first laminated longbow

[cheech1]

i would like to build my first laminated longbow but i'm unsure how much taper to get the lams ground to .
it will be 70' nock to nock 45-55lbs at 30' around 1 1/2- 1 3/4 ' wide at the riser 1/2 at nocks any i would like to make with yew lams but will use maple for my first few i think.
any advise will greatfully accepted

[Stiks-n-Strings]

You might want contact KennyM here on the board or check out bingams.

 I'm no glass bow builder but if I was gonna do glass that is where I would start.

 Stiks

[KellyG]

You might also get hold of bradford he is make 5 bows now on a build along and has stated there he wanted to give back the knowledge he leard on this site. PM him and I am sure between him and many others you will be sanding glass in no time.

[Swissbow]

I guess a total taper of 0.002 - 0.004 is a good point to start. This will work for a straight longbow and also for a longbow with a mild d/r-profile. Do you already know what kind of profile your bow should have ?
When it comes to determine how thick your lams should be, I got an excel table from Jason that works very well. You can download it here ( in the download section )

 www.swissbow.com

You can find more information on building a longbow on my site ( build along, drawing of bow profile... ).

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Andy

[Dick in Seattle]

Don't know how much good my comments will be.  I have a lot of formulas posted, but I've never dealt with a draw as long as yours.  I've found that the amount of taper isn't super critical on a basic longbow.  I'd guess that at that weight and draw you'll want a 68 or 70 inch bow and you won't want too much taper or you'll end up with soft tips, though the 1/2" width will help.   I'd say .002 for a first attempt.

As noted above, any advice from Kenny is golden and he's a top source for your lams, too.  

Be sure to keep a record of whatever you do.   First bow is always something of a crap shoot.  The next one you have something to judge by, the next one even more, and so on.  I've got the records of 30 bows in my book now and I feel like I should be keeping it in a vault!

Above all... have fun!

[cheech1]

thanks a lot for the info.
swissbow there is some really good info on there thanks a lot.
dickinseattle i quickly learned about writing everything down when i first started to make home brewed beer there is nothing worse then cracking open a bottle of really nice beer and forgetting what you put in it and i'm sure bow making is the same ha ha .

[cheech1]

stiksnstrings as much as i would like to make a self bow or go stright for a bamboo backed bow i think i will start with a glass bow first ha ha

[Dick in Seattle]

Cheech...  you might take a look at my bow building info.   I started web paging everything I did from day 1... forms, oven, clamps, the whole magilla.   check out dickwightman.com   "Archery Activities"

[cheech1]

thanks a lot dick in seattle there is an amazing amount of info there if i can't make a bow with all of that then i guess i should stick to buying them lol.