Newbie question(s)

[Chadwicksbog]

Hello all,

I am a Girl Scout camp ranger, I have gotten no archery budget for three years running, I am a traditional hand tool woodworker and a wood turner, I have a sawmill, and feel like I can bite a few kids bows off. I can chase a ring, have done that for chair making. I have 100 acres of eastern hardwoods with a good stand of young hickory. I am a level 1 archery instructor.

I read the first two bowyers bibles, but there are a few questions I didn't get answers for.

1- Where is the centerline of the bow? Where the web of the thumb meets the handle? The arrow rest?

2- Is it easier or harder to make a 20# bow than a 40#?

3- Will a self bow stand up to girl scouts repeated use? For how long? Say 100 shots a weekend 20 times a year.

Thanks in advance for any advise! These seem like silly questions after reading the threads here!

[ssgtchad]

Good luck   Hickory Makes a really great bow and should hold up fine, and the best part is you don't have to chase a ring.  Just remove the bark and there's your back.

[Chadwicksbog]

Haha sergeant chad and ranger chad! Looks like the late 70 s early eighties kids are here!

[SLIMBOB]

Good luck with your scouts.  My son is a scout as was I.  to your questions

1.  The center for me is the center of the bow.  The arrow pass can vary.

2.  It is easier to make a 20lb bow if you were aiming for 40, but harder if the goal was 20. Kids bows are fun but come with their own peculiarities when making them.

3.  Yes, they should hold up well for your girls.  Just keep them from sitting strung for days on end or getting wet, overdrawn or badly abused and they should hold up fine.   

[aaron]

welcome and good luck!
1. the center line  can be defined in 2 ways: draw a line between the tips. Hopefully the handle is along this line. this is the line that the string makes if you could transfer it to the bow. \ the second way to define this is: the center line is drawn by measuring the width of the bow at many points along it's length. at each point , you divide the width by 2 and mark your center at the midpoint of the width. connect all these dots and you have a centerline.this centerline could be straight or snakey. on a straight bow, both of these options are the same line. On a bow that is "snakey", they will be very different. But on both options, the handle should be along the centerline. Another way to put this is- If you draw a line between the tips, the middle of your handle should be somewhere near this line.
2. yes , way easier- you are asking less of the wood.
3. a self bow should last a decade or more if you follow the rules: dont draw it more than x inches. dont fire it without an arrow. dont put any deep scratches in it. always unstring it at night. it might get less powerful over time but it will still be a bow.

[ssgtchad]

Haha sergeant chad and ranger chad! Looks like the late 70 s early eighties kids are here!

lol that's retired Sargent Chad sirrrrr

[ssgtchad]

By the way of you're going to cut Hickory,  then wait till the spring.  If you cut it now you're going to have a battle on your hands getting the bark off without nicking the back. Good luck and thanks for helping out the little ladies.

[Del the cat]

The centre line is (IMO) the geometric centre, which is about where the force of the bow meets the hand (web/base of thumb) the arrow pass is normally 1" above that.
I think it's easier to make a 40# than a 20# as the margin for error is greater. E.G 1/16 of an inch difference in limb thickness will be more significant on the 20# as the limbs are thinner to start with.
A decent self bow will take plenty of use unless it's made too short for the draw length (which is a common mistake)
Good luck and have fun.
Del

[Chadwicksbog]

[/quote]lol that's retired Sargent Chad sirrrrr
[/quote]

Hahahaha!

[Chadwicksbog]

If you guys had these woods available, what would you choose for your first bow staves?

Oaks both white and all reds
Maples hard and soft
Ash
Hickory mostly shagbark
Ironwood mostly hornbeam, some hop hornbeam
Walnut
Birch,yellow
Beech
Cherry, black and choke

[SLIMBOB]

I believe you will get varied opinions here based on someone's experience and personal preference.  Most of those are fine woods.  My preference would be hickory, white oak, hard maple.  I have one hop hornbeam that I got in a trade which is one of my favorite bows but I have never made one from it.  Good straightish knot free woods of those types would be what I would go with.

[aaron]

I think i misread your first question. See Del's answer

[Pat B]

I'm assuming you will be milling lumber for bows. If so you can cut the wood anytime. You will need to rick the lumber and give it time to dry(season). Once the wood has stabilized a bit you should be able to rough out the basic shape. By doing so the drying time will be reduced but you will have to support them to prevent warping as they dry.
You can make bows symmetrical or asymmetrical. I make all my bows symmetrical meaning the center of the bow from tip to tip is the center of the 4" handle. Asymmetrical bows usually have 1 1/4" above the center line and 2 3/4" below the center line for a 4" handle. For me it is easier to see proper tiller with a symmetrical bow.
 Once you make a few bows you should be able to rough out bows to a certain dimension on a production line with just a little scraping here and there to get a tillered bow.
 If taken care of these bows should last a long time.

[Chadwicksbog]

Thanks guys! I will probably get some hickory lumber from an Amish freind who steam bends, because there is a lot of the same issues with grain run out. Then I don't kill a tree for my first oops! Then when I think I can make a few that will work I can cut a hickory in spring, or an ash/ white oak if it is soon and split some staves out of a tree, ultimately I want to make trad stave bows for them, but why not make mistakes on wood that has been forced down the lumber path already!

Is this thinking reasonable?

[Chadwick]

That thinking is great for practice. Re-finishing the bows once in a while will also be a good idea, depending on wear and tear.
I mainly wanted to post so that another Chadwick is on this discussion!