What exactly is a pyramid bow?

[Bevan R.]

I have made it a 'standard' for me to extend the 'handle fade' (as I call it) 3/4" past where the limb starts. I have not had a failure sense I started that.

[JW_Halverson]

Somehow in tillering I always have limbs that are too stiff close to the handle, so I chase the arc into the fadeouts.  Much better than some of the first efforts where I had to weaken the whole limbs to catch up to the hinge at the fadeouts. 

Slack, give this design another try with your experience and see if it doesn't turn out pretty good!  Just pay proper homage to the aliens and the Pharoahs.

[blackhawk]

A pyramid design with stiff eifell tower taper levers for the last 1/3 or so of your limb makes a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast bow. Its prob the simplest design to get a high performance bow. 

[Rick Wallace]

Anybody got pics??
 

[Jude]

I made one like Blackhawk described for hunting season last fall.  The limbs were about 2" wide at the fades and tapered to about 3/4" at the 2/3 point.  I left the limb a little thicker working into the 'outer fade', for lack of what else to call it, and made the outer 1/3 of the limb about 1/2" wide by 5/8" thick.  It's hickory, around 65" N-N and pulled 48# at 28".  It's probably the fastest bow I've ever knocked out, though I'm not sure how long it will live with the 20" working limbs.  I finished it the day before the season opened, so I was too busy shooting it in to take any pictures.  My measurements are approximate since I don't have the bow here in Afghanistan and I'm working from memory.  I go on R&R in a couple weeks, and will take some pictures then.  I suspect, if it fails, it will be at the transition from working to outer limb, since I think I should have left it a little thicker there.   While it lasts, its a snappy little bow, and flings my poplar hunting arrows pretty hard at the target.  I'd like to see what it does with a lighter arrow though.

[Sidewinder]

The pyramid design is my favorite. I make most of mine in that fashion. I have mine taper to the last 6-7 inches at around 1/2" to 5/8 and then take it as narrow as I can get it from there. The last 7" is non working. They shoot real good. I think you will like it. 
 The first one I made was from a hickory board. I PM'd Tim Baker and he suggested giving another inch past the fade out before I did my even belly thickness. This was probabley due to the fact that I had a glue on handle buildup and it was insurance that it would'nt pop off. What I have noticed is that most of mine do have about a half inch bufferpast the fades before even thickness begins in the belly. Danny

[Bevan R.]

I will try to remember to get the bow out of the rafters when I get home and take some pics to show. Even though it is broken, I kept it.

[bubby]

here's a front profile pic of one, Bub

[Bevan R.]

Here is the walnut one I made. 68" long. 3" wide at the 'fades'.

[Bevan R.]

Here is the 'problem' handle. no support for the limb/handle transition. The circle is where it failed.

[bubby]

man you basically had no fades at all, on mine i've gone from an 1 1/2" fade to a 2 1/2", i didn't have a failure but seemed more stable,beautiful wood walnut, Bub

[JW_Halverson]

Bevan, those radically short fade-outs area really visually interesting.  I bet if you were to start it bending about an inch and a half out the limb that bow would have worked just fine!  Dang it anyway.

[Bevan R.]

Yes JW. I even have gotten some more black walnut to make a version II. That was about the sweetest shooter I have made. Worked fine for my draw, but the gorilla drew it about 3 or 4 inches past my draw.
Lesson learned as they say.

[JW_Halverson]

Same thing happened to my very first bow.  She seemed indestructable until an idiot let a moron overdraw it. 

Now when I give a kid a bow I make 'em promise that they will never let anyone taller than they are pull the bow, especially an adult!