Author Topic: Recycling a bow  (Read 1749 times)

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Offline DC

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Recycling a bow
« on: April 06, 2016, 12:51:02 pm »
I had a yew bow that I made at a workshop that I decided to reduce for my 15 year old granddaughter. The bow was 40#@28", 67"NTN with a couple of inches of deflex. She shoots a glass recurve that is 26#@28" so I narrowed and thinned the yew bow to match that. It had nice ebony nocks that I tried to keep. It's a dog! Is this because of the length of the bow? I thinned the tips down to about 1/4" to reduce weight. I have since heat treated it to reduce the deflex but I haven't tried to shoot it since. I'm afraid this is just going to make it heavier than she wants. Am I going to have to pike it to get some snap? If I pike it I will have to retiller to reduce the weight. Is that going to turn it back into a dog? Is it possible that because I'm used to 40+# that 26# just feels doggy?

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2016, 01:00:06 pm »
How far does your granddaughter pull the bow? 67" is a lot of bow if you aren't drawing 28" plus.  If you are at 26 @ 28 and she pulls 23", you do have a dog! I say cut about a foot off it and then re-tiller.
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 DC

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2016, 01:38:59 pm »
Oh, I forgot that. Yes she pulls around 23". I was pulling it 27" and it was doggy. It would be real bad at 23. OK the ebony tips are history. Maybe I'll buy a chunk. Thanks PD

Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2016, 02:20:51 pm »
yes there  is no easy fix,, you need to make the bow fit the 23 inches draw,, if the bow has string follow,, it may not shoot like you like,, but it will probably be accurate and fun to shoot for her,, I have seen Marc bring yew back from the dead with heat treating so maybe consult him on how to proceed,, :)

Offline Tree_Ninja

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2016, 09:03:43 pm »
If you used TB3 on the ebony nocks you can heat them up to remove and recycle them too.

Offline bubby

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2016, 09:55:47 pm »
Yup lose a foot and recurve the tips a little above the back
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline joachimM

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Re: Recycling a bow
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2016, 05:49:33 pm »
You may need to make it pretty narrow for it to shoot with decent speed.
I made a plum branch shortie for my son, which draws 20# at 24". It's 130 cm long (51"; a longbow for him), and is 16mm at its widest (bendy handle) by 16 mm high in the handle, tapering to tips 5 mm wide at the nocks (1/5") and 8 mm high.
I needed to add small flax strips on the sides to avoid lateral warping when drawing the bow, but that was the only way to get the bow mass down enough to get it to shoot decently. No cut nocks, I wrapped flax around the tip as a shoulder to hold the string.

So yes it seems you can shorten and narrow it considerably for that draw length and weight.
Joachim