Completely new red oak elb

[youngbowyer]

Hi,

As my recent experiment with a birch longbow with a d shaped belly failed i decided to make another bow. At the moment i can't get my hands on any decent longbow woods so i went to my local lumber yard and all i could find was maple and red oak. Would red oak work(as you know im 13 so warbow weight for me is 50/55# )
Thanks, Tom.

[Kviljo]

Yep, that would work. Just make sure the oak has wide and straight growth rings.

[youngbowyer]

thanks! should i make a full compass bow or a stiff handle? also how wide should i make it(by the way the bow will only be around 66 inches from nock to nock ? Since this is a board bow do i need to chase a growth ring for the back of the bow?

[Kviljo]

As it is rather short, make it bend in the handle too. You can chase a growth ring for security, but I usually make my board bows from ringporous woods (such as oak) with standing growth rings. The growth rings will then look like straight lines on the back of the bow, with the rings feathering out on the sides of the bow. I'd start with about 30mm width at the middle, tapering down to 12mm at the tips in convex lines.

[aznboi3644]

I'd go for more of an elliptical tiller with the handle only barely felt bending the last inch or two of the draw.

I'm working on a red oak ELB right now but its 72" long.

Are you going to do a rounded belly or flat?

[youngbowyer]

Thanks for the info guys. And yes it will be a rounded belly I'll post some pictures later

[youngbowyer]

Some pictures of the stave

[youngbowyer]

Here's the bow on the tillering stick with a loose string

[aznboi3644]

with that board stave I would follow the grain lines and not just cut straight

[youngbowyer]

well it broke as i was tillering it

[gstoneberg]

OK, I have a soft spot for young bowyers.  I'd like to see you get a chance to try a  stave.  Are you up to chasing a ring on an osage stave?  If so, I will send you a stave for the price of the shipping (which varies depending on where you are).  I cannot guarantee the stave will not have borer damage, but so far I've been able to make bows out of all the staves I have used.  The last 2 have had pretty good borer holes in the limbs, but the bows still held together.  Let me know.

George

[youngbowyer]

Ill send u a pm

[gstoneberg]

Sent you one back.  I'm impressed that you're working on an elb.  I've never tried one.  Not sure if osage is a good elb wood or not?

George

[adb]

Sent you one back.  I'm impressed that you're working on an elb.  I've never tried one.  Not sure if osage is a good elb wood or not?

George

Yes, osage is a fantastic ELB wood. It and yew are probably the best. I've made ELBs up to 110# with osage as belly wood.

[gstoneberg]

What was the osage backed with?  I've seen 1 unbacked osage elb and it was very narrow, but still pulled 60#.

George