Why isn't there a BOM category for board bows

[Grunt]

Since most folks start bow making with board bows why isn't there a bom category for plain and simple board bows?

[KenH]

Granted board bows and stave bows are mostly made from a single stick of wood but the techniques to get to final tillering vary a great deal.  Many board bows have an added on riser, and many an ELB or ALB has added on tips; which technically makes them composite bows even though they aren't classed that way.  Yet if I take a board and glue on some long angled tips (called siyahs) of the same wood, suddenly I've made a composite bow, even if it's all Elm.  Go figure!

The ultimate reason for there not being a BOM category for board bows is because the Publisher of PA has decreed that there not be.

[JW_Halverson]

I guess I can understand their way of thinking.  Comes a point we would have to have a BOM for Sioux horsebows versus Penobscot compound, vs Caddo decrowned hickory, kiln dried vs air dried, left handed vs right handed vs ambidextrous.

We're good the way we are.  And anyone out there that thinks just cuz it's a board bow it's easy, try your hand at a few.  Keep scraping folks, keep posting!

[Marc St Louis]

Granted board bows and stave bows are mostly made from a single stick of wood but the techniques to get to final tillering vary a great deal.  Many board bows have an added on riser, and many an ELB or ALB has added on tips; which technically makes them composite bows even though they aren't classed that way.  Yet if I take a board and glue on some long angled tips (called siyahs) of the same wood, suddenly I've made a composite bow, even if it's all Elm.  Go figure!

The ultimate reason for there not being a BOM category for board bows is because the Publisher of PA has decreed that there not be.

Well there's an assumption for ya and totally wrong.  The publishers at PA had/have nothing to do with BOM. 

This was all started by members many years ago, actually suggested by one member in particular that no longer comes here.  The exact way it came to be in the magazine is a bit fuzzy in my mind now but I know Don Berg took on the task of setting up the polls and it was then suggested that it become a monthly addition to the magazine.  There was no category for laminated bows at first, they were all lumped together but it soon became apparent that another category was needed.  It was also suggested at one point that a category for stoned bows be included but there are so few of those that it was voted down. 

Board bows are not much different that a stave bow and you can make a board bow look exactly like a stave bow with some wood species, Osage, White Ash, Hickory and Elm to name a few.  I don't see the point of it

P.S. I'd be more inclined to have a category for horn bows because when there's one of those in the vote it invariably wins 

[George Tsoukalas]

I don't think a separate category is needed. Boards are wood. Stave bows can have glued on handles too. I know that for a fact. Jawge

[KenH]

"The publishers at PA had/have nothing to do with BOM."

Now there's an assumption for ya.  And totally wrong! 

If this website is the on-line organ of PA - TRUE - and the BOM appears in the printed and on-line versions of the PA magazine - TRUE - then by God the publishers at PA do have something to do with the BOM!!!  It's your logic that is faulty Mr. St. Louis; not mine.

[ken75]

lol another hanger on !

[NTD]

Ken, I'm sorry but it is your logic that's flawed.  Your original statement was that it was a publishers decree.  That would imply they made a direct decision, directive, order to only have 2 categories for BOM.  Marc was only pointing out that PA publishers have nothing to do with how BOM is run and make no decisions other than to continue printing it in the mag.  Your second argument that they have something to do with BOM because well they simply choose to print it, while true, is asinine and irrelevant to the topic being discussed. 

Now back to on topic.

Grunt, I'm assuming that you mean that it might be a good category for beginners to compete in.  The only thing with that is most R/D bows are "board" bows too.  So in a sorts the laminated bow category is overfilled with board bows

[osage outlaw]

I like the contest the way that it is.  One category for "one chunk of wood" bows, and another category for "multiple chunks of wood and other stuff".   

It could be disected into 20 different categories;  leg sinew backed bows, back sinew bows, recurves, ELB, short bows, longbows, paddle bows, pyramid bows, and so on.  If that happened, the BOM contest would be garbage.  Just my two cents.

[aero86]

viva la horn bows!

[Justin Snyder]

Every laminated bow I have made was a board. If you carve a selfbow from a board, it will fall into the selfbow category. Glued on risers have nothing to do with it. It is the working portion of the limb we are worried about.

[Del the cat]

What's a board bow     ?
Should be a Cat-egory for bows made by small furry mammals.
Del

[Marc St Louis]

Thanks for clarifying that NTD.

Another thing is that a glued on riser or overlays do not make a bow a composite bow.  According to the fita rules for flight shooting a primitive bow is allowed to have a tip overlay of no more than 2".  Spliced bows, built up handles, all allowed in the primitive selfbow class.  Any sort of backing is not allowed and bumps a bow into the composite class, that is the only difference with BOM.

I believe I understand the reason for the question but it would just make things too complicated and I think Josh is worked pretty hard as it is.  I know many times Don would miss a bow because there we re so many posted that a person would almost have to live on the PA message board to catch them all.

[Grunt]

All that I have heard is valid. Didn't mean bump into a hornets nest. It is easy to make something complicated and very difficult to make something simple. This discussion is important and should be ongoing to some degree. The BOM process has probably elevated the art of bow building more than we all realize.
Peace brothers.

[Jesse]

I think it works well the way it is. Like said the categories would be endless and take up too much space. On the other hand I too think horn bows have an advantage in bom. Im sure they are extremely challenging to build but they can be made into designs that are not logical if using only wood. With the drastic bends and shapes its hard for a wood bow to go up against one as an equal. They are not equal. Maybe less equal than self bows and backed bows are. But still. not a lot of composite horn bows are posted and we all enjoy seeing, and voting for them.  Keeping the categories simple is best. I know that at some of the shooting events I go to they consider boo backed bows in the selfbow class.  If any changes are made I think the silliest thing is that rawhide and sinew are not considered backings. Clearly they are glued on to prevent damage and or boost performance. Same reason we put bamboo and wood backings on our bows. True self bows should be with no backing other than decoration like paint or snake skins.  Maybe thats why they started calling the backed bows laminated bows. What makes it laminated as opposed to a selfbow? If bamboo fibers where applied in thin strips like sinew would that make it a selfbow.   All said I think its good like it is