Kegan are you there? .....?

 

:lol:I'm here!

Not much good for this one though. Asiatic style recurve bows are a toughy, and I've never come across any instructions on how to make them with fiberglass. If you can, locate pictures of the ones that are being sold (3 Rivers has some). Look up some info on building fiberglass lam bows (sorry, I don't know carbon either) and see if you can put two and two together.

What I'm thinking is that you'll want maybe two inner wood laminations. These would rise up on the spliced in siyahs. The glass would run up the back of the siyah, but stay short on the belly side- at least I believe so. The handle would be different than a normal glass lam bow, in that it might run over the belly side of the handle as well, from what I've seen the handles are usually just raised sections on the back and belly.

With all that reflex and the recurves, I'd use wide thin limbs. Try not to make it too thick or else the weight would be off the charts:mg:! I'd also use 1 3/4" wide glass, unless you can find if they prefer 1 1/2" in the regular ones.

I think your biggest obstacle (sp?) would be getting it anywhere near the weight you want. You sort of have to guess, because cutting it shorter would just ruin the siyahs, and too much narrowing would cause massive twisting problem. Start out going for a really light one- that way if it comes out too heavy it should be what you were looking for! If it does come out too light just make another one exactly the same only slightly thicker. In the end you probably won't be spending much more than buying one, and it'll have that nice home brew smell

 

Dear friend Kegan,
makes around 2 years that I'm out of any forum, and you always present...thanks a lot.:icon_salut:
Your words arrives here in Brazil like a rain in a desert. True.

You know, in general I'm thinking like you. What you told about to start thinking in a ligth bow and than progressivily arrive in a heavy (my idea) is exactly what I was needing to hear. And to use 1 3/4" to keep away the twist is good to remember.
I'm thinking in to make an almost rounded form and make that fish tail in the the end of the limb, you know, like in the original organic turkish bow. I like to say organic, because I have to stop a little and think... how that ancients guys could develop a real good one since today, and using no labs stuffs.:77:
Well, my idea is to make the bow very close of the original and very cosmetic.

And I was doing some considerations about that when we diminish the length of the limb we increase the strength of the bow. I think that is 3 pounds per inch +o-, but I'm not sure, so if I reduce a 64" to 48" : less 16" mean more 16"x3#= 48# in the the end. Considering a bow 1" 3 / 4 limb and 64" long with 30 # @ 28 " when I'll get the length of the limb of the Turkish bow, which is very short compared to the traditional recurve I'll have something quite close to what I was originally planning ( around 78#), what do you think? It seems a good idea? I don't know if I have explanned well.

thanks Kegan, I'm thinking in to share with you and our friends the build along. One week looking for in the web...and nothing about. Only a guy from Istambul helps me a little; the bowyer Yasar Metin Aksoy, he builds the original one. Very good guy...likes to help.
ok, see you
Fernando

Fernando

 

Thanks for the kind words! And great minds think alike

For the length you're on the right track, except for the reflex and recurve. These would increase the weight more than just shortenning. What I'm thinking would be best might just be to use a single lamination of, say, maple. For my hybrids, a final limb thickness of 0.33" gives the bow a weight of about 45#. "Normal" recurves are also very thin. For the first, you might go down to about 0.15"-0.25". If it's too light then it'll be fun to play with, and a good starting place- but I have the feeling that might be quite a hefty bow. Also, a nice even half circle of reflex should be perfect, and not too hard to brace either.

Keep us posted!

Your plan for the siyahs, the dovetail, seems like a good one. Should work really well, especially if you run fiberglass up the back to prevent it from popping up.

 

i'm measuring the fiberglass scythian bow ( the fiberglass version is quite similar to the fiberglass version of a turkish bow- the natural versions are waaaay different ) that i bought in Hungary- it's 58" ntn, 6" siyahs, 16" working limbs, 2 quarter sawn elm laminations (3/16" total thickness of wood), 1 9/16" wide at the fades, 1" wide at the string bridges, ~12" nonbending handle- set back 1/4", tips are 3 1/4" in front of the handle when unbraced. it pulls 53# @ 30".

hopefully, this gives you a place to start for figuring your dimensions,
Rob

 

yes Rob, helps a lot. thanks
do you like to shot your scythian bow Rob? would you make a quick comparison with longbows and recurves? like strength, accuracy...

I was think, why is so difficult to find info, plans or tips in the web about this specifics kind of bows-the asiatics, specificlly the turkish.
We have to change that.

Kegan, "If it's too light then it'll be fun to play with, and a good starting place- but I have the feeling that might be quite a hefty bow. Also, a nice even half circle of reflex should be perfect, and not too hard."
I'm thinking like you, the same way "...And great minds...." that's ok.
I'll try to keep my friends informed about this project.

Some longbows I built in september and a beatiful Ipê tree with flower(in september)
see you guys.
Fernando

 

i love my scythian! the first time i shot it in Budapest, the store owner didn't think a stoopid American would know how to shoot a horsebow. he didn't realize the depth of my obsession. as he was telling my brother in law (in Hungarian) that he was worried about how much damage i would do to the bow, i managed to shoot the nocks off of two of the four arrows he had handed me. you should have seen his face- priceless. then i shot about a dozen other bows & bought a lightweight magyar bow. i came back a couple days later to ask him about a hunting bow. he handed me the scythian that i had shot the other day- easy sale.

as far as comparing it to my longbow....apples & oranges. the scythian likes a light, fast arrow. it's extremely accurate for me & fun to shoot. there's only two problems with it:
1) fiberglass- i don't know why, but i just can't stand the stuff
2) my hickory backed ipe is the sweetest bow i've ever shot- especially with a 775gr arrow. it's already a proven elk slayer. the bow just sings to me.

horsebows bows are definitely fun to shoot (i've only shot the fiberglass types- not the real deal), but there's just something about longbows that i looooove. the way my longbow hammers an arrow through an elk gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. it shoots so quiet that i haven't bothered to put string silencers on it- just a whisper at release. i've also found longbows to be more forgiving of my form errors. i'm not a huge fan of modern recurves- i don't like stack, i don't like limbs that try to twist on me, and don't like the noise.

i'm obsessed with hunting, so the most important thing about a type of bow is how well it kills. in my experience, nothing hits harder than a longbow. i like to take the basic longbow design and add some reflex to give it some added early draw weight (boosting up the energy storage) and launch telephone poles through brick walls- or elk.

Rob

 

Rob,
It's a pleasure to talk with you, for me the same way, the simpler the better.
As you can see I build longbows, bamboo longbows. And another day I built a longbow 62" 47#@28". And the arrow 730grains...and hit so hard and quiet.

And about your scythian, it's interesting it be very accurate, because it's small than a longbow and others Fita accurate bows. but good to know.
I like fiberglass bows, but they have to be very well done.
It's my first time building an asiatic bow and today I'm going to Bolívia to buy some bolivian rosewood, there are good woods for bow building and cosmetics.
Fernando

 

Rob- I was wondering when you'd show up! I think you're the only builder I know who has one of these fiberglass asiatic bows. Nothing more helpful than when a bowyer has a bow to give details on .

Fernando- That's a beautiful longbow! Alot more than my selfbows- I've been going for simpler. Rob's elk even has me looking into some hickory sticks for arrows too... he's a "bad influence" for sure

 

Stickbows

that's ok guys, I'm in a cyber cafe here in Bolivia and Rob, Kegan likes your "bad influence" for sure.
show to us some pics from your stickbows Kegan. I don't have stick bows because I don't know how to make with brazilians woods...but I like them so much.
I'm very young (54):shade: but when I was really young I used to make bows with bamboo colms and take fishs. worked very well if well prepared that sticksbows. I love all this science we call archery, so many tricks...so many things to learn. Fernando

 

For photos of some of the bows I've made, at least recently, look in the "Gallery" on my site in my signature

 

ok, I will.