Osage stave length help

[SLIMBOB]

Bubby is right. Build what you want. You will get plenty of advice from lots of guys on here. Understand going in that the advice you recieve is usually given to help you avoid the mistakes the rest of us made early on. I've done it all wrong. Too short, long, wide and narrow. When I help someone with a question I typically speak on issues I have some experience with. Bow length for someone easily qualifies as something I know just a bit about. If you want my opinion, go 64 to 68 inches. Your draw will more than likely fall somewhere near 26 28 inches and at this length range you will have a decent chance of keeping one together till it's done. Find a bow, draw it and measure your DL as a place to start. Then come on back and get her started. Don't let your prowess as a craftsman get in the way of building a bow. Good to have some skills in woodworking, but getting wood to bend without breaking is a skill rarely needed in most endeavors. Good luck with it.

[lebhuntfish]

First of all,  welcome to PA! I myself am fairly new to this obsession! I have made a few bows. At first I wanted to know all about  dimensions and measurements myself. But after making a few I found that all I really wanted to know was a general length of the stave I had and where the center was. Then I let the wood decide what shape, width, and type of bow it wanted to be. That was when I figured out that finding the bow in the stave was just as awesome as shooting it when it was done. I guess what I'm saying, especially with Osage, is that sometimes what you want when you start isn't what it works out to be.

The suggestion I have for you is to cut your limb that will give you the best possible stave or staves. Split and seal the ends, remove the bark and sap wood and seal the back. Then I would purchase the "Traditional Bowyer's Bible" volume 1 and 2. While you are waiting on your stave to dry, read both of them and check out PA for other questions and answers. Some of the guys on here know those books by heart. During the process of your bow building post pictures and ask for advice and let the excellent bunch of guys on here walk you through your first bow. If you do that you will have a shooter for sure. Good luck on your first bow and I look forward to seeing your progress. Patrick

[bubby]

Where are you at, might be someone close by to mentor you along, that would help tremendously

[lebhuntfish]

Bubby, I believe he said something about the Texas Hill Country. Patrick

[turtle]

When cutting staves i always cut them as long as as i can get. You can always shorten it later. As far as your draw length goes maybe you could build a board bow while your Osage is seasoning then you could easily figure out what your comfortable with and get experience in tillering as well. As your finding out....there are a lot of different rules of thumb that people use to determine bow length. There is no set dimensions that will work for just any piece of wood that you pick. Wood is like people......every piece is different and has its own flaws and quirks to work around as well as a wide range of densities and elasticity in the same species and even in staves from the same tree. Starting out making bows on the long side gives you more room for error and a greater chance of success as you learn to read what each piece of wood is telling you. On bright side....Osage is one of the most forgiving woods there is and capable of getting long draws from fairly short staves if properly tillered......but normally hard for a beginner to do.

Hope that helps.

Steve

[JoJoDapyro]

Let me change up the wording. If you were going to build a car from the ground up, would you start with a Lamborghini, or a Model T? Chances are you would start simple and work your way up. Longer is simpler (In my opinion). If you read enough post here you will soon see that a short bow is always something that people love. It is not for no good reason. It takes pinpoint craftsmanship to pull them off. I have made a few bows, and they all have their own issues. I am six feet tall, I can draw a bow 22, or 32. I do feel comfortable short drawing a bow, some people don't. They say a bow at full draw is 90% broken. Thus building a bow that can draw to 30 inches, even if you never do, is safer than to build a bow to draw 23 and raw it to 24, 10 or 20 times. You have to crawl before you can walk, and you can't run right out of the gate. When I started I had the same thoughts you did. And boy have I had my pride and confidence knocked in the dirt. Have fun. We are all here to help.

Joe

[bubby]

Thanks Patrick, lots of texas guys here might be able to get some hands on help, the best kind

[rbpwrd240]

Thank alot for all the kind words. Im located in San Antonio, TX.

So for clarification am I building a bendy bow with my current design?

Im going to go with a 64" Bow and I will try to get the stave as long as possible.

Here are the two write ups I am following.  For an overal design I have taken bits from both. 

http://www.survivalmastery.com/how-to-make-a-bow-and-arrow-part-1
http://www.natureskills.com/survival/bowmaking-basics/

Like I mentioned I plan to cut the branch and rough out a bow blank within a few days of cutting the branch down.  Then I plan to let the bow season until it stops loosing weight. I will be storing it Horizontal in my house during this time  I will probably clamp it down flat to make sure it doesnt bend during the curing process.

Once curred I will be using the following dimensions as my guide. Pending any imperfections in the bow.

D Curve Bow.
Handle 4" Long with 2" transitions on each side totaling 8"  1.25" Deep and 1.25" wide
Arms will be 1.75" wide and 28" Long with the last 15" tapering from 1.75" to 1/2" at the ends.

Once I have the bow smoothed out I will start the tillering process.  My goal is to go slow, take my time and error on the side of margin whle making sure to keep things even.

Keep an eye out for me as I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way.  For now I feel confident to go cut the branch down and make a roughed out bow blank.

[turtle]

Sounds like a plan   Dont forget to seal the back after chasing i ring. Osage likes to check bad if not sealed.

[SLIMBOB]

If you need any hands on help, I'm up the road in Boerne.  Be glad to help you with it.  Humble spirit and a willingness to learn is all that's required.

[bubby]

There ya go slimbob can be a big help in the learning curve

[bradsmith2010]

when you clamp it down,, clamp it with a little reflex