Hey guys I am going to start on a composite bow made from gemsbok horn belly and a sinew back but I cant figure out what I should do for the core... Do you think I should buy a floor board of maple or a board of red oak from lowes and use the table saw to cut it thin enough to bend for the composite bow? Or should I use my black locust stave and get it into a really thin piece and use that? If I do this with black locust must it be down to a 1 ring back? (it will be backed with sinew)) I am also confused on how I should attach the ears any ideas?
Just go to one of the local saw mills and get some hard maple,I would not recomend black locust as it does not have good hydroscopic capabilities and you will risk delamination by using it for a core.the ears(sahiyas) should be attached with a v splice 3-4 inches long.
Good luck.
I believe mulberry was one of the traditional core for horn bows.
thanx guys. I found a local sawmill im gonna call them and ask if they can get some hard maple. I know maples birches and mulberry were used traditionally for sure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPOkPl5jQg i found this cool video.
Some books/DVD's that may give some insight on building a composite bow are
"Building the Asiatic Composite Bow" (3 Rivers Archery)
"Building the Korean Horn Bow" Thomas Duvernay
"Ottoman Turkish Bows, manufacture and design" by Adam Karpowicz
Lots of info in the Karpowicz tome, regarding the building of this type of bow.
R.W.