red oak pyramid bow questions

[TheDeltaFactor]

I intend to make a red oak pyramid bow backed with rawhide. Probably 70" tt, 3 1/2" at the riser 1/2" at tip, and hoping for 45-50# @ 28".

First question - how does this board look?

I thought the grain was a bit wavy and one or two of the grain lines kind of halfway run off, but it's the best I could find. Maybe it's ok backed with rawhide?

Second question - can the prominent shoulders on this type of bow be rounded? Purely for aesthetic reasons. Like the one on the left rather than the right in the image below. Basically just cut off that sharp corner.


Thanks a lot!

[bubby]

Why 3-1/2" wide? I don't think i have made a red oak board bow over 2" wide

[make-n-break]

Board looks fine as long as the side looks good with few or no run outs. I round the hard angles on pyramid fades. Looks nicer in my opinion. 3.5" is much, much too wide for your proposed draw weight. I agree with bubby that 2" is more than enough, unless you're going for a heavy weight. I'll bump up to 2.5" if I'm going to make a 75-80 pounder.

[J05H]

I agree with Bubby. 1 3/4" to 2" should be about right. I think rounding the fades as you suggest should work out fine. The grain on the face looks just fine to me, but I'm curious, do the growth ring lines run that straight on the edge of the board? If you back it with rawhide, it shouldn't matter much, but if you have run-outs on the edge, leaving it unbacked could be a problem.

Edit: make-n-break beat me to the punch.

[TheDeltaFactor]

3.5" is much, much too wide for your proposed draw weight. I agree with bubby that 2" is more than enough, unless you're going for a heavy weight. I'll bump up to 2.5" if I'm going to make a 75-80 pounder.

I was looking at this build along http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=002064;p=1
and he starts with a 1x4. I'll have to read over it again to make sure I didn't misunderstand. Thanks for the heads up.

EDIT: I read it over again, and in that build-along he uses 3" at the fades not 3 1/2".

[J05H]

It looks like he did recommend using the full 3.5" and you can if you like, but what we're saying is that it isn't strictly necessary. At 3.5" wide, it will be overbuilt by quite a bit. Remember, you're shooting for about 10 pounds less draw weight than he did as well. If you want to intentionally overbuild it for safety and durability, that's up to you, but may I suggest something closer to 2.5". It will keep your limbs at a reasonable thickness.

[TheDeltaFactor]

... you're shooting for about 10 pounds less draw weight than he did as well. If you want to intentionally overbuild it for safety and durability, that's up to you, but may I suggest something closer to 2.5". It will keep your limbs at a reasonable thickness.

Good idea, thanks for the help!

[bubby]

That's 4est trecker's build, it is quite a bit overbuilt but still a great build a long, have fun with the build😉

[Knoll]

Yeah, that's a 3" wide bow that 4est trekker made in his TradGang build along. It was 68" long. He ended up with something like 53# @ 26". That's alot of bow!
I used his build along, but changed width to 2", or so. Course, 45 @ 25 is plenty for me.
As this thread expands, ya may find nuggets of helpfulness ... http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,55921.0.html

If edge grain of your board has as few runoffs as face, you are golden!
Good luck and keep us clued in how it's going.

[Pago]

Red oak 2" or more wide.  If the grain is straight with no run outs on 2 sides I go 2" and even then it will take some set.  The more flaws the wider I would go. But, if going light draw weight you have a little more freedom IMHO. Red oak is pretty far down the bow wood list the more you are asking from it the wider and longer you need to go.

[bubby]

This red oak pyramid was 2" or 1-3/4" at the fades and took very little set, as with all wood bows the quality of the wood is mighty