Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: lleroy on August 25, 2018, 04:10:35 am

Title: holly longbow
Post by: lleroy on August 25, 2018, 04:10:35 am

Hi folks,

I'd like to make a holly (ilex aquifolium)  longbow. I'd be aiming for about 67" long and #40 @28".
Could a stave of about 5cm diameter be sufficient for that?
Would it be possible to "decrown" to make the front flatter?
I would hope that holly would not have too much problems of 'lifting a splinter'...

Looking forward to suggestions or thoughts.

Title: Re: holly longbow
Post by: upstatenybowyer on August 25, 2018, 07:29:10 am

Never worked with Holly before, but I suspect that decrowning isn't a great idea. If I remember correctly, the SG is relatively low, so you probably want to leave it fairly wide. Hopefully someone that knows Holly better will chime in.

Best of luck!

Title: Re: holly longbow
Post by: simson on August 26, 2018, 02:14:26 am

I've made som holly bows in the past, all flatbows - no longbows. Asssuming you meant ELB when saying longow, I would go with 60 - 64" long, no decrowning, 5 cm is sufficient.

Title: Re: holly longbow
Post by: stuckinthemud on August 26, 2018, 02:34:47 pm

I made a holly D-bow, nicest bow I've built to-date, would have been called an ELB if it had been 6 inches longer.  Rectangular profile and leave the crown alone would be my advice, and gently toast the belly, that makes a big difference but don't over-do it.