Tattoo Dave, It has about 2-3 inches of runoff but its not as drastic. the pictures I will get tomorrow.
Willie, some questions I have is what backings do and what tools will make life easier? Also when I'm ready where to get staves?
Thanks!
for most american hardwoods, you should not even need a backing, that is if you are thinking about rawhide or canvas or such. some put them on board bows, but good board selection and careful tillering are reccomended either way. Backings for "insurance" are difficult to access. If a bow with a backing never breaks, how do you know it would have broke without it? And if a bow without a backing breaks, one needs to understand why, and many will say that the if the wood was not up to the job, then a backing would not have helped.
you have not said if you have access to power tools or you plan to use hand tools. Boards and the kind of design you posted lend themselves to power tools as the design makes use of straight lines and dried boards. bubby posted a easy board bow in the how to section.
hand tools and green wood work well together, at least for roughing out a bow stave. I don't live any where near Nebraska, but if I did I would definitely be looking to put up a few hickory or elm staves. when the sap starts to rise, the bark is loose, so its a good time to collect some staves. if you were to start a thread looking for "stave harvesting tips and tricks in nebraska", you might get some very good advice from some guys not too far from you. At any rate getting some staves drying while you are working on the board bow makes sense. staves can be cut in winter too, some even prefer winter cut. a stave collected half way through the summer in not going to be the best.
collecting your own staves give you the assurance that you have acquired the best you can get. not something that easily or cheaply boughten
as to where? any old swamp or hedgerow. you don't need a very big tree if it is hickory or elm a sapling will do for a truly primitive design.