I am looking at a board to make a bow out of. I am thinking of a 62 -64" flatbow. The board I am looking at has great rings but they are very wide to me will this work or do I look for tighter growth rings. Teh board is a 1" X 6" and has about 4 rings showing very uniform with no run off. Just wide rings. This will be my 3rd bow and first in two years.  
P.S. The board is red oak. After reading a little I ma be looking at the rings wrong    

THX Blueline

I'd make it a little longer for a flat bow. Ive had a lot of experience with red oak it takes a lot of set. Will it be backed and with what.

Hickory or walnut.

I have a red oak pyramid bow 70" n2n 51#@24" with no backing. It's 2" wide at the fades & .5" at the nocks. just make sure the grain is straight on the back & down the sides. Mine only took .75" of set.

Patti, How did you take a picture in the future??? And what bow are you holding in your info page? I am concerned(sp) about the rings, should I go with a 1X6 that I am only using the center of or get a 1/4 sawn 2X2?

Tx Blueline

LOL, the year was off. For some reason it loaded the year 2008. I didn't know that till after I saved the pic to my puter. I'm holding a original 54" Shrew in that pic.


the 1x6 can be cut down to width & thicknes, or just a little over what you want to bow to be. This will help whan you start to rasp & sand the bow down to finished size. The red oak bow I made came from a 2x2x75. I got it from a friend that does wood work on homes. It was to be a pole for a stair case and he had that piece left over.

If your 1x6 is 1" wide by 6" thick You can cut it down to 1x2 if you want a handle. If it is 1" thick by 6" wide you will have enuff to make 2 bows if not 3. the key is to work slowly and You need a scale & tillering board/tree. I was working on a ash bow today and broke it right in the middle of the upper limb. now thinking on it I think I worked a little to fast. That or it was still a little too green.

blueline, if you think the rings are bad back the bow with hickory or boo You can even use sinew