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Dimensions of a mini bow to figure out if mystery wood will work for a bow
TimBo:
I have often thought about making a test mini bow, but have never done it, so take this with a grain of salt. However, I would just make one 18-20" long, scale the proportions as best you can, and evaluate set once it is finished. If it is not a suitable bow wood, you should be able to tell easily since it will likely break or take lots of set. If neither is the case, you can make a full-sized one with a conservative design knowing that it won't be a waste of time, and experiment further from there. Don't get hung up on making a kid's bow, which as Eric points out is a different set of problems. If you have the Bowyer's Bible books, there are a couple of pictures of mini bows in there somewhere.
Nasr:
That sounds like a great idea TimBo. I think I will lower the weight as well maybe to 5-10lbs as well.
TimBo:
Traditional Bowyer's Bible vol. 4 has a couple of pictures on p. 139. Good luck!
Nasr:
--- Quote from: TimBo on May 31, 2025, 05:22:56 pm ---Traditional Bowyer's Bible vol. 4 has a couple of pictures on p. 139. Good luck!
--- End quote ---
Thank you for that!
Terrier:
Where are you going to get the wood? Board staves?
Are you going to cut something down and split it out? Fruit and nut tree wood almost always works well.
If you’re going to cut something and split it out, you should be able to determine if it’s decent wood, just by how it splits. Then rough out your bow with, say, 1 7/8” limbs at around 67-68” to floor tiller dimensions. Floor tillering should give you an idea of what you’re working with, then let it dry for a month (if you have that long.). If things are going well at that point, rough out a few more and adjust the dimensions based on your past experience, just to have spares. You don't want to have it go south and have to wait another month for something to dry... After a month of drying, you should be able to tiller it.
*This is Jim Hamm’s technique for a quick(ish)-drying time that I have found to work quite well.
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