Hey guys,

I was wondering if you are harvesting fresh wood/trees for bow staves, how long is it necesarry for them to be?
How short is to short?

Do they have to be full length or can they be short and maybe splice them together or make a 2 pc or something out of them?

Look forward to your replies.

Thanks,

Frosty

If I can cut staves out of a trunk I will cut them into 6 foot+ lengths. I never make a bow shorter than 62" and the longer stave gives me some wiggle room to avoid flaws in the stave when I lay out a bow.

Any piece 36" or longer will make a billet so I save all of these to splice together for a full length stave.

Others may want 50-60" staves for short bow projects but I recommend you cut long so you can make any bow length you want.

I agree 100% with Eric. I have been building shorter bows over the last few years(60") but when I cut wood I go 6'+ for the reasons Eric said.

Thanks Eric and Pat B.,

A billet, that was what I was wondering about. I thought there was  a way to use short wood to make a whole stave.

I just wanted to make sure it was worth my time to try and see if I can harvest the limb/ section of the tree I saw in the yard down the road. I think it may be apple wood.

Thanks

Frosty you should pick up the book "the Bowyers Bible- vol 1"....you will like it and lots of good info in there for someone just starting. I learned alot from that book and through searching build alongs on this site (which I know you have been doing already).

I cut my staves around 80" if I can.  That gives some room at the ends for checking if that happens.  It also gives you some wiggle room when laying out the bow.  You might have to move the layout of the bow one way or the other to work around knots or other problems in the stave.