Hey guys.
I'm trying to make a board bow for my son. I'm using red oak (I know, I know. It's not the best stuff)and it is 48" ttt. It fades in thickness from 3/4 inch at the center to 1/4 at the tips.
At those dimensions, this thing just wont bend. It would be way to heavy of a draw for a 60lb boy.
So my question is: Any suggestions on what thickness I can aim for? I'm worried the board will fail if I go much thinner.
Thank you all in advance
Kinda depends on width but, thickness will be less than 1/2" for sure, especially at 48". My adult sized bows start at 5/8" and generally are 1/2" to 5/8" thick. Some kids bows I have made are closer to 1/4" thick than 1/2".
I agree with John. i have made several kids bows from red oak and they end up fairly thin. I would start reducing from the fades out and get an even taper from about 1/2" to the 1/4"tips. See how it is bending then and continue from there. Post some pics if you can.
I usually shoot for somewhere around 3/8 at the fades and taper to 1/4 for a low poundage bow. Be careful though, it seems to be harder to get good tiller on those thin limbs. Got a pile of broken bows to prove it! Red oak is fine for kids bows, I am currently working on my fifth one now.
I've made a ton of kids bows. Started out with just 1/4 inch red oak with glue on handles.
48 inches ttt .
1 1/2'inches wide at the center. Leave room for 4 inche handle and 2 inch fades. Use pyramid style tapering width from 1 1/2 to 3/8 tips.
This design pretty much is tillered already. Will give about 15 pounds at 24 inches draw.
I now mostly make bamboo backed kids bows as all the Gkids have grown.
Okay. Great stuff.
You guys are the best!
So I'll keep going and get this thing down to a 1/2" at it's thickest point. I will get some pics up soon.
Thank you all very much.
Also, have any of you ever tried to condition a red oak board to take some of the dryness out of the wood? If so, what did you use?