English Longbow Dimensions "Whitewoods"

[Dean Marlow]

Guys I have several whitewwod staves that I would like to make into some English longbows. Both regular Elb's and warbows. What width  and heigth should I use for both the regular elbs and warbows for these whitewood staves. They are hickory,walnut,mulberry. They are 72" long on up. Dean.

[burn em up chuck]

i hate to do this to you; but there was a challenge posted a while back that covered everything you need to make a white wood ELB. well maybe not everything, but a good start. maybe last summer. good luck w/your search.

                             chuck

[Kegan]

Normally, they'll be wider than you might want to hold/shoot. 1 1/2" wide is a good start. Mulberry is a bit better, and makes a good ELB, but hickory and walnut- though they will make good ELB's- are not the best choice. However! I've heard in a few spots that hickory backed walnut ELB's are excellent bows, not only in shooting but also aesthetcis.

[burn em up chuck]

 ok, i hope this helps. p.66 a post by minuteman, p.94& p.96 posts by kegan, lots of info. 

                                                     chuck

[nickf]

for warbows, I like them 75-78" long, 1 1/2" wide, and slowly tapering to 1/2"nocks, with a more or less flat belly.
Elb's just need to be shorter, as they're usually drawn 4" shorter, and less weight. So, you may go down to 67-70" long, and a 1"- 1 1/4" wide, flat belly (for around 40-70#@28")

Nick

[stringstretcher]

Someone told me that a true ELB, has a deminsion of no more than 5/8 of thickness to the width of the bow at any one point.

[Dean Marlow]

Thanks guys for all the info. I got several seasoned walnut staves so will try these for the English longbows and a couple of good mulberry for the war bows. Also a couple of dried pig nut hickory to work with. Dean