Author Topic: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...  (Read 4272 times)

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Offline ajooter

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Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« on: February 13, 2015, 11:46:47 pm »
I found a flat sawn ash board and was able to trim this piece off of the edge.  Grain runs great on the top and sides of this board.  It's just over 62", 2" straight taper to 1/2" tips, and a 4" handle with 3" fades.  Any suggestions on layout to come up with some 55-60#?

« Last Edit: February 13, 2015, 11:59:34 pm by ajooter »

Offline bubby

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2015, 12:19:30 am »
Even thickness of 1/2" on the limbs to start, and tiller to weight,  and i like to leave the last six inches a little stiff, elliptical tiller
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline Drewster

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2015, 12:19:50 am »
What's your draw length?
Drew - Boone, NC

Offline Sidewinder

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2015, 02:39:22 am »
Pyramid to 3/4" width 8"from end "take it to 3/8 to tips. Your rcertainly wide enough at that length"
"You know a tree by the fruit it bears"   God

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2015, 07:53:23 am »
That makes it a 60" ntn ash board bow if your lucky. In my opinion, it shouldn't get drawn beyond 24-25" max at 55-60#. And you have to get the whole board bending. So 55-60 may not happen without crazy set because you'll have to keep it under a healthy width for white ash. All in all, not a good pick in my mind for a real hunting bow and not just an arrow sprayer heavy enough to poke a hole in a deer at 20 feet... ;)
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline ajooter

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2015, 08:13:58 am »
Should I shorten the fades to increase the length of the working limbs?  I like the sound of that profile sidewinder.  My drawlength is about 26". Can I heat treat this board to add a little reflex Once I have the profile and thickness taper roughed out?

Offline cdpbrewer

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2015, 08:52:40 am »
I agree with Pearly.   Definitely shorten those fades as much as possible, get the handle working a bit and heat treat the belly.   

Maybe induce a bit deflex while you are at it to keep the stress down like is discussed in one of the TBB volumes?  Alas, that will lower arrow speed but the bow would have a better chance of staying on one piece.   My guess is that inducing deflex is better performance-wise than having set-induced deflex.   

c.d. 

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2015, 09:46:53 am »
From what I can see the grain looks nice and straight.

Looks like it would make a good bend in the handle bow if narrowed to 1.5". No glued on handle piece. Taper width to 1/2" nocks. You could get 50-55# if you tiller well. Do not narrow the handle.

If you rip it to 1 3/8" it will be a little easier to shoot and yield 45-50#.

It's about 4 inches too short for a handle bow.

More on my site.

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

Jawge

« Last Edit: February 14, 2015, 09:55:39 am by George Tsoukalas »
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Offline Springbuck

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2015, 12:12:48 pm »
  Wow, we are all over the place this time on suggestions.  Jooter, remember this is all based on our preferences as well as experiences.  So, let me throw my my confusing suggestions into the mix.   ;)

  I think you need more wood working.  I would ditch the pyramid front profile, and leave the bow full width (2", right?) for at least half way the limb length, maybe 2/3.   I would shorten the fades to 2" long.  I would heat treat it about halfway through tillering.  I would not reflex the whole thing with heat, but I would flip the tips forward into semi-recurves, maybe 5-6" long and 1-1/2" forward.

 I would expect a bow that short to take some set, so when it starts to, stop right there and do the heat treatment to freeze set in it's tracks IN THAT BARELY "SET" POSITION , and do the recurves to improve string tension at brace.

  The wider, more parallel limb profile will get a lot more wood working. Wider wood everywhere means thinner wood everywhere, thinner wood bends more without breaking, and the bow is so short you won't have a limb-weight problem.  Also, the flipped tips will allow a thinner overall limb thickness, and less thickness taper.  The last few inches of limb rarely do a lot of work anyway, and 15 degree recurves are not tricky to make, nor unstable.

  Good luck, whatever you do.

Offline ajooter

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2015, 12:45:17 pm »
Thank you for all the suggestions.  I will make a bow from this board but probably not one for myself.  All your suggestions are very helpful and thank you for your time.

Offline bushboy

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2015, 08:52:59 pm »
Maple board, 55#@27",62" ttt
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline ajooter

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2015, 08:59:46 pm »
That's one of those eiffel tower beauties!! What are the dimensions on that puppy if ya don't mind me asking?

Offline bushboy

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2015, 09:12:46 pm »
4" handle,1-1/4" fades,2" through to mids and. Down to 1-1/2 at the lever transition.
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline ajooter

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2015, 09:19:10 pm »
Most excellent sir!

Offline ajooter

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Re: Trying for a hunting bow for the fall...
« Reply #14 on: February 15, 2015, 07:46:23 am »
Did you do any heat treatment on that one bushy?