So.. never used one.. I made one.. do I find a spot on the limb that's an arc that seems somewhat uniform to the entire limb, then adjust the pencil so it is just barely not touching, so when I run it along, any arcs that are smaller will get a mark? Everyone says just run it along the limb, but it has to be adjusted before each use to have any positive effect. How do I adjust it properly?

Hey all started my next project and came across a decent enough board of ash 20mm(0.8") thick.

I'm wanting to back it with bamboo to end up with a 66" long Bow aiming for 50# 28" draw. The bamboo is tapered down from 5mm to 3mm and is about 1.5" wide.

My question is. If I want to run the 1.5" wide ash board through the band saw and take out some thickness in the limb sections how thin should I go roughly?

Also wondering how long I should make the riser and tapers? Thinking 8" riser with 2" taper to the limbs top and bottom?

i cut and harvested a white oak on my property, looking for hickory still.

my questions are, is white oak a good wood? can i make a good-poundage bow with it (40+ pounds) and how would i do that? how do i make sure it doesn't break on me? i hear white oak does that.

i don't have much tools. i have a saw, knife, machete, sandpaper.

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributes to this site. I have learned so much from you all, and thanks to what I've learned here have been able to fulfill an ambition of 60+ years and build a self bow that works from locally harvested wood. I particularly got inspiration from Mr. Santana's remark about seeing the bow in an individual stave. Reminded me of Michelangelo's comment on marble sculpting.

How should I go about tillering a recurve? Should I bend it into shape before tillering, should I tiller it, bend it, then double check? Or should I partially tiller it, then bend it, then finish tillering?

Preferably somewhere close to Tyler, Texarkana, or even Shreveport.

Just giving an idea of how much tension stress a white wood can take the mark on the pole is 30 in

I'm working on an oak bow for my wife, but the draw weight is a little low. The limbs are too thin, and I was wondering if I added a 1/8th inch hickory backing, or even thicker, if it would add draw weight to it? I also have maple and ash or sapele I could use as backing if that would be better

Which side does the heartwood bends , like is it the compression side or streching side?

It was the first time I made a bow, carved it out from sickle, as u can see the upper limb is a bit messed up, looks ugly but works fine 30 lbs strength at 28"

And the threads around it, yea I wrapped them around in hoping it won't break, it has lot of deformities

Hey all,

Aussie here, So ive just brought a piece of taz oak board 90mmx40mm and 1.8m long( im waiting for my pink ash log to dryout) and am looking at doing my first bow, ive watched hours of youtube and spent last night lurking this community 🤣... my question does anyone have a link or some basic measurements for me to work with ? I love the KISS method but all the measurements ive found are imperial and it confuses me lol so im after metric measurements.

Cheers 🤙

I love the look of it. I got some, and I know it has been used and is favored as a belly wood... But what about as backing? I have maple and ash I could use for it's belly ..

I have string to make it with, but what is a good way to attach it to the limbs so it won't come off or take weight away, but will come off and on easily when I want it to??

I recently cut down a medium sized hickory tree and make 4 bow staves out of it. Would spraying lacquer on the backs and ends of the staves be suitable to prevent cracking during the seasoning process?

I've never seen such straight and beautiful yew trees. Found them during family walk. Thought it would be cool to share. Unfortunately those are unharvastable.

I want to get a nice stain on my wood core to make it pop a little bit, is it okay to stain before putting down the sinew or should I do it after?

Any tips for bending hickory?