longbow help

[weld777]

i have red oak board that is 2.5 in wide is 2 in to wide or make it 1.75 in wide thanx kevin

[Sneakypete]

Need more info, Kevin. How long? How thick? I wouldn't make a bow of red oak in any dimension, unless it's backed with hickory or bamboo. Good luck.

[weld777]

my board is 68in and 2.5in wide

[weld777]

SO I TAKE IT I NEED TO ASK SOME PLACE ELSE FOR SOME ???S LATER KEVIN

[30coupe]

Do some searches here on board bows. That is what you are making. You have to first figure out what you want to end up with in terms of draw length, bow weight, etc. As SneakyPete said, you will want to back the bow. I have used fiberglass drywall tape on oak, but I think you would have a better bow if you used hickory or bamboo backing. Oak has a tendency to crack. The tape backin will keep it from a catastrophic break, but the wood or boo backing might prevent the crack (haven't tried it yet myself.

With a 68 inch board, you will end up with a 66 inch bow, nock to nock. If you don't plan to get carried away with bow weight, an oak longbow will be 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide. At 66 inches, I would want to be under 50 pounds I think. Less would probably be better. I made one 50 pounds and it cracked on me. I think the board was probably too dry, but that can happen with boards from Menards, Home Depot, etc. since they aren't really intended for bows.

If you are just learning, go ahead and use the oak. Even if it breaks, it will be a great learning experience. Oak is fairly easy to work, looks nice, and is pretty cheap. I tends to have a lot of string follow and as noted can crack, but you can afford to keep making more and getting better at tillering, making the string nocks and so forth. It gets pretty addictive. You will find yourself planning your next bow before you are finished with this one.

As I said, there is a lot of great information on this site on building board bows. Just do a search.

Russ

[weld777]

thank you i have a draw length of 29 in and would prefer 45 # draw weight thanx again kevin

[weld777]

how thick should the backing be if hickory or bamboo

[30coupe]

Not sure as I have never used it, but 3rivers carries it, so you might check their catalog or web site. They are a sponsor here.

Any other bowyers feel free to chime in here.

[Many Arrows Lost]

I has been over 4 years ago now that I did the best thing in my longbow building life.  I ordered Dean Torges video on building a bamboo backed longbow and thoroughly read his website  www.bowyersedge.com  .  Even if you don't want a bamboo backed bow this is a wealth of information and will save you a lot of heartache.  There's a lot of help here too and indeed my first bow was saved by the folks here willing to help.  It has been a couple years since I've made a bamboo backed bow, but dozens of fiberglass laminated bow later I still have to say that Dean's work has effected me the most and after putting this thought into writing it may be time to revisit the bamboo idea.

My thoughts,

Ken

[weld777]

thanks for the info

[weld777]

30coupe is there any places by ya to buy exotic woods or not thanx kevin