D-bow dimensions

[pjsnell]

Hi.

I'm working on a bow that was inspired by Mickey Lotz's article in PA - "the simple d bow".  I've roughed out an ash stave to these approximate dimensions:  62 inches long, 2 inches wide, 1.25 inches thick at the handle.  The limb width taper the last 12 inches down to just over half an inch wide, and thickness tapers from the handle down to half an inch at the tips.

It still isn't bending much (which is better than too much).  How thick would you expect the finished limbs to be?   :confused:

[formerbutcher]

Not sure ? Maybe 5/8" I just keep scraping until it bends to where i want it.

[Andrew Wesley]

no 2 pieces of wood are the same when building selfbows. just got to keep scraping till it looks good. just make sure to scrape a bit, then test it because sometimes a bow will deside to give really fast on you.
i've had a small piece of ocean spray that had a top limb about a 1/2" thick and the bottom limb was 1/4" thick. you just got to work with it and let it do what it's going to do.

[2treks]

What is Ocean spray?   (I know.. cranberry juice)

[Pat B]

Like others said, just keep scraping until it bends the way you want. Two inches may be too wide for a "D" bow. Hard to hold a 2" handle. You can reduce the handle area width but I would reduce the limb width a bit also. 1 5/8" +/- should be enough, especially if it bends through the handle.