dont go too far when tillering until its cured for several weeks.
If you leave it unfinished i.e. not sealed with a coating of some type, its moisture content will change depending on weather, so willbe more sluggish in humid weather and will be faster with a heavier pull in dry weather. finishing your bow with a protective coating like minwax polyurethane will seal in the moisture content and yeild a more consistent bow. You can use animal fat, linseed oil, beeswax etc. for a more natural look.
Its not a shame to sacrifice a good tree if you honor its life by crafting it into worthy bow that will see many years of use. Remember everything you take from nature is a gift, so i like to be humble and treat it with respect.
For a string, 550 parachute cord works great. If you want to go primitive and fashion your own string from leather or sinew, thatll work too. Whatever you use, make sure its test strength be at least 4 times stronger than the pull weight of your bow.
You can make or buy a tillering board. This is a very helpful device for checking tiller and measuring draw weight. Cut a notch in the top of a 1x4 to hold the bow, then cut notches in 1" graduations. By setting this on a bathroom scale you can accurately measure the weight of the draw at different draw lengths.
Freshly split staves.
Heres a couple ways you can tie the string, a double-loop and bowyer's knot.
Checking tiller- remove wood from the areas that dont bend enough.
Carve grooves for the string, narrow and thin the tips for a stronger, faster shooting bow. More energy will go to moving the arrow instead of wasted on moving the tips.
Tillering board
You can carve grooves in the handle to fit your hand better, and wrap with string for comfortable grip.
My first bow, made of white oak, stained with a walnut finish.
I hope this inspires others to experience the fun of making your own bow. With only a couple dollars and some patience you can end up with a very capable bow for target shooting or hunting, and the feeling you get of a connection to the earth and ancient times is very satisfying.
Ill do a primitive arrow build along next, im drying out some saplings that should be ready soon.
The trees grow very straight and tall in the densely packed area i got them from, theyre also very lightweight and flexible so give to the wind. i think they grew this way competing for light so thinning out a few of the weaker ones shouldnt hurt,maybe beneficial to the forest. I didnt get any plans or instructions so theres probably an easier or better way to make a tipi, but this seemed to work alright.
Begin raising them off the ground, alternating around until its erected to desired height and width.
Lay in more poles, you can make a nice tipi with 8 or so, but the tarp will sag less with 12 poles.
When you finally back around to the front, you can secure the tarps together near the top, leaving a few feet open if you want to have a fire inside. If you do have a fire you'll want to tie up the bottom edge about 6" to allow air flow.
Once the tarp is secured, spread out the poles to take up any slack. 
Heres how to make a simple bow from a single piece of wood, what is called a selfbow. I didnt document the whole process with pictures but will add some when doing my next bow.
Carve grooves for the string, narrow and thin the tips for a stronger, faster shooting bow. More energy will go to moving the arrow instead of wasted on moving the tips.
You can carve grooves in the handle to fit your hand better, and wrap with string for comfortable grip.
My first bow, made of white oak, stained with a walnut finish.
Build a log cabin with small branches, and put your tinder inside- dry grass, leaves, wood shavings, pinecones, bark, etc.
Ignite your birds nest with your preferred method, (in this case flint and steel) and begin blowing on it, when the tinder gets going, set in small twigs vertically- they burn good this way because the flame goes up, then pile your collection of larger sticks around and on top of the fire. Continue fanning with air to build heat. 
Mark a rough outline of the spoon shape, with your knife or pencil, and whittle down to size alternating between knife and axe as needed.
Another method to create the bowl is to place a hot coal on it and let the bowl shape be burned out.
The hobo stove is lightweight, inexpensive, quick and easy to make, is efficient and fun to use. A hobo stove can be made from many different materials, food cans, paint buckets, pots, pans, scrap metal, large drums,etc. and can be constructed with a simple idea in mind, to more complex multi chamber designs.
