ASH MOLLY and 2 PYRAMIDS ( pic heavy)

[Markus]

Looking good. Markus

[dragonman]

Hello Crooketarrow....you ask , why do I build board bows? ....why do you not  build board bows?.....A question deserves an answer
 I have found that quarter sawing the log makes the best bow, with the grain orientation running at right angles to the limb face.....the wood seems stronger this way....in my limited experience, not saying I proved this, just appears this way to me,

I cant see the point using twisted knotted wood if you get hold of straight grained knot free wood, .then why not square up your stave ? kinda logical way to approach making a bow, when there is no need to worry about cutting through growth rings...!! .... I am sure many primitive bows where made this way too  , it is no less primitive anyway

Does anyone else have this experience?

[Pappy]

Man you been busy,nice work and thanks for sharing.
 Pappy

[soy]

They Look great

[ajbruggink]

Hello Crooketarrow....you ask , why do I build board bows? ....why do you not  build board bows?.....A question deserves an answer
 I have found that quarter sawing the log makes the best bow, with the grain orientation running at right angles to the limb face.....the wood seems stronger this way....in my limited experience, not saying I proved this, just appears this way to me,

I cant see the point using twisted knotted wood if you get hold of straight grained knot free wood, .then why not square up your stave ? kinda logical way to approach making a bow, when there is no need to worry about cutting through growth rings...!! .... I am sure many primitive bows where made this way too  , it is no less primitive anyway

Does anyone else have this experience?

This sounds like a similar concept to one that is discussed in TBB vol. II in the chapter 'Ancient European Bows', where the first bow fragments were Scotch Pine made in the same way you made these bows. I do know that talking to non-bowyers about the requirements for a self bow from a stave (following one ring etc.) always make their head spin, but they seem to understand the concept having straight grain from end to end easier. This makes me agree that this method was used in the past because it does not seem in my experience that following one ring on the back of the bow is an easy concept to understand for a lot of people.   

[half eye]

I guess I've made quartersawed board bows for a lot of years (sawing my own as well). While mention of a "board" draws a lot of distain, a "decrowned stave" is considered a masterpiece of ingenuity.

A little food for thought is.... think about the difference between a log with the center 1 or 2 inches cut out and used for a bow....and a round log with the back and belly "decrowned" Both ways produces a standing ring bow stave. Like everything else in bow making everybody has their own take on it. Dragonman my experience is the same as you so my advise would be build what you believe is the best bow that you can make, if it's stave or board who cares

Sorry for the highjack....
rich

[Swampman]

I love the look of ash. The grain really stands out and these bows are beautiful.  Oh and I almost forgot, they look like they would work great to make meat.  I get they are sweet to shoot.  Nice work.

[Jodocus]

Good looking bows, nice work on these. They look great together becase of the consistent design. Ready for a party of hunters.

Ash has very distict grain, very pretty. What kind of ash ist it? heat treated? We have european ash here that looks quite exactly the same, but in my exerience it would take most massive set in a design with such a wide back. It is tremendously strong in tension.

At least for the ash I know and have worked with, young saplings with a hight crown indeed make much better bows than boards. boards would have to be trapped a lot (1:2)

[joachimM]

I cant see the point using twisted knotted wood if you get hold of straight grained knot free wood, .then why not square up your stave ? kinda logical way to approach making a bow, when there is no need to worry about cutting through growth rings...!! .... I am sure many primitive bows where made this way too  , it is no less primitive anyway

Does anyone else have this experience?

If you're working with medium-size logs (say 12-15 cm diameter), this also seems to me a fast way to make a bow, especially with less advanced (not to say primitive) tools. Split a log in the center, and split these two again in the center and you have four bow staves at the ready.  If the grain was followed well during the splitting, I use the split heartwood surface as the back of a bow, and chop of the rest with a hatchet till I get a rough bow-like profile. This way you get a bow similar to a quartersawn board bow.
Works fine for me, and I'm sure that this could also work with much larger diameter logs. On pedunculate oak (similar and closely related to white oak), which has quite a lot of sapwood, I prefer not to have all sapwood bows, and like to use heartwood for the belly. Instead of chasing a ring, I use the split surface as the back.

Joachim

[dragonman]

I agree with you Joachim and with you half eye.
There are many advantages to quarter sawn grain orientation....another one is that it averages out differences in yearly growth rings, in each limb....you wil have maybe 20 growth rings or more, travelleing accross the limbs perpendiculary instead of 3 or 4 , if the rings run parrallel with the back face.....( on the chasing the rings method)...this means that if you aim for symetry when making the bow, they tend to bend more equaly, when you first bend the bow. avoiding stressing one limb more than  another.
Also, when you use the natural back for the bow, you are only using the trees newest wood, which is the weakest....the most flexible maybe , but it has very ittle compressive strength....and the main power of a bow is its compressive strength ,,,the inner wood has naturaly hardened with age...and should be used if possible...

Dave

feel free to hijack any of my threads, let them go where they will..