Hello, and Sinew Backing Question with Deflex/Reflex

[SDBurntStick]

I am new to the forum and figured it was time to quit sitting on the sidelines and finally join the forum.  I have a few bows under my belt and once I get the picture thing figured out, I plan to get a few of them posted. 

On to my question...

It seems the deflex reflex design is used for smooth draw and an efficient design to get the most out of the bow and not sacrifice accuracy.  I don't really see any use of deflex in conjuction with sinew backing, though.  I am wondering if an osage bow were to be heat bent into a deflex, and then pulled back into reflex (bringing the bow back to straight or a little past), would this provide any more performance considering that it seems there would be less strain on the belly when braced.  It may be risky considering the bow would be under some tension on the belly side when unstrung but possibly neutral when braced.   Has anyone tried this?  Seems like this may put more strain on the sinew without overstraining the wood but I could be thinking wrong. 

[Pat B]

Adding deflex off the handle allows a longer draw on a shorter bow but so does adding a sinew back. Allowing more of the limb to work with a straight or reflexed off the handle would give a longer power stroke because more of the limb is being used.

[bownarra]

No reason why that wouldn't make a good bow but as with all things in bow making - what you gain here...you lose there....
Sinew is desne stuff 1.3 s.g. so you need to make it work.

[willie]

good question SD, the "perry" principle with sinew.

@bownarra

is adams bow above an experiment or was the technique recorded somewhere historically?

can you comment on what adam reported as the downside to his bow?

[bownarra]

good question SD, the "perry" principle with sinew.

@bownarra

is adams bow above an experiment or was the technique recorded somewhere historically?

can you comment on what adam reported as the downside to his bow?

I think his object was to make a wood based bow with similar charcteristics to a horn bow. eg. short and a long draw. I guess the downside here is the required construction skill!
A less exagerated sinewed r/d design would be easier to make.  These designs do hold a lot of potential. There is good reason most glass bows are of the r/d design