Copying a bow

[talkingcabbage]

So I've got an old Indian Archery recurve that I'm thinking of trying to remake.  It's a 54" shortie that pulls about 45# @ 28".

What I'm wondering is if I just lay the bow out on a piece of plywood and trace it to make a form, will I get the same shape of bow?  Or do I need to draw the curves a little deeper to make it come out the same after tillering and profiling?  Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Crooked Stic]

Yeah you will have some spring back off the form maybe a 1/4 in. I have used posterboard for patterns.

[talkingcabbage]

Thanks!  It'll be a bit before I'm able to do it, but I'll be sure to let ya'll know how she turns out.

[JamesV]

As Crooked Stic said, you will get a little springback but it will not be enough to matter in performance or profile. I have copied dozens of bows and they all shot just as good or better than the original, but with my cosmetic spin.