Brace height on really long bows?

[Kegan]

If you have an 84" longbow/warbow drawn to 32", where would you brace it at?

[Jaro]

So that it would look good. Frankly, I dislike longbows braced so much they look like bent banana.  I wouldnt brace it at less than 5" and more than 6" - if it helps.
I think longbow benefits more from being braced low, unless you have too much deflection already and even that can be dealt with.
The thing with wide longbows (like warbows) with width around 40 mm is that they (to certain point) have less deflection if you also lower the brace height - because the aditionall push will flex the arrow more. And that must be tried.

Jaro

[Yeomanbowman]

I'm with Jaro on this but a low brace height spares the bow in the same measure as your your bow forearm gets it instead.  Ouch!  People will say about technique and bent arms etc. but a low brace makes a slap more likely.

[Rod]

The thing with wide longbows (like warbows) with width around 40 mm is that they (to certain point) have less deflection if you also lower the brace height - because the aditionall push will flex the arrow more. And that must be tried.

Jaro

With any bow you get more deflection from the aimed line as the string returns to a lower brace height.
The fact that the shaft will flex more because it travels slightly faster with a longer power stroke and the increase in offset due to the lower brace will tend towards offsetting each other.
All that remains is to match the shaft to the bow as it is used.
Or not, as you please....

Try fistmele as a starting point and adjust from there if necessary.
I shoot instinctive unmarked field with a single stave yew of the old type, but I run a higher than normal brace height and draw short (bowhunter corner of the mouth at 29" because I am more accurate when I do so for this purpose and the speed is adequate to the task in hand.
In other words I optimise this bow set up primarily for lateral accuracy at close to mid distances rather than for cast.

You make the compromise that bests suits the intended function.

If you are concerned with cast and distance, find the lowest brace height that you can manage cleanly and shoot straight.

Then look to your extension and loose.
If your drawing side wrist is bent at "full" draw, like it or not, you are under drawing the bow.
If you do not make a straight line from the drawing side elbow to the mark and extend into the loose you are giving up cast.
This is true of any draw weight, be it 5 lb or 150 lb.

Rod.

[Jaro]

You know well what effect I describe, though being non english my chose of words is not always the best.

But it should be said that most medieval bracers dont work with high brace height and they are intended to protect the wrist rather than the forearm.

[Rod]

Which is why I expanded on the topic. I understand that you know your subject but sometimes it loses a little in the translation.
No worries, Rod.

[adb]

On my long heavy warbows, I usually set the brace at about 6 - 6.5" from string to belly of bow.

[Kegan]

Thanks everyone. I just was curious. I'd never seen it written down before.

[bootboy]

i have a few 86" bows braced to 8" seems to work really well.

[Rod]

An 8" height will reduce the affect of paradox but is probably higher than desirable if cast is the primary consideration.

Brace height is a variable which, depending on the width of the bow at the pass and the spine match of the shafts, can be adjusted to produce the desired affect.

In simple terms, lower is faster and higher is more stable in lateral affect due to paradox.

We adjust between these two poles bearing in mind that we also wish to obtain stability in the vertical axis by eliminating any porpoising of the shaft, and reset the nocking point accordingly.

Another consideration is that of avoiding painful and disruptive string contact with the bow arm.

This is most often achieved by setting the brace high enough to eliminate the problem, but it also a matter of clean shooting technique.

Rod.