board bows

[sailordad]

Hi everybody,
as you all probably will be able to tell by my question(s),I am very new to bow building.I recently joined PA and have been doing a lot of reading on the site,and from what I can tell there are a lot of very knowledgeable  people here.Which i will really appreciate being a newbie and all.
With all the reading I've been doing,I've seen some mention of  BOARD BOWS. I was just wondering how differant these are than bows built from staves,and how does the building process differ?What should one look for when choosing a board(i assume that the term board bow,means you started with a board).What kind of wood to use?Should the board be kiln dried or not?You know the kind of stuff a newbie needs to get started off on the right foot.

Just a little background on my self:
working bows built-none
attempts at building a bow-two,one busted  ,second one in progress
years into archery-too many,but less than one as traditionalist,even less as a primitive/bowyer
well thats about it,but in case anyone cares I'm from the great(frozen)state of Minnesota were the winters are cold but the hunting is hot.

thanks for any and all help.

[George Tsoukalas]

Noting wrong with board bows. Info on my site. Jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

[Justin Snyder]

The main difference is that boards are made from boards not split from logs.  Most board bows are backed with something.  My first bows were all board bows.  It is a lot easier to find boards than staves here, so use what you can get.  Hickory is about as easy to find as anything and is a great beginner wood.  Read through George's site and start making sawdust. Post lots of pictures and ask all the questions you have. There are some really great bowyers and even better people around here who are happy to help. Justin

[Sidewinder]

Welcome to the obsession. I recently finished my first one that held together and it was a board hickory bow. I think the thing that appealed to me was being able to focus mainly on the tiller and not have to establish the back or deal with dips in the wood like you might get with a stave. I know that I won't stay here in board bow land but its not so bad when your still learning. There is nothing inferior about a board bow. It seems to me that once we get good enough where we really know what we are doing, working a stave is more of a challenge and there are many more possibilities in wood when your not just using board wood. Go ahead and make you 5 or 6 or how ever many it takes to be ready and then try something different. Thats what I'm doing. Danny

[Wulamoc]

See Jawge's site and the Ferret's.  Great info from these two!!!  They both have helped me.

[George Tsoukalas]

Thanks for the kind words, Wulamoc. Beginners should back their first few bows, stave or board, for safety. Board bows do not automatically need a backing. Depends on how straight the grain is coupled with the weight wanted. Jawge

[Bishop]

Sailordad
  If you have not done so yet, get yer hands on all three volumes of the The Traditional Bowyer`s Bible, im new to this sickness also and i spend a lot of time with my nose buried in those books. The two sites mentioned above will be a great help, they will answer most questions about board selection. The only other advice i could give would be to get you some boards and dig in. for whatever reason i cant find hickory boards in my area so i have been using red oak which is plentiful at the lumber yards.
dont be shy about posting an questions you may have, there are plenty of great bow builders here who will jump right in with some help. most of all have fun and be safe.

welcome aboard

Bishop

[Loki]

I broke my first one today,took too much wood off the bottom limb and now the thing's got a wicked hinge in it!
Not to worry onto the next one,i now know what NOT to do and how to handle the tools a bit a better 
Bow #2 start's in the morning  .

[carpenter374]

Try getting Paul Comstock's book. "The Bent Stick". all you need to know about board bows. He also wrote a chapter in the Traditional Bowyer's Bible 1 and 2 on it if i'm not mistaken.

[koan]

Welcome!! I lurked in the shadows for a couple years at Mojam and on here...but didnt grasp any of it...till I started makin shavings. Then it all started comin together..DIVE IN and enjoy and good luck....Brian

[PK]

I make Board Bows Because I can't Find the good Bow wood around Here, I dont think Red wood works well as a bow I wish I could find a stave for under 50 dollars somewhere so I can see what chasin the ring is like.

[Loki]

I got a stave of Black Locust of a guy in Nebraska for $20.50,with the $45 shipping to England the wood cost me £33  .
I'll PM you his details if you like?

[DanaM]

PK ther has to be some type of bow wood in California, fruit trees are one I can think of, also most woods you
don't have to chase a ring on, peel the bark off and thats the back of the bow. A good way to get a stave is
also to try trading for one. Also check out the advertisers in PA many offer quality staves.

[Justin Snyder]

PK  Horsefeathers Ranch has all the books mentioned.  It is a sister site to PA and it would make Sarah's day if you ordered all 4 and she got her pat on the back for meeting her sales goal.  Shameless plug for Sarah.  Justin