Author Topic: Too many irons in the fire...but I cannot help it :)  (Read 2507 times)

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Offline KShip85

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Too many irons in the fire...but I cannot help it :)
« on: November 12, 2009, 12:02:34 am »
Well...I've got another one to start.  I've really been wanting to do an elb and have decided to try some hackberry cut a few months ago.  Its the batch that ended up having a natural camo pattern appear.  Anyway I was wondering if hackberry will take the weight of a heavier warbow in the ELB style?  I've read some posts that say since its a lighter wood I probably could not hit the 5/8 diminsions but I really do not care a ton about that.  Mostly I'd like to end up with a long bow somewhere in the 100 lb range if its possible.  The stave I've got to work with is 77 inches long right now, so I imagine it should be reduced a little to make it more efficient but I have no idea what it has to be to reach the weight I'd like to get, if it can even get there.  I have heard of some people getting heavy bows from ERC so I am thinking surely it could be done out of hackberry.  The good news is if this does not work out I've got my american hornbeam shorty, an ERC a in the 60 inch range, another hackberry I plan on recurving and a dogwood stave thats itching to be made into something.  Oh yeah, there's a redbud sitting in the shop too, I just started debarking...hopefully I can get something out of it, got some pretty wood in it.  Anyway I digress.  Here is the stave for the longbow, let me know what you all think is possible with it and what I should do with it.  Thanks!

Kip



Kip Shipley    Bloomington, IN

Offline Pat B

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Re: Too many irons in the fire...but I cannot help it :)
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2009, 12:21:53 am »
You could flatten the belly a bit to spread out the compression stresses. I believe that is even appropriate for ELBs made with less compression strong woods. Also a trapezoidal cross section favoring the belly will help too but I don't know how historic that is...if that matters.
  Ask on the War Bow thread about the virtues of hackberry in war bow building.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline bow-toxo

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Re: Too many irons in the fire...but I cannot help it :)
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2009, 09:42:14 am »
You could flatten the belly a bit to spread out the compression stresses. I believe that is even appropriate for ELBs made with less compression strong woods. Also a trapezoidal cross section favoring the belly will help too but I don't know how historic that is...if that matters.
  Ask on the War Bow thread about the virtues of hackberry in war bow building.

 Trapezoidal cross sections are one type of the Mary Rose and perhaps Viking bows.