Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: DustinDees on April 02, 2011, 09:27:16 pm
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I dont get to build much between a 4 month old and 12+ hour work days. A friend of mine wants a basic bow drawing about 40# @ 25-26 and 68" long with flipped tips. Im pretty sure i can make this work but id like some input before i glue and try. i have a piece of Ipe thats about 3/4 by 3/4, and a hickory backing thats almost a full 1/4" thick. so here's my questions.
1: do you think i can achieve this draw weight at 3/4 inch wide and enough wood to make it an inch thick at the handle? He doesnt want it any shorter than that.
2: will the hickory backing take the tension from a skinny/thick ELB'ish style bow? its a beautifull example of straight grain both on the top and the sides.
Thank you for any input.
Dustin D.
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my only worry would be if theres gonna be any ipe left on the limbs
for that low draw weight and that thick of a hickory backing
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that side of it im not worried about, if the ipe is in danger of getting too thin i can run my handy dandy electric hand plane across the backing to slowly thin it out. so in your opinion the hick will prob hold and the draw weight will be more than enough?
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Get the backing down to 1/8" like the others have said. You could make a 60# bow with this combo.
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I'd thin the....oh wait.... What they said ;D
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Get the backing down to 1/8" like the others have said. You could make a 60# bow with this combo.
Nuff said 8)
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Don't flip the tips too much: otherwise you will get serious lateral stability issues with a 3/4" wide bow.
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I dont get to build much between a 4 month old and 12+ hour work days. A friend of mine wants a basic bow drawing about 40# @ 25-26 and 68" long with flipped tips. Im pretty sure i can make this work but id like some input before i glue and try. i have a piece of Ipe thats about 3/4 by 3/4, and a hickory backing thats almost a full 1/4" thick. so here's my questions.
1: do you think i can achieve this draw weight at 3/4 inch wide and enough wood to make it an inch thick at the handle? He doesnt want it any shorter than that.
2: will the hickory backing take the tension from a skinny/thick ELB'ish style bow? its a beautifull example of straight grain both on the top and the sides.
Thank you for any input.
Dustin D.
No
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This one is 45# @ 28" 65 ttt Shoots very nice and smooth same dimensions as would think with good tillering you should get a sweet shooter.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh49/hillbilly061/Mobile%20Uploads/0921101854.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh49/hillbilly061/Mobile%20Uploads/0919101128.jpg)
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Thank you all for all the input. I now have a plan of action, just waiting for an answer back from my friend.
Dustin D.
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Yeah I missed the part about the flipped tips. I don't think I'd do anything other than straight reflex on a bow that narrow but thats me.
Marc, I'm curious as to why you said No?
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Yeah I missed the part about the flipped tips. I don't think I'd do anything other than straight reflex on a bow that narrow but thats me.
Marc, I'm curious as to why you said No?
Me too
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It would make weight, it just wouldn't be stable
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Hey Dustin,
Just saw yer post, I've built two short backed Ipe bows. Both of them were 3/4" wide, one was hickory backed and one was bamboo backed. The most recent was posted as "Alabama Ice Pick"...boo backed Ipe, 55" , 52#@ 27" it's 3/4" tapering to 5/16" tips and is a "D" bending bow. Shoots very fast and smooth. The other bow is 3/4" tapers to 1/2" tips 53" and 60# @ 27" it's hickory backed Ipe, also in a "D" bow configuration....the man I gave it to has killed several deer with it and shoots it regularly and has commented on how "nice" it shoots.
Generally I would post the pics for ya but recently my hard-drive went away and I haven't recovered my photo's as of yet. If ya want to see the photos check out the "Alabama Ice Pick". One other thing is I have a really nice bow that Hillbilly 61 made me, it's real thin, real strong, and real quick.....it's a skinny boo backed Ipe and shoots really smoothly. I believe that he posted the bow as well.
So my experience would be that; keep your hickory thin and build that thing, ya just might like it, eh?
rich
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I would make it stable by gluing in a bit of string follow to encourage stability. You could kerf the tips and put a touch of curl in them. Definitely thin the backing a bit but there's notrhing wrong with a half and half belly to back ratio with Ipe.
I made a long narrow bow for a girl that's along those lines. 3/4 inch wide and Maple backed. The backing is a 1/4 inch and a hair thicker than the belly. I made the bow 72 inches.
A bit of string follow makes the bow easier to string and smoother to shoot. You're sacrificing negligible performance with that.
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Just curious Marc. What makes it unstable? The last few I've built have shot good and held up fine. I know I, by no means, am a seasoned bowyer. But all I have to go on is the ones that I've built.
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im gonna agree with the majority , the only way it wouldnt be stable is if there was extreme REFLEX ,if your just gluing in some mild reflex (flipping the tips) then i dont see a problem. i would build it ... but then im an amateur !