1st Hickory Selfbow Dims. help needed

[Roadking71865]

I'm going to start making my first hickory selfbow.  It will be 68" long but I can change that if needed.  Could someone give me guidance on dims. including handle length, width and thicknes, limb width & thickness throughout entire length, fade out length and thickness. I would like to end up with a 55-60# bow.  I'm not really that handy so the more specific the better.

[macbow]

I'll start you off with a few ideas.
I've only made a  few and,they broke. So this is what I learned.
Make the limbs wide , I'd start with 2 inches. Either use a true pyramid shape or go part way down the limb then taper,to,about 5/8 inch tips to start.

Leave it long till you decide to keep the length or shorten it to help make weight.

Handle, on my bows I figure 4 inches for my hand then 2 inches on each side for fades.
The actual,width at the handle from 1 to 1 1/4'inches.

I'd suggest doing a,search of the build a longs for additional info.
Hopefully some more experienced self bow,guys will add to or correct my numbers.
It is,difficult to get,a,real formula since,all,wood is,different.

[John Scifres]

Assuming a 28" draw the length is fine.

4" handle, 2" fades.

1-3/4" wide at the fades all the way to midlimb tapering to 1/2" at the nocks.

Here's a good tutorial.   http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
Assuming a 28" draw the length is fine.

4" handle, 2" fades.

1-3/4" wide at the fades all the way to midlimb tapering to 1/2" at the nocks.

Here's a good tutorial.    http://sticknstring.webs.com/ferretsboardbow.htm  

John I followed these dimensions from a post you did awhile back and made a real nice hickory bow, still shooting it today!!  

[Steve B.]

It helps if you can break test your sample to determine just what quality stave you have.  Then you can design from there.  Otherwise you have to go with average results.

I just finished an oak bow today that is over 66" and I did not break test it.  I gambled that it was high quality and went with the standard 2" wide for 3/4 limb length and quickly tapered to 1/2" tips.  Handle is 4" on one side and 5" on the other, to allow for arrow shelf.

Like the other hickory/oak bows that I've made this one follows the string over 2" and has a good 1" set.  I was hoping for no set at all this time but once again I did not make it beefy enough.  Next time I'll make it wider another 1/8" or more.  And this bow came out lighter than I wanted, no where near 60 lbs., so I'd consider making your bow wider just for that reason.

So a 1 x 1.5 x 4" handle that flares asap to 2+" and stays that wide until you get 8" from the tip and drops quickly to 1/2" at the string grooves.
Make sure the wood is dry before bending and bend is often working up to full draw as you tiller.  Thickness will depend on draw weight and flaws in the wood.