What dementions do you use with what wood

[bowandarrow473]

OTDEAN is right, go cut yourself some saplings and rough them out. Let them dry for a month or two and then on one do a pyramid, another a homelgard, another an AFB and so on and so forth until you find a design that you really like. When you find a design you love building, shooting and looking at, then dedicate yourself to that design and master it, sure, you can build other bows but it seems to me that everybody has a favorite design they love making and shooting. And that they tend to build more of that type of bow than anything else, I know that's the case with me, I love Eastern Woodland and AFB bows, and barely build anything else.

[GB]

I read that Tim Baker made over 1000 bows during The Bowyer's Bible years and a lot of them were from boards.  I've only made about 15 but I have yet to have one break.  You just need straight grained boards without knots, wide and/or long enough for your design, and do a decent job tillering them.  I like hickory backed bows and the fact that I can glue in 2 or 3" of reflex on a simple two by four form that takes less than an hour to build.
I love Osage staves, too, and getting the tiller right on a snaky and knotty one is especially satisfying.  I have not found them to shoot better than bows I've made from hickory and maple boards, though.

[Drewster]

The Bow Design and Performance chapter in Vol 1 of "The Bowyer's Bible" has a list of about 35 species of wood and the suggested width to use if that will help you.

[riverrat]

hey now lets be nice. Eskimos used all kinds of boards, heck even pine boards. i bet they looked down them around a camp fire and talked about how best it might work. they even went to elaborate means to make sinew cord backings for such crappy board bows.i consider them American Natives . i know even eastern woodland tribes at times would use the hickory hoops on a wagon they might of captured to make bows out of. same goes for plains tribes as well. sometimes a stave was even decrowned just because it was of a small diameter. wouldnt you call that a "board" if it was flat? i would.i like self bows. i like them from trees i take down, or staves i trade for. but at times i find even myself looking at boards at a good price thinking ...you know what?.......nothin wrong with that.Tony

[Josh B]

You guys have to consider the source of that comment.   I just shake my head and chuckle when he posts those doozies.  Josh

[bow101]

I think Dan Perry has set world records in flight shooting with bows made from Hickory boards

Thats crazy stuff, where in Canada can we get good affordable Hickory Marc.?

[GB]

Don't know how affordable they are, but this place is in Ontario.  I'm in the US (Wisconsin) so their shipping charge is too expensive.  Luckily, there is a hardwood supplier that has nice hickory and maple boards at good prices an hour's drive from me.

http://www.amwoodinc.com/default.aspx

[willie]

bubby and all

hope my bias was not seen as an endorsement of the poster in reply #3. Just saying what my experience has been. I should add that my experience does not include any boards that were selected from a decent inventory. I would give my left nut to be able to deal directly with someone sawing and air drying hardwood, but I do not live where there is marketable hardwood. My only resource is the local small town building supply yard that has very little to pick from. Never said good bows could not be made boards, but I will say that if you gotta choose between typical lumber yard junk and a self cut staves, the extra do it yourself stuff is worth it.
sorry for not being very specific in my first post

willie

 hey riverrat
I have one eskimo friend, who's tribe never had the bow. Went from the nuqoq (or atlatl) to the rifle, and still prefer the nuqoq for seals from what I hear.

[Pappy]

Never built a board bow but sure don't see anything wrong with them, they make some mighty fine shooters and beautiful to boot. I just never had the need, always had plenty of staves and feel very blessed that I do. as far as dimensions,roughly speaking 66 in. t-t 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 at the fads for Osage and 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 for most white woods will get you what you are looking for in weight and 27 inch draw. usually start out at a little over 1/2 in thickness and I let the tillering do the tapper, never really do that before hand.
  Pappy

[Marc St Louis]

I think Dan Perry has set world records in flight shooting with bows made from Hickory boards

Thats crazy stuff, where in Canada can we get good affordable Hickory Marc.?

Depends where you are.  There is the place GB posted a link to, they are in Cambridge and probably the best stocked store in Canada.  There's a couple stores in the Ottawa area that sell domestic and imported Hardwood, one in Peterborough, one in Thunder Bay and then there's a couple out West, that I know of

[PatM]

I think Dan Perry has set world records in flight shooting with bows made from Hickory boards

Thats crazy stuff, where in Canada can we get good affordable Hickory Marc.?

In the woods? Hickory is a very common tree in part of Canada.  Not where you are though. 

[ccase39]

I had already favorited your link bubby thanks for that!

Coming from a noob on board bows. I definitely want to learn to build from staves. The way I look at it is this. Boards are cheaper and easier for me to find. I would much rather learn on something cheaper and have stuff to work on while I develop my technique and do my research on tree identification, curing, etc or at the very least find some legit staves from someone online. I own a restaurant and when I am training someone I dont just hand them a whole beef tenderloin and tell them how to break it down, portion it, and then cook it. Hell if he is really inexperienced Hes not touching my tenderloin period. He can learn how to get a proper sear and learn to cook to a proper temperature on hanger steak or skirt steak first. Once he does that right I will let him graduate to the tenderloin filets. After he can cook them I will then show and teach him how to break down and portion a whole loin. Right now I dont know enough about wood selection or even a good source for staves. I could cut down a tree of some sort but would still have to wait for it to cure. In the meantime I have something to do and learn on with board bows.