Question of length?

[Yellowstave]

I have a 60 inch piece of osage that is 1.5 wide at the fades with a taper that goes to 1/4 INCH AT THE TIP.  I have a 4 inch handle and 2 inch fades. The back of this piece is pristene. My question is this. With these dimensions is it safe to aim for a 28 inch draw?

[gutpile]

you could cut fades to 1-1/2 would give another 1/2 working limb on each limb... I have a 54" air backed osage drawing 26.5 no issues.. 55lb @ 26.5..gut

[bownarra]

It probably wouldn't break BUT your string angle will be extreme. This means the bow will stack fairly hard leading to poor energy storage. My guess at that length is it would be ok to 26 ish.

[Yellowstave]

What if I flipped the tips?

[PatM]

So it's a pyramid taper?  I wouldn't flip the tips of a pyramid, especially if your taper is already complete.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Osage is mean and doesn't break easily, but that doesn't mean you have a good bow in your hands. I would make a bulbous handle and make the limbs work right into the handle. That will help, but you are still several inches short of a healthy bow.

[Yellowstave]

Its not exactly a pyramid. It goes from 1.5 at the handle to 3/4 inch about 7 inches from the tip. It tapers from there to tip. The outers are still static now. I have it almost to brace height.

[Yellowstave]

This is it . that stingray pelt is just drooped over for now. I laminated deer antler and buffalo horn for overlays. It turning out to be one of my best I'm just thinking 28 may overstress her.

[BowEd]

Good work...Looks great.Nice touch with the sting ray.
I was just going to say I've got a 60" here slightly bendy handle sapling built 9 or 10 years ago that handled a 28" draw.It pulls 65#'s yet.It's not as clean as yours.It's got 14 knots showing on the belly.A bit too much draw for comfort for me any more.I'm thinking about retillering it down to the low low 50's or high 40's.It's only 1 and 5/16" wide.
As a coincidence mine has antler with black horn overlays too....Ha Ha.But with a beaver tail wrap on handle.

[silent sniper]

Beautiful bow! Have you considered adding a rawhide backing? While it would be a shame to cover the bows pristine back,  the rawhide might allow it to bend those last few inches without issues. I haven't worked with rawhide that much myself so maybe some more knowledgeable folks will chip in.

[Yellowstave]

I have considered rawhide and have enough to do it. I think if I back it at all though it will be sinew. I really hate to cover that back . But I may have to.

[RyanY]

The bow looks finished. Are you asking if it can be drawn further than it was designed for? I agree with Pearly. Is it doable? Yes, but it won't be as efficient with the worsening string angle at that draw length. Here's an example of a bow I built years ago that was designed for a 28" draw length and 58" ntn. Stacked quite a bit at the end of the draw in spite of it holding a good amount of reflex.

[Yellowstave]

It not finished yet. Its just barely to brace height now.. It was kind of an unplanned length. I have a 27 inch draw but my guy in the trade has a 28. This was the stave I picked up after I broke a previous attempt. I really just failed to take in to consideration the length until I got to this point. In my defense I have 3 others blanked out so I may have just been in go mode 😆..

[RyanY]

I would recommend against putting on a handle wrap and tip overlays till the bow is tillered out. No reason to waste time on the finish work if it's not even shooting.

[Yellowstave]

The handle is not on yet it's just laying on there for the pic. Thanks for the advise.