I have been working on a hickory board bow but the poundage is coming out really light. I just sold the recurve that I hunt with so that I could buy a band saw with the intention of making a bow that I can hunt with this fall so I really need a bow. I'm afraid that the bow I am working on will be to light to hunt with. I would like to get the next one to 50lbs or more if possible. I still have a great hickory board to use. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I don't own a bow grade bandsaw. Start another bow.

What dimensions did you use?

Bend in the handle bows are easier to make.

There is red oak buildalong on my site. That bow is 1.5 in. You could get high 40's at 1 3/8" but it takes a fe wbows to make weight.

Jawge

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

Matt, I would highly recommend Gary Davis'DVD "Rattlestick". Gary's technique for building selfbows makes it nearly impossible to miss weight.

You could start another one. Or you could cut that one shorter. Or you could reflex the tips.

yes if the bow is long enough , cut it shorter,, and start another one just in case,, nice to have a back up anyway if you can give us more detail,, we can get real specific with suggestions,,,bow length,, poundage now,,, etc etc etc,,,

one thing you could do is back the one you have, start with a 1/8 inch thick clear backing strip, I use titebond 111 Clamp it well and let it sit for 24 hours. this will add maybe 20-30 pounds to the draw weight. DO NOT take all the meat out of the belly, leave it a bit rounded, Very carefully take down the sides, make the backing match the shape of the bow. round the edges. taking meat off the sides will drop the weight drastically, go gently, taking too much meat off the belly will cause a hinge. or soft spot that will bend too much, as you take wood off the limbs let it rest for at least 48 hours between sessions to allow the wood to move to relieve internal stresses. have you ever split a 1by or a 2by and watched it curl up like a pretzel.....? The backing strip can be almost anything, hickory, bamboo, I am doing my first bamboo backed hickory board bow now, almost to brace heighth. yeaaaa. maple, anything that does not like to stretch. let us know how you make out with the bow. it will not have the long life of a glass bow because it is a piece of wood. practice spareingly. it's your new baby.

Right now the bow is at 68 inches and about 38 lbs. the limbs are a bit wider than I normally go, about 2 inches. I backed it with 2 strips of fiberglass drywall tape glued down with titebond III. I started another one tonight just in case. The first one has a beautiful piece of tulip wood that I picked up for the riser so I am definitely going to finish it even if it isn't heavy enough. Thanks for the help!

I would guess that it will pull close to 65#. now, 68 inches is a good length, a selflongbow should be the same as your height, to match your draw length. hold your arm straight out in front of you, fingers extended, measure from the tip of your social dinger to your breastbone. that is your draw length. good luck.

Make yourself a tillering gizmo, it will get you to your short string way over poundage so you won't remove so much wood during the tillering process.

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047#000000

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