Main Discussion Area > Bows
HHB bow: super stiff for its size?
bownarra:
Also it has a bunch of reflex which will make it feel heavier than it actually is.
So reduce width and get it strung before measuring the weight.
bassman211:
My last 8 bows are made from blue beech ( American hornbeam) , and hop hornbeam. I treated the wood start to finish in the same fashion, and have had much better end results with the blue beech, and don't know why other than maybe my skills with that particular wood. All 62 inch bows. 11/2 at the fades to half inch at the tips. I ended up with set, and belly frets with 2 of hh bows, and other 2 are just so, so bows when finished. On the other hand the blue beech bows came out the way I wanted them to. Good reflex on all 4. Two of them are reflex deflex bows, and all 4 shoot the way they should. I have made white wood bows from every white wood I could get my hands on locally using the same building methods including walnut, and birch, and have never encountered the problems I am having with hh. Maybe just my lack of skills, and of all the white woods my preference is elm.
Badger:
You can very easily get a very close idea what the current weight is using a long string. Use a string that hangs down loose not more than about 6". Pull it to 50# and see how far it bends. If it reads 50# at 10" that is about the same it would be if you braced it. Good way to estimate weight. You can continue to do that until you get a string on it. When it reads 50# at about 23" you might want to string it up.
Jon_W:
Thanks everyone, I might thing the back profile some before continuing on. Hopefully that makes it more efficient too!
organic_archer:
You’ll be fine with 1.5” width for a 45-50 pound bow. The hickory in my region grows dense and strong and is the closest thing I can compare with, but some turned into thin bows that still pulled 60+ pounds. It is what it is. Your bow looks like it could still lose a lot of thickness and be fine. You’ve got lots of reflex too, so the early draw weight will feel much higher than it really is.
Edit : x2 what Badger said. Long string and a scale is a trusty method.
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