First wood bow . one question ?

[Dreamcatcher]

Hi

  I am gonna try my first bow.  i live on  long island  and dont know my wood types to good.  I want a bow i cut down and make a longbow from 1 stave.  

  my question is.  I cut a peice of wood.  70" and its a oak tree , or stave..  Is Oak any good to make bows out of.  

 And what type of bow would be best to build with this wood ?  longbow, shortbow.  

any help would be appreciated
ty

[Tvoskamp]

I would call Ted Fry at Raptor Archery.  I got my staves from Him recently and he has been a huge help to me from start to finish.

[hit or miss]

Get your hands on the Bowyer's Bible series of books, they are a great reference to read while you wait for the stave to dry down.

They outline bow design, emphasizing the different designs for the different woods.  They also outline a way to speed dry your staves so you can make more bows faster.

I haven't attacked a self bow yet, but I'm working on a Bamboo backed Hickory from a board.

Check out the build alongs too.

Good luck!

Scott

[Dreamcatcher]

Does anyone know if u can make a good bow with oak wood ????  

   i never see any talk  of using oak wood,

[Pluck Yew]

Oak is very good bow wood...good luck..

Shawn...

[John Scifres]

Oak works fine.  Make it 68" NTN, 1-3/4" wide for half the limb and tapering to 1/2" nocks.  Oak isn't the strongest in compression but is pretty toough in tension.  In other words, it will follow the string a bit more than premium woods but will not break.  If you can put up with a little longer bow, like 72", you can make a 50 pounder that will stay pretty straight.

[Dreamcatcher]

Hey

  Thanx so much for the info on oak wood.  I got a great stave i cut , 70 inches long,  guess ill start taking off the bark..  

wish me luck.

[Dreamcatcher]

Hey

  I want this bow to be for my nephews, like a build along.  

  they are 10 years old , what would be a good length for a ten year old.   I would like it to be pullable by a ten year old and shorrt enough to be able to be used also by my 2 5 year old nephews.

any recomennded height for a kid bow  would be appreciated.  

thanks again.

[Springbuck]

If the tree is not too small, you can make the limbs even wider.

[Roy Steele]

Oak is not a good wood to start with.I think O'sage is best.But hard to work.Hickory next best and a joy to work.I'd build a hickory stick.