Amount of taper for a R/D bow?

[bornofmud]

How much stack taper do you guys use on your r/d longbows? I'm planning on a 19" riser, 68" ntn and with a pretty heavy r/d.  I read somewhere that if you don't do enough of a taper on r/d bows you'll end up with too much bend at the fades, but this bow is pretty long and will taper from 1.25" to 3/8".  Would .002 taper work with a design like this? or should I go for .003?

[kennym]

I would go with at least .003 per inch, especially if 1.25 wide.

The wider limbs at the fades, the more side taper available to make use of. Narrower bows can use more  in-stack taper.

Hope that makes sense!!

[Sixby]

.003 or even .004 depending on your limb profile. If you go to .004 add a thin tip wedge to keep the tip from bending too fast. that way you retain your leverage and string angle at the end of the draw.
god bless you and good luck, Steve

[bornofmud]

Thanks for the replies guys.  How long and what thickness would one use for a tip wedge? Would it be better to start at 1.5" at the fades and taper at .002-.003?

[Dan Bonner]

On  the TW I would go with .040 to zero if possible and 7-8" long for that length bow. If you aren't set up to grind them yourself you can get by by finding the thickest veneer in the shop, cut it to 8" and longboard sand with heavy grit over the last 2-3" until it feathers at the end. My experience with narrow LBs is that .04 taper with TWs makes a very fast and very quiet bow but they are a little tougher to shoot well than the same bow with .03 taper and no TW. I think the .04 bow will be a little less stable and less forgiving on a rough release. I do not have any experience with a LB longer than 64" however.

[bamboo]

I like .002 taper--and a tip wedge--no more than 5" long on a 64"--6"on a 66"
riser-16"-18" depending on over all length and draw length
limb butts-1-1/4"-measured at or just outside the fades
tips at or just under 1/2"