First Osage longbow. Should I recurve tips and why?? Recurve Vs Streight?

[Capt]

I'm receiving my first Osage stave this week and considering recurring the tips? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? Will it be faster?

Maybe smoother? I hear a lot about recurves being noisier?

What are people's thoughts

[mullet]

Recurving the tips makes for a smoother draw.

[adb]

Reflexed or recurved limbs store more energy, and the bow will shoot faster. Any recurves I have aren't any noisier than any other bows.

[Weylin]

I think it's easy to make recurved tips too bulky if you're not careful. The excess weight can cancel out the benefits of the increased early draw weight. Just something to keep in mind.

[Capt]

Thanks for the Tips Guys... I think i will recurve a bit and keep the tips light... I'll be aiming for aroung 55 to 60# does this make a difference to the choice of recurve Vs Straight?

[adb]

Is this your first bow?

[Capt]

will be my second, you can check out my first in my other posted topic..

search Tzalam if your interested.. thats the type of wood i used...

[adb]

Recurved tips and tiller on an osage selfbow is a bit more advanced work. I didn't make a recurve until I had several years of bow making under my belt. Pound out a few more bows, get more experience with seeing proper tiller and then give your recurve a go. Just a thought.

[Capt]

Recurved tips and tiller on an osage selfbow is a bit more advanced work. I didn't make a recurve until I had several years of bow making under my belt. Pound out a few more bows, get more experience with seeing proper tiller and then give your recurve a go. Just a thought.

Appreciate the advice but i want to test my skills... Im the kind of guy that thrives in challenging situations... Its been a real learning curve building my first bow but i'm ready for the recurve...

Im an artist and an engineer... and know i can do it. any errors will be slight and just provide opportunities to learn / progress as a bowyer....

[Pat B]

I inadvertantly posted this on your other thread so I'm moving it here  ....

There are trade off with each style of bow. A recurve can be faster but it has more stress on a shorter section of limb because of the ststic recurves themselves and the fact that the tips are farther past the handle, pre-stressing the limbs when braced. Also,IMO, you want a short bow for your draw length so you allow the recurves to do the work intended.
 A straight limb longbow can be as fast as a recurve if the proper design is used and executed for full potential. A straight limb longbow is easier to shoot well and more forgiving when shot. It took me a while before I learned to shoot a short recurve well. A longbow was always easy for me to shoot well.

[Weylin]

I inadvertantly posted this on your other thread so I'm moving it here  ....

There are trade off with each style of bow. A recurve can be faster but it has more stress on a shorter section of limb because of the ststic recurves themselves and the fact that the tips are farther past the handle, pre-stressing the limbs when braced. Also,IMO, you want a short bow for your draw length so you allow the recurves to do the work intended.
 A straight limb longbow can be as fast as a recurve if the proper design is used and executed for full potential. A straight limb longbow is easier to shoot well and more forgiving when shot. It took me a while before I learned to shoot a short recurve well. A longbow was always easy for me to shoot well.

I concur.  Pat's easy to agree with.

[steve b.]

My thoughts are, based on what you said above, go for it.  If you are willing to scrap a bow or stave in order test your skills then there's no reason not to try.  It doesn't matter if there are advantages to the recurve, you want to test your skills--so have at it.
If you said your goal was to become a good, all-around bowyer, and should you recurve your second bow, I would say no, stick to the basics for awhile.

[twisted hickory]

Recurved tips and tiller on an osage selfbow is a bit more advanced work. I didn't make a recurve until I had several years of bow making under my belt. Pound out a few more bows, get more experience with seeing proper tiller and then give your recurve a go. Just a thought.

Appreciate the advice but i want to test my skills... Im the kind of guy that thrives in challenging situations... Its been a real learning curve building my first bow but i'm ready for the recurve...

Im an artist and an engineer... and know i can do it. any errors will be slight and just provide opportunities to learn / progress as a bowyer....

I made 10 longbows and tried two recurves...One survived the other is in the corner of education. I am far from an expert bow maker and dang it was a pain. The one that survived is a really nice shooter though. I say give it a try and remember to be patient. Don't be too surprised if it ends up being kindling though. If it works out you will have a heck of a nice bow
Don't forget to take lots of picts and keep us filled in.
Greg

[Capt]

My thoughts are, based on what you said above, go for it.  If you are willing to scrap a bow or stave in order test your skills then there's no reason not to try.  It doesn't matter if there are advantages to the recurve, you want to test your skills--so have at it.
If you said your goal was to become a good, all-around bowyer, and should you recurve your second bow, I would say no, stick to the basics for awhile.

Message taken on board steve...... Thanks alot for the advice. I was really just quite eager to be experimenting with heat and bending but with just the straightening and removing twist from the osage i should have enough to chew on... Who knows how the stave will bee anyhow? it may have some natural recurve?

Im all about working with the wood... letting the bow be the bow it wants to be... With this build i think im going to concentrate on becoming one with the wood and not forcing anything.... i.e. no crazy horn Bends just Yet...

Thanks Again your input and criticism much appreciated....

Bests

[PEARL DRUMS]

My thoughts are, based on what you said above, go for it.  If you are willing to scrap a bow or stave in order test your skills then there's no reason not to try.  It doesn't matter if there are advantages to the recurve, you want to test your skills--so have at it.
If you said your goal was to become a good, all-around bowyer, and should you recurve your second bow, I would say no, stick to the basics for awhile.

Couldn't agree more. Ill rarely tell anybody to avoid a certain build, regardless of experience.