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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Wiester on August 17, 2008, 12:15:00 AM
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Any help would be great. I have made 3 D bows that have not blown up in my hand so I feel pretty good about that. I teach at a school in the Springfield MO area so and they have given me permission to cut as much osage or other trees as I want from school land, so I found the motherload! While harvesting some trees a fellow teacher and I took an Elm tree. We figured we would try our hands at an English War bow. We dont know a darn thing about it but were able to pull 3 good staves from the tree. Let me tell you if you have never tried to split Elm, get ready for a workout. It took about 5 times as long and cost us a handle off of our maul. Im thinking about trying the lesser of the three staves as a test run, I guess I will just make it like a D bow, any advice if this is good or bad?
Thanks
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1" mid-limb to mid-limb taper nocks .25". length 72" tip 2 tip. Take your time tillering it. that's about all I can say. Never made a war bow or ELB, just flat bows.
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I built a yew war bow a few years ago. 95#@30" 72" n/n x 1 1/4" at the widest. The most difficult part was making and fitting the horn tips. I gave that bow back to James Parker, where the stave came to me from. I could only draw the bow to about 12" anyway.
If its OK for me to say, there is an excellent "War Bow" thread on the PA site. Real war bow guys from all over the world are on there and most are willing to share their secrets.(if not please delete)
For a true war bow you should be about 1 1/4" wide at the center of the stave and out to mid limb then taper to 1/2" tips. You want the tiller to be "part of a circle", bending through the handle and with slight bend out to the tips. I believe the stave is set up asymmetrically with the handle set up 1" above center and 3" below center(MOL).
Looking forward to seeing the outcome of your project(s). Pat
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Also check out paleo planet A guy named Thimosabv, makes lots of them kind of bows.