Greenhorn thinking about a sitka spruce bow?

[Canuck Bob]

I'm laid up bit but thought I might plan a bow build.  I've got some 15 year old air dried sitka in my shop.  It was from riven blocks 6' long, tight grained with arrow straight grain for the length (couldn't help the easy pun). 

My shop is well equipped for the build.  My archery experience was decades ago with a Browning recurve lefty of medium length, 55# at 28", I'm a 29" draw.  My quarry pile was 2 hares. 

I'm considering building a bow for fun targets not hunting.  A longbow and I like what I've read here about self, pyramid, board, and American Flat Bows. A 35-40#s sweet drawing and shooting bow with no hand shock (arthritic hands and joints).  Is this possible in sitka spruce?

I downloaded some plans from a Mr. Stanley and find my eye drawn to his pyramid drawing.

Thanks for any design advice.

[bownarra]

It may be possible to make a bow from Sitka but you would be much better off making some shafts from it and buying a maple board for the bow.
Pines are generally very poor in compression.
Pyramid bows shoot beautifully

[Bryce]

It may be possible to make a bow from Sitka but you would be much better off making some shafts from it and buying a maple board for the bow.
Pines are generally very poor in compression.
Pyramid bows shoot beautifully

Sitka spruce ain’t no ordinary conifer;)


I’ve made a couple Sitka spruce bows and they turned out really well. Use a branch stave with paper thin growth rings and you’ll get a good shooter.
I’ve gone one in the works here that I’m gonna back with sinew l, should be fun.

[DC]

In my quest for speed I thought that Sitka Spruce would make great siyahs. I used aircraft grade Spruce. When I tried to steam bend them they snapped like matches. Didn't seem to want to bend at all. There's many reasons why that could happen but it didn't make me want to run out and make a bow from it.
But,, I have been eyeing some branches from the big Spruce in my yard. I think that a backed Spruce branch may be good.

Make a small scale model bow to try it. Make it long, wide and thin. Bows can be made from almost wood.

[willie]

i agree, branches for bows. your bolts for arrows. a bow of reasonable poundage could be built from your stock if it is kept full length and your design allows for a full bend. look at a warbow design, but yours could be thinner and bring you back into a normal draw weight.

what draw weights and draw lengths are you considering?

[Canuck Bob]

I'm interested in about 35# @ 29", 40# max.  The spruce was bought and milled for an experimental ultralight build that never happened.  There are now serious doubts growing about the spruce. For its weight and softness it is amazingly strong and rigid. There are sitka bows as reported but not a good greenhorn build I suspect, opinions? I've got some milled 7/8 X 7/8 sticks I can use as test pieces. I will do that when my garage shop is warmer.

Research indicates a first bow is possibly destined for the fire pit.  I think I will build a 68" pyramid board build in sitka or hardwood based on Mr. Stanley's plan appropriately sized.  Does this mean backing is automatically required with a board bow? 

[Jim Davis]

I'd do a pyramid 72" long, 2-1/2" at the fades, 1/2" thick in the limbs, 1/2" wide at the tips.

[willie]

There are now serious doubts growing about the spruce.

sitka is strong for its weight, it does not have the flexibility desired by bow builders for "normal" dimensions, but since you only are looking for a moderate draw weight, Mr Stanley's design (a pyramid) can be  done in sitka with the width and length dimensions Jim suggests.

you might find your drawlength is shorter for the build if the browning had a full pistolgrip style handle. (they typically called for a "hight wrist" style hold,  where as a more bent wrist calls for a shorter arrow. combined with "decades ago" you might be looking at 27 now.

[Canuck Bob]

You might be right about the draw length. A trip to a bowshop for some talk is in order. It turns out my Browning was a righty!  At the time my buddy had a Bear and our bows sure looked the same.

Made the mistake of visiting the Bear website.  Been drooling over the Montana ever since!