selfwood recurve help

[Muleman027]

I've built a few board bows greatly from the help of 4est,and sulphur(thanks guys your awesome)but now i want to try a boardbow recurve but need some advise (what to buy everything locally)what type of wood,how long of riser,how wide,heres what i want 40-45lbs @ 26" 56"-58"ntn,a working limb,plan on using steam to bend the limbs but open to ideas and suggestions i thank-you for your help.Mule

[briarjumper12]

I too would be interested in a selfwood recurve.  I have pignut hickory to work with.  Would love to recurve one.  I will be watching this thread with interest.

[Pat B]

I've never built a board recurve but have built a few stave bows that are recurved. The bow in my avatar is 60" osage and draws 56#@26". I traded that bow but believe it is 1 1/2" most of the way out the limbs then narrowing to 3/8" at the tips.
  Hickory would be a good choice for a board recurve. Generally hickory bends better with steam but be sure the grain is perfect and be sure the curved area is well supported with a metal band as you bend to help prevent splintering.

[Muleman027]

i forgot to ask should i back it and with what

[Pat B]

It will depend on the board. With the right board there is no need to back it although a backing of rawhide, silk or linen would be good insurance. You could add a hickory backing(even on a hickory board) but you would probably have to pre-bend both the backing and belly before glue-up.
  Another method of recurving would be to cut a kerf, horizontally into the tip for about 6" to 8", add a spline that fits the kerf and bend then cold at glue-up. I have seen bows done like this but haven't done it myself.

[4est trekker]

Pat:  Can you elaborate on that technique a bit?  It's sounds interesting, but I'm not familiar with it.  Do you have any links/pictures?  Thanks!

[Pat B]

The kerfed and splined tips?  No I don't. Someone on Primitive Archer had one a year or so ago. Might have been Justin Snyder but I don't remember for sure.

[Bruce Martin]

Dean Torges' great video on Hunting the Bamboo Backed Bow shows a form for recurving and his methiod of kerfing the tips for recurving with a spline added. He does not describe prebending the bamboo. I did one with a heat gun by prebending the tips, then glueing in the bamboo and it worked great. Although my recurves are not pronounced and in fact might be described more as a longbow as the string barely touches at brace. The bow is spliced osage boards that are quarter-sawn and very clear with no pin knots.

[Art B]

It's a pretty straight forward operation 4est. Just rip your tips (edgewise) on a band saw for about 8" os so. You can add a spline if you like or simply fill the cut with glue/epoxy and clamp shut in a suitable form. As bruce mentioned, you're not going to get a great pronounced curve with a cold glue-up. But doing a little heating before hand will allow for a little more bend.