Ash bow layout

[Jeremy]

It's been awhile since I've messed with a selfbow... been doing boo and hickory backed bows.

I found an old ash stave I cut back in '96 when I was back at my folk's place last weekend and my memory of how ash acts leads me to believe I won't be making the bow I want to make out of it, so I'm looking for some input.

Stave is 66" long, 3" wide for 2/3 of it's length and around 1.5" at the ends.  Plenty of width and after trimming will probably end up at 64" ntn.

Wouldn't be a problem, except my draw length is 30"   :D    I was thinking a semi-rigid handle and flipping the tips slightly.  I do want to stick with a narrowed handle for comfort, but haven't had much luck getting a bend-through-the-handle bow

[Shakes.602]

I dont know how Ash is with Compression.....or Tension for that matter. If it was Me, being the "Rookie Bowyer" that I am, I would back it with either of the 2 woods above. Call Me Chicken!  :rolleyes:      
   Better that than a Hard Wonk on the Melon!!     Been hit in the Cranium too many times as it is, dont know how many more I can take!!  

[Jeremy]

Ash is better than red oak in compression and tension and not as good as hickory in either (but really, what is? )  It doesn't have the moisture problems that hickory does, but you have to pay more attention to early:late wood ratios.  I did a few ash board bows that turned out good a few years back.  They were in the 68" ntn range though.

I still have boo for backing a few bows and a HBIpe ready to floor tiller (and has been that way for 3 years), but a selfbow is calling to me.  

I will have to chase a ring on this ash stave due to some damage sometime in the last decade, but the stave is straight as can be with only a minor propellor twist to it.  Ratio of early:late wood is good.  It may get a backing of some kind just to keep any fibers down.

'Course, with the amount of shop time I'm getting and the number of projects that are in the queue ahead of this, it'll be late Winter before I start to make shavings!

[Diamondback59]

jermey  iv never   chased a ring on ash  but if  ya have some worm damage  and  ya have to  then id make a self  bow out of it  man if ur drawin 30  you gotta be a big ol kid  geeze im 6 7 and i only draw 28   haha  what id do  it  back that thing with rawhide  or sinew it  make ur limbs wide as ya can iv only made a couple ash bows   now so im just thinkin here  maybe a paddle bow would be  in the works for this as i know it s not near what hickory is  so im thinkin keep  ur max  wideth  in  it   ask dano to chime in here or pappy or pat b   they d be better  awnserin this one than me   good luck  brock

[Jeremy]

I'm not a big guy (5'11" or so) but I'm built like an ape.  Broad shoulders and knuckles that drag on the ground  :D

I was playing with a new bow the other day and noticed the tips on my old 30.5" BOP arrows were contacting the shelf.  So I went back and checked my draw length on two other bows.  At some point this year my draw length increased again: 30.5" on a med/high wrist grip and 30" on the low grips.

Holmegaard profile and tiller?  Pyramid with circular tiller? or a standard bow with a slightly elliptical tiller?  What's the consensus; what's my best bet here?  Aiming for 50-55# @30" and a 64" bow.

[George Tsoukalas]

Your draw is long for a 66 in stave; build a bend in the handle bow. Ash is weak in compression so tiller carefully. Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

LOL, Jeremy. I reread your post. You have to fit the proper design to the stave (which is too short for you) and not fit the stave to the design. Or something like that. LOL. Leave it 1.5 in and don't narrow the handle. Well you could but that introduces some considerations in a bend in the handle bow.

[George Tsoukalas]

LOL, you have worm holes in it too.    Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

If you measure down a 1/2 inch and then 3/4 inch and draw a diagonal you can get away with smaller nocks.  That' will give you closer to 65 in ntn. Jawge

[Jeremy]

Jawge, no wormholes, just some dings and gouges in the outer most layer.

My plan is to try a slight bend through the handle bow.  I think going 1.5" wide max is going to be a recipe for firewood and really don't like shooting bows like that anyway, so with whatever final profile I go with it'll have a narrowed and thicker handle.  Getting the handle/fades bending evenly has been a problem of mine in the past and likely will be w/ this one as well.

I was curious as to what others experiences were for the various profiles under similar conditions.  

I have the width in the stave for a pyramid bow with 3" at the base, but going that route it'll be even more difficult to get the fades and handle bending.

A holmegaard-type profile with the inner limbs being close to 3" concentrates the bending and strain, but also puts lots of wood there to do it.  Same issue as above.

A 2-2.25" wide limb for 1/2" it's length with a slightly elliptical tiller would make it easier for me to get the fades and handle bending.

The stave is clean, but short.  I'm just seeing what everyone's thoughts are.   Which design is going to handle the strain the best?  Just looking at the square inches of bending limb wood for the above examples you get identical #'s... where the wood is changes.  A pyramid bow distributes the mass evenly.  The Holmegaard concentrates it and reduces the outer limb mass considerably.  I just don't have the practical experience with them to know if they are going to behave differently.

[George Tsoukalas]

You can leave it 1 inch thick and narrow it to 1.25 in wide. The handle will bend and it will bend through the fades but that's not easy to pull off. Have fun.

[jacobwyn]

From what I've heard about ash is that it will make a good bow and you don't have to chase rings, like hickory. The only problem is that it has to worked with a higher moisture content than any other wood. If it was cut in '96 it might not make a bow. The limbs do have to be wider in that 2 - 2 1/2". I hope this helps you out.