red oak board

[bubby]

You we 're saying 2-1/2" at the fades with a stiff handle you can easily have a 1" wide grip the bow wouldn't be 2-1/2" though the handle area

[bubby]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html

[loon]

yeah I'll just go with that and not a D bow

just found out Tim Baker's tutorial design is a bit of a D bow with a narrowed handle that may bend slightly, which i would consider w/ a thicker board

edit: Nah, Jawge has a tutorial of a D bow with a 3/4" thickness. I'll go with a long D bow w/ slightly narrowed handle :p
If it bends too much I guess I'll glue a handle block and wrap it or something.

[Eric Garza]

If you don't mind Eric, what do you see that you don't like? I have never made a board bow and have no idea what to look for.

I see grain runoff. I've found red oak to be finicky as a board. It needs to be just perfect for me to use it.

[DC]

Thanks

[loon]

Thanks

welp... if it breaks, I can uh... yeah... maybe make a tool handle or something.

Fine I'll go with 30#, taper to 3/8" tips. I have work so progress will be slow :\

[Pago]

From what I can see that board is neither flat sawn or rift sawn and has multiple runoffs and change in direction of grain from one side to the other.  I hate to be negative but using that board you will start at a distinct disadvantage IMHO.

[loon]

sigh, grain looked straight enough but I figured I didn't know something

[Dictionary]

I'd still use it. I've made a few board bows with awful grain backed with a layer or two of silk or linen that are still shooting just fine. Just make it long and bend throughout its length, and don't make it over 50# of draw. Handle doesn't have to be the widest part. You can leave limbs full width and  narrow the handle towards the end of tillering until it flexes a little at full draw or just leave it stiff and build it up with some leather. Options are limitless. I'd just overbuild it in length a bit it to insure it doesn't fail in tension or compression.

[Pago]

sigh, grain looked straight enough but I figured I didn't know something

I had a very difficult time with this when I first started and have been working with wood a long time.  I stick to rift sawn or flat sawn boards for "staves".  Occasionally I find some heavier than normal red oak at the big box stores with acceptable grain orientation and I grab every one of those I can find. I don't know if they come from larger trees or what but they are better in both compression and extension.

The real trick for me was learning to decipher the original orientation of the piece of wood in the tree.  This was not easy for me, it took some time to train my brain to do it.  But, once I got the hang of it my life became much easier finding wood for bows.  The boyers bible series covers this well.

[bubby]

Go for it, you aren't trying to build an over stressed bow by any means if it breaks it breaks you can always build another😜

[George Tsoukalas]

There;s info on my site.
http://traditionalarchery101.com/
Jawge

[loon]

There;s info on my site.
http://traditionalarchery101.com/
Jawge

aye, there are way more than 2 run ups in one side of the board (20 or something) while it seems pretty straight on the other. I imagine it'll be fine with a lighter weight, with a paper and hide glue backing and way overbuilt. And with a trapped back

[chrisdaggs]

You could keep a crowned  belly such as a English longbow

[loon]

You could keep a crowned  belly such as a English longbow

If it was weak in tension, whatever that means (stiffness? flexibility?) I don't think it is..
ie I think such a cross section would be good for yew, juniper, incense cedar.. but not for oak, maple, hickory?
I think it makes more sense to have a crowned back with red oak, but I think I will just trapezoid it with a rather slight rounding, not round it

Apparently the old Tudor English Warbows actually had an oval cross section..