White Wood ENGLISH Long Bow Challenge

[Bowbound]

would cherry make a good elb. It is good in compression. I was thinking about backing one of my 2 cherry staves to get a nice short bow but the other is open to experiments. Does it need to be backed because i know it is weaker in tension and good in compression.

Josh

[radius]

would cherry make a good elb. It is good in compression. I was thinking about backing one of my 2 cherry staves to get a nice short bow but the other is open to experiments. Does it need to be backed because i know it is weaker in tension and good in compression.

Josh

actually, i think cherry has a bad reputation all around...

[Bowbound]

I thought cherry was good, Tim baker had a very good bow from cherrry, i remember reading it in tbb 1 i think

Josh

[DCM]

This hickory (southern red probably, definately one of the shagbarks) bow is so old I almost hate to post the pic.  I KNOW some of ya'll must have seen it 1000 times already.  Was amoung probably the 1st 10 or 12 bows I ever made.  1 3/16" wide, perhaps less, as I recall.  Follows the 5/8 rule, 76" Ntn for 70# @ 29" at the time.  Have retillered it in the last couple of years.  Seems like the lower limb came up soft somewhere along the way.  May have been a moisture thing, my hot box is verticle.  Was my clout shoot bow for every Mojam so far.  Buying only 12 shots each year, I've been to the prize table at least 1/2 the times I entered.  It did not want for cast, as I recall it.  I know at least a few folks have commented on same at the shoots.

I've learned a lot in the intervening years.  No question white wood will make a 5/8 bow.  Moisture control is the only real issue.

[sonny]

unfortunately I don't have any pics or the specs (which I did have at one time) but a buddy of mine has made several narrow hickory longbows.
I do remember commenting to a mutual friend that the bows were no more than an inch wide and one bow that I shot drew 55# at my 26" draw length.
I also remember the bowyer stating that one of the long-armed guys in the club had drawn one of those bows to 29" or more when shooting it and that there were no ill effects.
He did mention that he had heat treated those bows as well.

 

 

[orcbow]

So does the 5/8 rule basically separate flat bows from ELB's?
 If the ratio is less than 1 to 5/8  then it is in flat bow teritory, and if the ratio is 1 to 5/8 or more then it is an ELB?

I have made a nice, hard hitting, 50# bow from cherry, though it is a flat bow, not a long bow. Will post a pic later.  It is backed with heavy canvas.

I have read that Sassafras will make an ELB. This was said by no less than Erret Callahan, who was a founding member of the society of primitive technology. I am going to try to make one for this challenge (if I can get my hands on a good stave or board)

[grantmac]

Grant, that bow is a beauty!!  Steve

It bends too much in the handle, I think that plus the increased moisture from my hand resting on it there has caused a couple of small crystals. I have another mostly roughed-out that I will leave longer and tiller with more bend in the outer limbs.
But thanks for the comment!
         Grant

[Kegan]

I'm in of course (sorry it took me so long, been out for a few days).

Might take me a while. Wanted to do a simple build along, from tree to finished bow, for some other young archers (compounders) on Archerytalk. So it would be a fw months for dry time .

So, for the 5/8 rule, a 1 1/2" bow would be about 1" deep? Sounds simple enough .

[radius]

kegan, the ratio would have to stay the same (i'm guessing) along the entire length of the limb.  So, if it were 1" wide at the fades, it would be 5/8 deep there...moving toward the tip, the limb would become narrower and thinner proportionately.  I've never made one, but I will for this project, and i think that's how we're supposed to do it.

My blank is made of white oak:  72" long, a 5/8" belly piece with natural reflex and a 3/16" backing lam of the same wood.  I bought the board about a month ago and used this method:

It is 2" thick, plain sawn lumber.  I ran it over the jointer to get a clean face and clean edge, and then tablesawed various widths off the edge.  These pieces are all edge-grained. 

Last night I glued the pieces together and when the glue was dry I cleaned them up and cut the stave down to rough dimensions.  Let the games begin!

[Badger]

5/8 is just the minimum thickness, it can be thicker and often will need to be. I don't think it would have to be uniform either. The tiller shape you decide on would determine that. Steve

[radius]

i think where people might be getting confused is in the expression of the ratio

5:8 (which we know is the way a ratio is expressed)

as opposed to

5/8 (which is most easily seen as a fraction of an inch)

[Rich Saffold]

I've made Cherry elb styles from both a flat belly and a crowned one..I backed them both with leather..the flatter belly had a slight speed advantage, but that was more the density of the woods, and the relative humidity than the design..

DCM, I think I shot that bow when I met you years ago...

Rich

[Bowbound]

Its good to know cherry works. If it was long enough could it be a self bow say 80" for a 30" draw.

[Marc St Louis]

Lets not make the mistake of calling a flat bellied longbow an English Longbow.  An ELB has a D section limb and though many wood species will make a D section longbow they will also follow the string excessively.

[Hickoryswitch]

Well I started tillerin on one tonite. It may be a little short at only 66''.  It's a little less than 1 1/4 wide. I think this dogwood is gonna hold up to it pretty well. I may need some help from you long bow guys on my tiller. I've never built one that bends through the handle.