Round belly or flat

[ranger 3]

Which belly do you guys prefer on a Osage stave round or flat?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Flat with slighty rounded shoulders.

[2treks]

Which belly do I PREFER?

mild radius.

[Pat B]

I like a slightly radiused belly for osage too.

[Bowjunkie]

I prefer fully radiused... on any wooden bow. Whether that radius leans more toward rounded or more toward elliptical depends on the width and thickness of the bow, which is determined by the wood species' properties.

[fujimo]

i have always made flat. but only because all the reading i have done says that flat is better.
greater stress distibution, greater longevity for the bow etc.
by radiusing the belly, is there a reduction in the limb mass?- surely not!- am i wrong here, is there something i am not seeing- help!!!
and is the radius-ing making a difference to performance either way.
or is this purely an aesthetic value-which is cool too!

[ranger 3]

I'm making an Osage stave bow now with a round belly, put Halibut shins on Monday and hope to start tilling this coming Monday. It was just floor tillered when I put the skins on.

[coaster500]

Cool Ranger 3...   pics man, pics????

When you're a loose cannon with a rasp like me radius is easier and aesthetically more pleasing to me. I'm not at the level necessary to comment on performance? I've only made one flat bellied bow...

[J.F. Miller]

I alway have a radiused belly on osage selfbows. how much radius is determined by bow dimensions and by how much crown is on the back. higher crown = flatter belly and vice versa.

I prefer a flat belly on bamboo backed osage bows, however.

[PEARL DRUMS]

What happens when you add 3-4 layers of sinew? Do you guys maintain a radiused belly or flatten it out?

[Art B]

Keep a radiused belly to start with Pearly. As the sinew dries it'll cup a flat belly. You can flatten the belly out later if that's what you decide. Personally, I like a very slight radius on all bows for the simple fact that any stress is centralized down the middle of the limb which helps prevent limb twisting IMO.

With 3-4 layers I believe I would set the bows weight at the temps you expect to use it then most in. The more layers the more seasonal a bow you'll have.

[glenbo]

I find I have much more control tillering Osage with a slightly radiused belly.I really learned alot of information from the Dean Torges book.On my hickory I always go with a flat belly.I find that my belt sander is the easiest way for me to achieve this.Seems I always had compression issues with radiused bellies on hickory. glen

[Roy from Pa]

I do a partial radius I guess you could call it. I facet the belly edges in about 1/4 inch then round off the edges on the belly.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I've always went with flat and rounded all sharp edges because a rounded corner is stronger than a sharp corner.

[D]

So is putting a radius on a Hickory belly a bad idea?  I'm doing my first Hickory selfbow and was putting a radius in the belly but I can still make it flat if I need to.

[okie64]

Hickory tends to fret on a radiused belly if it is even slightly overstrained. Due to its high tension strength a Crowned or trapped back and flat belly works best on hickory.

[glenbo]

WhatOkie 64 says

[Bowjunkie]

Pearl Drums, I fully radius my sinewed bows as well. I don't see why sinew would even be a concern? I radius the bellies of all of em, whether they're selfbows, backed with sinew, rawhide, bamboo, other wood backing pieces, straight bows, d/r, recurves, etc.

The only time I consider a flatter belly, is when the back has a very high crown, like on a bow made with a very small diameter tree, sucker, or limb. Even then, it's flattER, but not flat.

Hickory, elm, ash, cherry, etc... fully radiused. Some more round, some more elliptical, depending on the limb width.  

Treat the wood well, design em appropriately, tiller em well, then they should be neither overstrained or overbuilt... whether they're flat or radiused.

[John Scifres]

I'm liking flatter and flatter all the time.  I get much less string follow with a flatter belly.