i am fixing to make my first board bow out of red oak.  i know not the best wood but it was all the lumber yard had at the time.  i am going to try to go for pyrimid stlyle limbs  and shooting for around 55# or 60#.  any tips, coments are more than welcome.  even if i break it at least it wont cost me a alot of money.

Keep it long.  What is your draw length?

68-70" bow,  Mine is a 70" n2n pyramid bow 51#@24".. shooting both 60-65" BOP 29.5" 160 grn points & 55-60" BOP 27.75" 160 grn points. The 55-60's shoot better. It is also cut 1/8" Before Center.


Good Luck and take your time.

it looks like i might be a little lighter that i was going to shoot for but thats ok.  i have it shaped and now i have to do the tillering.  this is a first for mme so i will most likely break it in this process.. but thats learning its 66" right now.   we will see what happens in the next few hours.

We want pics!!

Here is my red oak board bow, unbacked....


http://onemississipp.googlepages.com/board

If this is your first bow, it is more important that you learn the nuances of tillering first then you can go for weight. There is lots of wood out there so you don't have to worry about running out before you get to your next one.      Pat

patB  that is kinda what i am focusing on more than anything else right now.  i got a tiller tree made and going to start on the final tillering tomorrow afternoon.   and sorry but there wont be any pics of it till i figure out this dang photobucket thing.   i might to embarrest by it to show it also .

Use Dustin's link and take your time. I made one 68" 45#@28" unbacked. I needed the practice before I dove into anymore of my Osage. It came out realy good and shoots well.
Have fun.
Don

how wide should the limbs be?  right now they are about 3 and 1 half inches.  i know that wides but i want as much strength as i can get. i got it floor tillered yesterday and ready to put in the tiller tree i made last night.

Red oak is a darn good bow wood. There's board info and a buildalong on my site. jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/

I hav'nt built a board bow in years.But keep them long and wide for your first bow.

I hav'nt built a board bow in years.But keep them long and wide for your first bow.

i just made one that is similar to the one you are making. it i s 68" ntn and drew 42# at 28" it is 1" at the handle and fades out to 1.5". it is 1.5" out to the mid limb, and then it fades down to 5/8 of an inch at the nock. it is very smooth with very little stack. not to mention it slings an arrow very well! tis was not my first try , but it is the first one to stay together. make sure to take a look at jawge's web site. my first couple broke because they had run outs, which he explains all about. good luck.
eric