i've been searching around the site and am curious. what are the different kinds of bows and if at all possible how to make them.

Your best bet might be to get a copy of the Bowyer's Bible volumes 1,2, and 3. That will get you started with your questions.
Short answer
Long bows self-bow (wood only)
flat bows
Recurve self-bow
Composite long bows
Composite recurve
then you can go into the different makers like horn composite, all wood composite

This might get you started
http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/oak.htm

I have been making bows for about a year now. I started with the Traditional Bowyers Bible and still use it daily as a reference work. The Bent Stick by Paul Comstock is another good book for the beginner. Check out the bowyers den on line. It's an all amateur bowyer forum and they feature bow build alongs. They can also give you links to places that sell bow kits for the beginning bowyer and bow building supplies. Pre tillered staves - etc. Good luck, it's great fun. Sorry, I don't know how to attach the url for the site.

I have the url for the site also.. good place, I have one of the u-finish bows that I shoot all the time
http://www.xsorbit4.com/users/buildabow/index.cgi
and
http://www.bowstick.com/store/

I subscribe to Primitive Archer Magazine

http://www.PrimitiveArcher.com

I have not spent a lot of time looking around the site but the magazine covers most subjects on traditional archery. It may be a good place to start looking. The magazine has covered everything from composite horse bows to sinew cabled baleen bows.

For just straight up bowmaking info I would have to recommend the Bowyers Bible series as well. Only rarely do you find so much info packed into one source. Even if you only buy the first volume ( and I bet you can't, I couldn't) it's still worth it.

Be careful though, once you start making bows you get slightly addicted to it and the neighborhood trees start getting nervous :lol:

thank you all so much for so much useful information.

i got the bowyer's bible triligy and have begun reading but i cannot figure out what the "stack or stacking" of a bow means. i don't know whether i am just not reading close enough or something i have yetto fathom. could use just a little help.

Stacking generally refers to a sudden increase in the amount of weight needed to draw the bow another any further. So to illustrate with an example that is mathematically easy but not necessarily realistic, if you needed 2 pounds to draw the bow each inch up to 25", then suddenly need another 4 pounds to get to 26" and another 6 pounds to get to 27", and 8 more to get to 28", you would say that bow stacks.

TTBB presented a theory on the mechanics of stacking in one volume, then retracted it in a later volume. I've been out of the archery and bowmaking scene for several years now, and don't know if anyone else has presented a final description of the cause of stacking. Perhaps someone else can chime in on that topic?

thank you, i that was part of what i was looking for. in the chapter of the bowyer's bible bow stacking was talked about but had more to do with effect on the bow over time, giving it a curve or damaging the bows possible flaws resulting in less draw strength and eventual break.