Bought my first vintage flatbow,need major Help and advice

[el greco]

I bought this one from the auction site for 640$.It is a significant amount of money for me and I had to sell 2 of my other bows to raise funds.The ad said it was a vintage orange Osage selfbow with static tips from the 1940 s about 60 inches long and 100# heavy.Yeap that was not a typo.I am now shootin a 70# recurve pretty easy and dead accurate from 30 yards.
MANY questions in my mind as  a:I ve never handled a selfbow. b:Don't know the draw length the bow was made for(I dr#w 27) c:was told I need to take it easy in the beginningflexing the limbs slowly.Does this take days?do I leave it strung overnight?d:arrow weight?found some 115 spined cedars.But still with a heavy head if the bow is indeed 100 #will a 700 grain arrow will be OK?does the 8 grain minimum perpound rule apply here as well?
Gentlemen I am going to be inTanehill park for the Howard Hill shoot at the end of the month.If some of you want to take a look at it and tell me your honest opinion I would very much appreciate it.
P.s feel free to share your knowledge with me cause as I said I don't know a thing about selfbows.I ll post pics once I receive it in a few days.

[Frenchymanny]

One thing I am sure of, never let your selfbow strung overnight.

Usually selfbows are not center cut, so you should be OK with lower spine arrows.

Good luck!

F-Manny

[el greco]

 
 
 
These are a few pics from the site.My bow is the one on the bottom.

[el greco]

Where are all the selfbow guys?

[gringol]

I think you may get away with the same spine rating you are currently using, but I think you need a heavier arrow.  IMO selfbows are more sucsepctible to underweight arrows than fiberglass bows.

You should definitely spend some time exercising the bow before you bring it to full draw.  It may have been sitting for a long time and yanking it to full draw could break it.  I'm not the most experienced at this, but you should be able to do a search for this in the Bowyers Bench forum.  Or just ask the question there, lot's of knowledgable folks over there.

good luck. looks like a fun bow.

[Hud]

Your questions are good, and it sounds like you are aware of the problem with stringing the bow, leaving it strung and trying to shoot it without knowing more.

You might check with Ted Fry at Raptor Archery, or Mike Yancy, Pine Hollow Longbow. The bow building forum might be a source. Look in the resource forum. Try the Sponsors directory on the homepage of TG. There are a number of very good books on building and care of self bows. Those still in print are available thru Kustom King, 3Rivers, and other sponsors. There are a number of bowyers, outside TG, building selfbows and they have ads online and in Trad. bowhunting magazines.

I would keep a notebook handy to write down info as you find sources.  
   

[Bjorn]

I'm one of the 'selfbow guys' you asked about still lifting my jaw off the spacebar and having difficulty typing!    
 
One of the things to check for with that age of bow is crysalis-a breakdown of the wood fibers. It will appear as horizontal lines under the finish-and not uncommon. Look for it anywhere there may have been stress Id examine the whole bow with a magnifying glass before even thinking about stringing that bow. Good luck
and keep us posted.

[eidsvolling]

I shoot two old selfbows. One was made in 1943 for my dad. (That's not a typo.) I looked at that bow as a keepsake, not dreaming of shooting it, for the first ten years I had it after he passed. Then I took the plunge.

I followed this advice from "the auction site" a few years back and it has served me very well:    DON\\'T BREAK THAT OLD BOW  

One more thing: I keep my bows suspended on bungy cords in my basement. I'm convinced that the environment down there has been very good for them.

The bow shoots like a dream. I hope you have the same good fortune with yours.

[eidsvolling]

Duplicate deleted.

[SELFBOW19953]

When you start drawing the bow, pull back slowly, very slowly.  My grandfather gave me his old 1 piece lemonwood longbow many years ago.  I had shot it for over a year.  One day while stringing it, I pulled back quickly (I could see a rabbit and was in a hurry to get a shot)-I became the proud owner of a useless 3 piece bow.

[eidsvolling]

I'll say on the basis of my own experience with an old lemonwood bow (another bow made for my father) that you might want to say your goodbyes first. They're often pretty dry and brittle when they're old. I tried straightening the bow over the course of a few days. It shattered quite unexpectedly and disappointingly.