Recurve pyramid self bow?

[Buzz Killington]

Hello all, I just joined the site and just finished my first bow yesterday. It's a red oak pyramid board bow, 67" nock to nock. It turned out pretty good, but I'm thinking about building another one with a different riser shape, ect. ect.
 But the main thing I was wondering is, have any of you ever recurved a pyramid bow? I'd like to make a recurve, but I don't have the resources (or skills, yet) to make a fiberglass laminate. Also, I would appreciate pics of any pyramid bow risers you've made/seen with arrow rests.

[Art B]

Unless you're after that "cool" looking factor, recurves aren't really a big advantage (if any) in these type bows. Now if you laminate or back with sinew, then yes, IMO, there could be a slight advantage in performance.

But to answer your question, sure you could recurve a pyramid design. This design needs a circular drawn profile for best efficiency and could benifit from a working handle to cope with the extra inner limb stress of the recurves. Keep it as short and wide as possible would probably help also.

Just my way of thinking, give it a few minutes and there will be others.........Art

[Buzz Killington]

While we're talking about this kind of bow, I've read elsewhere on this site that a fiberglass backing will overpower a red oak bow. Does this apply to the cloth fiberglass used to repair boats and the like, or is it talking about bow fiberglass only?

[gringol]

Originally posted by Buzz Killington:
While we're talking about this kind of bow, I've read elsewhere on this site that a fiberglass backing will overpower a red oak bow. Does this apply to the cloth fiberglass used to repair boats and the like, or is it talking about bow fiberglass only?

I've tried that type of glass.  It held the bow together just fine, but was slooowwwwww shooting.  I think there is just more glass in that stuff than you really need, so you're just adding a lot of dead weight.  That was the last time I tried glass on a self-bow, so someone else will have to comment on the other stuff.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Recurving a red oak board is a dead end. Im sure one in a hundred might work. If you want to build a recurve cut or buy some osage and build one that will last. They are cool to look at, but dont really do much more than a well built flat bow with flipped tips and some reflex. Leave the drywall tape for the drywallers. Back your bows with rawhide or sinew.

[Buzz Killington]

Originally posted by gringol:
I've tried that type of glass.  It held the bow together just fine, but was slooowwwwww shooting.  I think there is just more glass in that stuff than you really need, so you're just adding a lot of dead weight.  That was the last time I tried glass on a self-bow, so someone else will have to comment on the other stuff.

What sort of materials make good backings for red oak? I'm not looking to increase draw weight, just to help prevent an explosion if the bow fails.

[Buzz Killington]

Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
Recurving a red oak board is a dead end. Im sure one in a hundred might work. If you want to build a recurve cut or buy some osage and build one that will last. They are cool to look at, but dont really do much more than a well built flat bow with flipped tips and some reflex. Leave the drywall tape for the drywallers. Back your bows with rawhide or sinew.

All right, I am now going to hijack my own thread and say that the topic of discussion has moved from recurving to general questions about oak bows.

[Loren Holland]

if you want to experiment with increasing performance then try a R/D design, glue in some perry reflex, using a hickory backing, you will get the protection you want, and the performance. the downside is that any reflex, all the way out to a recurve especially will not be as stable...the earlier advice about staying wide, is spot on, thin tips that you usually want, will twist if you don't tiller just right

[Buzz Killington]

My main wonder about recurving was mostly concerned with getting the same power out of a shorter bow. I probably should have mentioned that in my original post...  

[GentlemanArcher]

4est trekker used glue on recurve tips on his build a long, so a static recurve.  I followed along and by the time I was done, the glue on tips left the bow "flat".  So they countered the set that red oak takes.  The unstrung profile looks like a mild deflex/reflex design. And the best part is the bow shoots just fine.   For backing I used linen.  

GA

[dmikeyj]

Hasn't there been a 48" red oak bow on here somewhere?  Or was that a kid's bow?

Now you got me searching for the shortest hunting weight red oak bow, found this quick-
 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=005804#000000

[dmikeyj]

Here you go-  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=007151#000000

[Buzz Killington]

GentlemanArcher, did you get the curve template from 4est trekker, or did you just wing it? I sent him a message today asking for it, but the site says he hasn't been on in a while so I don't know if I'll get an answer.

[4est trekker]

Buzz...sent you an email with the templates.

Also, I generally use a pyramidal profile for all of my bows, including recurves.  I always get the bow bending well to 2-3" short of the desired draw length, then recurve the tips.  It makes tillering much easier.  That said, I almost always make a static recurve and laminate the tips to keep them stiff.  Here's a couple pics of the last one I did:

 

 

 

 

 


Also, if you're looking for a cheap and simple insurance backing, try brown paper.  You can buy a roll of brown shipping paper at most of the big box stores.  It works well in my experience.

Lastly, the buildalong in which I used glued-on "recurved tips" indeed does produce nothing more than a slight reflex at the tips.  If you keep them stiff, they won't pull out.  If they work a little, they'll flatten a touch.  Either way, they do add some performance.  In fact, it's probably a better addition than a full recurving of the tips, in that it doesn't stress the inner 2/3 of each limb nearly as much, particularly on red oak.  

Hope that helps    

Regards,

Curt

[Buzz Killington]

4est trekker, that helps a lot. I found your buildalong after I posted this thread, and it's given me a lot of ideas about my next bow. Those nocks look amazing btw.

[jtbluefeather871]

Dang Curt. That's a pretty bow. Almost makes me want to quit trying to build my own and just start buying from everyone else!  'cept I'm addicted to the build, and want to try about every type I've seen in these threads.  Thanks for the inspiration.