Well, I was going to try an Ipe/Hickory ELB but now after some more posting, research, and opinions I've decided a better route to achieving a period-correct-looking ELB will be to get my hands on some Ash and make a D section unbacked bow instead. I want to shoot (no pun intended) for a 50# draw at 31". I also want to install horn nocks on the finished product as well. I take part in a historical reenactment group of sorts and my persona is that of an archer of the Hundred Years War (Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, etc). So, I've been wanting to make myself an ELB to look more the part. I'm guessing I want at least a 70" bow, nock to nock. Although, I've read some formulae for determining bow length that say to double your draw length and add 20-25% which would give me a length of 74 - 78" depending. For an unbacked ash bow this weight how long should I make it? Also, what sort of width should I be looking at. I have these old Popular Mechanics plans I downloaded which give measurements for creating an ELB up to 45# using Lemonwood (which they quote at $1 per stave! - must be some seriously old plans, probably from the 30s or 40s from the look of them).
http://www.vintageprojects.com/archery/bow.pdfAnyway, they give good guidelines for thickness of wood at different points along the limbs, assuming a 72" board as the basis. So, for a 50#er would those plans be adequate to reference if I simply scaled up the dimensions slightly? I'm assuming I can start by sort of overbuilding and then scrape down to lower weight more in line with what I want. Actually, I draw 40 - 45# with very little effort so I'm thinking I could even go more for 55# now that I think about it. As was mentioned on a related thread of mine on the composite forum, will making my limbs too long for 55# simply result in a slow, sluggish bow? Or, am I better off sticking right at 72 - 74" for that weight versus 78"?
