Centershot Red Oak Board Bow

[Dublin Joe]

After yesterday's schooling RE splitting I'm looking at my red oak boards with new appreciation.

I've got two 1x2's and the beginnings of a design in my head.  What I'd like is a 5.5 ft., 45 lb., unbacked centershot flatbow.

Thinking out loud, centershot means the handle can't bend and 5.5 ft. means I need either a bendy handle or really good tillering.

Any comments or suggestions?

Joel

[walkabout]

66" isnt so short that its undoable. my sisters bow is 65" and its got an arrow pass/rest cut into it. as long as you tiller it carefully you should be ok. of course"centershot" implys you are gonna cut it to center. really this isnt needed, youd be surprised the diference even a 1/2" deep rest makes. your boards would have to be perfect to be unbacked in my opinion, just for insurance cus you never know.. that being said there are alot of really nice backing options. if you want something minimal try brown paper, you can even stain it with wood stain, and it actually looks pretty good. my shortest bow is 60", pulls 50#@28, bend through handle. its about as simple as you could get really, its kind of a red oak board selfbow.lol

[Dublin Joe]

I want to shoot a wide range of arrows hence the cutting.  If a short riser reinforces the center, and I go for a 1/2" or so rest, my spine options increase, no?

As for a backing, I can plane my own strip but species is the limiting factor.  I have basswood, which is bendy, and alder, and poplar.  How would a 1/8" thick back from these woods perform?

Joel

[walkabout]

you can glue on an 8 inch handle piece and have an arrow pass cut in. it does indeed give you more options with arrow spine. just be sure the rest is cut int the thickest part fo the handle/fade transition. as for the backings, i know poplar wont work, but am unsure about basswood and alder. maple will work, given the grain is very straight. if you havent read it yet you should look up sam harpers site, he has instructions for a red oak board bow that uses 1x2", it was what i built my board bows off of for awhile before i figured out what style i liked making. red alder has a specific gravity of .41, and gray alder has a sg of .47. this is pretty low, compared to red oaks sg of59 so im not so sure it would make a very good backing.

[walkabout]

thought id share this link with you. its a reference with some information about various woods, it has specific gravities listed and some notes on various woods.    http://www.briskybows.com/choosingwoods.htm

[Loren Holland]

Dublin,
i have made several 68" red oak bows, with pecan backings, 10" riser, and cut them to within a 1/16th of center.
where in TX r u? You should be able to get Hickory or Pecan at most lumberyards. Maple and Elm will work if straight grained, Can even use White Oak (been trying to see what live oak will do, myself).  But don't forget linen, silk, and brown paper.  I didn't believe the paper would work till i tried it, but it does.  I made a kids bow for a friend 48" t-t of red oak, who let someone else handle his kids bow, it was supposed to be 17" draw, well it was overdrawn to adult full draw and the brown paper saved this guys face. it cracked and hinged, but stayed in one piece, and even shot some more.

[John Scifres]

Try it.  Post pics.

I just remembered I have  a really nice oak board I found in the stacks while looking for something else.  What say we try it together?

We'll both learn something.  I have a bow or two to finish up this week but I'm spending some time in the shop this weekend.  Might get to it then.

A synchronized buildalong.  That'd be new, huh?

[walkabout]

sounds like a cool idea john, ill certainly watch the board for updates on it. ill be back to red oak boards here very soon, as a matter of fact i have a laminate right now thats red oak. sorta experimental but worst case scenario is it breaks and i lose some more scrap.lol.

[red hill]

Joel, I made a red oak board bow with poplar backing this past winter.  I broke Monday. I tried shortening it to add weight and didn't retiller right away. I shot it too soon. Shot well until I cut the tip from the lower limb. This bow also had a 1/2" arrow shelf cut into it.
Live and learn.
Stan

[Dublin Joe]

Loren, I'm between Comanche and Stephenville.  I wish we had a better variety of lumber to choose from around here but I'll drive the 100 miles to Ft. Worth to get some straight-grained hickory one of these days.

John, I have two red oak boards so I'm up for messing with one of them.  Do you want to go for something approaching centershot, with a minimal riser, and about 66" long?

Stan, how did the poplar perform as a backing?

[vanillabear?]

[red hill]

Joel, I planed the poplar on a jointer to 1/8" and after glue up I sanded it a little thinner. I felt it held up pretty well.

I bought the poplar because I thought it was birch. After buying, I read where poplar wasn't a very good choice.
 
The bow failed above the top fade. Broke straight across.  Looking back I now believe the tiller was probably what went wrong

Plan to use poplar again. It's easy to work with.
Stan

[John Scifres]

Sounds good to me.  I just glued my riser on and laid out the bow.  I'll cut it out tonight and we'll see where we are.

[Loren Holland]

this was red oak with pecan backing, 68" t-t. It is a hair under 2" at the fades, and straight taper to 1/2 at the tips. You can see the Ipe strip in the riser, was just experimenting, but it is cut to center. 10" riser, 2" fades
 

I put this handle overlay on it to match the tip overlays. Not necassary since there was no splice to cover, but it rounded out the handle nicely.
 
Anyways, the point of the pictures was to show a red oak board bow cut to center, in hte weight range and pull that you specified, although it is 3 inches longer.

[Dublin Joe]

Wow, Loren, I had no idea the flat board could be cut into that much with only a little riser for reinforcement.  This opens a world of design options to me wherein I can experiment with making arrows.

The bow looks good, too, by the way.

[John Scifres]

Joel,

What draw length are you looking for?

[John Scifres]

OK, here is my experiment.  I have made maybe 5 red oak board bows mainly from   Ferret\\'s Board Bow Instructions .  I just kinda winged thios one.  It's basic pyramid, 2" at the fades to 1/2" nocks, 65" NTN, 6" riser section.

   

   

I thinned the limbs to 7/16" assuming that would make 45# at 26".

   

   

[John Scifres]

Here's the tiller straight off the bandsaw.
 

Not bad.  The problem is she's only 35#  :(   Should have gone with 1/2" thickness.

Here's the handle, almost centershot.

     

And the unstrung pic.  1" of set after 40 shots. She shoots a light arrow pretty nicely.  Might have to finish this one and find a deserving youngster or someone who wants a lighter bow.

 

[Dublin Joe]

John, when I can I like to draw 29".  Since I want a shorter bow, though, I'm going to go for 26".

You got through that one quick.  I didn't even go into the shop these past two days, went fishing and stayed in the A/C instead.  Sorry for the double buildalong not being simultaneous.  I'll go out today, though, mark it out and glue on a riser.  Pics to follow.

That tiller right off the bandsaw pic is impressive.  In TBB vol 1 or 2 it says a bow can be built from a board in an hour and I'm believing it now.  You must have a pretty good bandsaw.  Mine's a benchtop model which is great for small stuff but not so much anything over an inch or so.  The cut won't stay perpendicular to the table.  I'm selling a Toyota to get a real bandsaw, preferably one like this, along with some accessories:

 http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-2-HP-Bandsaw-Polar-Bear-Series/G0513P

I think it can resaw some logs, don't you?

Are you going to cut into another one of your red oak boards?

[John Scifres]

That's a horse of a saw.  Should do you well!

Sharp, high quality blades, and a well-tuned saw are the keys to efficient wood removal with the band saw.  Don't learn how to make bows that way though.  It's really more fun with hand tools.  I was just experimenting here and I have used a bandsaw a lot.  Take your time and enjoy the ride.