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Board Bow Schematics

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BryBow:
What is the mathematical formula for determining the thickness of a board to attain a desired pull weight if ripping on a table or band saw before gluing on the riser and tillering?

Ifrit617:
There isn't one.

Jon

Grasshopper Mouse:
Yeah, pretty much the same answer you got on TradGang: there are no schematics for making self bows.
Every piece of wood is different and you have to work with what the wood tells you.

Guy

JackCrafty:
At first I wasn't going to try to answer his one because you guys did a good job of answering already.  I almost clicked on the next topic within a few seconds...

But the more I thought about this one, the more interesting it became.  Would it be possible to create a mathematical formula for the shape of a bow?  Just input wood type, poundage, and draw length and out pops a set of pre-tillered dimensions?  And why isn't there a formula?  Are we too dumb to come up with one, even one for the sake of argument?

Well, I'll put one out there.  It works with any type of wood.  It assumes that the poundage is small enough that you can glue a riser onto the wood for a handle and not look silly.  So, here it is.

2" wide x 1" thick x 68" long.  Glue on a riser and a backing, taking into account any curvature in the side profile, and let dry.  Begin tillering.

BryBow:
It's true that you can just tiller a bow till your sweet little pea brain hearts content. I do it all the time now. Thanks for your great thought processes and kind answers.

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