Wide vs narrow

[DC]

Is there a time when you would make a wider, thinner limb with a wood that would take a narrower, thicker limb?

Maybe more to the point, if I'm forced into using a shorter limb should I compensate by making it wider and thinner? I don't want to shorten the draw length.

[Jim Davis]

... Maybe more to the point, if I'm forced into using a shorter limb should I compensate by making it wider and thinner? I don't want to shorten the draw length.

Yep.

[Badger]

 Every piece of wood has a radius it can be bent into without taking set at a given thickness. Shorter limbs will need to bend in tighter radius so yes they have to be thinner. Ideally any length bow any draw weight bow any design bow should all be under the same stress.

[DC]

Thanks guys. Something in the back of my head kept telling me I should go wider, thinner but I was just not sure. Sometimes there is just too much to remember.

[Del the cat]

Yup, I'll make narrow Yew English longbows of wider shorter Yew primitives...It's all good
Del

[bradsmith2010]

yes,,

[loon]

was thinking a dense wood (ie osage) made wide and thin with plenty of sinew backing could take a lot of bend in a shorter bow, ie for making a Korean style bow (the war bows had wide limbs)

or one could make an ishi style bow out of osage with proportionally more sinew since the osage is denser and stiffer than juniper, and it could take more draw length?

[Pat B]

I'd say that the bow wood(the physical characteristics) and bow length(in relation to the draw length) would determine whether wide and thin or narrow and thick should be used.  Wood properties, ie. tension strong, compression strong or a combination of both fits in here too. IMO, osage, being both tension and compression strong can be used in almost any style common bows. It's only drawback would be physical weight. Hickory on the other hand is quite strong in tension but not so much in compression is more appropriate for a flat bow over an ELB style.
 When in doubt start with a wide thin bow and adjust the style, the length, the width and the thickness accordingly as your experiments progress.