How narrow can limbs be? (Important)

[Knotty]

Hey guys,
Today I was checking out my Guava stave and I re-checked the string alignment..
I noticed that having the string aligned through the center of the stave would leave me with EXTREMELY narrow limbs..
I'm talking about 1" handle tapering to 1/2" tips.. Wouldn't that be too narrow?
How could I compensate the narrow limbs? Maybe with limb thickness during tillering?

I read one of Manny's posts from his Guava hunting ELB in which he said that the best design for guava wood is the deep narrow one..
However mine is too narrow I think.
Should I consider throwing away the stave?
This got me a little down.. I had high hopes for my guava .

I'd appreciate any reply .
Thanks in advance. 👍

[SLIMBOB]

I cant tell you anything about guava but, in general, string tracking imo is a little overrated on flat bows.  Once you pull the string the tips will seek  their own center.  Narrow thin tips like lever bows it is critical,but not so much otherwise.  I say this because you said the string leaves you with a 1 inch wide bow.  That means your string does lie along the handle so it doesn't sound to bad.  If a bow shoots well then I wont bother with string tracking MUCH.  You can heat and bend the bow in the handle to bring the tips in if you need. If a string lies off to the arrow pass side a little, that's ideal for me.

[Knotty]

I'll take a picture and show you, give me 2 minutes.

[Knotty]

Nevermind, it would look too confusing.

Anyway, do you think that at those measurements it could keep up?

I mean.. Guava is surely very tension strong and I could always heat treat the belly.

[SLIMBOB]

Thin wood can bend into a tighter radius before taking set or breaking, so narrow thick limbs can be a problem.  I know nothing about Guava, so that is a question for someone else.  My question is why make it so narrow if you don't have to?  I have given you a way to easily tweak the string tracking?  Get a picture up of the belly with the string tied on.

[Dakota Kid]

How wide is the stave? That's the only basic limiting factor when it comes to limb width.

String alignment shouldn't really dictate limb width. Make your bow as you had originally planned and if you need to adjust the string alignment once you have it to bow dimensions a simple steam bending should take care of it.

[Knotty]

Alrighty then, I'll proceed as I had previously planned, and we'll see what happens, thanks for the help guys!

[Del the cat]

I've just measured my 40# boo backed Yew ELB   0.962" wide just above the grip. So yes it's doable
I generally rough out a 30mm wide in the centre section for an ELB of upto 50# weight.
Del

[Knotty]

Del , the problem is, yours is a longbow, while my stave is only 55" long.
That really changes things up!

[bubby]

I have made plenty of bows an inch wide at 50# sounds like the problem is you need to do some alignment

[bubby]

Knotty listen to the advice given if a longbow can be that narrow and still be stable you don't think a short bow can? It takes less wood to make a short bow besides the obvious length difference

[SLIMBOB]

If it is the stave you have in your first post, they seem to be very knotty as well.  Short knotty narrow thick limbs might not be your best option.  I too have bows with a width of 1 inch or so.  Some are short little Plains style bows of 48-52 inches in length so yeah it's doable, but most are pretty clean and knot free.  Still comes back to simple alignment that gives you some latitude in the width.

[Badger]

  I would make it bend through the handle, start tillering at whatever weight you are after and stop when it starts taking set, it might be 22" it might be 26". You can't get more than what the wood has in it to give thats a for sure positive.

[Knotty]

Alright , thanks to everyone who has given me some advice!
I really appreciate it!

I guess I'll go with the 1" thickness and see what happens 😉

[Newindian]

I have an Osage which is thinner and about 58" long and a 50 something pound draw weight, it's almost as thick as it is wide, but that is Osage.