hi gang,
while preparing for a glasbow workshop in march and april a guy wants to particepate and build his own bow.
no problem so far but he can only pull 26".

i have some forms for bows from 28"-31" but none for a bow meant to be only be pullt 26".
just give him the form for 28" is not what i want to do,since he will lack performance.
so i have to design a longbow for 55#@26".
length,i like it short,will be 56"
i thought some deflex (max 1") and a lot of reflex,
reasonable stiff tips and maybe a riserlenght of 16"or 18".
any idea how to improve that?
anybody that has allready build a bow like that?
give me your thought on this,anything is wellcome.

greetings shantam

I like to use arcs from a circle.  Make some based on about a 28" circle radius for a bow of about 56 - 58" (Really short LONGbow).  Draw some parallel lines maybe one  inch apart on paper, 60" long,mark your length ends, then using the arcs, draw a bow, the limbs arc one way the riser the other way connecting the limbs.  Divide the bow length (on paper) into three (EQUAL) parts, 2 limbs and the riser, and use these dimensions to lay out your bow.  You can design in as much or as little reflex and deflex as you need or want, keep everything nice and pretty and experiment.

Good place to start  Good luck
ChuckC

Short working limb, long riser, stiff tips. Some say that the best performance is achieved by having the draw length be close to the stacking point of the bow. I think its so.

Shaun is rigth on. The shorter working limb will get to a stack point sooner. Of course a good design to start with is important.

I have a 24" draw and just finished a 56" r/d longbow with a 13" riser. Smooth sweet and quick. I have a 54" at the same lbs. witha 14 in. riser and the 56 is quicker slightly because of the bamboo limbs.