Heavy WhiteWood Bow Profile

[VicNova]

Could some people please post  pictures or direct me to some post that show the wide limbed profile of a heavy whitewood bow.

 I am just trying to see how different people start tapering the limbs to meet the tips. If you have a different design that works good for whitewoods up to 60# and 66" or longer, tell me about that too. 

This 58# Red oak flatbow has 2" wide limbs that work great and keep set low however, I would like to make my limb profile look sleeker, You know what I mean?

[PatM]

Get yourself some HHB first.

[dwardo]

Just my opinion but you need the right bit of wood in the first place to make a heavy bow rather than species of wood.
Like Pat says Hornbeam, wych elm, even good ash but its rare.
You will know when you have the right piece in your hand due to its weight and elasticity.

[PEARL DRUMS]

60# is far from a heavy bow.  2" wide is fine for any suitable whitewoods. Make it longer is all. If 66" makes you a healthy 50# bow, make your 60# bow 2-3" longer with the same exact profile.

[Marc St Louis]

Your profile looks good although the outer limbs are bending a bit too much.  HHB is good choice for a heavy bow as is Osage and Elm but I wouldn't bother with White Ash. 

The length has nothing to do with draw weight but rather draw length.

This is a 75# HHB I made several years ago.  It was 65" long with 1 1/2" wide limbs.

[WillS]

White wood warbows from ash, hazel or holly are usually kept parallel until midlimb, tapered to 22mm at the tip for long string tillering and then the tips reduced to half inch for horn nocks and final tillering.

The cross section is best described as lenticular - a heavily flattened oval with a 2:1 width:depth ratio.  Using this profile and cross section you can make white wood bows up to 170# with very low set and good performance.

[PatM]

I think he wants to build a narrower bow which is why I recommended HHB. Elm would be fine as well. At a max of 60 pounds you can easily make it just 1.5" wide and achieve that sleeker profile.

[half eye]

Here are a few pictures of narrow profile white wood self bows. They are hard maple, yellow birch, and American beech. The weights are between 58# and 61# @ 26 inches. 2 of them are 52" ntn and the other is 54" ntn (beech). All of these are Native American types and double curved, 2 with "flipped tips" and one with straight tips. Retangular in section.
      I see your bow has a rigid handle (mine are "d" bows with bendy handles) so I dont know if these are of interest to you. These were made to explore the "typical" hardwood self bows of the Natives at the dimensions stated in the museum specimens. The bows are between 1.12" and .997" wide at the grip and are 6" parallel with slow strait tapers to 3/4" tips. I dont make them to any particular specs other than the width and taper, then simple belly taper to the draw length and weight desired.
     Like I said, these aren't the same style as yours, but maybe of some use to you.
rich 

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Actually, making a heavier bow longer makes it less strained- more wood per draw length. It also slows it a bit.
It is easily possible to make a heavy white wood longbow. Just make it 70" long or so.
also, if the piece of wood sucks, make it longer. or wider.
English warbows were 80+ in long.
and they were YEW.
you can make a very good bow of white wood... just make it long or wide to account for draw weight.
10# of draw weight doesn't actually put that much more strain on the wood.
I have a 72" bow, hickory bellied, maple back... had 1" of reflex. Hickory belly is very crowned. Very.
I draw it to 28" and 61#... and it still has roughly 1/2 inch reflex.

[PatM]

I think you are missing the point. He wants to streamline a heavier whitewood bow, he seems very aware that making it longer and wider is an easy solution to getting a workable bow.
 A HHB or Elm 1.5" wide and 64" long is the perfect solution.

[PAHunter]

It looks good to me!  I've made some red oak boards in the 50-60# range that were 1.5'' wide.  I think the wide bows are pretty also.  I can almost picture them in the hands of our American Indian ancestors.  Big bows need love too. 

[mikekeswick]

If you don't want to make pyramid bows anymore then start experimenting with a parallel width section which then tapers from it's end to the tips.
Remember above all else to match your tiller to the width taper.....that's the real key to good performance. As Marc says your above pictured bow is bending too much in the outer limbs for a pyramid taper (less energy storage). If you look at the tiller of your bow it would be more suitable for a bow with a short parallel section out of the handle.
Have a look in the Bowyers Bible for a full explanation of circluar/elliptical tiller and where to use them.

[VicNova]

If you don't want to make pyramid bows anymore then start experimenting with a parallel width section which then tapers from it's end to the tips.
Remember above all else to match your tiller to the width taper.....that's the real key to good performance. As Marc says your above pictured bow is bending too much in the outer limbs for a pyramid taper (less energy storage). If you look at the tiller of your bow it would be more suitable for a bow with a short parallel section out of the handle.
Have a look in the Bowyers Bible for a full explanation of circluar/elliptical tiller and where to use them.

That bows not pyramid it does run parallel from handle to mid limb and then I tapered it to about 1/2" tips.

Here are a few pictures of narrow profile white wood self bows. They are hard maple, yellow birch, and American beech. The weights are between 58# and 61# @ 26 inches. 2 of them are 52" ntn and the other is 54" ntn (beech). All of these are Native American types and double curved, 2 with "flipped tips" and one with straight tips. Retangular in section.
      I see your bow has a rigid handle (mine are "d" bows with bendy handles) so I dont know if these are of interest to you. These were made to explore the "typical" hardwood self bows of the Natives at the dimensions stated in the museum specimens. The bows are between 1.12" and .997" wide at the grip and are 6" parallel with slow strait tapers to 3/4" tips. I dont make them to any particular specs other than the width and taper, then simple belly taper to the draw length and weight desired.
     Like I said, these aren't the same style as yours, but maybe of some use to you.
rich 

Thanks for those pictures I think I will try making the bows a little bit wider than 1 3/4" but not quite 2" and build them 66" or longer.  I will plan to start the taper a few inches back from midlimb. I will try that out and see how much set I get in a 60#-65# bow.