Hi Arrowind- Very nice bow! Absolut craftsmanship!
Yesterday I found a nice maple board with some fine grain and want to make a bow from
it (my first unbacked, and the first time I`m working with maple) and I have 3 questions, if you may:
1) Is maple stronger in tension then compresion? Is that why you traped the back? (Besides looks). Should I trap my bow`s back?
2) How did you reflexed the tips? steam?
3) Can you give me the dimentions? Width, Thickness, Taper etc..
Thanks a lot... that is one lucky eagle scout...
Dor
Thanks Dor! I appreciate your comments!
1) I think all or most woods are stronger in tension than compression. It's just that with some woods the difference in that relationship is more drastic. Maple is tension strong meaning it tends to be one of those woods that is very strong in tension.
You HAVE to consider the kind of maple you are using. There are many varieties and not all are the best choice for a bow.
I've been using "sugar maple" which is also known as "rock maple" or "hard maple." Others use "vine maple" and LOVE it. These are both very good examples of "good maple" for bows. There was something about this in a thread not too long ago.
Anyway - I trapped the back and usually do mainly to reduce mass. Less weight on the limbs means a faster better performing bow. That is the main reason i did it with this one and why I do with others. The fact that it looks cool to my eyes is an added benefit.
honestly I would not suggest it if you haven't made a few bows. it's one more thing to have to get right. not saying you can't do it but I am saying that you don't HAVE to do it to get a decent shooter. It's another variable you have to contend with. just round the edges of the back a little so they are not really sharp angles. That will also help in not lifting splinters.
2) I used a combination but ultimately it was steam. I only reflexed the tips very mildly but used a technique that I'm really starting to like. I think Marc St Louis was the guy who came up with it. I clamped the bow down to my form. I took a wet cloth laid it on the tips about that last 6" covered it with tin foil and used a heat gun on high to heat it up. I was able to bend the tips quite easily all though very mildly after about 10 minutes of heat. Not sure exactly how it works but the tin foil holds all the steam in and I think it works well to distribute the heat evenly less heat is lost so it works fast. It works great.
3) I think this one was 66" total length 1 3/4" wide at the fades tapering to 1.5" after about 18-20" then tapering to 3/8" at the tips. It's almost pyramid like. I usually keep the taper even and adjust if need be when I tiller and if your limbs taper in width it works pretty good. Not sure how thick the limbs are.
Anyway I would suggest 2" at the fades and just do a straight width taper to .5" at the tips or smaller what ever you want. This would be a classic pyramid design and works very well. your thickness taper would be even from fades to tips unless you wanted the last - 6-7" a little stiffer then you would leave that portion just a little thicker so as not to bend as much.
I hope that helps. Thanks again for your comments!
