Maple Board bow design

[kylerprochaska]

Just seeing what you guys think....Ive got a maple board with good grain and no run off...Im just wanting to see if anyone has any design input on what type of bow i should make....I was thinking about a 66" flatbow design with a heat tempered belly and maybe flipping the tips an inch or so....i wasn't planning on backing it either...just straight up wood.  Im looking to get around 50lbs out of it and use it as my bowfishing bow next summer...any suggestions are welcome.

-Ky

[tronman]

I made a flat bow out of maple board from Home Depot. I backed with linen and is 66 inches long. It has a  4.5 inch handle with 1-3/4 inch long fades. The bow is 2 inches wide at the fades and it remains 2 inches wide until the last 11 inches where it taper to 3/8 of an inch at the tips. I was not sure what type of maple it was so backed it and maybe over built it a little. I did not heat treat this bow and it pulls about 60 lbs at 28 inches. A little under 1.5 inches of set on each side at rest.  It shoots an arrow fast and straight. This was the third bow I made and I like this bow a lot.

[kylerprochaska]

thanks tronman....maybe I will put some linen on the back...just for some added protection

-Ky

[Canoe]

Howdy Ky,

Tronman's suggested design sounds good to me.  (I have made about eight bows with dimensions similar to those provided by Troman.)

Heat treating, flipping the tips, or backing the bow is not necessary.  But, if you want to give these things a try - then go for it.  However, be sure to apply the backing after you're done heating the bow.

Pictures, (even of boards), are always welcomed and are usually helpful.
 
How big is your board?  Can you make more than one bow from it?  If so, perhaps you could make two bows from the same board, with the same dimensions and poundage, and then heat treat, flip, and back only one of the two bows, so you can do a side-by-side comparison of efficiency / cast.  You could also draw up an F/D curve for each bow for comparison. 

Any way, Best of Luck to you,
Canoe

[kylerprochaska]

I broke it.....    Ive come to believe that after osage....I "can't" make a board bow....

-Ky

[NTProf]

My primary hunting weapon this year is a maple board bow of similar dimensions to those mentioned above. It is backed with burlap and has several hundred shots through it. Still has only about 1/4 inch of set at rest. I love maple boards.

[Canoe]

Pictures!!!!   

[VenomBOWslinger]

yes pictures please!!!! Also like to mention by some means u dont reach ur target draw weight a good backing like sinew would bring it up a little!!!

CHEERS!!!

[George Tsoukalas]

Sorry to hear that. But it's all about the grain. There's more on my site. Jawge

[JW_Halverson]

I used to think Jawge was shamelessly merchandising his own site until I went there and read his stuff.  Holy osage, Bowman, that guy has a lot of stuff to say!  Jawge knows boardbows, and I will humbly submit to his overwhelming experience. 

Don't give up on making boards into bows, they may not be as sexy as a stave bow, but they can be deadly weapons when built correctly. 

[sailordad]

I used to think Jawge was shamelessly merchandising his own site until I went there and read his stuff.  Holy osage, Bowman, that guy has a lot of stuff to say!  Jawge knows boardbows, and I will humbly submit to his overwhelming experience. 

Don't give up on making boards into bows, they may not be as sexy as a stave bow, but they can be deadly weapons when built correctly. 

i disargree. a board bow can be just as or more sexy than a stave bow.
its all in the attention given it during the making process.
i have made some ass ugy stave bows and a few super sweet board bows

yes Jawge knows his shiznit