long draw

[65x55 swedis]

hello everyone. i have been thinking about makeing a maple bow that would handle a large draw lenth with a decent draw wieght. i was thinking about makeing it 6 to 7 feet. the width about 1.5 inches wide on the limbs and about 3/8 inches thick to a half inch. i got some maple in the cureing procces so i won't be attempting anytime soon but i am seeing if any one has done a project like this be for. i can get some other woods to in the spring but i am stuck in the house till then. i am hoping to get about 45-40#@35" out of any type of wood. any advice is apreciated. o will get some pics of the maple when i get some time.

[half eye]

6.5 X 55,
      I dont know if you like the design or not but I have made some Mollegabets at 72" that had very long draw lengths. I did not measure the exact draw but brought it behind my head (usually a 28" draw) so it was at least 32" The bow pulled that far with no problem at all. Another thing about the design is it will pull smoothly untill it breaks if you want to. The thin levers and "half" limbs allow the bow to come back a long way with little actual limb movement. [these bows were 48# and 50# at 28"]
      I also made a couple of Prymid bows at 68" that seemed to pull a long way. Also some of my 50" size will draw to 29 inches very easily. So I dont think you should have any problem with your project.
      One other thing is, my bows are all vertical grain and unbacked so if you back your stave style you should be ok. For what it's worth, I find my tight grained hard maple very robust and good, honest, bow-wood with good durability and very reasonable speed.
      By the way....6.5 X 55 Sweed is a VERY sweet deer cartridge!!!!
half eye

[Del the cat]

I made an 89" Maple longbow just for fun as I had the stave and some time on my hands.
It was sluggish but V smooth as you might expect, one of the guys at the club loved it, so it found a good home.
It was a pig to manouver indoors (and to string)!
I think there is a point where the law of diminishing returns sets in when you start going too long or too high a draw weight. The Warbow guys overcome this by using nice fat shafts and heavy projectiles.
Del

[65x55 swedis]

here are the limbs i might use if i can wait 

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