Hop horn beam and belly frets

[bassman211]

Jeffy D. on the other sight faucet tillers his, and makes them skinnier than all his white wood bows, so this is just my limited experience with the wood so far. NOT WRITTEN IN STONE. Wonder why he doesn't post on here any more?

[Dances with squirrels]

I'm here Bobby B.

Just listening.

I learn more that way 

[Dances with squirrels]

Sounds like you got some good advice and may have made some beneficial adjustments.

I have a HHB selfbow here I made in '04 and checked its numbers. It's 64" ntn, 60# @ 28", and just 1 5/16" wide at the flares. Some might consider that narrow even for osage at those specs. Radiused belly. Not heat treated. Started off straight and now has an evenly dispersed 1 1/2" string follow but no frets after thousands of arrows. Maybe I should have reflexed it, or made it a bit wider and/or longer or heat treated it to ward off that string follow, but eh, whatever, I don't mind much. It's been a good bow... and still is.

I've made bamboo backed hophornbeam bows too. Never had one of them fret either. I trap all my boo backed bows. BBHHB are nice, narrow, petite, just the way I like em 

[Dances with squirrels]

Yummy 

The one on the far right is Hornbeam. The others are Hophornbeam.

[bassman211]

Yep . Nice looking wood. I have made a few fire hardened hickory bows with skinny specs like yours that came out nice, and maintain their reflex, and shoot nice. Shorter than yours for 25 inch draw.