Hi guys. Cody at Tenbrook Archery recommended I post here and ask a couple questions. Long story short, I’m a grad student building a longbow for a design class. I have to make it out of wood and metal.
I want to make a 3 piece takedown longbow. I would cast the central grip out of aluminum (it’s actually fairly light) and make the two limbs out of a wood laminate. Probably bamboo and ipe. Cody and I decided for my first bow it would probably be best to keep it a straight bow. So my grip mounts will be straight (no reflex) as well the bow limbs, and it’ll have that old school D shape when I string it.
I’m planning on following the process at
makingtraditionalongbows.com to make the wood laminate of bamboo and ipe. I still have a few questions.
- How long would you recommend the riser be? Cody recommended I try about an 18” riser.
- How long should the bow be in total? I’m a 6 foot tall athletic male. Cody recommended 70” nock to nock.
- The cross section. Some sites, like the makingtraditionalbows I'm planning on following, round it off into a D cross section. Others keep the cross section rectangular. Which should I go with?
- Most importantly, the directions on makingtraditionalbows.com (and everyplace else I’ve looked) are for making a one-stave bow. To make two separate limbs, should I follow the directions and then cut it in half at the centerline? I could then take off about ~6 inches on the end of each limb to preserve the 70” length when I mounted them to my riser. I’m not sure if there’s something I’m missing here though.
Any and all advice appreciated. Thanks!
Topic: Making my first bow. A few questions! (Read 213 times)
