Trad Gang

Has anyone made a take down red oak board bow, if so how can I search it.

If not I wonder why not

thats a good question, im interested in seeing if its been done.ive considered splicing some billets into a preshaped riser, building an all wood composite of sorts,to maybe get a shorter length out of red oak for short draw shooting.

i saw a takedown somewhere that had oak limbs as one of the options, and it looked like red oak to me.i would guess that it would depend on the wood you were using, and how well it would stand up to the grain being violated by drilling.

Cheapest take down system is the sleeve handle which costs about $40, most of the others cost $100+. No reason to make a board bow (cheap) and add a component that makes it cost 5-25 times more. If you are going to make a take down and spend the money and time, get or buy a premium set of osage or yew billets.

hm.

why pay 40$ for a sleeve?

especially (self)-bowyers should be a little bit more inventive, shouldn't they?

a friend of mine had made an sleeve-takedown bow from a bycicle, he used the saddle-pin and tubing for it. but by simply cutting fitting pipes to 4"-5" you have your very own sleeves.

to prevent lateral twist you make a little pin on the limb-sided end of the smaller pipe, and a notch in the bigger pipe.

change your attitude guys   :)   This idea came up in my mind before I even read the first five autor's words. And I'm a quick reader!

Nick

 Ive seen a red oak takedown before, but youve be better off using hickory or ash. A lot of people start with making red oak board bows, but its not really that good of a bow wood. Heres a link to how you could make a cheap takedown system, all you gotta buy is the bolts
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001482#000000

You could probably make one the way that Black Widows longbows are done cheaper than a bunch of other ways.

If your time is worth nothing and you have good medical insurance, than making your own take down system is a good idea.

The only reason to use red oak boards for making bows is to learn and practice the skills needed on a cheap material. I would only consider it a teaching medium and would see no reason to make a take down from this inferior material.

I agree with Shaun.  I've made plenty of red oak, white oak and ash board bows.  I learned a ton from them.

Once I learned the basics of tillering I made bows of osage and yew.  With how much work it is to put a takedown sleeve on a bow (I've done one), *I* wouldn't waste my time doing it to a red oak board bow.  Then again I've got 3 kids and a limited amount of time.  If I had a bunch of time I might think differently.

First of all, red oak isn't THAT bad.  It certainly shouldn't be relegated to a "practice wood."  I really prefer working with it, right alongside osage staves.  Sure, it's got a relatively low (but tolerable) specific gravity at .57-.63 depending on the subspecies.  But it's cheap, plentiful, tools easily, responds well to heat, and can be made into a very good shooting bow with little set.  To each bowyer his own, I guess.  

Regarding building a takedown, I have built some serviceable takedowns from red oak.  I didn't take any pictures of them 'cause I thought they were kinda ugly!  However, here's the pictures I got the idea from.  They're taken from the Kunst-Griff site.  It's a little cumbersome to take down, but I find them fun to build and kind of a neat, rustic little piece when they're finished.

 (http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kunst-Griff%20Takedown%20Bow/Take-down-bow_01-2.jpg)

 (http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kunst-Griff%20Takedown%20Bow/Take-down-bow_02.jpg)

 (http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kunst-Griff%20Takedown%20Bow/Take-down-bow_06.jpg)

 (http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Kunst-Griff%20Takedown%20Bow/Take-down-bow_09.jpg)

this is one of those"just cus" topics. maybe it might not be worth the hassle to turn a board bow into a takedown, but itd be fun to try just the same. The takedown i saw was a venom takedown, not even a recurve just a 3 piece.