cedar bow suggestions

[jkyarcher]

I am planning on making a bow from some Eastern red cedar I have I don't have much bow making experience and

was wondering what is a good design for a cedar bow. If you have any possible pics of good designs that would be good

but descriptions are just as good. It does not have to be a real heavy pull bow just something I could practice with and play around with.

I was planning on making it unbacked even though I have read it is not very tough under tension. Thanks for any help.

-jkyarcher

[koan]

tuff wood to learn on Bro, what kind of ceder? eastern red ceder or western ceder?

[Bevan R.]

2 words: Long and Wide

Ok that is 3

[Pappy]

Koan is right ,hard wood to learn on, Long and wide is a good idea,That is the wood I started with and it almost made be quit, and I still blame my shot draw problem on it. Don't get me wrong I have seen some great bows made from it,light and fast but they will explode and I
mean EXPOLDE.  Depending on your draw ,say 26 inch draw I would go at least 66/68 Nock to nock and 1 1/2 to 1 5/8 at the fads and tapper to the tips.    
   Pappy   

[Hank]

Red cedar is a fooler, sometimes sinister and frequently fickle wood to work into a bow. This nature along with its inherent beauty is why it is my favorite bow wood. For your first red cedar bow I recommend using a clean stave. Pins and knots complicate the process dramatically. Stay away from them if you can. Keep the draw weight low, less than 50# and make it long too. How long is long? Multiply your draw length by 2.57 to find out. So, if your draw length is 28" then your bow should be 72" long. Width is not too critical but I would not recommend going less than 1 1/4" or more than 1 3/4" at the fade. As for limb shape, a flat or trapezoid shaped limb works best. Red cedar does not care too much for a D profile. If you're planning on making a red cedar self bow, well, good luck with that. Every red cedar self bow I ever built ungracefully and dramatically exited after a few hundred shots. Backing is strongly recommended. If you use linen for backing keep a ratio of 1/3 white wood to 2/3 red wood, the red wood being the belly of the bow. Try to keep some of the white wood if a hickory back is used. Why? It just looks better when finished imo. I am by no means a red cedar expert but am always willing to share what I know about it. Best of luck with your project!

Hank

PS: Have a look at my latest red cedar build.

[Bevan R.]

I made my red ceder 70+ inches long and over 2 inches wide at the fade and only 40 lb draw at 27 inches. weighs less than a pound. I did back it with a thin hickory strip that I am sure helped a bunch.

[bcbull]

bro  does  it have the sap on it  ? if so  use as much of the sap as ya can them you dont have to worry so much about the back but rawhide is a smart move for a beginner if i was you id make somthing else get some experince then make a ceader  and if it s western red forget it  the eastern  is what ya want brock

[jkyarcher]

thanks to everyone for the suggestions an pics
 
it was all helpful

-jkyarcher