Abstract: A portable bow making machine with three clutches controlling the size, arc generation and a no-back clutch assuring that the belt driving the impaler assembly doesn't go into reverse The user requiring no particular skill, merely threads the ribbon in a channel under the reciprocal carriage and the two stroke operation automatically makes one of the loops of the bow. Stroking continues until the bow is complete and a stapler automatically retracts the needles of the impaler and the staple is forced against an anvil to secure the bow. The stapler is configured to hold a removable self-gluing card that is concomitantly attached to the bow. The forward stroke carries a carriage and clapper along the carriage slides, The clapper reaches a predetermined point and drops onto the impaler to secure each of the loops to the bow. The return stroke repositions the carriage for the next forward stroke.