Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: reiko1078 on May 04, 2012, 12:33:27 am
-
I beleive this is my first post on this website. I've been lurking for a while and I'm just starting off in bow making. I made my first bow a few weeks ago following the "board bow buildalong" instructions and dimensions. It shoots well enough. It is 2 inches wide at the fades and tapers to about 3/8 in at the tips. Now I would like to build another red oak board bow for my girlfriend. What kind of dimensions should I be shooting for to have about a 25-30 lb draw weight? My bow is also 64inches knock to knock which seems a little long for her I know shortening the length will also increase draw weight. Red oak by the way
My other question is about bamboo backed bows. I'd like to build a BBI bow but I'm not sure how easy it will be to find the ipe locally and I want to hold off on ordering a kit if I can. Are you able to back red oak with bamboo? Or is it not strong enough?
I have a lot more questions but can't seem to think of them right now
-
as far as dimensions, im not sure, but with reference to the bamboo, i think it would overpower the read oak, and i would say you might need to get a little more experience before moving to ipe, i have a board my self, and i still haven't cut into it, but let me tell you, that is the hardest and heaviest wood i have ever seen
by the way, welcome to the sight and the best addiction there is ;D ;D ;D ;D
god luck
noel
-
nix the boo with the red oak, go buy a good hickory board and rip a backer off of that if you need to, or white oak, both make great backing strips, pluss you can make some air backed bows with the rest of the board, Bub
-
Bub is right. I think you are handicapping yourself, some, with the red oak. It is a little more volatile than hickory which is more forgiving. It is OK if you don't have access to hickory, hard maple, ash, or white oak, but you can't beat a good piece of straight grained hickory. Well....unless you can lay your hands on some osage!!
-
Make it woman tall and let the handle bend. Leave it 1.25 in wide out to mid limb. Choose straight grained stock or back with linen, burlap or silk. No knots. You don't need to back with wood. I've built lots of red oak board bows. More on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html
-
What George said.
Lane
-
Make it woman tall and let the handle bend. Leave it 1.25 in wide out to mid limb. Choose straight grained stock or back with linen, burlap or silk. No knots. You don't need to back with wood...
I'll third all of that. I've built several red oak bows and none of them have blown up yet. You just have to make sure that the grain is nice and straight - AND tightly grained. Some of the Lowes Depot red oak has really widely spaced grain, and I've been told it makes weak bows. A fun option for a quick bow for a child is to use red oak quarter round - it's even already (half) rounded. I made a 5 pound bow for my 4 year old son that way, and backed it with linen for peace of mind.
You can get linen (and sometimes silk) dirt cheap from secondhand stores like Goodwill (old shirts and pants). I've been thinking of doing a denim-backed bow, but haven't heard if it is advisable or useful. I would think it would work great - it's very strong, and stretches a little, which could aid in tension. I've never tried burlap, but it sounds like it would work great. I've even using red oak to back a very weak non-bow wood (butternut) and it's holding up very well.
Don't try to dive straight in to using complicated (or expensive) woods - have fun making some stick and board bows, get a feel for it. Since I started, I've had four bows break on me, two during tillering, one was really bad (small cuts, whacked in the face, etc). But I've also made three successful, attractive, and fun bows. I'm finally working on my first 'stave' bow now, and it's coming out very well.
When in doubt, ask these guys for help! They're awesome, always have good advice, and never make you feel small for being 'new'.
-
Ok ill keep it simple for now. I've found the 1x2 red oak to be much tighter grained at HD then the 1x4. Thanks for the advice yall! I'll let you know if I have any more questions
-
Bamboo on red oak works just fine if you trap the back a ton or use a thin (crowned) pole.
This bow took less than an inch of set
(http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr313/Dauntlessbows/th_IMG_2540.jpg) (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr313/Dauntlessbows/?action=view¤t=IMG_2540.jpg)
-
Ok ill keep it simple for now. I've found the 1x2 red oak to be much tighter grained at HD then the 1x4. Thanks for the advice yall! I'll let you know if I have any more questions
My first bow ended up being for the girlfriend. It was from Lowe's. Red Oak 1X2 with good grains. I used the Poor Folk Bow build along and just went really slow. It pulls #30 @ 24" and is about 68 NTN. I backed it with linen from Walmart and Mossy Oak camo tape.
If you have a Joann's nearby you can get some good silk. I went and got some and if you download their app you get a coupon for half off. I got a piece that's 6ft X 3 ft for about $24. It's the high end stuff too. I should be able to back about 15 with that. Good luck.
-
i wasnt saying red oak sucked, just if your gonna back with wood hickory or white oak is a better way to go with red oak, all the silk and burlap ideas work good, so does paper bag paper, denim is heavy and will probablly make the bow sluggish imo, i make tons of board bows, inexpensive and they shoot great, basically just a decrowned stave, Bub
-
Dauntless , what do you mean by trap, or crowned poll?
To make a lighter bow I just keep tillering until I get the draw weight low enough?