Flat Bow / American Flat Bow questions ?

[legend]

Thankyou Pat , roger and out ! just need to go and pick a decent piece of board now , probably ash or oak .

[willie]

Rectangular cross-sections with a stiff handles are relatively new inventions (1930:s?). Almost no primitive bows had this at least the ones I know, but semicircle or lenticular cross-section, narrowed AND working handle- Ishi style, sometimes tapering on belly and back.

Aksel,
while you are correct that lenticular etc. is more common, one of the earliest bows found in the Americas had a quite retangular crossection and a stffler handle.
third pic down, pamunkey bow on right
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,68908.msg967219.html#msg967219

Thickest part of limbs at where fades start  1/2" tapering gently to tips  ?

as mentioned earlier, if your thickness taper is more pronounced under the straight width section and  slighter in the tapered width section, this will keep the stresses spread out more evenly.

[Aksel]

Rectangular cross-sections with a stiff handles are relatively new inventions (1930:s?). Almost no primitive bows had this at least the ones I know, but semicircle or lenticular cross-section, narrowed AND working handle- Ishi style, sometimes tapering on belly and back.

Aksel,
while you are correct that lenticular etc. is more common, one of the earliest bows found in the Americas had a quite retangular crossection and a stffler handle.
third pic down, pamunkey bow on right
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,68908.msg967219.html#msg967219

Thickest part of limbs at where fades start  1/2" tapering gently to tips  ?

as mentioned earlier, if your thickness taper is more pronounced under the straight width section and  slighter in the tapered width section, this will keep the stresses spread out more evenly.

willie, yes there are exceptions, but I wonder if those bow was made with metal tools? And if so, can it be called primitive?  At least I have never seen a bow from European stone age with such a cross-section.