Primitive Archer

Bob, about how much reflex are you talking about? I find that the more reflex I have the stiffer my outer limb needs to be. About 4" is where it seems to really become an issue, unless the bow has already taken massive set, which is usssualy the case with highly reflexed bows.

Quote from: JW_Halverson on November 27, 2025, 12:00:36 pm

There is NO better rawhide for bow backing, period, end of conversation. This stuff is no thicker than a good quality business card and a grown man cannot snap a quarter inch wide thong made of it.

Guess they have to have tough hide to deal with the aerodynamic heating from the high mach numbers.   

Yup, gotta have a tough hide to keep them from falling apart on that high G acceleration!

Threy, you flat nailed that one! Excellent craftsmanship and quality. 53lb out of Red Oat is quite an accomplishment. I’ve had some “less than stellar” results with Red Oak – too much string follow. Out of curiosity, how much reflex did you put in the limbs during the heat-treating process?

Cheers man thanks for the encouragement! I'm not sure if my tillering is better than expected or whether this particular red oak is a very dense specimen but the bows are behaving themselves vey well so far.

I only heated in around 1.5 to 2 inches of reflex into the bows, just enough so that they don't take string follow or at least minimize it greatly but not enough to overstress the red oak. I find that my best change in how I heat treat is a transition from a heat gun to a slow cook over charcoal from around 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the temperature or amount of charcoal until the belly is a very dark brown  and almost black on the handle riser. I also heat treat after floor tillering to 8 inches but before stringing so as not to preemptively crush the belly fibers. I've heard many experienced bowyers mention how its much easier to prevent set than correct it.

The photo shows one of my reflex cauls after a heat treatment which gives you an idea of the amount of reflex in the limbs. The caul is set to reflex around 3.5 inches so I've put small wooden blocks under the limb tips so as to have a solid surface to clamp to whilst not reflexing them as far.

Another lovely, well crafted bow. Great job on the tiller.

Cheers man I really appreciate it. That one board is turning out to be a gold mine of good bows haha.

how much wood to sinew proportions? where is it designed to bend? a pic or two would be nice.