how narrow is too narrow?

[aznboi3644]

I have a straight grained red oak 1.5" wide 1/2" thick 72" long slat...bought it for a laminate...used the other half inch slats on other projects...left with one.

Is 3/4" wide too narrow to resist bending sideways?  I'm going to slightly round the belly but I plan on ripping this board lengthwise into a 3/4" wide slat and 5/8" wide slat...glue them together with the back naturally trapped. 

Whats the chances of the bow having stability problems?

I'm only looking for 35lbs at 25-26".

[bucksbuoy]

Ive been wondering the same thing myself. I would think 3/4" wide would be JUST enough. sure would be nice if someone would give it a try and let us know how it goes. just saying 

[markinengland]

This issue may be what poundage you can get out of this width and whether the wood can take the strain. A bow can perform fine if it is completely round in section or square with the width the same as the depth. Accuracy of layout will be important to make sure the bow is in a straight line and the narrower the bow the more unstable it will be if reflexed. The plus side is that a narrow bow with a bit of set will perform quite nicely and be stable in the shot. I don't think you could make the bow so that the width is less than the depth but no doubt someone will do that and find it works for them!

[George Tsoukalas]

I've made light red oak bows at 1 inch wide and 25-30#. 3/4 would give you that weight probably. Let it bend in the handle. Jawge

[adb]

The narrowest bow I've made (osage ELB) was 1".

[aznboi3644]

Guess i'll just have to dive in and try it.  Hope it works out.  Just bought a few dozen poplar shafts from Menards.  Hoping to make a set.

I'll post my progress

[aznboi3644]

adb, what are the specs on your osage bow?

Length? depth? weight?

[bryan irwin]

I made one 1"wide72"long  elb backed with boo worked fine.

[adb]

adb, what are the specs on your osage bow?

Length? depth? weight?

Maple backed osage ELB, 72" OAL, 70" NTN. 1" wide, 1" deep at the grip, to 1/2'' tips.

[adb]

Do a search under bows for Maple/osage, and you'll find the post of the bow I'm referring to. Oops, it's 1 1/8" wide at the grip.

[M-P]

Howdy,  There have been a couple of ipe bows posted here that were only 3/4" wide.  I've made a couple of narrow ipe bows as well.  Ipe, of course, is much denser than oak, but the whole stability end of the question is still proven.  As long as the bow has a little string follow and is no thicker than it is wide, the bow will be stable.  Problems with stability should ( in my opinion) only arise if the bow is reflexed, recurved or thicker than it is wide.  I believe the chapter in TBB on african archery describes bow that were round in cross section.
The big problem with a narrow oak bow is that it will probably take a lot of set, though a longer bow would minimize the set.
Ron

[Gordon]

Your challenge with a bow that narrow will be keeping the limbs in alignment. It can be done, but you will have to pay close attention to how each limb responds laterally to wood removal.