Should I make the core on a Large Chinese bow thicker?
Will the leverage of the siyahs make the bow so easy to pull back that the bow needs to be made thicker than, say, a Korean or Turkish bow?
The bamboo I have is thick and wide, 1.75" wide and .25+" thick. Should I leave it thick to account for the strong leverage of the long and angled siyahs?
The bamboo I have is thick and wide, 1.75" wide and .25+" thick. Should I leave it thick to account for the strong leverage of the long and angled siyahs?
At that width, just under 1/4" would be consistent with the thickness of the old Chinese Bows that I have.
I am assuming the larger bows for use on foot, not the horse-bows. If it is a strength bow (not for shooting), then the skin of the bamboo should be on the back. If it is for shooting, then the skin should be at the belly.
I am assuming the larger bows for use on foot, not the horse-bows. If it is a strength bow (not for shooting), then the skin of the bamboo should be on the back. If it is for shooting, then the skin should be at the belly.
So i'll just thin it down a little bit while sanding. Thanks Stephen. Is that old bow of yours a regular target bow, or a strength bow?
Should i go for a highly crowned surface, or a little flatter with rounded edges?
The skin side has been flattened down and is on the belly side. I'll try to get pictures.
It is made with 2 part siyahs, an ash knee and a white oak ear. There is an osage handle on.
Should i go for a highly crowned surface, or a little flatter with rounded edges?
The skin side has been flattened down and is on the belly side. I'll try to get pictures.
It is made with 2 part siyahs, an ash knee and a white oak ear. There is an osage handle on.
1. Regular target bow
2. flatter with rounded edges is good. You have 1.75" width. 0.25" thickness for the core, about 0.13" for the horn, and your sinew will be about 0.3". So that more or less gives you your profile of 1.75 wide and 0.68" thick. That should make quite a stable limb. And if you want to go thicker on the sinew, you should not have a problem.
I encourage you to think what arrows you will shoot with it. The figures I have given above will make a rather massive bow, good for pushing out the traditional, heavy arrows. But if you wanted to shoot modern aluminium arrows, you will find that bow quite sluggish. You can overcome that to some extent by making the siyahs less massive. But even then, the bow you are considering, while authentic, will not be a snappy performer.
2. flatter with rounded edges is good. You have 1.75" width. 0.25" thickness for the core, about 0.13" for the horn, and your sinew will be about 0.3". So that more or less gives you your profile of 1.75 wide and 0.68" thick. That should make quite a stable limb. And if you want to go thicker on the sinew, you should not have a problem.
I encourage you to think what arrows you will shoot with it. The figures I have given above will make a rather massive bow, good for pushing out the traditional, heavy arrows. But if you wanted to shoot modern aluminium arrows, you will find that bow quite sluggish. You can overcome that to some extent by making the siyahs less massive. But even then, the bow you are considering, while authentic, will not be a snappy performer.
Stephen,
I hadn't really kept that in mind. I have some really thick bamboo shoots I can try. I also have some heavier points (5 field ones) that are around 160 grains.
Now I have another question,
what was the original length tip to tip? I just remeasured right, and if I did it right I got an 80" bow. I have a 50" core. And from there, are 4" extentions as the knees. They are 7.5" overall, but are spliced into the core.
After the knees, the ears are 11".
Maybe I should cut down the core, and recut splices to give me a shorter bow?
I can also cut down the siyah some, but I really like the look of the long ears.
[external image]
EDIT:
I gave you the wrong dimentions up there. The core is actually only 1.5" wide.
Would this still be stable and ok?
I hadn't really kept that in mind. I have some really thick bamboo shoots I can try. I also have some heavier points (5 field ones) that are around 160 grains.
Now I have another question,
what was the original length tip to tip? I just remeasured right, and if I did it right I got an 80" bow. I have a 50" core. And from there, are 4" extentions as the knees. They are 7.5" overall, but are spliced into the core.
After the knees, the ears are 11".
Maybe I should cut down the core, and recut splices to give me a shorter bow?
I can also cut down the siyah some, but I really like the look of the long ears.
[external image]
![[external image]](http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Samuraiwarrior2/siyah.jpg){kind=link}
EDIT:
I gave you the wrong dimentions up there. The core is actually only 1.5" wide.
Would this still be stable and ok?
Do you know this plan? Tip-to-tip around the curve is around 165cm.
1 3/4" is do-able, but keep your siyahs narrow and light. If this is your first Chinese bow, err on the side of broader limbs to reduce the risk. When you have gained the experience, you can go to finer tolerances.
S
1 3/4" is do-able, but keep your siyahs narrow and light. If this is your first Chinese bow, err on the side of broader limbs to reduce the risk. When you have gained the experience, you can go to finer tolerances.
S