Author Topic: going on a bow making course for my B-day  (Read 1508 times)

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Offline Squirrelslayer

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going on a bow making course for my B-day
« on: April 16, 2013, 02:56:25 pm »
hey everyone, todays been a good and bad day. i woke up this morrning really excited to open my B-day presents and the last one i opened was a "ticket" for a 2 day workshop to learn how to make ELB's and the best bit is i keep what i make! anyway i decided to shoot my hickory longbow to get some practice. and...*SNAP* the bow broke  :( i hadn't noticed but the bottom limb had chrysals! this has not quite ruined my day but it's cool because im working a trade with Mike who has a youtube channel called Boariorbows. anyway im doing the course in may and ill take some pics along the way. just so i know for next time how do i prevent chrysals? or are they unpreventable? the bow was only 10#@25" so im not sure what went wrong i tried keeping it simple. it broke 3" below the fades on the lower limb along a chrysal. anyway catch you guys later im off to go to my archery club and then golf ;D SS
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Offline k-hat

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Re: going on a bow making course for my B-day
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2013, 04:00:27 pm »
I would initially say the bow was too narrow and thick for hickory.  Hick is too strong in tension and overcomes the belly of a narrow deep bow.  Next hick bow go wider and thinner.  In a kids bow you can get away with 1.25 to 1.5" in width, adult bow you want 2" minimum, and either trapped or tempered at that for best results.

Congrats on your class!  Enjoy every minute of it and soak it all up!!  Listen listen listen and be a sponge ;)

Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: going on a bow making course for my B-day
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2013, 04:11:34 pm »
K hat my best bow is a hickory board bend through the handle 1 1/4" wide 60# @ 27" and the belly was heartwood. SS i say your bow was just poorly tillered. And i thought that bow was for a kid not for you.

Offline k-hat

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Re: going on a bow making course for my B-day
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2013, 06:35:30 pm »
Bowman i saw your hick bow, i liked it.  But it was also 62" long, each limb had 4" of limb more than it needed for a 27" draw, which is why you didn't have any problems.    It also was not a deep design, it was fairly thin.  You actually stayed within the working limits of hickory, and did well at that.   (BTW, the 2" width i stated was intended for a stiff handled bow, forgot when i typed it that we were talking about a bendy). 

SS's bow was WAY narrow (an inch or under if i remember correctly), even for a light bow and had a D cross section (hickory would almost rather have a reversed D section!).  The tiller didn't look to have any problems with it actually.  I suspect if it was wider and thinner whatever broke the camel's back wouldn't have.  He asked how to prevent chrysals and you do it by not overstressing the belly (aka wider and thinner for hickory).

SS, you'll learn a lot in your 2-day class.  Just keep in mind that all woods have their strengths and weaknesses.  Learn the strengths and use them for each wood.   Build as many bows as you can muster, learn from each one and apply to the next. 


Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: going on a bow making course for my B-day
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2013, 07:32:17 pm »
Touché my friend touché lol

Offline Squirrelslayer

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Re: going on a bow making course for my B-day
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2013, 08:18:06 pm »
Thanks for the great advice K-hat!

And i thought that bow was for a kid not for you.

yes the bow was was for a kid i was shooting it to make sure it was safe to give to her. obviously not. just a big old slice of humble pie :-[ SS
WARNING: posts may contain nuts.

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