45# Maple Flat Bow

45# Maple Flat Bow

• 66″ nock to nock
• Limbs are 1 5/8″ to mid section
• Then 1/2″ to tips
• 9/16″ at mid limb
• 9/32″ thick at tips
• Handle is 1 1/8″ x 1 1/8″

Last fall I had some trees removed from the back yard. In January I split one of the maple logs sitting at the saw mill for bow staves. I stripped the bark and put them inside to dry. Some were pretty twisted. I tried to make a bow from a few staves before this bow and they all broke, mostly from my inexperience in tillering. 

The biggest lesson learned you need to make sure the stave is dry. I created a heat box from some chimney pipe. I have one that I fastened to the roof rafters directly under the tin roof with a small fan. The other stands vertical with a light bulb in the bottom.  Both will drop moister content about .02 ozs per day per stave.

 This stave was a little crocked so here I am clamping, heating and straightening the bow. This is after most of the tillering was completed.

I still get hinges off the tillering tree usually close to the fades. I managed to work them out to a fairly even tiller. This dropped my weight a little more than I was hoping for, but each one gets me a little better.

Chronograph results