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AZ Ironwood Bow
richgibula:
Next to the right:
richgibula:
This is a composite for clarity but the details are hard to see:
richgibula:
I plan to cut a section, following the grain for about 34 inches. Then cut it in half longitudinally to make 2 pieces 1 1/2 inches wide and do a half-lap joint at the handle end with a couple of dowels. Then I have to decide about the backing.
The remaining question I have is the bow arm thickness. Does anyone have an ideas about that with such hard wood?
joachimM:
bow limb thickness: that's just the whole process of tillering. Take off wood, bend, indicate where you need to remove wood, repeat. If you're gonna back it: 15 mm is more than enough thickness for any bow. You'll probably end up at around 1 cm.
But honestly, this looks like a hell of a difficult project for a first bow, with wood you don't know is even any good for a bow. Yes it's extremely dense, but that doesn't make it better as bow wood per se: it just means it allows narrower limbs. Which isn't necessarily easy. I'd put it away, make a bunch of regular bows first, and then maybe look back at this piece.
my 0.02 €
richgibula:
Thanks JoachimM.
I have made a bow from laminated bamboo and a mesquite bow before. The mesquite bow was 68 in and has an over 65# draw. I had to use fiberglass backing because it could not be used without a very strong backing. I wanted to have a little less draw weight since I have developed a muscular disease that makes this bow hard to use. I wanted to prepare the wood better and learn to follow the grain.
This is the mesquite bow pic. I wasted a lot of time and mesquite to make it. I was hoping to do a lot better with the Ironwood.
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