Advice on bow with siyahs

[legend]

Hello All ,
I am looking for advice for making my next Bow . I am looking at possibly making a flat bow or pyramid style bow  with a practical but as short a length as possible  for a 27" draw , but with the addition of 5" Siyahs . Length of Bow when strung and braced , around 56" to 60" .

QUESTIONS : Would this be a practical proposition for such a bow ?
                     What could I have as the maximum width of the lower limbs at the handle fades ? ( I prefer at least  1  1/2" ) ?
                     What is the shortest practical length can I have the bow when braced ?
                     Flat or Pyramid style for practical use ?
                     Any advice regarding the siyahs ?

Any answers much appreciated

[0ri9ine11]

Strongly depends on what you want to make the bow Out of. The principle is the following: how much bending (what lentgh) can the limbs Take before breaking or without top much set? Are the Siyahs still effective at that length or are they only making the bow slower?

[sleek]

At that length a recurve with stiff handle is plenty depending on wood quality. No need for siyahs unless you just want em.

[legend]

Hello All ,
Yeh I would like to try and make a bow with siyahs that  would perform the job they are used for but keeping the bow to a reasonably short length without affecting the bows efficiency  for shooting when roving archery , and what English woods would perform best for the actual bow ?
Thanks .
Mike

[legend]

One more question guys ,  making a bow with siyahs of these dimensions  , would it be best to use a single length of wood for the bow ie Hickory or could I back the bow with wood also or would that increase the draw weight too much ?
Thanks ,

[PatM]

Siyah or recurve makes no difference. They are just variations of  the same thing.   One just happens to be added on and sometimes shaped differently.
The strength of a bow is based on dimensions, not materials or how they may be assembled.

[legend]

Hi Pat ,
I understand what you are saying , so what I would like to know is making a shorter bow with siyahs of these dimensions , would it be best a backed bow  or simply a single length of wood , or would it make no difference ? hope Ive explained it right .
Thanks

[0ri9ine11]

A backing only increases Set on a bow.
If I understand you right you basically want to make a horsebow without all the effort of Horn and sinew.
If thats the case you should use Rattan Manau. If U only want siyahs, Take like 120cm of Rattan and add the siyahs. However this doesnt really Look Like a horsebow, so U can bend a setback of 20° into the handle with a heatgun. Since Manau is a Bit slow U can/should add a facing of 2-5mm. Anything thats Common for facings will Work. Walnut, yew core, Cherry, etc. If U Like perfection U can even add a raehidebacking, it gives u aber little more Speed, a Fee pounds and most important it prevents the Manau fibers from straightening Up. Since rawhide is flexible it won't cause Set. So:
Manau
Siyahs
Setback in handle
Facing
Rawhide

[PatM]

Hi Pat ,
I understand what you are saying , so what I would like to know is making a shorter bow with siyahs of these dimensions , would it be best a backed bow  or simply a single length of wood , or would it make no difference ? hope Ive explained it right .
Thanks

 It really depends on the wood you use. Exceptional woods stand on their own while you may need to use two less versatile woods to achieve the same  end result.

[PatM]

A backing only increases Set on a bow.
 add a raehidebacking, it gives u aber little more Speed, a Fee pounds

    That doesn't happen in real life.

[bubby]

A backing only increases Set on a bow.
 add a raehidebacking, it gives u aber little more Speed, a Fee pounds

    That doesn't happen in real life.

Thats a new one to me as well

[mikekeswick]

A backing only increases Set on a bow.
If I understand you right you basically want to make a horsebow without all the effort of Horn and sinew.
If thats the case you should use Rattan Manau. If U only want siyahs, Take like 120cm of Rattan and add the siyahs. However this doesnt really Look Like a horsebow, so U can bend a setback of 20° into the handle with a heatgun. Since Manau is a Bit slow U can/should add a facing of 2-5mm. Anything thats Common for facings will Work. Walnut, yew core, Cherry, etc. If U Like perfection U can even add a raehidebacking, it gives u aber little more Speed, a Fee pounds and most important it prevents the Manau fibers from straightening Up. Since rawhide is flexible it won't cause Set. So:
Manau
Siyahs
Setback in handle
Facing


Rawhide

Umm...

If you want to make a short recurve you need the right materials. Go to any of the rivers near us and find a straight piece of yew. The Wear downstream of Durham has loads of yew growing.
It will steam bend easily and can be made shorter than most other woods we have here.
siyahs are generally used on horn/sinew bows that can handle being that short in the first place and 'need' the extra strain. A wooden bow of those dimensions will be a dog. Not enough working limb to store the energy.
Stick to bows with a working limb of the same length as your drawlength until you don't need to ask these questions

[legend]

thanks for all that usefull information guys , I think I understand a bit better now regarding different wood capabilities , dos and donts etc . This bow making is a steep learning curve  , but interesting .
M

[sleek]

I wish photo bucket were up. Id reccomend you look at a few real shirt shorties I have made in the dimensions you want and shorter. On was 48 and drew 48@70#

[bubby]

Wow sleek, i dont remember that bow, 48" bow drawing 49@70#😶