I have two staves currently drying in my house, one is a 70" Persimmon stave and the other a 72" Osage stave. I want to turn one of them into a Cherokee longbow and was wondering if anyone had suggestions or advice on dimensions and design that you would be willing to share. Photos would be great as well if you have any to share.
Thanks in advance!
"Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans "
by Jim Hamm
Great book!
Or
https://www.google.com/search?q=cherokee+bow&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=bGE_UbeDFYPY9ATNw4DIAw&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=768&bih=928
Here's what I would make:
60" long. 1-1/8" wide from center to midlimb, tapering to 1/2" at the nocks. It should bend in the handle. Many examples of Cherokee bows have triangular nocks.
This is your basic eastern woodlands bow. It can be made 10% longer or shorter if you wish but they all bend in the handle and are narrow with little to no taper. They are the simplest bow to make and are very economical in the resources required.
Thanks guys, will definately grab the book and will post the results once I get started.
The Cherokee built hunting bows and war bows. Both were bend through the handle bows. The hunting bows were like John described and the war bows, as described in TBB2 is 72 1/4" long,
1 9/16" at the handle and 1 1/16" at the tips and drew 60# to 80# and more.
These bows were typically black locust while the Cherrokee were living in the Southeastern US but once they were moved to Okalahoma they switched to osage. Either osage or persimmon would work for the bow you want to build.