Want to make a shortbow...

[rabbitassasin]

Hello, this is my first post here.
recently i want to make a proper bow and the whole laminations and fibreglass doesnt excite me much and green wood and pvc bows are pretty weak, so i decided to spend some coin on some materials to make my own bow, i already have a longbow 64" r/d fibreglass so i dont need another, i really want to make a shortbow kind of like a mini longbow, please tell me if anything is wrong with this, im planning on making a 52-54" hackberry shortbow, Sinew backed while braced backwards to to help with less set, for a handle i want a very small "bulb" style which will not or maybe slightly bend and be as small as possibly comfy 3.5 inches or so, no arrow shelf hopefully around 45-50lbs @ 22 or so(draw length is 28-29 but i dont mind a short draw style) i am attracted to hackberry because of its apparent lightness, durability, ease of bending and carving. is there any potential flaws in that plan? should the limbs be wide and how much and should they be square shaped or be sort of elliptical? i will heat treat this bow because it apparently makes hackerry better and p.s. this bow will be from a stave not a board if you can even get hackberry boards, any extra input or tips would be helpful thanks a lot
p.s. i did some calculating and apparently for a bow like this, with a 22" draw and 23inch arrows they would need to be 25-30lbs in spine coming from 50lbs bow to have a clean shot, is this fine just dont want a light arrow to snap into my hand! http://vvcap.net/db/hcILLj3xrDyXs45quKAw.htp screenshot of arrow stats? and the results on the side impressed me though im not counting on it

[aaron]

welcome to the forum
for your first bow, make it as simple as possible- no sinew.
at 22 inch draw you don't need sinew anyway.
make it bend evenly along the whole length- no stiff handle.
make the belly flat- like a FG bow
width in the middle- about 1 1/2 (or as wide as you can and still comfortably hold it).
width at the tips - about 1/2 inch
you could probably get a 54 inch bow to bend 26 inches, but less is safer.
we'll help you along, but beware we get grumpy if you ignore our advice.

[rabbitassasin]

haha thanks i was thinking about some design like this without the recurves http://vvcap.net/db/Da_5nsGoJypCmUvehfvc.htp and are you sure about no sinew? i really am up for it and due to my teenageness and lack of money i spent all my time researching this stuff anyway and because i live in Australia a good stave is $120 posted and i want to make something good and to sinew it seems like it would just make it much better. And i probably will anyway because im too stubborn and to tight of money to make 2 bows!

[aaron]

(the link shows a recurve with a narrowed handle)
A narrowed handle like that is very challenging for a beginner- heck, even a simple bow is very challenging for a beginner. Yes I am sure about no sinew. keep it simple.
We'll need dimentions of the stave (length, dia of tree) and photos.

[aaron]

about your link to the spine calculator- it looks like you entered zero for the center cut/ strike plate position, but a bow like this should have a value of about +1/2 or +5/8. I love that program, but you gotta put in the right numbers.

[aaron]

ok i just saw your edit about australia and $120.
I don't reccomend spending that much money on a stave for your first bow. keep it simple and cheap. make a casurina bow or use another local wood. .
p.s. I used to live in Goulburn NSW, and Wollongong!

[aaron]

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/56730

[rabbitassasin]

hey, thanks for the links but i dont mind spending the money for a test bow (which will hopefully become an awsome little dart slinger) and to be honest ive cut down enough spotted gum and then get cracks all the way through it to not want to use it and im buying the stave off ebay which looks to be in good condition and slightly reflexed, its 64" long, 1 3/4 inches high  and width ranges from 1 7/8 to 2 3/4 but the 1 7/8 is on the very end of the stave and the rest looks to be bigger and i wont need that much (64"-52") so ill just cut off the smaller side and its been curing for 6-7 months and thanks for the tip on the spine calculator, this bow is not exactly my first as ive tried with alot of thigs such as bamboo flooring and dry spotted gum and have actually learned  alot from those and the bamboo flooring really worked like 40 poundsish but broke when i overdrew it way to much and i personally have a very high attention to detail with these things, its not mor eabout making my first bow to me but my first decent bow that will last, i have a drawknife, farriers rasp, nock file as im really into only using hand tools to make it as accurate as possible and give it a more i made this by hand vibe.

and i found this, this is what i was thinking off better just more bend in the bottom limb area and a less pronounced handle and abit longer http://vvcap.net/db/0ZGyKdbIAdkArt0C1RD3.htp

[Blaflair2]

For 120$ u can basically buy a nice blank that's almost already a bow

[rabbitassasin]

That may sound more practical but i have some sort of disorder that if im gonna make something, it must be completely done by me and original

[tattoo dave]

Welcome to PA rabbit. I agree with that last statement of yours. Go for it! I say go to the lumber yard, get some cheap boards, and learn the basics of tillering. If, and when they break, you are not out much money. Then get yourself a nice stave. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Tattoo Dave

 

[wood_bandit99]

I wouldn't personally spend that much money until I had built 2 bows out of local stuff or glue bamboo on some local wood. My first bow was hackberry and it was terrible. It wasn't the hackberry but the fact I've never made anything before. Nobody is gonna stop you just giving advice. Heck, I will give you some osage for $35+shipping if you want. It is 74" long and a little bit snaky.

[rabbitassasin]

Thanks guys for the info, but ill prob just buy the hackberyy and maybe shape it then set it aside and practice a few times to tiller so other wood and thanks for offering the osage but its quite alright, if it comes out a success ill post a few pics of the build process and finished product though i want to spend alot of time in this so its really good managed to get the stave for $100 posted plus some other things so cool