Alright all of the selfbowyers out there im gonna try to build a recurve selfbow out of hackberry i have a 29 1/2 draw length and would like about fifty pounds question is do i build it the same shape as i would a long bow meaning length nock to nock and width about 2 inches

I would go at least 66" for a good bow made to the specs you want...

dan

thank you should i keep it two wide till about 3 inches from the tip then taper it to the tip width

I go mid-limb from handle fade to tip with the 2", then taper to 1". Good luck with it ! I have a piece of hackberry I'm drying right now. Take it easy.
                   DR

so basicly build it like i would a long bo  then recurve te tips

get and read the bowyers bibles......they will give you a great foundation to start with.

If you were using osage you could probably go down to 60-62 inches with a good piece of wood. With the hackberry,depending on how good of piece it is, I would not go any less than 64inches myself. Keep plenty of width in the limbs and tips until you have recurved it and then work on getting the string tracking straight thru the handle. Once the string tracks good you can narrow your limbs and taper the tips down. I like to taper the last 1/3 of the limb and leave the rest with paralell sides to the fade-outs. For me it is easier to get a good tiller by leaving the limbs wide and adjusting thickness and then narrow the sides to adjust the draw weight you are looking for (thickness for tiller/width for weight).