"Scorpios Sting"....belly pics added pg. 5

[adb]

Nicely done, Chris! Everything about it is spot on. Is there a structural reason to dish the belly? Does it allow you to reduce limb mass without losing width?

[blackhawk]

Thanks seminolewind..

Thanks Adam...the first reason i did it was that I needed to keep the width I needed...if I just made it flat I would've lost too much width IMO because of the high crown....now I know osage can withstand the abuse,but I don't want a overstressed bow...and in doing so I think it does reduce some mass in the limbs....from a "structural support" stand point I honestly can't answer definitively without it being just a "theory"...but i would seem to think it would cause more wood to actually work and relieve a little stress off the top of the high crown...because the wood is now closer to being even thickness from side to side and distributing the stresses across more surface area...anyone else's thoughts on this?

[HikingViking]

Blackhawk - what a beauty!  this is just my brainstorm on the structure of the belly, but i am an architect, so i'd like to think that i might be onto something.  you've essentially created an arch, which is of course one of the best shapes to carry a compression load, so in theory if you're able to keep the thickness tillered correctly, you could have less material doing more efficient work.  the more i think about it, the more it makes a lot of sense to design a bow this way. 

[PatM]

ACS limb, guys. Patented for laminated bow construction. Google it.

[blackhawk]

....  you've essentially created an arch, which is of course one of the best shapes to carry a compression load, so in theory if you're able to keep the thickness tillered correctly, you could have less material doing more efficient work.  ........

Bingo....you said it better than I could...

And yes pat...adcock patented the design for glass and took it to the flats (as I'm sure you know)...I didn't wanna bring glass into the conversation... ....in theory I think it can apply to wood bows,but maybe not every piece of wood due to its idiosyncricies of no two are the same etc etc....

[Don Case]

Very nice!! Do you know if it flattens or arches more at full draw?
Don

[blackhawk]

I have no clue on that one Don ...Ive thought about that..but don't think I can see it as I'm drawing the bow focusing on the shot rather than the bow....guess I could lightly tack a piece of tape across a have someone watch..if it flattened it would wanna stretch the tape to pull off,and if it did the later it would slacken the tape? Or maybe it doesn't move to any significance at all?

[Don Case]

Yea, I don't have any ideas about how to do it. A piece of masking tape might work. I just thought that knowing what it did might help understanding what is happening when you draw a bow. I guess if I cut a piece of PVC and bent it, that would tell me the same thing.

[HikingViking]

Thats an interesting question Don.  PVC could tell you what the shape "wants" to do (which i suspect it will want to flatten out) however the wood will act a little differently, if you used a wood strong in tension i would think it could resist this, and maybe increase the efficiency.  all just gut-reaction theoretical of course...would love someone with more experience to chime in.

[artcher1]

Super nice as always Chris!

Just theorizing here, but I would think you're losing some compression value with that concave belly design. probably make it easier on it's back/crown as you mentioned. But being Osage, may not make a bit of difference.

Isn't the ACS concaved on the back? That would certainly increase the tension value and make for a faster bow.........Art

[adb]

Way to push the envelope, Chris. Innovation breeds excellence.

[blackhawk]

Thanks Art ...you may be right too? And yeah its osage..it don't matter...it can take it,and almost anything ya throw at it  ...just another one of the thousand and one reasons why osage is king...lol...I need to write a book called "The thousand and one reasons why osage is king"....lol 

Thanks Adam

[BowEd]

Just my observation making bows here is that when I reverse brace bows[belly is very flat] sinewing them the belly gets concave meaning the center is getting stretched,but I don't think there is that much change on the other side of the limb.Concaving your belly reduces weight on your limbs without risking failure and that is the benefit,but like you said a lot of crazy things can be done to osage and it still comes out smelling like a rose.But still maybe this is'nt one of those crazy things.A significant amount of weight would have to be removed to make a diff IMO.

[Sidewinder]

Chris, really unique bow. The skins are of course my favorite as I shoot a copperheaded osage. What I like the best about it is the shortness and the molly type tips. Bet its a pretty quick shooter and at that length would fit nicely in a ground blind. My 60" make me have to pay attention to the top limb too much when I'm in blind. Oh and the concave belly is cool too.  Danny

[soy]

man that thing just flows!!!!!that dishing technique must have some merit if you're using it and Simpson is done it pretty cool I'm sure we'll see that one in the BOM!!!