first laminated bow questions

[White hair]

Ok I have never built a laminated bow before. I want to do a horse style. 45 lb. @ 27" . What do I need to do to start and where to get supplies ?    

[KenH]

"Horse bow" is a pretty open-ended description (even more than 'longbow').  It covers everything from Hun/Magyar to Persian to Ottoman to Mongol to Manchu -- and everything in between! All different, but all of them bow styles used by nomadic and military horse-mounted archers.

For a one-time laminated bow I would suggest a simple 2x12 and rubber band form like mine in the picture below. To cut out the curved shape you DO need a bandsaw -- a sabersaw will NOT work DAMHIK.  The rest of the form is 1/4" dowels and rubber bands you cut from a free discarded bicycle balloon tire innertube.

If you message me your address I'll send you a tracing of my Scythian style bow, shown below, along with the total thickness of laminations of wood and fiberglass you'll need to buy to get that 45# @ 27".  I'll also send along the step by step instructions for building the bow.   Binghams has all the laminations you need, plus the Pint Kit of Smooth-On EA-40 -- the epoxy of choice.

       
       
     48" tip-to-tip, mine is 35#@28"

   

FYI -- I'm going to be out at sea and out of internet range from the 25th through the 30th...

[White hair]

I am thinking a Magyar. A Hun would be nice too. But a Magyar I think.

[KenH]

There's a US bowshop that makes a Hungarian Kit, but their website seems to be broken-- at least tonight.  

A bow shop in the netherlands also has a kit, but shipping might be expensive.

Another shop make UFinish Hungarian style bows and he may still make kits as well.

A Magyar/Hun bow is basically a flat stack of laminations bent and glued around a crescent shaped "riser", to give the bow reflex.  At the ends are  wooden siyahs glued and wrapped in place.  I've never seen plans for a wood-glass laminate Magyar/Hun, just lots of examples of wood-horn-sinew replicas on the Asian Traditional Network.  

I've built a couple that were wood-wood composite, not wood-glass, so I could tell you the steps, but not the specifics to get the draw weight you want.  That would take at least one prototype bow which will probably be way too light or heavy; and then from it you can calculate the lamination stack needed to get the draw weight you want.  You could build a cheapo prototype for about $50, and then build the "keeper".

[White hair]

Maybe a Scythian bow. Give me the steps on the Magyar too please.

[KenH]

Send me your address in a PM