can u tell me about this indian archery flat bow

[don s]

[don s]

click on the pic and it will take you to my photo bucket where i have more pics of the bow. my brother in law gave it to me. it has a pretty big set from being strung for i don't know how long. i think it's hickory. the backing appears to be a very thin wood laminate but thers a layer of something over that. thats what is black and i don't know what that is. a hole is drilled in the top limb tip. maybe for a string keeper. the tip overlays just look to be very thin pieces of leather. not sure though. if more or better pics are needed let me know.

[don s]

i forgot to take some measurements. 64 1/4 oal, 63 ntn, handle is 1" wide by 1 3/4" deep by 10" in length from fade to fade. limbs are 1 1/2" wide at the fades and 1 3/4" at mid limb tapering to 1/2" nocks. the handle looks like it may be walnut between the hickory. not sure though.

[don s]

one other thing i want to ask. do you think this bow can be reglued and used? the only crack i see is right below the emblem. everything else is delaminated and could possibly be reglued.

[don s]

no body??? c'mon. there has to be some one here that can help me.

[Blackstick]

My Dad's old Indian long bow has the same hole drilled thru the tip. It's also in need of repair.

[Liquid Amber]

The hole is a string keeper.  The bow is likely not worth the time to attempt putting back in service.  

It's either hickory or lemonwood, but from what I could see it looks like lemonwood.  Photos are not the easiest to ID wood from.  Don't be too hard on me if it turns out to be hickory.     I don't miss many if I can get my hands on the wood.

Hickory is a coarse wood and easy to see where growth rings have been violated.  Lemonwood is finer and more difficult to determine violated growth rings.

Both hickory and lemonwood were used to quickly cut out a bow as both can withstand ring violation on the back.  There was no attempt to follow a ring on the back and with power tools, they could be produced rapidly.

They were a low-end bow and hundreds of thousands produced.  But, they provided an economical introduction to archery.

Fiber backing was common.

This bow is the one that coined the term "flatbow."  When you see the term "flatbow" used historically to specifically define a wood bow, this is it, this what it looks like.