dimensions for osage bow

[Shondy55]

hey guys i was wondering what would be good dimensions for a osage orange bow, something a little shorter, im open to any ideas! thanks

[Pat B]

Whats your draw length?  For my 26" draw I am comfortable with 60" to 66", straight tips or recurves. Also osage works well either with wide, thin limbs or narrow, deep limbs.

[Shondy55]

yeah for draw length and weight i was thinking like #55@27 or 28 inch

[osage outlaw]

Stiff handle or bend in the handle?

[Pat B]

62" to 64" would be a good mid range. 1 1/2" to 1 5/8" wide at the fades and out 4" to 6" before tapering to 1/2" tips(for now).  I make my bows symmetrical, meaning the center of the 4" handle is the center if the bow. I usually make the fades about 1 1/2" long.

[JW_Halverson]

For an unbacked, narrow handle, American Flatbow design in osage I would use the following formula to determine nock-to-nock length:

(2 x draw length) + 10%  =  56" + 5.6  or 62" when rounded up. 

That's a good place to start from, go with 1 1/2" wide at the fadeouts and start tapering your limbs for the last 1/3 of the limb.  You can go to a narrower limb, say 1 3/8 or 1 1/4 by adding a couple inches to the limbs...like 66 or so.  A longer bow seems to be more forgiving to shoot, especially at longer distances.  Something to think about. 

For a bendy handle, just double your drawlength.