Snaky bow thoughts...

[PEARL DRUMS]

We all love to look at snaky bows. But just how efficient are they? My thoughts are simple. Say a guy makes a 66" ntn snaky bow with a 4" grip and 2" fades. We know those limbs cant possibly be 30" each like a straight stave would be. If it were possible to grab a tip and stretch the snake out of the limbs they could be up to 10" longer. So my question is this: Is there more hand shock in snake bows because we can end up with say a 1/3 more weight in each limb just because of the snakes? Are they inefficient? The finish thickness wont change at tiller, so the mass theory is out the door.

A fella made a glass snake bow from scratch. It looks cool, but it has to be inefficient and heavy. Doesn't it?

Food for thought

[bubby]

I guess it depends on the degree of snake involved pearl

[PEARL DRUMS]

I agree bub. Even the slightest of wiggles can easily add a few inches to each limb.

[Aries]

Maybe the glass is half full and you could make a short total length bow more efficient because it would have more working wood?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Don't belive so Aries. The bow bends on the same plane regardless of snakes, so it requires the same amount of working length, including wiggles.

[Aries]

What about the wood being able to distribute stress out over more total wood  for a higher stress design, but the length of the bow could be shorter?

 I know this isn't the case I would reserve high stress designs for premium straight grained wood, but in theory?

[J05H]

Interesting. I never thought about the limbs being longer because of the snake. I imagine it might have some effect on extremely snakey bows, but on the milder ones, I doubt it makes much of a difference. The bulk of the extra mass would be in the working limbs where its not as detrimental and the tips could still be made super light. I figure at worst it'd be about like a slightly overbuilt bow. Of course, I haven't made any snakey ones yet, so this is all just theory on my part.

[PEARL DRUMS]

What about the wood being able to distribute stress out over more total wood  for a higher stress design, but the length of the bow could be shorter?

 I know this isn't the case I would reserve high stress designs for premium straight grained wood, but in theory?

The bow limb needs lineal length to perform, what it does side to side wont make up for that.

[DesertDisciple]

Ive always wondered this too. I havent built one yet but Ive admired quite a few. It would be interesting if someone attempted to make a snake bow at "actual length". Say you want 30" working limbs, take a string 30" long and lay it out along your centerline and mark the end. It would probably look pretty funky depending on the degree of snake in each limb. Tillering would be interesting to say the least!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Im building one this weekend. I just finished up a straight bow that will be of equal length and draw weight. Im most curious to see the mass weight difference.

Andrew I don't believe a guy could get away with that. I believe it would explode in a million pieces. The limb is pulled from point A to point B. The wiggles in the width cannot stretch out as its drawn, so they cannot make up for needed length.

[Selfbowman]

Yes I think more shock and less cast. Because you are adding weight to a certain length that will produce shock and rob cast. That being said my hat is off to the guy that can follow a snaky stave and not have one patch on it . It bends  beautifully and has the appealing look of a master bowyers work. It has been said on these sites for a long time speed is not everything. That's true. But I prefer to build a bow as straight as possible  and this means getting a good straight grain stave to make your job easier. You can only bend wood so much. I love the fact that we all don't have to do the same thing the same way. Besides you guys use all that snaky wood and send that old crappy straight wood to me. Arvin

[Chadwick]

Dips, bumps, wiggles from side to side... all of them add extra limb mass, like Pearlie said. Also, we tend to stress knotty wood less when we tiller, which means those whirlygig areas are naturally overbuilt. I think the mass principle WOULD apply.. as in, it's got too much mass for what you're doing with it, not so much as a principle to follow while building it.
Also, in my experience, I'm more likely to break a snaky bow during tillering. They are harder to read.
Michael

[PEARL DRUMS]

Good point Michael. Never considered that extra "meat" we leave around sketchy areas. That equates to even more dead weight.

All you snake lovers out there: Im not saying they are junk and wont hunt. So don't get all defensive on me now.

[DC]

The thing I've wondered about is that the part of the bend that is going crossways, like the top middle and bottom of an "S" are twisting as much as bending when you draw the bow. I've noticed that when I'm steaming out twist in a bow there is a whole lot less grunt involved than when steaming out a bend. This makes me think that you would need even more wood for a given draw weight.

[bubby]

Im building one this weekend. I just finished up a straight bow that will be of equal length and draw weight. Im most curious to see the mass weight difference.

Andrew I don't believe a guy could get away with that. I believe it would explode in a million pieces. The limb is pulled from point A to point B. The wiggles in the width cannot stretch out as its drawn, so they cannot make up for needed length.

In theory you could picture a yumi with wildly asymmetrical limbs but i don't think it works in practice i know it is a lot harder to get the thump out of a snakey bow at least for me