Longbow Terminology
02-27-2006, 08:14 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Longbow Terminology
Osage? See it alot. I beleive this is a wood? Or type of shape?
What are proper woods? I seen longbows listed as hickory or oak, Figured woods like these wouldn't have a nice flex or smooth draw.
Backedbow? Think I got this, but definately appears a bamboo backed 50# somtimes can surpass performance of say 60# pure wood bow.
Some longbows do not have a riser cutout or rest. Some do? Do people just shoot off thier fingers?
Do these bows lose any flex or poundage over time? Pure one piece wood selfbow or backedbow? I would tend to figure backedbow wouldn't.
What are proper woods? I seen longbows listed as hickory or oak, Figured woods like these wouldn't have a nice flex or smooth draw.
Backedbow? Think I got this, but definately appears a bamboo backed 50# somtimes can surpass performance of say 60# pure wood bow.
Some longbows do not have a riser cutout or rest. Some do? Do people just shoot off thier fingers?
Do these bows lose any flex or poundage over time? Pure one piece wood selfbow or backedbow? I would tend to figure backedbow wouldn't.
02-27-2006, 08:44 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: Longbow Terminology
Osage orange orbois d'arc (pronounced bowdark here by us rednecks 
) is the same thing I always called a horse apple tree when I was a kid. It's one of the best woods for a selfbow (a bow made entirely of one piece of wood)you can get. The very best is yew, but it's not nearly as available as osage. Mulberry is a close relative of osage and is a good bow wood also.
Then there are what they call 'white wood' bows - oak, maple, hickory, ash, black locust, even hackberry to name a few. They make good bows, but not quite with the same zip as osage, mulberry and yew.
You've got the idea with backed bows. A strip of bamboo or rawhide, or veneer of some tough wood like hickory, or even cloth like silk and raw linen... anything with a high tolerance for tension... can beglued onto the back of the bowfor a backing. These backings don't really add any great deal of performance to the bow, they simply help keep the bow from breaking.
The only backing that really adds significantly to performance is sinew.
Adding a backing to a bow technically turnsa selfbowinto a composite bow.
Yep, if you have a bow that doesn't have a shelf, your hand becomes your arrow rest.
Loss of draw weight really depends on a lot of things. The design of the bow is probably the key. If it was overbuilt for a person's draw length (extra long, extra wide or both), then it'll go a long, long time without losing any significant amount of draw weight. If it was underbuilt (too short, too narrow or both) for a person's draw length, then it is under too much strain at full draw and will take a set and wear out pretty quick - if it doesn't just snap right off the bat.
Backings often help a bow hold onto it's draw weight longer, but it's not something to bank on when you're making a bow. Again, sinew is a special case. It can make a bow that was underbuilt last a shooter a long, long time.
) is the same thing I always called a horse apple tree when I was a kid. It's one of the best woods for a selfbow (a bow made entirely of one piece of wood)you can get. The very best is yew, but it's not nearly as available as osage. Mulberry is a close relative of osage and is a good bow wood also. Then there are what they call 'white wood' bows - oak, maple, hickory, ash, black locust, even hackberry to name a few. They make good bows, but not quite with the same zip as osage, mulberry and yew.
You've got the idea with backed bows. A strip of bamboo or rawhide, or veneer of some tough wood like hickory, or even cloth like silk and raw linen... anything with a high tolerance for tension... can beglued onto the back of the bowfor a backing. These backings don't really add any great deal of performance to the bow, they simply help keep the bow from breaking.
The only backing that really adds significantly to performance is sinew.
Adding a backing to a bow technically turnsa selfbowinto a composite bow.
Yep, if you have a bow that doesn't have a shelf, your hand becomes your arrow rest.
Loss of draw weight really depends on a lot of things. The design of the bow is probably the key. If it was overbuilt for a person's draw length (extra long, extra wide or both), then it'll go a long, long time without losing any significant amount of draw weight. If it was underbuilt (too short, too narrow or both) for a person's draw length, then it is under too much strain at full draw and will take a set and wear out pretty quick - if it doesn't just snap right off the bat.
Backings often help a bow hold onto it's draw weight longer, but it's not something to bank on when you're making a bow. Again, sinew is a special case. It can make a bow that was underbuilt last a shooter a long, long time.
02-27-2006, 10:29 AM
#4
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location:
Posts: 2,964
RE: Longbow Terminology
ORIGINAL: Arthur P
Osage orange orbois d'arc (pronounced bowdark here by us rednecks) is the same thing I always called a horse apple tree when I was a kid. It's one of the best woods for a selfbow (a bow made entirely of one piece of wood)you can get. The very best is yew, but it's not nearly as available as osage. Mulberry is a close relative of osage and is a good bow wood also.
Then there are what they call 'white wood' bows - oak, maple, hickory, ash, black locust, even hackberry to name a few. They make good bows, but not quite with the same zip as osage, mulberry and yew.
You've got the idea with backed bows. A strip of bamboo or rawhide, or veneer of some tough wood like hickory, or even cloth like silk and raw linen... anything with a high tolerance for tension... can beglued onto the back of the bowfor a backing. These backings don't really add any great deal of performance to the bow, they simply help keep the bow from breaking.
The only backing that really adds significantly to performance is sinew.
Adding a backing to a bow technically turnsa selfbowinto a composite bow.
Yep, if you have a bow that doesn't have a shelf, your hand becomes your arrow rest.
Loss of draw weight really depends on a lot of things. The design of the bow is probably the key. If it was overbuilt for a person's draw length (extra long, extra wide or both), then it'll go a long, long time without losing any significant amount of draw weight. If it was underbuilt (too short, too narrow or both) for a person's draw length, then it is under too much strain at full draw and will take a set and wear out pretty quick - if it doesn't just snap right off the bat.
Backings often help a bow hold onto it's draw weight longer, but it's not something to bank on when you're making a bow. Again, sinew is a special case. It can make a bow that was underbuilt last a shooter a long, long time.
Osage orange orbois d'arc (pronounced bowdark here by us rednecks
) is the same thing I always called a horse apple tree when I was a kid. It's one of the best woods for a selfbow (a bow made entirely of one piece of wood)you can get. The very best is yew, but it's not nearly as available as osage. Mulberry is a close relative of osage and is a good bow wood also. Then there are what they call 'white wood' bows - oak, maple, hickory, ash, black locust, even hackberry to name a few. They make good bows, but not quite with the same zip as osage, mulberry and yew.
You've got the idea with backed bows. A strip of bamboo or rawhide, or veneer of some tough wood like hickory, or even cloth like silk and raw linen... anything with a high tolerance for tension... can beglued onto the back of the bowfor a backing. These backings don't really add any great deal of performance to the bow, they simply help keep the bow from breaking.
The only backing that really adds significantly to performance is sinew.
Adding a backing to a bow technically turnsa selfbowinto a composite bow.
Yep, if you have a bow that doesn't have a shelf, your hand becomes your arrow rest.
Loss of draw weight really depends on a lot of things. The design of the bow is probably the key. If it was overbuilt for a person's draw length (extra long, extra wide or both), then it'll go a long, long time without losing any significant amount of draw weight. If it was underbuilt (too short, too narrow or both) for a person's draw length, then it is under too much strain at full draw and will take a set and wear out pretty quick - if it doesn't just snap right off the bat.
Backings often help a bow hold onto it's draw weight longer, but it's not something to bank on when you're making a bow. Again, sinew is a special case. It can make a bow that was underbuilt last a shooter a long, long time.
So if you are making a bamboo backed bow you should tillered the bow to say 30lbs and wwhen you add the bamboo ,depending on the thickness of the bamboo ,you will end up with a #50 to #55 Bow.
02-27-2006, 11:19 AM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: Longbow Terminology
.
If you add the bamboo backing to a finished bow, yes. Well maybe it won't shoot TWICE as fast, but it'll be a lot faster. But I've learned to always back the bow after I floor tiller and before I get down to the nitty gritty and finish the bow out.
If yougo all the way through and tillered out the bow first, making it lighterdraw than you want it to wind up,it could break during tiller. Even if it didn't, you're gambling that the backing will add as much weight as you want. If it doesn't, then you wind up with a lighter draw weight than you set out to make. If it added too much,you'dhave to take the weight down andretilleranyway.So I think it makes sense to back the bow before you get into final tillering.
So, what I said is true. The backing can't add draw weight because you've alreadybacked the bow before working it down to the draw weight you want.
Of course, if you're trying to make an unbacked bow and the tiller fights you to the point it winds up underweight, then you can add weight by backing it with bamboo, wood or sinew. Cloth and rawhide backings really don't add any draw weight.
...bamboo backing can ad 20 to 25 LBS and shoots almost twice as fast as plain wood...
If yougo all the way through and tillered out the bow first, making it lighterdraw than you want it to wind up,it could break during tiller. Even if it didn't, you're gambling that the backing will add as much weight as you want. If it doesn't, then you wind up with a lighter draw weight than you set out to make. If it added too much,you'dhave to take the weight down andretilleranyway.So I think it makes sense to back the bow before you get into final tillering.
So, what I said is true. The backing can't add draw weight because you've alreadybacked the bow before working it down to the draw weight you want.
Of course, if you're trying to make an unbacked bow and the tiller fights you to the point it winds up underweight, then you can add weight by backing it with bamboo, wood or sinew. Cloth and rawhide backings really don't add any draw weight.
02-28-2006, 12:37 PM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Mississippi USA
Posts: 15,296
RE: Longbow Terminology
I'm no expert by any means, but with the few bamboo backed bows I've owned/shot vs. all wood bows made by the same fellow, there wasn't a big difference in speed at all. Guess it could help some designs more than others.
Deflex/reflex is a type of design--deflex is where the riser bends away from you (adds to forgiveness/stability), reflex is where the limb bends back towards you (added speed/performance). Some bows are reflex/deflex/reflex, some are just reflex, some are straight, etc.
I perfer a mild to moderate deflex/reflex design in longbows--these have the best performance and least handshock (properly made anyway).
Chad
Deflex/reflex is a type of design--deflex is where the riser bends away from you (adds to forgiveness/stability), reflex is where the limb bends back towards you (added speed/performance). Some bows are reflex/deflex/reflex, some are just reflex, some are straight, etc.
I perfer a mild to moderate deflex/reflex design in longbows--these have the best performance and least handshock (properly made anyway).
Chad
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