Ed and Matthew, Thanks for your comments! Our article is meant to serve as a starting point for making your own snowshoes. For more in-depth information, I agree that a book would be a great supplemental resource. Two books that we recommend that describe the process extensively are Building Wooden Snowshoes & Snowshoe Furniture by Gil Gilpatrick or Leaving Tracks by Brian and Edmond Theriault. Ross Farm Museum also has a helpful video tutorial for selecting and splitting your wood for the snowshoe process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYQyaGbWezQ. Or, if you prefer, you can always purchase a traditional snowshoe kit from Country Ways, which includes an already-made frame and lacing instructions. I hope this article serves as a helpful starting point for your homemade snowshoes! -Susan, Snowshoe Mag Editor

This seems to be a very vague article as how to make snowshoes from scratch. I would suggest getting a book that is more detailed. As far as getting the appropriate materials as far as wood is concerned you may have a difficult time thanks to the ongoing plague of the emerald ash borer. Here in Michigan home of Iverson snow shoes we have a short supply of quality ash.