board bow builder questioN ?

[bushboy]

Hey all ,have a stave almost there ,burr oak.have only bent boardss?

[lostarrow]

Stave should be easy for you then. Unless it's some knot ridden, bug eaten thing . Not sure what the question was.

[bushboy]

The stave that I have is a quarter section of a 6" log,very tight growth rings ,bout 25 per inch!should I decrown the back or just leave it?its pretty clean,no knots.gonna try a pryamid design,2" wide@ the fades and 62"ttt.thx's

[Weylin]

You should strip the bark off and leave the first layer of sapwood under the bark intact. That will be the back of the bow. Don't decrown it. Your design idea seems fine, will you have a stiff handle?. The length should be determined by your drawlength. How far are you drawing? With your first stave bow I wouldn't get to radical, make sure that the length (ntn) is at least your drawlength X 2 (add 20% for a stiff handle). Good luck and take some pics.

[bushboy]

Measure my draw@ 28 but maybe a little Less when I shoot .stiff handled ,alLready debarked shallow checking on the back.I cut the tree last spring ,spilt with wedges,debarked,painted the back and ends and put it under my bed.it has dried with bout 4" of reflex.