Board bow questions

[E.H.]

hello people, new member here. i was reading a few threads when i was digging for infos on board bows since i want to start making bows for a while now. i saw the video series on board bows by clay hayes and thought i would give it a shot. i would like to use maple, of course rawhide backed.  something really bugs me though since i saw two other videos about some details... in those video there was mention of rounding the back of the bow for aesthetic reason (always loved curves since it give a more organic feel). the thing is that it is said that if you round the back of the bow the poundage will be affected and i was thinking about how to ''bypass'' this with things like heat treating the belly and adding some reflex to the tips... since I'm a neophyte in all bow stuff i thought it would be a good idea to discuss those things with you guys and gals before making anything... also i wanted to base my bow on  something like the picture attached but i also wanted to add stuff to the design (a bit more thickness to the handle and the stuff mentioned earlier in the post).

my aim would be about 50# at 28'' and would like to keep in the same bow lenghts as on the picture...

[bushboy]

Perhaps round any sharp edges was the intent?

[GlisGlis]

you are making many questions that would require some veeery long answers
I'd suggest you to keep things simple for your first bows
you dont need backing, heat treating nor reflex
you can make a perfectly functional bow out of a good board (board selection is paramount)  with good tillering and a basic design
As a novice you'll make mistakes. the more variables you add the less you will be able to isolate and correct your faults in the future
the bending handle circular tiller design you published is good.
draw weight will be influenced by your bow section width and thickness so you can still have more than enough wood if you round your corners.
do some research on the site and examine the tillering methods and the board choice suggestions

[Jurinko]

You make it rectangle and while still too heavy, you round the corners. Then you only scratch off the last half belly millimeter to get 2 pounds above the target weight, then sandpaper it, shoot it 100x, make final tiller adjustments and finish the wood.

If design is long/wide enough and wood lines are ok, you do not need to back the hard maple. My experience is, maple can withstand more line violation that ash.

For 50lb poundage stiff handle flat bow make it 2 inch wide and 66 inch long. For such a eastern woodland D-design bending through the handle, effective length of working limbs is longer so you can make it a bit narrower, like 1 1/2 inch in the mid-limb. It will work with maple, elm, hickory or ash.

[E.H.]

thanks for the advices, i guess the design on the right would be best for a start afterall since it seems to be a rounded flat style (probably easier to get right). the rawhide backing it just to make sure it won't snap at my face if i mess up  i mean, i worked with wood before making warclubs and stuff but a bow is a good notch higher in complexity. i guess a bend through would be better for a start.

i'll see with a friend if he's able to make a precise measurement of the whole bow drawing using his computer...for the profile it will be better... for the base tiller,  at which distance from the tips should i start removing wood?   

[George Tsoukalas]

Those aren't pictures of board bows.
There's board bow info on my site including a build along.
Note that it is a bend in the handle  design.
You can change the width to 1 3/8" to make the handle more manageable.
Have fun.
Please note the straight grain part.

http://traditionalarchery101.com/boardbowbuildalong.html

Jawge

[E.H.]

Those aren't pictures of board bows.
There's board bow info on my site including a build along.
Note that it is a bend in the handle  design.
You can change the width to 1 3/8" to make the handle more manageable.
Have fun.
Please note the straight grain part.

http://traditionalarchery101.com/boardbowbuildalong.html

Jawge

thanks for the link! it will be very useful i know these aren't from a board bow but i was thinking more about cross section wise and design since i don'T necessarily want it to be rectangular in cross section but more ''oval'' (rather than eliptic) this was the video that gave me the idea for the rounded shape... of course his are more paddle bows so i don't know if it's applicable to the design i want to do... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIT5jcraUu4
 

[George Tsoukalas]

On a board just round the edges. My point is the wood used for those bows has that basic shape on its back.

[willie]

how wide is your maple board and what kind of maple is it?

A rounder crossection means that the bow needs to be a bit wider to make 50#.

[E.H.]

how wide is your maple board and what kind of maple is it?

A rounder crossection means that the bow needs to be a bit wider to make 50#.

i haven't bought the board yet so i guess the width will depend on the plank i get, as a minimum it would be a board of about 1.5'' in width... thought about just following a similar way to clay haye's tutorial on board bow or make a paddle bow depending on the board i get with a good grain... but what i wonder the most is if i round the back of the bow, should i use 1/8'' or 1/4'' of the thickness to do so?

it's the kind of maple availlable from hardware stores so probably hard maple.

[willie]

but what i wonder the most is if i round the back of the bow, should i use 1/8'' or 1/4'' of the thickness to do so?

there is a thickness that is optimum for a 67" bow drawn to 28" if it is to pull 50#. too thick and the bow will break or take too much set, too thin and the bow will be weak. I believe that a 3/4 thick board will be enough to start with but the tillering process will inform you as you go.

do some research on the site and examine the tillering methods and the board choice suggestions

[E.H.]

but what i wonder the most is if i round the back of the bow, should i use 1/8'' or 1/4'' of the thickness to do so?

there is a thickness that is optimum for a 67" bow drawn to 28" if it is to pull 50#. too thick and the bow will break or take too much set, too thin and the bow will be weak. I believe that a 3/4 thick board will be enough to start with but the tillering process will inform you as you go.

sorry, worded that wrong... what i meant to say is that if i rounded the back of the bow on a 3/4'' thick board should i shape the sides using 1/8'' or 1/4''. the center of the cross section would remain basicly the same thickness exept for the tiller of course.

[E.H.]

got a 6' long 1''X3'' of maple, had to go through 3 hardware store just to find the only one that was suitable ^^' . next time i'm going to a specialised place, it will be easier to find something...

i also got a cotton cord (about 1/4'' thick) to use as a tillering string and a pack of 15 bamboo sticks to start making arrows. hopefully it will be good enough.

[willie]

the advice to round the back most often given is to prevent raising a splinter while bending the bow. a radius about pea size is all it takes, and it is necessary even for a rectangular crossection with "sharp" edges.

your steve alley print of the bow from virginia? goes from round at the tips to elliptical at the handle so
you should be fine following that design.

you don't have to have the bow totally smoothed into the final shape as you go, but it would be a good idea to at least keep a very smooth corner on the back while tillering

[JW_Halverson]

I have shaped the backs of many board bows to get the arch of a stave bow. It does not need to be a whole lot. I would recommend you draw a pencil line down the center line of the bow and use a block plane with the blade set very shallow and tilted at an angle to take a few swipes down each side. Sand down all ridges and angles.  Then sand the corners between the back and the sides of the bow. At that point you are ready to start tillering.