Sorry guys, after thinking about it ,I realised how silly it was to hold back an opinion in a discussion forum.
These are all our opinions after all, and I'm open to any and all of them.
My concern is that we may be misled (unintentionally) by conventions of the past, without allowing for different circumstances of our own time and place.
Our ancestors lacked the benefit of social media and shared knowledge from a wide spectrum. Couple that with a guild that needed to keep their secrets for matter of job security and you wind up with pockets of disconnected information and lost knowledge. A man would learn as an apprentice from his master (often only one) As we all know, not everyone is a good teacher and even if you know something , you may not be able to express it. Even if you do express it , it may not be fully understood. How many times has it happened that you were told to do something a certain way just because it worked?
The problem here is ,that tidbit of info might work in that instance with that piece of wood ,in that climate ,with that design for the intended purpose. If utilised but not understood, that information could quickly become the "common practice" If you are an apprentice and cranking out war bows designed for a specific purpose you would likely carry that " common practise" to be a hard fast rule.
Reverse engineering might also come into play . Looking at a successful bowyer's bow and taking measurements and trying to mimic it could lead to copying a flaw that may be due to circumstances other than design, such as abuse , poor storage conditions , change in climate etc. Just about anyone who asks how to make a bow, has the mistaken impression that you form the bow to have a curve (when they are really looking at the set. They think it is the cause not the effect.
I guess what I'm trying to say is," Knowledge without understanding, is not wisdom". (feel free to embroider that on a pillow
) Without understanding how something works , information can be next to useless or in some cases ,detrimental. The English longbow made from yew benefits from certain design characteristics that result in utter failure if applied to other species or designs . We know this because of our advanced knowledge of cell structure and physics. Our very ancient ancestors may have learned by trial and error.
I would like some hard facts to help me evolve, and become a better bowyer. I have heard more times than I can count that the bottom limb needs to be stronger because it is under more stress, usually followed up by " it's a fact " or "physics proves it ". I don't feel this is always the case.
Can someone prove to me that the bottom limb is under more stress? Please state your arguments /thoughts without fear of offending . This is a discussion to promote advance . I will not be offended and don't intend to offend, but will not accept "Old adages" or" Common knowledge " without at least a guess as to why. We are all here to learn.
