Flat Bow / American Flat Bow questions ?

[legend]

Thankyou Pat , roger and out ! just need to go and pick a decent piece of board now , probably ash or oak .

[willie]

Rectangular cross-sections with a stiff handles are relatively new inventions (1930:s?). Almost no primitive bows had this at least the ones I know, but semicircle or lenticular cross-section, narrowed AND working handle- Ishi style, sometimes tapering on belly and back.

Aksel,
while you are correct that lenticular etc. is more common, one of the earliest bows found in the Americas had a quite retangular crossection and a stffler handle.
third pic down, pamunkey bow on right
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,68908.msg967219.html#msg967219

Thickest part of limbs at where fades start  1/2" tapering gently to tips  ?

as mentioned earlier, if your thickness taper is more pronounced under the straight width section and  slighter in the tapered width section, this will keep the stresses spread out more evenly.