Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: dueb on February 17, 2015, 02:20:36 pm
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I am one of the lucky people to score a sidewinder stave, and before I touch it I wanted to get my design idea on paper. In the end I want a bow that can pull #55 at a 32" draw. the stave is 72" long and I'm thinking of keeping that length. I'm gonna go with a pyramid design with a rounded rectangular cross section. I also plan on flipping the tips. Let me know if you think this will work.
Here is what I put down on paper http://i.imgur.com/QR509f3.jpg
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Personally I'd go 2" long for the fades at six ft you should be able to get 32" draw, man thats a long draw, anyway everything else seems doable on the drawing
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Do you have a 32" draw, or do you just want it to draw to 32"? If you do, I'm just wondering why?
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what kind of wood is it,, I would go a little wider if you can,,
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It's osager from sidewinder i think
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It is Osage, and yes I have a 32" draw. I have long arms XD Honestly I wanted to keep it somewhat narrow...
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Very similar to what I make and very happy with design. I make mine 66" to 68"NTN for 28" draw. Only thing I would do different is go 3" to fades for a total of 10" between them.
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Due to my draw length I want to keep the non-working portions to a minimum. So how short can I go with the fades? do they have to be longer than 1"?
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Your fades can be 1" if that's what you want. No reason they have to be longer. I prefer longer fades for the aesthetic of them. Not sure if you have the stave yet but consider that your design will have to adjust depending on the shape of the stave. Your drawing is completely straight and from what Sidewinder said about those staves I bet it'll be quite snakey. If your width at the fades is 1.5" and it tapers directly to 1/4" then your mid limb width will be 7/8" wide. My main consideration for design and weight is mid limb width. In my opinion that would be too narrow to get 55# if I started at that width. I'd feel much better starting wider and working my way down if necessary.
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How wide do you think I should go? 1 3/4"? The stave is 2 1/4" wide.
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WARNING!
As Badger has pointed out and Paul Klopsteg said in the 1930s, the tips should never be narrower than their thickness with a pyramid design.
Quarter inch-wide tips will wander off to the side at the least excuse. I have one that has done that. It still shoots, but the tips lean out of line to the side.
Here is the culprit:
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Also, unless you have shot a bow that has the back of the handle curved as you plan, it would be valuable to do so. While that curvature seems that it would balance the forces at the high point, the slightest difference in the way you hold it will make a bigger difference in the vertical dispersion of your shots.
There is a reason that bow handles for target archery before recurves became popular were either straight or slightly curved on the back of the handle.
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The trouble with short fades and newer builders is you tend to get too much bend in the fades, go 1-3/4" wide and you should make weight
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Thanks for the advice so far guys. I wanted to say that the reason I'm going for a pyramid design rather than a flat bow is that I've already got an ash flat bow in the works. I want to try something slightly different. Do you think pyramid design will work or will a flat bow design be a safer bet?
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It will work just fine
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If it is good Osage you could probably go 1 1/2 at fads maybe 1 5/8 and could narrow a little later if you need to. / 1 1/2 fads /4 inch handle and get what you want out of 32 inch draw, I would leave it 72 long if it was me for that draw. :)
Pappy
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Well I am glad that I sent you a 72" stave. I did not realize that you had that long of a draw length. I think with that kind of stave length that you can easily go with 2" fades for astethics as well as keeping it from bending too much in the fades. I look forward to seeing how this turn out. I did not know what Badger said about width to depth ratio on pyramid tips but I would trust the source for sure. I will keep that in mind on my next pyramid. Danny
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It's all good Dan! If it were any shorter I would've simply made it for a friend. The only thing I need out of this stave is knowledge and experience. However, I think this one has a good chance of bending out to 32!
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I am by no means an expert like some of the fellows that have commented. I did get burned with some short fades, though. I think longer fades are more than an aesthetic necessity. Please look over this topic -- Older Bow, can you help me bring it back?
« on: January 09, 2015, 12:49:50 pm »
Jess
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After this thread I am definitely going to make the fades longer. 2" at the shortest, might even change my mind and go with 3" fades...
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Just hope I helped, brother! I'm w/o bow until I can make one. I don't want your project to go awry on you, as well.
Jess
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Justin. 2" is a good length. Not telling you what to do but it will look nice with 2".
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Personally I go 1.5 -2 for the fades and seems to work well. I prefer a pistol grip handle that leads the hand to the same and correct shooting position; but that's personal preference. Good luck with it, share the results!