bendy handle or no?

[recurve shooter]

hi. i am a decent archer and can rough out my own arrows, but i have yet to make a decent bow. i usualy make stick bows, from seasond saplings from 3 to 6 inches in diameter. which is easyest to tiller? a bendy handle or stiff handle? seems like most of yall favor stiff handles, why is this? thanx in advance.

[George Tsoukalas]

Bend in the handle bows are far easier to tiller than rigid handle bows. I'll go out on a limb (pun intended) and state that more game has been taken with bend in the handle bows than any other style of bow in the history of man. IMHO. Jawge

[recurve shooter]

cool. could someone post a full draw pic of a bend in the handle bow so i could have an idea of how the tiller will look.

apreciate all the help. everything i know about archer. i learned from yall. i apreciate it.

[JackCrafty]

A picture of a "bend in the handle bow" would have to contain hundreds of bows....each slightly different.  There is no single design.  As long as it bends in the handle, it's a "bendy handle" bow.

That said, there seems to be a "politically correct" bendy handle bow......one that forms a perfect arc or ellipse at full draw.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

Here ya go..........bob

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[recurve shooter]

cool. thanx alot. will my silvermaple work for one of these bows if i keep it long, or do i need to go cut some oak or hornbeam.

[Badger]

  Silver maple is not considered a true bow wood, I have made quite a few bows from it though and they were good shooters, you need to go a bit longer with the silver maple, maybe close to 72" would be safer. Steve

[The Burnt Hill Archer]

Check out Gordon's Hazlenut Build-allong. that bow bends through the handle.

Man Bob, thats either a small bow or some REALLY big fishing poles!

Phil

[Hillbilly]

I like to tiller bendy-handle bows like the example Bob posted-a bit more elliptical than arc-of-a-circle. If they bend too much in the handle, you can have problems with set and hand shock.

[El Destructo]

Now this isnt as Eliptical as Bob's....I kept the Tips a Bit stiffer for Cast....there are many variations to the Bend Thru The Handle Designs.....and I am sure that you will be finding out!!

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[George Tsoukalas]

Check out "T Bow" and "Building a Bow". Jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

[rkeltner]

i have only made one bend in the handle bow, but it suprised me with it's energetic nature. tim baker, in several places in the tbb series stated that a b-i-t-h bow is the most efficient design for a selfbow, or even a mildly backed bow. ultimately, the choice is yours, but then so is the fun and satiafaction!

[recurve shooter]

ok, cool. thanx alot guys. i know an old bowyer that lives near here, and he dont mess with it much anymore, he is getting to old. i bought an osage longbow from him a while back for my first long bow. it shot well, but had some strange set cuz it was spliced. it is now collecting dust as my hickory gets all the action.

anyway, point of the storry is that i may be able to weesle a stave or two out of him.