Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Christian Soldier on March 02, 2013, 02:44:21 pm
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Hey yall, I'm thinking of making a hickory take down self bow and if I'm investing all of $40 in those fancy sleves I want this bow to shoot lighting bolts. :D
I have a 26" draw and the hickory staves are plenty wide with a low crown.
So, what's the most effecient design for this length of bow?
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I'd go with a reflex-deflex longbow or a static recurve with a deflex in the handle for this length.
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Whoa, tall order cowboy! Let's slow things down here a bit and talk about what you are going to use this bow for. Are you looking for a hunter? And if so, whatcha hunting? A squirrel shooting bow is a far cry from something that is going into the heavy willows of Alaska for 1300 lbs of moose.
Or maybe you are a guy that shoots the 3D leagues and want something super flat shooting anywhere from 5-50 yds. That's a totally different set of limbs than a hunting style bow.
Until you know where you are headed you can't map a route! At least the low crowned, wide hickory will allow you to do about anything your poor heart desires!
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Alina, Never done a static so I don't no If I'll start off with that but reflex deflex might be worth a try.
JW, I've made a one piece 63" hickory self bow before but the crown was a little high and I built it last year and my tillering skills have come aways since then so it takes almost 2" set.
Lighting bolts was just a hyperbole but if I'm putting some cash down, sometime fast is ideal. :D
Won't be hunting anything bigger than deer and I won't be shooting past 25 yards for awhile :).
The main purpose is just to have a self that I can take on trips and stuff for target shooting and maybe hunting sometime in the future.
A self bow for the BOB I guess.
Between 50-60lbs is my preference too. Never done a take down and a lot of yall on here have forgotten more about bow performance than I've ever known so I figured I'd take some hints from the voices with expierience.
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Whatever you do leave the billets wide whilst fitting the sleeves. It's very easy to get things misalligned with take down sleeves. I've just done a take down yew Englsih longbow which was fun!
As for limb profile then don't get too hung up on design. Good tillering is the key to fast bows ;)
Personally i'd make a recurve but then again I love recurves! If you haven't done one before maybe save it for a full length stave.
So if not a recurve then a pyramid design with slightly narrowed and slightly stiffer tips is the way to go.
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Mr Keswick makes a good point. You may even leave the whole width of the billet until you have the handle fitted. Then you can cheat in your tips so that they line up perfectly!
Ok, for something like you are describing...an all around bow....I might consider a pyramid bow. 2" at the fades down to a bit skinnier than 1/2" at the tips. This design has very fast "harmonics" to the limbs, due to the very light tips. For moderate weight arrows, typically 10 grains to the pound of draw weight, you can get mighty quick arrows. For example, for a 50 lb bow I would easily expect 150+ fps with 500 grain arrows. You can go slightly heavier than 500 grains with your arrows for hunting, and lighter for target plinking. But if you go to heavy arrows such as 12 grains/lb draw, then you are going to really see slow arrows and lots of drop at the 20 yd mark.
And best of all, pyramid bows are pretty easy to chase a good tiller. I'm a fan of simpler bows like these. Adding recurves, laminates, and so on exponentially add labor without greatly enhanced results.
But this is MY opinion. And much like farts, everybody prefers their own. Looking forward to hearing what other people have to offer! Don't be offended if I hold my nose, though!
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I don't like pinpointing one desired characteristic(in this case speed) in a bow and chasing it with tunnel vision to where you forget about everything else like durablilty, smoothness of draw with no stack,sweet upon release,stable,quiet,and hits where I'm looking at with authority...i want a well balanced bow that rates well in all categories ....a well designed and tillered R/D bow is hard to beat when you weigh all the considerations of what is desired in a bow...the Molly curves I make are some of the smoothest drawing bows I've ever drawn,and I love smooth pulling bows,not to mention there pretty darn quick as well....next would be a well made static recurve....but if you don't understand how to place mass right in a bow a simple bend in the handle string follow bow with proper placement of mass will shoot faster than a poorly made bow of the known faster designs.....but when design,mass, and tiller is done properly in any design they all shoot so close that you won't be able to tell the difference with your naked eye
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I'm kinda partial to a pyramid design with Hickory. But on the other hand I've always meant to try a Molly with Hickory at that length. A take down Molly would be super cool.
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I have made a few pyramids about that length with hickory that have really turned out sweet. I think they are pretty easy to build. That said, I built a friend of mine a 62 inch molle out of hickory last year and it is his main hunting bow - really shoots smooth. I haven't done one of those take down two piece bows. Post that bad boy up when you get it done so maybe I will learn something. Good luck with it. ;)
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Thanks for the advice guys!
I've made one molly before and it turned out allright. I think I'll keep the staves full width untill everything is fitted and then go with a molly/pyramid design. :)
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Hmm, takedown mollymid!
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When you're done with that one, Dan, you can make an ILF riser with molly limbs for your target shooting.
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When you're done with that one, Dan, you can make an ILF riser with molly limbs for your target shooting.
Allright, I've got a ton of hickory staves now. I'll set one aside for a shelf/riser design.
I'm really looking forward to this TD molly. Once all the mud dries up outside I'll start working down a stave.
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I don't know if he posts here, but I think Fiddler49 did a takedown Molly at some point on Paleoplanet. You might want to check that out for inspiration as well.
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Ah, found it http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/54218/The-Alaskan-take-down-molly-hunting-bow-detail-pics
I've never seen a take down like this, its definitely something to think about. I think I'm going for a little more of a bow for hunting deer as opposed to moose so it'll probably be shorter (62", I want its length to be about equal to my arrows) and lighter, probably around 50lbs.
Unfortunatly we are supposed to get some snow on wendsday, but I'll see if I can split the stave today to get it seasoning.
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HICKORYSmy favoret white wood. I've made 3 take downs ,2 were hickory ,1 osage. One of the hickory I used a fold up sleve. I made the 2 hickory bows pyimid. 62"58#@28" It was fast but I made a 58"55#@26" that smoked the 58#. Do'nt know why other that the shortness. These bows were center shot and tillered as far back in the fads as I cound make been.It seams that most white wood bows tillered like this shoot fastest in pyimid.
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HICKORYSmy favoret white wood. I've made 3 take downs ,2 were hickory ,1 osage. One of the hickory I used a fold up sleve. I made the 2 hickory bows pyimid. 62"58#@28" It was fast but I made a 58"55#@26" that smoked the 58#. Do'nt know why other that the shortness. These bows were center shot and tillered as far back in the fads as I cound make been.It seams that most white wood bows tillered like this shoot fastest in pyimid.
Hickory is my favorite too. Any pics of these bows? That sounds like exactly what I want to make so any advice is helpfull. :)