Hi guys. I have a Tri Lam (Boo/Ipe/Hickory) blank for a war bow that I picked up a while back and am only just now getting around to doing something with. I'm now thinking I'd rather reduce it in size to make a bow for hunting. Something in the 70#@30" range.
It's about 1.50w" x 1.25t" at the center narrowing down about 7/8" at the tips now.
I was hoping someone could recommend dimensions to reduce the blank to for a starting point appropriate for a 70lb rather than 130lb bow.
What length is the blank and what length bow do you want?
is the ipe in the core or the belly? Sounds like it's in the core. I thin in the future you'll find it's wiser to use ipe as a belly wood as it is extremely tough under compression. Nothing wrong with it as a core, it's just a bit heavy and not doing much work there.
How thick are the laminations?
Do you want it to be an ELB style? or are you going to make it more of an american style with a flat belly?
Just off the top of my head I'd say if you want 70#@30", with a hickory belly, you're probably going to need 68-70", with a slightly stiff handle, and nearly (if not all) of the full 1.5" width of the bow (should taper to very narrow nocks ... maybe 3/8"). My guess is and don't quote me on it, is that your bow will probably end up around 3/4" thick with a flat belly ... slightly more with a rounded belly ... which for hickory I would not presonally recommend.
Sorry, I guess that would be good info to include. lol
It's about 74", the Ipe is in the core. I was planning on about a 70-72" bow ntn
I don't understand why a moderate compression wood like hickory would be used as the belly and ipe as the core. A more appropriate stack IMO would have the compression strong ipe as the belly. To me using the right wood for the right location in the bow is more important than what looks good.
I'd say to narrow the bow to 1 1/4" and taper to 1/2" tips then tiller down to the weight you desire. If you find the belly is getting too thin reduce the width a bit more.