Hey guys,
I am thinking about trying to make recurved bow in the near future and there is one question that I have that I can't seem to find a straight answer to: How long does the bow have to be before I bend the tips for the recurve? I know that may be a hard question to give a simple, flat out answer to because it may depend on a lot of things, the width of the limbs, what kind of bow it is, whether its backed or unbacked, what draw length and/or draw weight you're going for, so I'm going to try to make it easier by asking the question like this. I like to make D-bows, bows that are widest at the handle and bend throughout their length, I have a draw length of 28 1/4" so I build my bows to take a 29" draw, and I only need a bow with a light draw weight, 25 lbs or under. On a white wood stave such as ash, what would be the minimum length I need to make this style of bow a recurve with working recurves of about 3" in length? The reason I ask is because I figure that the recurves, even if they are 'working recurves', probably don't 'work' in the same way as a straight limbed bow's limbs do and add strain to the bow's limbs so I'm wondering if the stave should be a little longer to begin with? If a straight-limbed bow with a working handle that's 58" long can take a 29" draw if you do everything right, how long does an unbacked recurved bow have to be at the same draw weight and draw length to be just as safe? I realize I may have made a simple question harder to answer and for that I apologize. Your replies and/or critiques are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Aaron
