Looking for a little spiritual guidance!! I recently finished up a red oak bow that I am making for a good friend that was shot in the arm a few years back during black powder. Needless to say his arm strength is not what it used to be. but he's still in the game hunting. I was keeping the poundage on the low end for him, but might be to low. Bow is 68" tip to tip, pulls 46lbs. at 28". I am pretty new to bow making as this is only my fourth finished working bow out of a half dozen tries. My others are all Hickory pull heavier poundage. My question is can I put clear glass on the back of the bow to increase poundage? The back of the bow is flat and smooth, except for the last 4" where I ever so slightly flipped the tips. You almost cant tell I did. I was gonna use rawhide but I have a really awsome stain treatment I'm gonna do and I dont want to cover it up with rawhide. Thought maybe clear glass would be the way to go. In essence killing two birds with one bow, increased poundage and still show off awesome finish. Any advice appreciated. Thanks
Glass will probably overpower the red oak causing more problems. You could remove the last inch or two from each limb tip and reshape the tips. This should get the weight near 55# mol.
A hickory or elm backing will also increase the draw weight without overpowering the red oak.
Wouldn't you consider 46# to be heavy enough for deer?
Guy
I'm with Grey. 46# is plenty stout enough to double lung a deer with a good sharp 2 blade head at normal traditional distances if his draw is 28". If he is struggling due to an injury, I think a good smooth draw at lower weight would be better and promote more accuracy than having to muscle the draw. IMHO
thanks for quick replies,if I use hickory or elm what thickness should I use? I can get my hands on a 13" table top planer,if you think that will do the job. And does the grain on a wood backing have to be as straight grained as it would if it were the original back? I'm thinking Urac 185 to glue it on or will TBIII do the trick?
Quote
"The Man,the Myth,the Moustache"
By all means I consider 46lbs. good enough to do the job. My concern is actual cast. The bow has about 1 1/4" string follow and being a novice bowyer I guess I just expect it to lose some poundage as it gets used. In Ohio bows must be 40lbs. to legally hunt. I just don't want my friend to end up with a bow he can't hunt with. Although I think he will be just as happy if its just a target bow.
Make the backing strip 1/8" thick or slightly less. TBIII will work fine for the backing. I've used it many times. The grain on the backing does need to be as good as you can get. Bias cut(/////)so the end grain looks like this and the grain runs straight down the back or with very few run offs but nothing drastic.
Thanks for the advice, This sight has been a wealth of knowledge for me.I could spend all day reading posts, but apparently I have to work every now and then to support family and hobbies. I will take your advice and any more anyone has to offer. when I figure out how to post pics will get some up. Thanks